2nd Update from Tokyo!

  Sorry for the delay in posting! Still working on getting into a routine—I think I’m getting closer now. (No promises though! =D )

  It’s been a little over two weeks here already! It’s only been two weeks?? Time feels like its flying, but it probably has more to do with the fact that I am way busier than I have been in a while. I think there’s been one day so far where I actually haven’t gone anywhere or done much of anything!

  We've finally gotten a schedule figured out, though it won’t really start until next week (one of the colleges we will be going to doesn't actually start classes until next week!). Still, it's nice to have some kind of idea as to what we can plan for each week.

Though there's so many things I could write about from the past two weeks, let me just touch quickly on two. 

  Over the first weekend we wanted to do something tourist-y, and attempted to go to Sky Tree, a fairly new tower built in Japan--one of the tallest in the world. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. We wandered around the nearby shops and ate at a nice restaurant, but didn't go up the tower. Hopefully we will get a chance to go back later!

Sky Tree covered in clouds
Taken during one of the few times the clouds weren't so low. Still can't see the top at all!

  One of my favorite things we've gotten to do so far has been to go to the weekly meeting for Japan Cru (or Student Impact—SI from here on) the past two Fridays. It’s a time when Christian students around Tokyo gather together to have a time of worship and fellowship. They also spend time learning how to help build God’s Kingdom here in Tokyo. It's been a lot of fun meeting with them and hearing their stories. Even if the scale is smaller than some places in the world, God is definitely working here!

Here's a great pic of us with the students who were at the 1st week's meeting!

Students taking notes about SI's vision and plan to reach more students

  It's definitely a great encouragement to me to see Japanese students worshiping God and learning how to reach out to their peers with the gospel. Sometimes, when trying to share with people here in Japan it can feel like the Japanese people don't want or even need God, but seeing them so passionate about Him really motivates me to keep doing what we're doing. Even though in places like Japan (or America) we can easily begin to think that wealth, comfort, and good times are all we need, when we really meet the Lord we quickly realize how shallow and hollow all the things of this world are compared to being in His presence and experiencing His love.

Well, I will leave it at that for now. Please continue to pray that more Japanese people would come to know Jesus. Pray also for the Christian students here to be filled with a passion and desire to share the gospel boldly with their friends and classmates!