Kamakura

Christie Epley and I took a trip to Kamakura.  We saw so many idols, and it shocked me to see so many people truly worshipping those idols!

Most famous of all is the Great Buddha.  Amita-Buddha was cast out of bronze in 1252 and housed under a roofed temple.  It was cast in thirty separate pieces which were pieced together to form the statue.  Buddha has even been repaired a couple different times!  In 1498, a tsunami swept away the temple, leaving only the foundations but not harming the body of Buddha.  In 1923, the big earthquake destroyed the statue's base but again did not damage the body.  

For a petty fee of 30 yen (about $0.35), I walked on the INSIDE of the statue of Buddha.  Inside Buddha's stomach, the darkness was not only physical but also a sense of real spiritual darkness.  Buddha sat -- sleeping.  Unmoving.  Uncaring.  Unhearing.  Water dripped from the cracks in the bronze.  I was so saddened by the fact that people were worshipping this statue made by mere human hands.

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to Your name 

be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness. 

Why do the nations say, 'Where is their God?'  

Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.  

But their idols are silver and gold, 
made by the hands of men.  

They have mouths, but cannot speak, 

eyes, but they cannot see; 

they have ears, but cannot hear, 

noses, but they cannot smell; 

they have hands, but cannot feel, 

feet, but they cannot walk; 

nor can they utter a sound with their throats.  

Those who make them will be like them, 

and so will all who trust in them" (Psalm 115:1-8).

But we worship the true and living God.  He hears our every prayer.  He cares for our every need.  He blesses us beyond our wildest expectations.  I'm so thankful for the truth I've heard and believed in!  

One step at a time...
Rachel  <><

Karuizawa

I love adventures. And after a slightly stressful week, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to set out on one!

This weekend, I took the Bullet Train (Shinkansen) up to Karuizawa!

I visited the Senior Six – who are doing work projects on the missionaries' cabins up there.

 It was great to see their ministry first-hand!


On Friday, after a ramen dinner in town, we had a “movie night” with some of the other missionaries here.


Saturday was relaxed; I joined the other missionaries for hiking to see some waterfalls. 

Sunday we visited Megumi Chalet, Swan Lake, and Sunset Point before going to church at an international fellowship.

My time flew by all too quickly... but I think that God knew I needed to have a little breath of fresh air. As I took a walk one morning, I looked to the Psalms and was blessed by Psalm 66:1-4:

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth;

Sing the glory of His name;

Give to Him glorious praise!

Say to God, 'How awesome are Your deeds!

So great is Your power that Your enemies come cringing to You.

All the earth worships You

and sings praises to You;

They sing praises to Your name.'”

It was so special for me to spend this weekend in Karuizawa!

One step at a time...

Rachel

TEAM Prayer Day

Monday, October 12, I was able to participate in the missionary Prayer Day at the TEAM Center in Mitaka.  I was incredibly blessed by the time of fellowship and focus on God!

The message that day was from Joshua 1:1-9, and I felt like it was directly from God for me...

 ¹ After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: ² "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
 ⁶ "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

• I should reflect on what God has done in the past -- His incredible faithfulness!
• Based on my knowledge of His faithfulness and power, I can step out in faith and follow His leading.
• v. 5 -- God is always with me  :)
• v. 8 -- I need to be careful to keep my heart continually meditating on the Bible.
• v 9 -- I don't ever need to be afraid or discouraged -- I can always be confident to continue on the path God is showing me if I'm in His will.

I was refreshed and encouraged to single-heartedly continue following God's leading.

One step at a time...
Rachel

Me with Nadine (an intern from Germany)

Mitaka this weekend

It was so special to get to travel out to Mitaka, Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday (and Monday... but more on that later...) to visit some very special friends!

On Saturday, I met with the Keefers, Williams, & Sundquists -- affectionately referred to as the "Senior Six."  These friends from my church back home have come to Japan numerous times to use their skills to repair cabins used by missionaries.  Seeing them was like having three sets of grandparents.  They are so wonderful!  We all met at TEAM Center, and then headed upstairs to have dinner with Tom and Ginna Sloan.

Then on Sunday, October 11, I attended Hope Bible Church, which my home church is partnering with.

Pastor Tom Sloan preached in Japanese

Makai-san (90 years old!!!) and Manabu.

Mr. Sundquist with Kay, who was the translator for the Jordans.

It was great to see many familiar faces at HBC!  The church has grown deeper and matured in the past two years since I last visited.  I was so pleased to see a new worship leader, along with several instrumentalists!  Manabu also did a great job as MC.  It was exciting to see the growth!

One step at a time...

Rachel

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!

Typhoon Melor over Japan

This is a 5-day weekend for me! Fall Break was scheduled for October 9-12, but school shut down a day early because of Typhoon Melor, which was supposed to be the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in over 10 years! Thankfully, the typhoon dissipated and only stormed overnight and in the morning, giving me two absolutely GORGEOUS days yesterday and today!

God knew I would need the break, too.  I've been enjoying extended prayer/Bible reading times, walks, naps, and reading.  A true time of refreshment!

One step at a time...

Rachel

Darkness

I visited the temple at Sugamo on Sunday afternoon, and I have not felt so touched in a long time...

 

Many people were visiting the temple that day to receive "healing" by the "power" of this idol.

The worshippers poured pure water over the idol, purchased a small white cloth, rubbed the cloth on the part of the statue where they're feeling pain, and then put the cloth to that same area on their own body.  They did all this in eager expectation that they will be healed.

As I stood and watched dozens of people repeating this ritual, I was in shock.  I just stood and stared.  All these poor souls!  They are so lost!  I was almost in tears.  When I finally turned away, I saw the monks standing under the gated entrance to the temple, chanting over sick people.  There was such spiritual darkness in that place!  I felt frightened... but I was thankful that God is far more powerful than anything in that darkness.

How great to trust in Him!

One step at a time...

Rachel

Forever 21

A four-story Forever 21 at that!

Now, I'm not really a shopper... but the very famous 4-story Forever 21 in Harajuku?  I needed to experience that!

Well, I got to experience it!

There were throngs of people EVERYWHERE!!!  Pushing, shoving, sweeping me off my feet like a strong river's current...  I couldn't even dictate my own steps!  Wherever the crowd went, that's where I went, too!  I couldn't even choose where I walked -- let alone look around at the clothes!

That's downtown Tokyo -- crowded, busy...

And that's Japanese culture -- go with the flow; don't fight the current...

Quite an experience!  Even in a little thing like that, I realized how much I have to learn...

One step at a time...

Rachel

I've moved!

These next few posts come from a very reluctant writer, but since it's been almost two weeks since I last gave you an update...


After spending one month with my Japanese hosts, I moved from their home into the home of the Epleys, a missionary family who live near CAJ. While I truly enjoyed my time with my Japanese hosts, it has been a good transition for me to live with the Epleys.  This is not the first time that the Epleys have shown this kindness to us;  when my mom was in 10th grade, she stayed in Flossie's parents home while Flossie's family was on furlough.


CAJ's high school department was closed October 2 due to large numbers of students coming down with swine flu. Then October 8, because of increasing numbers of middle school students contracting the flu, that department was scheduled to close. So far, the elementary department has remained fairly healthy (although 3 students were absent on Wednesday...).


One step at a time...
Rachel