by Whitey | Aug 1, 2008 | Ministry News
Below is a copy of my latest prayer letter, as sent by email to those on the list. As you’ll see, August is going to be a full but fun month — I’ll hardly be home at all actually. Because of this I’ll be offline and not posting anything new to the blog — BUT I have a bunch of stuff pre-posted that will be going live automatically throughout the month. A lot of really fun stuff too (like the rest of the Engrish series — 5 parts in all!), so make sure to check back. Plus my Twitter feed is showing here now. Lord willing I’ll be back “live” in September. Have a great month, all.
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Dear friends, family and supporters,
In Japan, this is the time of year that brings us extreme heat, humidity and the sounds of the cicadas. For students, it’s also time for summer holidays, and as a language student, that includes me! For the entire month of August I’ll have no classes, which will be a nice (and much-needed) break!
But that doesn’t mean I’ll be vacationing all month! Actually, August will be my busiest month of ministry so far this year. In addition to that, I’ll have homework to do (students in Japan generally have homework during their short summer break) and I’m hoping to spend some time each day catching up on some vocabulary and things I’ve missed along the way. At the end of the month I do plan take some time off, but for the first few weeks I’ll be busy — but a different kind of busy, so it’ll still be a nice change!
Here’s a rundown of my schedule for the month:
• Aug. 4-6 — Home in Nagoya getting ready for everything.
• Aug. 7-9 — My church’s youth camp; several unsaved junior high kids come to our youth events — pray for them to come and to have open hearts! I’ll be playing guitar on the worship team as well as being the “official” photographer.
• Aug. 11-14 — Youth Station (Tokyo) — the denomination’s national youth event of the summer. I’ll be taking part in a missions-themed discussion / teaching time, as well as teaming up with WGM missionary Zach Motts to lead some fun activities.
• Aug. 17-19 — Area Retreat (like family camp back home, but probably less “campy”). I’ll be giving a testimony and sharing in song during one of the services, as well as helping out with a youth service as an “MC”.
• Aug. 20-31 — Vacation!!! I’ll be visiting friends in Fukushima (Japanese countryside) and Tokyo (definitely not the countryside) before coming home, regrouping, and going back to school.
Please pray for safe travel, effective ministry, and that God will teach me some things along the way as well. Pray too that I manage to keep up with my studies and take advantage of the ample opportunities I’ll have to practice my Japanese in actual conversations at all these events. Pray, too, that this is a good time of relationship building for me, as it’ll be a good chance to get to know some of the teens I don’t usually see more than once a week.
Thank you so much for your continuing prayer support! I’ll try to send out a full newsletter in early September and let you know how things are going. In the meantime, I won’t be home much, so forgive me if I’m not able to respond right away to any emails you might send. “I’ll see you in September…”
Blessings,
– robin
ロビンホワイト
by Whitey | Jul 15, 2008 | Ministry News
Since I wasn’t around on Friday, and didn’t get anything up on Monday, here’s a re-cap of recent goings-on in my life, along with random thoughts running through my head tonight…
1. Had a great time in Tokyo, hanging out with Zach before and after the meeting I went up there for. Friday night we hit up Tokyo Tower, and Sunday afternoon we visited Yoyogi Park. Yoyogi Park is amazing on Sunday afternoons, with hundreds of people coming and going. There were countless bands and musicians doing their thing. Many of them were awful (it reminded me of round one of American Idol or something) but some of them were pretty good. There were also the famous rockabilly dancers, artists and other freaks. It’s an incredibly creatively-stimulating place. I will have to post some video and photos when I sift through the stuff I shot.
2. The aforementioned meeting (held on Saturday) was all day long and all-Japanese. It was a struggle to sit through at times, I’ll admit. Added to the length and language, most of it didn’t affect me directly. But it was a good learning experience on the Japanese way of doing things. It was also a good look into the youth ministry leadership of the church we work with here in Japan.
3. The downside of the weekend was breaking the lens of my camera, and finding out it will probably cost almost as much to fix as it would be to replace it. Ouch. Any readers know of a good replacement for the kit lens of the Nikon D-50? If I’m going to buy a new one anyway, I may do a little upgrade. And not just because the sales guy at Bic Camera tried to sell me one when we stopped in to check on repair costs. Really.
