6.27.06 - patience & sacrifice

so updating my friday night... i was at work till midnight. missed out on korean bbq and karaoke. oh well. gotta take one for the team right? it's not like i could just leave them out to dry. they were in a bind, and they needed me... so i was glad to be able to help. plus, it's not like i was the only one making sacrifices. there were 4 others that were working with me. we decided to have our own party once things settle down.

on sunday, my company baseball team participated in a baseball tournament. we all got brand new uniforms, and they asked me to play. i woke up at 5:30am, and got to the field by 8am for the opening ceremony. our game wasn't till 1:45pm, so we spend the next 5 hours watching an early game, eating lunch, hanging around, and warming up. we ended up having 16 people show up, so i was planning to come off the bench and play the second half of the game. our team ended up blowing the other team out, resulting with the umpires calling the game after only 4 innings. unfortunately, i didn't get to play. those are the breaks i guess... at least we won kicked booty, and it was good hanging out with the guys outside of work.

back to saturday though, exhausted from a hectic thurs/fri, i ended up sleeping in. got up and headed out to harajuku to meet up with the guys. most of them went with josh to go play bball in yoyogi park, but i took the grieves to do a little sightseeing. grabbed a quick bite to eat at micky-d's; and proceeded to roam around the streets of harajuku/omotesando, including stops at takeshita street, omotesando hills, and kiddy-land. we watched an aspiring band play by the station, then met up with the others at the bball court. after working up an appetite, we got some dinner at gyoza lou, our favorite gyoza spot.

the guys got their first taste of getting shoved into a train. they were saying, "no way we're all gonna make it!". josh and i were like, "no prob, let's do it!". i went in first, clearing the way and showing the guys the "turn around and push" technique. josh backed up the rear and proceeded to shove thim all in. as the doors started closing, josh litterally picked up jeff and threw him in, while jumping in himself. it was quite an experience for the team. . . but . . . we didn't realize until we got off that we had a casualty. gene, in his apprehension, didn't make it on the train and got left behind! we figured he would get on the next train, and we only went 2 stations down. so we positioned ourselves along the platform so that gene could see us from inside of the train. it worked! and the team had once again been reunited! quite a bit of excitement, to say the least!

anyways, the team helped lead worship for the blaze teens rally this past sunday, and they've started campus ministry this week. they're all doing great, and loving it out here! please keep them in your prayers.

have an awesome week!

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unto you
shane & shane

helper, keeper, protecter, preserver, provider
you are my all, all the time
without rest

yeshua, yeshua
yeshua, yeshua

unto you be honor
unto you be praises jesus
forever and ever

all i wanna do is exalt you
all i wanna do is to lift you high
all i wanna do is to please you

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6.21.06 - i got a world cup feeva . . .

. . . and the only prescription, is a japanese victory over brazil. not the most likely of outcomes, but hey, if japan can win the world baseball classic, who knows what could happen. the world cup has been dominating the news of late here in japan. we were all hoping for a better showing from japan's national team (nicknamed "samurai blue"), but a win over brazil still might get us into the next round. gambatte nippon!

lead worship for xtreme on sat night. i've noticed that singing in japanese is something i'm still getting used to. it's one thing to speak japanese, but it's a different story singing in japanese. luckily, other people are willing to lead the japanese parts. throught the testimonies, we were challenged to have a passion for god, the same way (if not more) than the passion we have for other things... like the world cup. do we worship with the same passion as when we root for our favorite team? just something i was thinking about while making plans to wake up at 4am on friday morning to cheer on samurai blue.

on another note, i'm really looking forward to seeing the conference team that's flying in tomorrow. there's nothing more comforting than seeing familiar faces from home. it's especially cool knowing that these guys are here out of obedience to serve the lord. i can't wait to hang out with them, they're in for a fun/challenging/rewarding/eye-opening/hard/hot/rainy/blessed few weeks in tokyo! please join us in prayer for the team, and the time they have here.

