by Whitey | May 17, 2010 | Ministry News
OK, so I’m not lost. But being on the road is really going mess up my Lost-watching schedule, which is sad, this being the last week of the show… Nobody tell me what happens!
Seriously, though, I’m in Ontario for some speaking engagements and team building at various churches, and it’s going really well so far. Over the weekend, I was in the greater Toronto area, where I spoke to two different groups at Milliken Wesleyan on Saturday. Yesterday I visited the Wesleyan church in Orangeville in the morning and then in Oshawa in the evening. It made for a full and tiring weekend, but it went really well. I received some great hospitality, ate some great food, and had some great conversations. It’s been really fun and fulfilling to re-connect with these churches. I love God’s family.
I’m in Ontario for the rest of the month, connecting with five different congregations and catching up with friends. I’d appreciate your continued prayers for safe travel, effective ministry, and more supporters.
by Whitey | Apr 30, 2010 | Ministry News
Hi everyone,
Thank you for your prayers over the past month of home ministries. After a really busy March, April was a bit more quiet, though I still had the opportunity to share my testimony and vision at 3 different churches in the area. When not on the road, I’ve been trying to spend more time studying Japanese and preparing for the months ahead.
This weekend I’m visiting the Wesleyan churches in Perth-Andover and Bristol, New Brunswick. Then, in May, I’ll be spending almost 3 weeks in Ontario, connecting with several churches in the province. I’d appreciate your continuing prayers for safe travel and effective ministry. Please also pray for my Japanese studies and financial support.
Financial support update: Currently my Faith Promise (financial commitment) total is at about 63%. As you can see, things are going OK, but I still have a way to go if I’m going to meet my goal of returning to Japan in August.
How you can help: If you were supporting me during my first term, please consider continuing your financial partnership. You may have already decided to do this. However, unless informed of your intentions, Global Partners will consider your commitment to have ended with the conclusion of my first term. If you could simply send me an email letting me know how much & how often you intend to give, that would help me move towards 100%.
NEW financial partners can sign up by using the form at the following link:
http://www.wesleyan.org/gp/makefaithpromise/WM04-0316/missionaries
GP will count your commitment towards my support in advance of your actual giving. So the sooner you can let me know, the better, as GP will let me return to Japan when my commitments are at 100%.
If you have any questions, please let me know. And whether you can pray or give or both, thank you for being a part of my team! I couldn’t do what I do without all of you!
– Robin
by Whitey | Apr 25, 2010 | Weekly Re-Cap
I’m writing today from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I’m staying for the weekend on my way to Kentville, where I’ll be going tomorrow for some ministry and support raising. I like Halifax. I think I could live here if I got “stuck” in Canada and couldn’t go back to Japan. It doesn’t hurt that I have friends here.
Last weekend’s missions weekend at KV Wesleyan was a good time. I got to re-connect with some old friends and also heard my boss, GP director HC Wilson, speak.
Other than that, it was a pretty average week, other than taking off a little early for the weekend to hang out here in Halifax. Looking forward to one last evening here and a full day of travel and ministry tomorrow.
Week, wrapped.
by Whitey | Apr 16, 2010 | Weekly Re-Cap
This past Sunday I had a great time at Saint John First Wesleyan. It was good to see so many familiar faces. I did a short presentation about my ministry in Japan, and had some good conversations with interested folks after the service. It was also great to get a sense of how well things are going there after almost a year with their new pastor. Given that it’s one of my former “home” churches, I like to see good stuff happening there, and I believe it is. Greg seems like a good fit, and it’s good to have him back on the district as well.
The rest of the week was spent working on the usual behind-the-scenes stuff: bookings, budgeting, trip planning and so on. I started my Japanese new study routine, and though I haven’t gotten a full two hours in every day, I did some days and I’m closer to making it a habit. And that’s a good thing.
Another good thing is that I’m also making progress on my webcomic, not only staying on schedule but also working ahead. This will be important when I’m on the road and too busy to work on it. One of these days I’m going to have to write up a blog post about how this comic and comics in general fit into my over all life and ministry vision. For now, let me just say that it’s good to get the ball rolling.
This weekend I’ll be taking part in a missions conference at King’s Valley Wesleyan Church in Quispamsis, NB. If you’re in the area, why not drop by to say hi?
And… that’s a wrap.
by Whitey | Apr 13, 2010 | Etc.
Living in Japan was the best way to learn Japanese. The pressure of language school, with its daily homework and at-least-weekly tests; the daily need and opportunity to use what I was learning in class — these things helped me stay motivated and focused on the task.
