Dear internet friendlies~!
Please forgive me for not updating here in a while. Yes, I am living in Japan where we had the earthquake. I am fine and further south in Osaka region, which is not affected by the events. However, I can hear the local news and I am seeking to marshal more prayer worldwide about situations here that definitely need prayer~!!! I have a couple of different blogs and forgot to update this one when I updated another one. Here is the information I posted about recent events so far, with more updates to come soon:
Saturday, March 12, 2011
I PROCLAIM A 3 DAY FAST TO PRAY FOR JAPAN
Japan was hit yesterday with the worst earthquake in its recorded history (8.9 on the Richter scale), which has resulted in about 1,300 people either dead or missing and many uncountable numbers of people are camped out somewhere, unable to return home.
I ASK FOR A THREE DAY WORLDWIDE TIME OF FASTING AND PRAYER for the national destiny of the land of Japan for everyone who is 1) Christian 2) somebody who prays and 3) somebody who cares! If these three things apply to you, then please join me in a three day fast (that means no food and extra time spent in prayer).
It is no accident that God sent me to Japan and I am here when a historical natural disaster occurs. When I woke up this morning, I thought of the Book of Esther, chapter 4, when Esther's Uncle Mordecai tells her, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
I am here for a purpose... right now to ask for prayer. This is a critical time... a tipping point in this nation's unfolding history.
If you are not sure what you should pray about, please see my previous post from yesterday.
Just one addition: Japan needs to develop a solution as soon as possible to the problem of the HIKKI KOMORI(ひきこもり or 引き籠もり 'people who suffer from extreme social withdrawal')- at this time, about 10% of the population of kids who should be in school are skipping all classes to stay at home for various reasons- often unfortunately due to the relentless bullying they experience from other students.
Personally, I think that if schools in Japan could grow philosophically to be more like a 'warm family unit' instead of mainly a place where students are encouraged to compete with others in a life or death type struggle to be the best in academic studies, then other students would naturally want to take care of and help their classmates who may fall behind (or be different than others).
What is currently missing from Japanese schools?
A sense of God's love!!!
I myself am also praying for an extra helping of blessings to all who are able to help in this current push to help Japan.
P.S. Xanga- I know it seems you guys don't really care to promote blogs which mention Bible verses and prayer, however could you for once promote this page just this once for the benefit of the people in this country here?
P.P.S. I am planning to give a more general post about my big move to Japan tommorrow. Sorry, postponing that again.
**FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011**
PRAY PRAY PRAY~!!!
Hey y'all internet friendlies...
I have successfully moved from Michigan to Osaka, Japan and have worked for about a month here as a missionary teaching English in a Christian mission school. I plan to blog about this adventure in my life tommorrow.
FIRST THINGS FIRST THOUGH. Let's talk about others and not me. WE before ME.
Japan had a massive earthquake in northern regions today. So far about 40 people are dead, more missing.
Please pray for Japan! Pray for HEALING and COMFORT for those affected by this massive earthquake. Even people who are fine physically may be very concerned about loved ones in the affected regions and it is difficult to make phone calls now.
Pray that people who have suffered a loss will walk closer with the Lord as a result. There are many lonely people and very few people who know the Lord here. Japan has the highest rate of suicide among women in the world... second highest rate of suicide among men in the world as well. JESUS HAVE MERCY.
Please join me in praying for REVIVAL in Japan and RENAISSANCE at every school which was founded by Christians. We don't have many Christian teachers here so even in Christian schools very often the children do not experience God's love (makes my heart hurt)!!! Please pray that God will raise up more teachers among Christians here and also send more here from abroad! We need all of them we can get!!!
There are three important parts to the Revival in Japan which must happen: 1) each individual believer should be strengthened 2) church members need to get along better 3) the Japanese church needs a global vision. Through the Holy Spirit, I truly believe God is revealing that this a very crucial time for Japan's destiny as a nation: as the land endures an economic crisis and must also face a natural disaster, this is also a God-given opportunity for change. Will it be for the better or for the worse?
