KGK Summer School - “Is This It!?”

So last week I went to KGK’s evangelistic camp, and I gotta say it was amazing :) The way they organised everything, the location (we situated near a mountain lake called matsubarako in nagano. There’s a Christian campsite there :) sooooo nice!), the group discussions, the talks, the testimonies, the music, the fellowship, nearly everything was just right! Seeing how some of the leaders worked tirelessly all day, and woke at 6am for prayer meeting each morning, was an amazing thing to see :) I am really thankful that God allowed me to go on this camp and see how the KGKers work :D I think about one third of the people there were non-Christians, and some had little or no exposure to Christianity at all! Also, at least one person turned to Christ :) Kouhei - the guy who decided to become a Christian, stayed up with me on the final night to talk for several hours about how he felt about this new faith, and it was just so encouraging to hear his thoughts! Another guy who considered himself to be a Christian and had stopped attending church, realised after the camp that he could no longer deny that Jesus is Lord. I’m sure there were many other stories, but i haven’t heard them yet.

Two days prior to the camp, I got a message from a friend in KGK saying “HEY! I heard you’ve been made into a group leader for the camp!” And I was like “WHAT!??” It was very sudden and surprising, and considering i had only a day or two to prepare, and considering the whole camp was in Japanese, i was quite unsettled... I accepted coz i thought it would be an amazing experience, but honestly i was afraid because i’d never done anything like it before. So i prayed and prayed for me and my co-leader, and for the camp, and it turns out that it went really well :) So i really thank God for speaking through me, despite my broken Japanese - I managed because He gave me the strength and ability to do it :D Considering I had so little sleep before the camp, and considering how little i slept during camp, it was amazing that I lasted for the whole cmap and managed to lead as well - and i know that i could not have done it on my own strength.

So the theme for this year was “Is This It!?” (and the logo used was Michael Jackson’s “Is This It” poster!). Most the messages were delivered by Hayashi sensei - a guy with an Osakan accent :) looooove the way Osakans talk lol! Anyways, his talks were based on Matthew 19, the story about the rich young man, and a bit before that - the one where Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to little children. One of the talks was done by Ooshima Sensei, who is also a heaps good preacher. He preached on John 4 - where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well and tells her that He offers living water. Our Bible studies were also based on that passage. Just being reminded of how deep Christ’s love is for us and how sinful we are, and how much we need Him... is seriously amazing. No matter how many times i hear these messages they never get old, and i couldn’t help but get teary eyed whilst listening (i wasn’t the only one trust me!). The songs we sang were largely based on those Gospel themes too, so that didn’t help to stop me from weeping lol...

So after each talk we would break up into groups to discuss what the talks were about, and anything else we had questions about. This was probably the main part of the camp - sharing time. I heard from most group leaders that the time spent in the groups was amazing because everyone opened up and spoke so honestly about what they felt. That was true for our group as well, and thanks to my co-leader Ayako and our staffworker Makiko, our other group members were able to understand the messages and express what they really felt about it all. Two of our group members were very new Christians, and the other two were non-Christians.

Aki was one of the young Christians (well he’s older than me but younger as a Christian) - and before the camp he didn’t expect very much, but he said he was very glad he came because he got to learn so much about his faith. Tomika - the other Christian in the group, was able to open up and learn heaps as well. Tomoko - a non-Christian girl who has been investigating religion and in particular Christianity for 3 years, was also part of our group, and she really opened up and shared honestly about what she thought. Initially she came because she was angry at Christianity for something her Christian friend had done in the past, so i think initially she was not very open, but after a while she really opened up and shared why she was angry and why she could not accept Christianity. Through many tears she got her point across, and after a few days she was no longer reserved about how she felt. I think by the end of it she had a much better opinion of Christians and Christianity, although she didn’t want to accept it still. But i feel that this could be a large stepping stone for her on the way :) We plant the seeds and God makes them grow hey? Anyways, the other non-Christian in our group - a guy called Yuu, came probably not knowing exactly what he was looking for, but by the end of it he heard the message and although he was unable to accept it, I think he felt that Christian fellowship and many of the teachings in Christianity are awesome. This guy was super popular amongst the ladies too loolll, so i think he thoroughly enjoyed his time there. He also talked a whole lot in the group and asked a whole heap of questions, so i really pray that we got our point across and that he continues to seek!

