10.30.06 - doing church as a team

we had the dcat (doing church as a team) conference this past weekend. about 200 people from all over japan came to learn about how we can use our individual gifts to contribute to our church families. i helped lead worship for the conference, and it was a joy to lead with members from not just newhope tokyo, but also newhope sapporo and yokohama. being behind the scenes for events like this really puts into perspective how much hard work goes into putting on an event like this. i'm constantly amazed at how much time and energy everyone sacrifices out of their busy schedules/lives. seeing what went into putting this dcat together really demonstraited what it means to "do church as a team". during the final session, i was brought to tears because i could really see christ's love being reflected in the faces of everyone there. i'm excited to see how god is going to be using all of us here in japan. i know there's gonna be some big things happening, as we can really feel the spirit moving, and sense that we're on the verge of something huge. please continue to join us in praying for japan.

josh went "home" yesterday. we're all sad to see him leave, but we know that god will continue his work here in japan through the many seeds that have been sown. josh, we're praying for you, and your transition back to amelica!

i'm exhausted from everything . . . luckily, friday is bunka no hi (culture day), so we have a 3-day weekend! have a great week everyone!

[ update ] - since no one was using the bulletin board, except for the spambots, i replaced it with a links page. lemme know if you have any links for me to add! oh, and have a safe & happy halloween!

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the time has come
hillsong united

found love beyond all reason
you gave your life your all for me
and called me yours forever
caught in the mercy fallout
i found hope found life
found all i need
you're all i need

the time has come
to stand for all we believe in
so i for one am gonna
give my praise to you

today today it's all or nothing
all the way
the praise goes out to you
yeah all the praise goes out to you
today today i live for one thing
to give you praise
in everything i do
yeah all the praise goes out to you

all we are is yours
and all we're living for
is all you are
is all that you are lord

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10.24.06 - memories

tokyo is home . . . even if it's temporary. i've known this for quite some time now. i've been thinking about it more lately because of the number of people who have had to say "goodbye" the past few months. saying "goodbye" is definitely something i'm not looking forward to. it's especially hard after you spend so much time building relationships and grounding your roots in a place to make it your "home". but does that mean it's better not to build relationships knowing that my time is temporary? i certainly hope not.

memories are a beautiful thing. you can never experience something exactly the same twice. you can have similar experiences/memories, but each time it will be unique. i think that's why i'm such a shutterbug. it's the easiest way for me to share my memories with others. but the thing is, pictures and memories are still unique to the person who make them. i think that's what makes them so special. i think i'm gonna try and work on my people photography. places, things, food, & events are awesome, and i'll continue to document those. but the people here are what is making my time in tokyo so special.

saturday, finally got to sleep in and rest. went and did a little bit of exploring in the afternoon, then met up later on in shibuya with josh, jeremiah, toshi, ron, sunny, and bonnie to grab some grub. we ended up going to outback to get our cow fix. moo baby moo! afterwards, we met up with nobu @ baskin-robbin's to check out their flavors of the month. october is pumpkin pudding, and magical mint-night. then we went and burned off some calories playing taiko no tatsujin at the arcade. somone please buy me this! it's soooo fun!

this weekend, we're having the new hope japan dcat conference. it's basically a conference to learn about how we can "do church as a team". allowing each person to explore different gifts and leadership roles. it should be really good! they've asked me to help lead worship, so i'm excited about that. i'm starting to meet different people from the different new hope churches in japan, and i'm looking forward to seeing them/serving with them again.

i miss espn . . . mlb world series, nfl hitting mid season form, college football teams in the thick of the bowl hunt + rivalries time, and nba & college basketball season right around the corner. this is a great time of the year for sports! yet here in the land of the rising sun, i can't even see highlights of any of those on my tv . . . except when so taguchi does something. i mean, don't get me wrong . . . soccer (futbol) has caught my attention, and is pretty interesting to watch. also, golf is also huge here in japan. but sometimes a guy's gotta get his dunana dunana on! i think the saving grace is that the nippon series is taking place right now. the nippon series is like japan's version of the world series, pitting the champions of the 2 leagues (central and pacific) in a winner take all championship series. the nipponham fighters went on an amazing run to finish off the season and win the pacific league crown. good luck to trey, and his team . . . gambatte!

anyways, pray for this weekend's dcat conference. also pray for josh as he says his "goodbyes" and prepares to move back to the states. blessings!