I pray that the precious people in Japan that God loves will rise to create a better Japan out of the ashes of this one. Japan- Remember KAIZEN. EXCELSIOR! FIGHTING!
Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
People around the world are praying for you my friends.
Even me, this little unimportant Ugly Duckling.
Deo volente~!!!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
~Covenant for Leaders~
To all those near and far who I hope to help bring ever closer,
I am leaving Feb. 7th for Japan! Lots of preparation to do before then, though. On my way to Ann Arbor for the next three days to visit two churches that allowed me to give my testimony before. Also shall do ministry along the way. Somehow God always provides opportunities to do that wherever I go.
In my journal, I have lots of writing I would like to share through this blog soon. So I will probably make a lot of posts over the next few days before I leave.
Last Sunday, the Lord led me to Grace for the Nations church. The people in ministry leadership there had a special consecration service. The entire church has started out the New Year with a month of fasting. Isn’t that beautiful? I hear that Harvest Mission Community Church in Ann Arbor did the same thing. Now that is a wonderful way to start out the New Year. I feel the Lord is speaking to me about doing something special…
I felt so blessed. The pastor’s every word seemed to be designed specifically for me, as he spoke on change. He said we should be able to make 5 declarations: This is the acceptable year of the Lord- the year of all years. I’m going to be the best me I can be. I’m going to be the go ALL the way- I’m not half-stepping, or stopping along the way. I will receive my prophetic promise. I will never be the same again!
I would like to share the ‘Oath of Covenant’ that was read by the ministry leaders there as they were anointed, blessed, and prayed to have an unwavering focus on the mission of the church for this upcoming year. I altered the words slightly. For Christian leaders everywhere, it covers very important basic points that we should seek to honor as we ever seek to be closer to the light of the Lord.
Oath of Covenant
I say yes to sharing a common faith in the Scriptures of the Holy Bible and strive to live a life reflective of a solid commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life.
I say yes to maintaining a healthy balance between ministry service, leadership duties, and personal & family life.
I say yes to exhibiting and practicing professionalism in all matters relating to the ministry and business affairs of the church and it’s initiatives, projects, programs, and interests.
I say yes to practicing confidentiality in relationship to all business, financial and personal data associated with the affairs of the ministry (with the exception of information that could be significant in preventing danger to any individual or the ministry).
I say yes to submitting to the leading influence of the Holy Spirit and seek wise counsel before making major decisions while functioning as part of the leadership team.
I say yes to serving under the spiritual authority established in this house and hear to the directives and spiritual assignments given throughout the prescribed time of my role.
I say yes to serving in this appointed role as a delegated leader to the best of my ability utilitzing my unique gifts and talents to further the mission and vision of the church with all humility, character, and honor.
These words I will keep by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus being my guide, so help me God.
I am leaving Feb. 7th for Japan! Lots of preparation to do before then, though. On my way to Ann Arbor for the next three days to visit two churches that allowed me to give my testimony before. Also shall do ministry along the way. Somehow God always provides opportunities to do that wherever I go.
In my journal, I have lots of writing I would like to share through this blog soon. So I will probably make a lot of posts over the next few days before I leave.
Last Sunday, the Lord led me to Grace for the Nations church. The people in ministry leadership there had a special consecration service. The entire church has started out the New Year with a month of fasting. Isn’t that beautiful? I hear that Harvest Mission Community Church in Ann Arbor did the same thing. Now that is a wonderful way to start out the New Year. I feel the Lord is speaking to me about doing something special…
I felt so blessed. The pastor’s every word seemed to be designed specifically for me, as he spoke on change. He said we should be able to make 5 declarations: This is the acceptable year of the Lord- the year of all years. I’m going to be the best me I can be. I’m going to be the go ALL the way- I’m not half-stepping, or stopping along the way. I will receive my prophetic promise. I will never be the same again!
I would like to share the ‘Oath of Covenant’ that was read by the ministry leaders there as they were anointed, blessed, and prayed to have an unwavering focus on the mission of the church for this upcoming year. I altered the words slightly. For Christian leaders everywhere, it covers very important basic points that we should seek to honor as we ever seek to be closer to the light of the Lord.