Since returning to Canada in December, I’ve been wanting to keep up with my Japanese studies but finding it hard to stay motivated. But some recent events and conversations have reminded me of the importance of continuing to work at my Japanese, even — or perhaps especially — while I’m away from Japan.
Now, I could go out and invest in some expensive new study materials. I even had a church offer to buy me a fairly expensive software-based course. But I decided I would be better off to actually use the stuff I already have, rather than wasting loads of money on yet another study aid that is probably intended for absolute beginners (which I am not) anyway.
I’ve come to realize that the thing I’ve been missing is a routine. It’s amazing how a lack of productivity in any area can often be solved by simply making specific tasks a regular routine.
I’m just getting started with my new study routine, but having a plan and making it public are also helpful keys to success. So here’s a rundown of my new routine for studying Japanese. Five days a week, at least 2 hours a day, I’m using what I’ve got and focusing on four main areas:
1. Vocabulary — using my iPod touch and Japanese Flip.
2. Kanji — using my Nintendo DS and this kanji-practice game (which I’d only recommend if you already have some basic reading/writing skills, as it’s actually intended for Japanese people and therefore has no English at all).
3. Reading — using Japanese manga (comics). Right now I’m reading a kids comic, Doraemon, but I have some others that are geared towards a teen / young adult audience. I’m working my way up to them.
Along with the reading and kanji studies, I make use of a great — and free — Japanese dictionary app for my iPod touch, called Kotoba.
4. Listening — Using podcasts like this one, and CDs like these.
5. Real-life — I’ve been keeping in touch with Japanese friends via email and Facebook, and that’s been super helpful. I’ve also got a couple of Japanese friends right here in my own hometown. I’m hoping to make better use of the local connections, and continue to keep in touch with those back in Japan.
Routines: Super important. Super helpful. Super hard to get into. But now that’s public, I guess I should get to it. Wish me luck.
by Whitey | Apr 10, 2010 | Weekly Re-Cap
I travel a lot. It can be pretty draining sometimes. This past weekend was Easter, though, and I had no churches booked and got to “visit” my own. It’s been nice to be off the road for a couple weeks. I’m feeling refreshed and ready to get back to it this weekend.
This week’s been pretty quiet. I’ve spent a lot of time at home doing office stuff. I’ve also done a lot of art-related work. It’s been pretty productive. I’m also trying to study more, and beginning to get myself into a routine with that. One of my big fears is that in all these months at home in Canada I’ll forget my Japanese. So I’m trying to be more intentional about fighting that.
This weekend I’ll be in Saint John, NB, visiting First Wesleyan Church, a church I attended for over a year during my days as a full-time print shop graphic designer. Those were good times, and it’ll be good to re-connect with one of my “home churches”.
That’s a wrap for this week.
by Whitey | Apr 6, 2010 | Ministry News
Sorry for the lack of regular blogging the past few days. If you haven’t seen it yet, though, you should scroll down to the previous post and check out the Waidaiko/Gospel fusion video, because it’s awesome. I may have some more Japan-related video content later this week, but in the meantime, I wanted to post my April prayer letter. I sent this via email last week, but hadn’t posted it here yet. So here it is:
Hi everyone,
Happy Easter!
March has been a pretty crazy month, but a good month over all. It’s been physically tiring but spiritually refreshing. Thank you for praying!
I’ve been traveling a lot. I had the opportunity to minister in 5 churches in 3 provinces. It’s been great re-connecting with friends and supporters, sharing my testimony and vision, and building my support team.
I also had a friend visit from Japan for about a week. Kenji is a member of my church in Nagoya, Japan, and one of my closest friends there. We had a great time doing ministry together, sight-seeing and just hanging out. For more details on his visit, check out this recent post on my blog:
http://www.robinwhiteonline.com/archives/1997
Please keep praying with me about the following…
1. Thank God for safe travel, and pray for His continued protection in the months to come. By the way, you can see where I’ll be in the next little while by viewing my schedule here:
http://www.wesleyan.org/gp/mschedule2/WM04-0316/2010-01
2. Pray that God will continue to build my support team.
3. The Immanuel Church (our Japanese denomination) recently held their Annual Conference. Among other things, this is when pastors receive their new assignments. Please pray for the pastors, families and churches going through transitions at this time. Pray for Pastor Uchiyama at my church in Nagoya, as he takes on the added responsibility of pastoring the Gifu Immanuel Church as well.