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blessed
hillsong

blessed are those who dwell in Your house
they are ever praising you
blessed are those whose strength is in you
whose hearts are set on our god

we will go from strength to strength
until we see you face to face

hear our prayer
oh lord, god almighty
come bless our land
as we seek you
worship you

for you are holy
for you are holy
for you are holy, lord

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10.16.06 - okonomiyaki = japanese pizza?

sat, i woke up with a craving for pizza. okonomiyaki has been called "japanese pizza" or "japanese pancakes". i think it's a taste unlike anything we have in america. i would love to have osaka okonomiyaki again, but i digress . . . i woke up craving american pizza. although the local pizza-la smells pretty good when i pass by, i'm quickly turned off by pictures of $25 pizzas with shrimp, crab, potatos, squid, asparegus, tuna, corn, scrambled eggs, and mayonaise. i miss my king arthur's supreme! so i decided to go here for a good 'ol taste of home. pizza and soft serve for under $5. gotta love it! oh, and attention attention, usa beef is back! aw jeeaaah! i ate my share of usa steak samples at costco. i decided against buying some, since the thought of lugging around 3lbs of ribeye on the train seemed a bit unpleasant.

here's a promo video yoichi put together for when we went down to osaka. it's short and simple, but definitely effective. i love the movement and impact. thanks again yoichi, you're awesome! make sure you have the latest version of quicktime, and give it time to load (~24mb).

in other news, josh is back from his matthew10 trip. ptl for a safe return... woooooot! have a great week everyone!

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mighty to save
hillsong

everyone needs compassion
love that's never failing
let mercy fall on me
everyone needs forgiveness
the kindness of a saviour
the hope of nations

savior, he can move the mountains
my god is mighty to save
he is mighty to save
forever, author of salvation
he rose and conquered the grave
jesus conquered the grave

so take me as you find me
all my fears and failures
fill my life again
i give my life to follow
everything i believe in
now i surrender

shine your light and
let the whole world see
we're singing for the glory
of the risen king
jesus shine your light and
l et the whole world see
we're singing for the glory
of the risen king

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talk to me |

10.11.06 - nade ya nen!

maido! the past few day in osaka were awesome! it was such a blessing being able to go and help celebrate new hope osaka's 1 year anniversary. god's doing great things there, and i was glad we could go down and support them. they shared their hospitality towards us, and i was so encouraged to see how faithful the people there are in the way they serve the lord. many times, i think we take for granted how lucky we are, for those of us that go to a church with its own building. coming to japan, i've come to really appreciate having a church building. new hope tokyo rents the sanctuary at a christian center where we set-up and break-down every week. but we have storage space set aside to store all the equipment. in osaka, the church meets in a public location, like a hall or lobby. it also changes from time to time. so every week, they have to transport all the equipment, set-up and break-bown. also, the worship team practices at a different location as well! it is a major task, and can often be overlooked. i'm so thankful for the faithful brothers and sisters who serve in the levites ministry (people who do all the set-up/break-down/clean-up). they really do a lot in the background to prepare the lord's house.

we arrived in osaka around noon on sat, where daniel came to the station to pick us up. he took us to the practice location where we helped unload and set-up. grabbed a quick bite to eat, and had practice from 2-5. after practice, we broke-down, cleaned up, and loaded all the sound equipment back into the vans. of course, we were getting hungry, so the osaka new hope'rs took us out to eat okonomiyaki! it was sooooooo good! my favorite was prolly the fromage (cheese) okonomiyaki.