I really liked how the days were structured - and although there wasn’t a lot of variety in the program, i felt that that extra time spent in groups was much needed. The fact that nearly every activity was done in our groups was really really good for bonding - perhaps something we can think about for our camps back in Australia :) I’ve never been in a group that has opened up so honestly before - so i was really glad :D Okay, i didn’t understand everything that was said, but i think i got most of the important stuff that was said :)



Here are the lyrics to 3 of the songs that we sang at camp. I really came to love these songs heaps :D This first song’s melody is very Japanese i reckon - it sounds like a Ghibli song or something :) You can look them up on youtube if you wanna! Just copy and paste the titles.


今こそキリストの愛に応えて (I now respond to Christ’s love)

私が神の子とされた　罪人の私が
I’ve been made into a child of God, a sinner like me

無限の愛の大きさにただ感謝をしよう
I’m ever thankful for this amazing and eternal love

こんな私のためにさえ命まで与えた
He gave up His life even for a person like me

十字架の愛の大きさにただ感謝をしよう
I’m ever thankful for the great love shown on the cross

-CHORUS-

今こそキリストの愛に応えて
I now respond to Christ’s love

命を　すべてを　ささげよう
And offer my life and everything to Him


生きる指針を失った　迷い子の私が
I’ve lost all direction in life, but

生きる希望と喜びに満たされてるなんて
I have been filled with a living hope and joy

何の力もないけれど何かをしてゆこう
I have no strength but I will do something about it

こんな小さな物だけど何かをささげよう
I have not much to offer you, but what i have i give to You


CHORUS-

たった一度の人生を無駄にしたくはない
I only have this one life and i don’t want to waste it

力の限りキリストを愛し続けよう
With all my might i will continue to love Christ

多くの友を救うため　福音を告げるため
I will tell the Gospel in order to save many friends,

日本の国を救うため　世界を変えるため
In order to save the people of Japan, and to change the world


満たして下さる方 (The One who satisfies me)
主よ　私は飢え渇いて　今 ここ に来ました
Lord I come to You starving and thirsty
主よ　あなたに両手上げて　こころからあがめま す
Lord, I raise both hands to you and worship You from the bottom of my heart
主よ　あなただけが　
Lord, only You
私を満たして下さる方
Can satisfy me
主よ　あなただけに 賛美の歌をささげます
Lord, only to You will I give these songs of praise



注がれた愛 (Love poured out)

愛する友のために命を捨てる
To give up one’s life for a friend you love

これほど大きな愛があるだろうか
I wonder if such a love exists?

逃れる道もなく何かを求めて
When I had nowhere to run to, while i sought something

私はまだ罪の中にいた時
While i was still in sin



キリストが私のために命を投げ出して
Christ gave up His life for me

その愛を永遠の愛を心に注がれた
And poured out His love, His eternal love into my heart


All in all, the camp was awesome and i really thank God that i could be used to lead a group despite my broken Japanese. This camp, like KOSTA, helped me to understand more about how mission in Japan would look like. It appears that even a failure like me can be used by God to accomplish bigger things :) So i am truly truly thankful for the great opportunities that He is giving me.

Thank God for:
- An awesome camp, awesome fellowship, and His amazing love
- Kouhei - the guy who became a Christian at the camp
- Allowing me to get through the camp and experience leadership in Japanese

Please pray:
- That i may continue to think about how i can serve God here
- That i may seek God first and foremost, and follow Him with fervour - praying constantly and being diligent in reading His word
- That my Japanese language ability may continue to improve more and more
- That i won’t be lazy for the rest of these holidays and that i may get my assignments done, and get some studying done :)

Thanks for reading! :)