4. Pray for Japan: For more missionaries, for Japanese Christians to accept God’s call into ministry, and for God to draw the lost to Himself. Japan needs the hope that only Jesus Christ can bring them!
Your prayers during this home ministries season are much appreciated! I hope you have a great weekend as we celebrate the victory won by our risen Saviour!
– robin
by Whitey | Mar 27, 2010 | Weekly Re-Cap
I’m writing from the comfy chair at Starbucks this week. You’re surprised, aren’t you?
Since my last re-cap was so late, and this one’s on time, I don’t have much to talk about this week. I’ve spent the week getting caught up on paperwork, email, that sort of thing.
I’ve also taken some extra time to get used to some new digital art tools I recently purchased. I’ve finally landed on a method I’m happy with for creating Doodze, my current comics project and soon to be part of a larger project I’ve hinted at for a while now.
So that’s been my week. Nothing too exciting, but it’s been nice to be off the road for a few days. A couple days I didn’t even leave the house. Hence, Starbucks today.
And that’s a wrap.
by Whitey | Mar 23, 2010 | Weekly Re-Cap
The past week or so has been far from normal. As I said in my previous re-cap (well over a week ago now), I had a friend visiting me all the way from Japan. I had some ministry to do on the weekend, but during the week took some time off to spend with Kenji and show him around. It was a really nice change of pace.
Kenji’s come and gone now, and here’s what went down:
- Kenji arrived late Thursday night in Moncton, where we crashed at a friend’s place for the night.
- Friday morning we drove to Black’s Harbour and took the boat to Grand Manan, where we hung out with friends and got ready for Sunday. The church we were visiting was Central Wesleyan, one of my supporting churches.
- Sunday was ministry day, of course. But with Kenji here, we changed things up a bit. I ended up leading worship for the service, Kenji gave a short testimony (in English, for the first time) and I did the short version of my missions talk. I felt like God blessed our ministry, and I really enjoyed re-connecting with the church.
- Sunday afternoon there was some sight-seeing, and Sunday night we chilled out with our hosts. It was a really fun weekend. Grand Manan is a beautiful place with a culture all its own and a lot of friendly locals. I was glad Kenji got to experience the island.
- Monday we traveled to Saint John, met up with a friend for lunch, saw some of the city, and continued on to my home in New Maryland (a suburb of Fredericton, for those who don’t know).
- Tuesday we visited the Sabian cymbal factory, which was really cool. I’m a musician (of sorts) but Kenji actually plays drums, so I think he appreciated it on a deeper level than I did. The rest of that day and Wednesday we just hung around Fredericton, saw some local sights, and chilled out at home.
- Thursday we went to Sussex, where we had the opportunity to sing a song in chapel in Japanese and English, because it happened to be missions week at Bethany Bible College. We mingled with some students after, then did some hiking with my favorite professor and had dinner with his family.
- That night we headed back to Moncton, and Kenji flew out of Canada ridiculously early on Friday morning.
- Friday and Saturday were kind of “recovery” days for me after all the traveling and such. Yesterday I hit the road again, though, and went to Amherst, NS, to re-connect with Amherst Wesleyan Church. I had a great time there, too.
It was great having a friend visit from Japan — a first for me. I enjoyed getting to share my roots with Kenji; seeing him take photos and act surprised about what I consider normal (the same thing I’ve done so often in Japan); catching up on what’s going on in my Japanese church and with our mutual friends; talking about life, faith, church and culture; speaking Japanese, English and “Japanglish”… It was a good week.
And that’s a wrap.
by Whitey | Mar 12, 2010 | Weekly Re-Cap
Not too much to report this week. This past Sunday I had a great time re-connecting with a couple of churches not too far from here, in Sussex and Brown’s Flat. The church in Sussex did an interview with me, rather than the usual format, which was a nice change of pace. I had a good time visiting with a praying couple in Sussex, and with my parents in Brown’s Flat, where our cottage is.
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, except for a couple of meetings (one yesterday in Sussex and another later today in Moncton) requiring a little more driving.
Today a friend of mine is arriving from Japan for a week’s visit. That will make the next week busy and full but really fun. We’ll be on Grand Manan island this weekend for some ministry and sight-seeing. He may be in for some culture shock; Grand Manan is a lot different from Nagoya. It will be interesting to see Canada through his eyes.
The blog will probably be pretty quiet over the next week, but I should have some fun things to share not too long after that.
That’s a wrap for now.
