Two Months!!

I've been saying this a whole lot recently, but my time here is really running out! Out of the two months left i have here, about 2 of those weeks will be spent traveling, so really i'm only left with about a month and a half left! And with that month and a half, quite a large part of it will be taken up by my assignment, which is due at the end of january... no to mention that near that time i also have exams and presentations to do! Well, okay i'm actually not stressed about that at all, but the thing is, i don't have much time left! So i wonder, what does God want me to do with the rest of this time? How best could i use this time to glorify His Name?

Before i came here, one of my goals was to create strong relationships with the people i meet here. In a way i guess i can say that i have achieved that to some extent. I feel that i have been able to make some pretty good friends this year, and i praise God for that! It's also been a year full of awesome experiences, and God has taught me so much, and i thank Him for allowing me to enjoy my time here so much! He's blessed me so much, and i feel so completely undeserving of it all...

Anyway, here's a little update on what's happened in the past week!

So it's December now, which means that Christmas is drawing ever closer! So on tuesday, a Christian korean dude came to our uni for a little concert. He's actually a pastor now, but he could have been a famous singer if he wanted to. He had the offer a while back, but he realised that he didn't want to be making money in that way, and the only music that really made him feel at peace was Gospel music. He could have become rich through singing if he wanted to, but he chose to use his talent so that the word of God may be spread - free of charge. It's so amazing meeting people like that - people who give up the successful life so that they may use their talents for Christ's sake. He doesn't know very much Japanese, so the pastor of the nearby korean church (the church i went to KOSTA-Japan with!) was there to translate. It was a short concert, and only about 20 people turned up, but it was a really nice time - beautiful music and talks about why Christmas is celebrated and all. Awesomely encouraging! :D Praise God for awesome missionaries :)

On thursday night, a couple of us exchange students watched "Facing the Giants" together. Pretty awesome movie! I was moved to tears the first time i watched it (though not as much as Fireproof, which is by the same dudes who directed this movie!), and my friend from Bible study said she'd lend it to me so i could show it to my friends. So that's what i did! About 8 people watched on the night, but only about 4 really paid attention... still, those that actually paid attention really liked the movie. They said they were really moved by it! Out of those 4, three of them are non-Christians, and one of them is a chinese girl who has recently become very interested in Christianity. Praise God that i have these opportunities to minister to the non-Christians around me! And please pray that i will use the rest of my time here to be a good witness to the people here! :)

Just yesterday, that same chinese girl came to our Bible study group for our Christmas party, and although she was rather late, she seemed quite keen on mixing with the others there. Also, one of my Japanese friends - a church goer but non-Christian, came along. He doesn't seem very keen about Christianity at all though... so please pray that his heart may be more open! We lent Facing the Giants to him, so hopefully that will be an eye-opener for him!

I'm also getting my little bro to bring fireproof over so that i can watch it with the people here. Please pray that that will go well!

Today was the second time i did my testimony in Japanese, but since the last time i've tweaked it quite a bit. Praise God that it went well, and the people at my church were able to hear it and be encouraged by it!


The kids at my church are SO cute! Today we had the kids' Christmas concert, where our pastor had a short sermon directed to the kids, and the kids also had a couple of items. I couldn't really do much, so they asked me to be the "curtain opener / closer" LOL! I know it's a small role that could have been filled by anyone, but i think they just wanted me to get a little more involved in some way that didn't require me to use my fail Japanese! :)

Lately there have been a whole lot of birthdays, dinners and outings, and it's been rather hard on my wallet, so please pray that i may be wise with how i spend the money God has given me - that i may be generous towards others and not look to spend so much on myself!

And now I'm off to another birthday dinner, which should be good fun :) A little sleepy, but i'm sure the winter cold will give me a bit of a kick!

Some recent thoughts

Yesterday I had Bible study with some of the Christian students around here, and the passage was Luke 6, where Jesus talks about being "Lord of the Sabbath". Yesterday i decided i would like to be more diligent with spending time with Him, and i thought one way of doing that would be to use Sundays as a day to read, pray, reflect and listen to podcast sermons. I thought it would be awesome for my own spiritual growth if i could make it a regular habit. I mean how much of my time do i really give up to God? He has so graciously provided me with time and money and everything, but am i really using these things for His glory? Or am i instead using these things He has given me for my own comfort and enjoyment? The SMBC podcast i listened to today reminded me that i need to be careful how i use my money as well. How many missionaries are out there working their butts off to get the Gospel out there, and how many of them are struggling because of a lack of finances? And in the abundance of what God has given me, how much of that am i using to support these people who have given up everything to go out and spread the Gospel? Very little i think... it comes as a sharp rebuke...

So today after coming back from church, i decided to spend some time relaxing with my God. So far it's been awesome :) I think this is God's way of answering some of my prayers :D I and some of the people around me have been praying that i can be a good witness to the people around me, and that i can spend my time and resources wisely. But perhaps before that can happen i need to be more firmly rooted in God's word. So in order to do His work well i need to be spending more time with Him, seeking His teaching instead of simply going out and basking in the blessings he gives me without turning back to Him and giving Him the glory. Indeed I have a lot to learn... and i do feel that i have been backsliding a little ever since i got here. So it's important that i do this - to spend more time gleaning from Him.

So today, being the first day I've tried to spend a sunday as a Sabbath, I want to share some encouraging messages. I was just writing in my mission journal (which mr John Chen gave me as a gift for my 21st!) a little while ago, and in it there are a bunch of encouraging stories of missionaries and quotes from famous Christians. Here's one that i read about today - it's the story of a Scottish missionary (doctor) called David Livingstone. In all his hardship he always looked to the Lord and remembered "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end". Those words alone brought Him great comfort in all of His loneliness as a missionary. He also died on his knees in prayer, remembering that God was with Him always. And there's a quote from him in this journal of mine, which reads:

Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me.
Lay any burden on me, only sustain me.
Sever any ties but the tie that binds me to Thy service and to Thy heart.

I found great encouragement in these words. Seeing how much this man depended on God for everything, and how He always looked to God for comfort in all his trials. It brings me great comfort to know that God is always there for us. And i know that i can always find comfort in Him and Him alone - not in money, not in friends or family or anything else in this world. The only source of comfort that will last forever is God Himself. I would be a fool to trust in anything else!

By the way, having a day of rest and spending it with God is awesome :D I know that many of our lives often can't even sustain a single day in the week spent not doing work, but i do think that that is all the more reason to spend time with Him and rest in Him :)