9.25.06 - who am i

saturday, after worship practice, i had a chance to sit and talk with a couple other members of the worship ministry at newhope. it was really nice to be able to talk about our ideas, struggles, experiences, and backgrounds. i was blessed and encouraged to hear how god has been stretching and growing this ministry. thank you sally, yukka, & yoshi for your servant's hearts, and the time/effort you put into this ministry! honto ni osewa ni natteimasu. korekara mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

sunday, i lead worship at newhope along with the youth worship band. it's been such a blessing leading with this group. they bring a youthfulness and "wildness" that is refreshing and contageous. it's been a great joy being able to worship along side these awesome brothers & sisters.

after service, i was gonna head home to take care of some stuff, but i ended up going and hanging out at the newhope men's bowling fellowship night. i didn't bowl, but had a good time cheering and snapping pics. afterwards, a bunch of us went out and grabbed some grub. good fellowship + good food = good times!

in oct, new hope osaka will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary. i have the privilage to go down along with other members of the tokyo frontlines ministry (worship ministry) to join in the celebration, and to lead worship for the service. in our preperations for this special "missions trip", we'll be holding a short worship mini-concert after service this week. please join us in prayer for our preperations.

amongst all the busy-ness, i find myself thinking a lot about who god has created me to be. what am i supossed to accomplish? what kind of person am i supossed to become? and if i become that person, will i know it? i think the point is that only god knows who i am, and who i'm going to become. it's my job to continue to keep striving after god, allowing him to mold me into who he wants me to be. my purpose in japan? well, it seems like that list grows longer and longer. but i am truly blessed to be who i am, where i am. and i know it's beacuse of who HE is.

i hope that wasn't too confusing . . . blessings this week!

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who am i
casting crowns

who am i, that the lord of all the earth
would care to know my name
would care to feel my hurt
who am i, that the bright and morning star
would choose to light the way
for my ever wandering heart

not because of who i am
but because of what you've done
not because of what i've done
but because of who you are

i am a flower quickly fading
here today and gone tomorrow
a wave tossed in the ocean
a vapor in the wind
still you hear me when i'm calling
lord, you catch me when i'm falling
and you've told me who i am
i am yours, i am yours

who am i, that the eyes that see my sin
would look on me with love and watch me rise again
who am i, that the voice that calmed the sea
would call out through the rain
and calm the storm in me

i am yours
whom shall i fear
whom shall i fear
'cause i am yours
i am yours

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talk to me |

9.19.06 - tadaima (i'm back)

back from a week in the philippines. it was tiring, but everything went smoothly. it reminded me a lot of the usa and mexico. in manila, there are huge shopping malls and many familiar stores/restaurants, like the usa. i saw the usual (micky-d's, bk, wendy's, kfc, pizza hut, tgi-fridays, tony roma's, hard rock cafe, outback), some local favorites (jollibee & chowking), as well as some that caught me by suprise (kenny roger's chicken, dunkin donuts, mister donut, yoshinoya, shakey's, sbarro, sizzler, and even california pizza kitchen)!

the philippines also reminded me a lot of mexico. poverty stricken barrios, vast rural areas, busy metropolitan cities, and beautiful vacationing countryside/beach resorts. the drivers there are insane, and the roads are beyond crazy! lane markers and traffic signals/laws are hardly observed. treated as recommendations at most, but more like mere suggestions. packed out jeepneys and motorbikes crowd the streets, and horns are used to say "watch out", "get out of the way", "hello", "hey you", "i'm here", as well as the usual array of expletives.

philippine mangos are the real deal! i ate/drank some form of mango every day. sooooo good! fresh mango, dried mango, mango shake, mango salad, mango puree, fresh mango juice, mango ice cream. yum!

a couple other observations:

1) i've never seen so many toyota corollas in one place. i think about 60% of all the cars i saw were corollas.

2) you haggle for everything. even taxi fares, since many taxis have "fake" meters.

3) mcdonalds has burgers with rice pattie buns. they also have fried chicken (ala kfc) & mcrice value meals, as well as the mcspaghetti. they also have mccafe stores, micky-d's answer to starbucks.

4) when enterring department stores and malls, you go through metal detectors and/or get searched to make sure you're not carrying any weapons with you.

i was busy working the whole time, so i didn't get much of a chance to do any sightseeing. it was cool being able to experience a new place and culture. hopefully i'll get a chance to go back, take in some sights, and maybe even play some golf. woot!

it's good to be back here in tokyo. there's a bunch of new and exciting things happening at new hope (check out the new webpage), so the next few months should be busy and exciting. anyways, i'll keep you guys updated. have a great week everyone!

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all day
hillsong united

i don't care what they say about me
it's all right, all right
i don't care they think about me
it's all right, they'll get it one day

i love you, i'll follow you
you are my, my life
i will read my bible and pray
i will follow you all day

i don't care what it costs anymore
cos' you gave it all and i'm following you
i don't care what it takes anymore
no matter what happens i'm going your way

all day
all day now
all day
i'll follow you

anyone around can see
just how good you've been to me
for all my friends that don't know you
i pray that you would save them too

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talk to me |

9.05.06 - mango mothaland

can't believe it's already september. been pretty busy at work preparing for my trip to the philippines. i leave this sunday morning and fly to manila. monday, i fly to cebu, where our beloved philippine brand dried mangoes are from. woot!

this past friday night, met up with josh and jeremiah after work for some good 'ol tonkatsu. after eating, we headed back to mitaka to hang out at the ccc student center with toshi, tatsumi & kenichi . . . one thing lead to another, and we ended up writing/recording a song. it was pretty fun cause toshi, tatsumi & kenichi had never attempted writing anything before. josh told them just to write whatever they felt was on their heart, and low and behold, we had the making of a rap song. josh, jeremiah, and i banged out the chorus, and we were set to record. a few hours later, we had a rough recording. nothing professional, but an awesome reminder of this spontaneous late night with some brothers. anyways, here's the mp3 if you feel like listening:

accepted by tatsumi, kenichi, toshi, josh, jeremiah, and charlie

[update]

for anyone who grew up in the 80's, here's a trip down memory lane! gotta love youtube!

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accepted (chorus)
tokyo boys

everytime we get together
we are blessed by your presence
being broken as one body
that's how we know we're accepted

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talk to me |