4. Last Monday’s big test went much better than the previous one. So I’m moving in the right direction. This week I’ve got a kanji reading test on Thursday and a speech contest on Friday — lots of memorizing to do between now and the end of the week.
5. During the month of August, my class goes on natsu yasumi — summer vacation. For me, the whole month isn’t a holiday, though, because August is also the month of three major events I’m going to be a part of: my church’s youth camp, the national denominational youth camp, and all-ages area retreat. After that, I’ll have 11 days before school’s back in, so I’m planning to take some vacation time then. Not sure where, though.
6. I realized tonight, as I was rushing around the 100-yen shop, stationary store and grocery store (all in one building) that the best time to go shopping is right before closing — not because of any deals I got but because when there’s a time limit I don’t linger too long, waste too much time, or spend too much money. I should do that more often. Go late I mean.
7. I’ve been Twittering lately, and more so now that I’ve figured out who to do it via my cell phone. I used to think it was silly and pointless, but today I realized that there’s a haiku-like beauty and simplicity in micro-blogging. Okay, maybe it is silly. But it’s also a great way to keep people posted when you’re not able to sit down at a computer and type up a full blog post like this. If you’re on Twitter, feel free to follow me: I’m called skitzoman over there.
8. This weekend’s a long weekend. I’m not sure what the occasion is, but Monday’s a holiday. And, after the busyness of the past couple of weeks, I’m looking forward to it. Unfortunately, a big part of it will probably be spent cleaning house, something that definitely goes on the back-burner when I’m busy.
And… I guess that’s a wrap. Come back soon for the above-mentioned photos and videos, as well as other fun stuff I should have time to put up on the weekend. See I won’t be just cleaning.
by Whitey | Jun 29, 2008 | Ministry News
Hi everyone,
I know it’s not July yet, but it’s Sunday night and I thought I’d get the prayer letter sent out before another busy week begins. So here it is…
First of all, a big thank you to all of you who prayed for my ministry in Gifu last weekend! Several people emailed before I left to let me know they were praying, which was really encouraging, so thanks for that as well.
I had a great time in Gifu, where I participated in an outreach service through music and testimony. I had a great time, and was really made to feel welcome too. There were 27 people in attendance, 10 of whom were visitors, and 6-8 of whom were non-Believers! Meanwhile, back here in Nagoya, my own church was having an outreach of their own, and reported 83 in attendance, of which 16 were seekers and 5 were first-time visitors! Praise God for newcomers and for the opportunity they had to hear the Gospel!
Here are some things you can be praying for in the coming weeks…
1. Pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of those who came to both outreach services.
2. Pray for my English/Bible student, with whom I’m still meeting semi-regularly.
3. I’m planning to travel to Tokyo in a couple of weeks for a planning meeting for this summer’s national youth camp. Please pray for safe travel, as well as that I would learn something from the experience, and be able to contribute.
4. And, as always, I’d appreciate your prayers for my language studies. I have to confess that lately I’ve really been struggling to stay on top of things. PLEASE pray that God will help me to understand, to stay focused and disciplined, and to succeed!
I’m beginning to understand the wisdom in taking a whole 2-year missionary term to focus on language studies. And I’m learning to see language school as my “full-time job”. Any ministry opportunities I have on top of that are just icing on the cake — but not my main focus right now. It’s all about a long-term investment that will pay off in the years to come.
As always, your prayers and thoughts are much appreciated! THANK YOU! Hope you all have a happy Canada Day and/or Independence Day this week!
Blessings,
– robin
by Whitey | Jun 1, 2008 | Ministry News
I just emailed this to my supporters, but for those of you not on the list, here’s my latest prayer letter:
Hi everyone,
It’s been a beautiful spring here in Nagoya, and we’re fast approaching that magical time of year known as “rainy season”. And since it’s the first of the month, it’s time for another prayer letter. I’ll be brief and just give you some quick prayer points. If you want to know more about what I’ve been up to, please visit my blog (www.japanlog.wordpress.com).
Prayer Points:
1. My Japanese studies — I’m making progress, but definitely have a long way to go, and we’re getting into some unfamiliar territory.
2. My English/Bible student — Pray for wisdom and discernment for me, and an open and receptive heart for him.
3. My classmates — Pray that I’ll build good relationships at school, too, and that I’ll be able to be a witness.
4. Pray for me as I continue to figure out what God wants to do in and through me in Japan — both this term and in the future.