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came to my rescue
hillsong united

falling on my knees in worship
giving all i am to seek your face
lord all i am is yours

my whole life i place in your hands
god of mercy humbled i bow down
in your presence at your throne

i called you answered
and you came to my rescue and i,
i wanna be where you are

in my life be lifted high
in our world be lifted high
in our love be lifted high

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6.16.06 - you never know

just a quick story i was thinking about this week. one of the guys that got baptized this past sunday was sharing about how he first came to new hope. he moved here from hawaii last year, and he has a friend living in tokyo. whenever he would ask her if she wanted to hang out on the weekends, she would say that she couldn't because she was making powerpoint slides. after a while he got curious about what these "powerpoint slides" were for, and why they took so long to make. it turns out, she is a part of the powerpoint team at new hope. not only does she type in the text, she carefully and prayerfully prepares & chooses each background, image, slide, and scripture. it's because he wanted to see these "slides" she was making, that he came to church with her... and eventually came to know the lord.

i thought about how awesome of a testimony this is. that god can use seemingly small details to further his kingdom. it also shows how important each part of the body is. no matter how big/small the task, god uses your gifts in a way that is distinct to you. you never know who or when you are making an impact on someone. it's also quite a challenge to be edifying in everything that we do.

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"there are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit. there are different kinds of service, but the same lord. there are different kinds of working, but the same god works all of them in all men.

all these are the work of one and the same spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. the body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. so it is with christ.

now the body is not made up of one part but of many. if the foot should say, 'because i am not a hand, i do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. and if the ear should say, 'because i am not an eye, i do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? if the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? but in fact god has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. if they were all one part, where would the body be? as it is, there are many parts, but one body.

the eye cannot say to the hand, 'i don't need you!' and the head cannot say to the feet, 'i don't need you!' on the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. and the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. but god has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. if one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
~ 1cor 12:4-6, 11-12, 14-27

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6.12.06 - passion

yesterday, 10 people were baptized in a service after church. 8 people from new hope, and 2 people from the new new hope satellite church in narimasu. it was such a blessing hearing each of their testimonies. i was encouraged by the the ways each one of them has chosen to surrender his/her life over to god. it was indeed an awesome celebration.

i continue to be engulfed in worship, and opportunites to lead keep presenting themselves to me. in the past month, i've lead worship for service, youth rally, college group, worship night, a baptism service, and young adult group (this sat). as one of my friends put it, "where there is worship, charlie is there". it can be overwhelming at times, but my passion for it burns so deeply, that everything else tends to fade away. that's what i love about it. it's brings such joy to me to be able to see people immersed in worship.

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from the inside out
hillsong united

a thousand times i've failed
still your mercy remains and should i stumble again
i'm caught in your grace
everlasting
your light will shine when all else fades
never ending
your glory goes beyond all fame

your will above all else
my purpose remains
the art of losing myself
in bringing you praise
everlasting
your light will shine when all else fades
never ending
your glory goes beyond all fame

in my heart and my soul
lord i give you control
consume me from the inside out
lord let justice and praise
become my embrace
to love you from the inside out

everlasting
your light will shine when all else fades
never ending
your glory goes beyond all fame
and the cry of my heart
is to bring you praise
from the inside out
lord my soul cries out

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6.5.06 - joy comes after the rain

after a week of rain, the weather let up, and it's been quite pleasant recently. of course, i was stuck inside at a tradeshow for work, and this week is business at the office as usual. i wish i had something interesting to share, but i can't really think of anything. standing all day in a booth, explaining how the machines work in both japanese and english is tremendously tiring.

saturday, went to ueno park to see nobu, josh, jeremiah and sam perform. i got to the park and looked at the map. found the concert hall, and proceeded over. once i got there, i quickly realized it wasn't the right place, since all the gates were locked. it then hit me that the actual concert hall i was looking for is on the exact opposite end of the park. i look at my watch, and notice that they're scheduled to take the stage in a few minutes. so i booked over to the "other" concert hall. as i'm running over there, i start to hear someone rapping that sounds like nobu, but i don't hear josh or jeremiah yet. just as i get to the gate, josh and jeremiah join nobu on the stage and they begin their song. i was all hot and sweaty, but i was grateful that i didn't miss their performance. later, i met up with helen and her summer missions team from ny. took them over to asakusa for a little taste of japanese culture. they're a real fun group, and i know god's gonna be doing some great things through them here.

sunday, got to see miyou and aya from peninsula. they're out here on vacation, and they came to church with me. it's always nice being able to share my life with people from back home. unfortunately i was running around setting up and preparing for worship, and i didn't get to hang out with them very long. but just having them there was truely a blessing.

anyways, hope you're all doing well . . . blessings!

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tomorrow (excerpt)
out of eden

there are times, in our lives
when we all feel inside
something's wrong, there's got to be
something better for me
so we try, on our own
to change our paths
but we don't even realize
that joy comes after rain
life begins again

tomorrow is a better day
tomorrow you will see the way
when god is by your side to stay
just keep on movin' don't you dare give up

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