monday, daniel took us on a short tour of shinsaibashi, dotombori, amemura, and namba. osaka is crazy . . . in a good and different way! it was weird hearing people talk in kansai-ben. it's weird to think about how different the language can be between tokyo and osaka. check out this link for a handy kanto/kansai translations. also, apparently, people in osaka walk the fastest in the world!?! i believe it. the major train stations are even crazier than tokyo . . . can you beweeve it? i also noticed that people kept bumping into me and people would also just randomly stop right in front of us. what an experience. i definitely have to go back and spend some more time taking in all the sights, sounds, and most definitely, the tastes.

"okini" to all the osaka new hope'rs for making us all feel so welcome. hope to see you all again soon! blessings this week!

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made to worship
chris tomlin

before the day
before the light
before the world revolved around the sun
god on high
stepped down into time
and wrote the story of his love for everyone
he has filled our hearts with wonder
so that we always remember

you and i are made to worship
you and i are called to love
you and i are forgiven and free
you and i embrace surrender
you and i choose to believe
you and i will see who we were meant to be

all we are
and all we have
is all a gift from god that we receive
brought to life
we open up our eyes
to see the majesty and glory of the king
he has filled our hearts with wonder
so that we always remember

even the rocks cry out
even the heavens shout
all the sound of his holy name
so let every voice sing out
let every knee bow down
he’s worthy of all our praise

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talk to me |

10.3.06 - silly faces

i've noticed someting . . . nothing life-changing, but very amusing. take a camera, and go around taking pics of people. you'll get a lot pics of smiling faces, some blank stares, a few suprised looks, candids, and maybe even a few mug shots. take pics of people here in japan, and you'll also get a high percentage of peace/victory/two signs, and cartoon-like poses. but what i've noticed, is that people here in japan like to make silly faces in front of the camera. maybe it's the result of a culture raised on manga/anime. maybe it a way to relieve stress. or maybe, just account it to wacky japanese tv. i dunno, but ask someone to make a funny face, and more than not, you won't be disappointed.

[disclaimer] - pictures are for fun, and are strickly for amusement purposes. in no way are they to be used for ridiculing and/or blackmailing. everyone pictured is not necessarily japanese, but being in japan has that weird effect on people.

thank you everyone that came to support the frontlines ministry @ the worship concert. a big thank you to all those that were involved in making it happen. as we go down to newhope osaka this weekend to help celebrate their 1 year anniversary, we feel blessed to be able to represent newhope tokyo. i wish everyone could go down with us, but we will be going with the heart, and the spirit of praise from everyone at newhope tokyo.

i'm excited about riding the shinkansen down to osaka. it's been raining a lot recently, but i hope the weather clears up so i can get a good look at fuji-san . . . and rock my new kicks! have a great week everyone!

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how can i keep from singing?
chris tomlin

there is an endless song
echoes in my soul
i hear the music ring
and though storms may come
i am holding on
to the rock i cling

how can i keep from singing your praise?
how can i ever say enough?
how amazing is your love?
how can i keep from shouting your name?
i know i am loved by the king
and it makes my heart want to sing

i will lift my eyes
in the darkest night
for i know my savior lives
and i will walk with you
knowing you see me through
and sing the songs you give

i can sing in the troubled times
sing when i win
i can sing when i lose my step
and i fall down again

i can sing 'cause you pick me up
sing 'cause you're there
i can sing 'cause you hear me, lord
when i call to you in prayer

i can sing with my last breath
sing for i know
that i'll sing with the angels
and the saints around the throne

how can i keep from singing your praise?
how can i ever say enough?
how amazing is your love?
how can i keep from shouting your name?
i know i am loved by the king
and it makes my heart
i am loved by the king
and it makes my heart
i am loved by the king
and it makes my heart want to sing
i can sing

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