5. On June 22 (a Sunday) I’ll be visiting the Immanuel Church in Gifu, about an hour from here. I’ll be participating in an outreach service through music and testimony. Please pray for Pastor Oda and the Gifu church as they prepare for and promote this event. Pray for me as I prepare as well.
As always, thank you for your prayers, financial support and encouragement!
Hugs,
– robin
by Whitey | Mar 26, 2008 | Ministry News
The following is a copy of my April prayer letter, emailed yesterday (yes I know it’s not April yet) to my supporters. If you’d like to get these by email, drop me a line. Several have bounced back as failures, so if you’re supposed to have gotten one, let me know that to. You can use the form on the Support page.
Also, you’ll notice the letter says I’m going away. The blog will keep updating while I’m gone, as I’ve pre-posted (thank you WordPress!) a few things for later this week and Monday. So feel free to keep coming back to see what’s new.
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Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a great Easter! I’m going away for a few days this week, and wanted to send out a quick prayer letter first.
I leave tomorrow afternoon for Yokohama (near Tokyo) in order to attend the Immanuel Church annual national conference. The conference will featuring worship services in the evenings, with guest speaker Dr. Pence (Wesleyan General Superintendent). It’s also when the Immanuel pastors and leaders come together to give reports and do some planning for the coming year, and when pastoral appointments for the coming are announced.
For my small part, I’ll be bringing greetings during one of the sessions. I’ll also have the opportunity to get together with the other Immanuel Wesleyan Federation (IWF) missionaries. IWF is the partnership between Global Partners (Wesleyan missions), World Gospel Mission (another missions organization) and Immanuel General Mission (the Japanese church). This will actually be the first time for all of the current North American missionaries to be together at the same time, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.
Please pray:
1. For safe travel for everyone attending.
2. For God’s leading and anointing on Dr. Pence’s ministry.
3. For God’s blessing on the leadership of Dr. Isaac Saoshiro, IGM’s president.
4. For the pastors who will be making transitions this year.
5. For my greetings — I’ll be attempting to do them in Japanese in front of a big crowd!
6. For my Japanese exam and studies — I get back to Nagoya on Sunday night, have my final exam (for the part time course) on Monday morning, and then begin full-time studies with orientation and a placement exam on Monday! Busy, busy…
Thanks, everyone, for your continuing prayers and encouragement! You all mean a lot to me!
Blessings,
– robin
by Whitey | Feb 8, 2008 | Ministry News, Weekly Re-Cap
This week, instead a normal re-cap (if there is such a thing), I’m posting my prayer letter, also being sent to my supporters via email.
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Hi everyone,
Sunday night I went to a multi-denominational youth worship gathering, called Heart and Soul, hosted by a local seminary. It was bi-lingual, which was nice, the speaker was good, the band was really good, and there were lots of people there. I met some fellow-expat/missionary-types too. It’s great to see someone taking the incentive to get young people from different denominations together. That’s the kind of unity that the Japanese Church — and Japan — needs.
My first month+ here in Nagoya has been spent focusing on language, getting to know people and generally just settling in — not in hands-on ministry. I have to admit that a part of me found this frustrating, as I wanted to dive right in to ministry right off the bat. But I think Pastor Saoshiro was right in recommending that I take this time to settle in. It takes time to get to know a new group of people, a new city and new church. It takes time to adjust to life in another culture, even if, like me, it’s not your first time there. It’s been an adjustment getting used to going to school, doing homework, and studying again.
Tuesday night Saoshiro-sensei and I chatted about getting me involved in ministry. Soon I’ll start getting plugged in to the life of the church more actively, and that’s something I’m looking forward to.
Here are some things you can be praying about:
- Please pray that God will continue to help build relationships despite the language barrier. And thank Him with me for the friendships I’m building already.
- Pray for my language studies. They’re going well but I have a long way to go. Pray that I’ll be patient and diligent in my studies and that God will help me make more progress.
- Pray for my church — Immanuel Nagoya Church — may we have an effective ministry in Nagoya. Also, there may be some pastoral/leadership transitions in the spring. Pray for God’s will to be done and for a smooth transition period.
- Pray for God’s direction and blessing for my ministry here.
Thanks for your prayers!