Oath of Covenant
I say yes to sharing a common faith in the Scriptures of the Holy Bible and strive to live a life reflective of a solid commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life.
I say yes to maintaining a healthy balance between ministry service, leadership duties, and personal & family life.
I say yes to exhibiting and practicing professionalism in all matters relating to the ministry and business affairs of the church and it’s initiatives, projects, programs, and interests.
I say yes to practicing confidentiality in relationship to all business, financial and personal data associated with the affairs of the ministry (with the exception of information that could be significant in preventing danger to any individual or the ministry).
I say yes to submitting to the leading influence of the Holy Spirit and seek wise counsel before making major decisions while functioning as part of the leadership team.
I say yes to serving under the spiritual authority established in this house and hear to the directives and spiritual assignments given throughout the prescribed time of my role.
I say yes to serving in this appointed role as a delegated leader to the best of my ability utilitzing my unique gifts and talents to further the mission and vision of the church with all humility, character, and honor.
These words I will keep by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus being my guide, so help me God.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Devotional Series 1 (of 3)
days after hailstorm
ice crystals sparkle in snow
heavenly bling bling
In Ghana before colonialization, I hear gold was so naturally plentiful that when it rained, people would just pick up gold that appeared from the mud. In the same way, riches from heaven are free and available to everyone. If we don’t have it, that is our own fault. It must be because we are not willing to give up on our pride, submit to God, and accept the marvelous riches of salvation.
How different this is from the riches of the world, which causes those who receive them to usually grow increasingly more selfish and paranoid out of the fear that someone will try to rob them of their riches (and power). And those who are the superstars of this world identify themselves so strongly with the money and power they hold in their tight grasp that they cannot imagine how they could survive if they were ever stripped naked of it.
Those of us who are believers (I mean those who choose to put their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins) have freely enjoyed the endless generosity of God. His hands are always open to His children. He is always waiting to hear our next chat. When we ask for that which is truly good, his answer is forever yes although we may have to wait to receive His gifts.
Our Heavenly Father loves us crazily, madly, deeply. We must be generous, in Jesus’ name! How can we help it? We should probably seek to give so much that an angel has to be sent from heaven to smack us to get us to stop… heh heh.
My Father- our Father- please help all of your children to be more generous. Speaking for myself, I know that I have fallen from the mark many times in this area. Forgive me, forgive us. Help us to think of Your sacrifice for us who did not did not deserve it.
Acts 20:35:
“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
ice crystals sparkle in snow
heavenly bling bling
In Ghana before colonialization, I hear gold was so naturally plentiful that when it rained, people would just pick up gold that appeared from the mud. In the same way, riches from heaven are free and available to everyone. If we don’t have it, that is our own fault. It must be because we are not willing to give up on our pride, submit to God, and accept the marvelous riches of salvation.
How different this is from the riches of the world, which causes those who receive them to usually grow increasingly more selfish and paranoid out of the fear that someone will try to rob them of their riches (and power). And those who are the superstars of this world identify themselves so strongly with the money and power they hold in their tight grasp that they cannot imagine how they could survive if they were ever stripped naked of it.
Those of us who are believers (I mean those who choose to put their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins) have freely enjoyed the endless generosity of God. His hands are always open to His children. He is always waiting to hear our next chat. When we ask for that which is truly good, his answer is forever yes although we may have to wait to receive His gifts.
Our Heavenly Father loves us crazily, madly, deeply. We must be generous, in Jesus’ name! How can we help it? We should probably seek to give so much that an angel has to be sent from heaven to smack us to get us to stop… heh heh.
My Father- our Father- please help all of your children to be more generous. Speaking for myself, I know that I have fallen from the mark many times in this area. Forgive me, forgive us. Help us to think of Your sacrifice for us who did not did not deserve it.
Acts 20:35:
“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Called Back; Rick the Rocker; Bob the Hero; Three Poems for Everybody~!!!
CALLED BACK
Hey internet friends,
I was recently offered a position at a certain Christian school in Japan. I prayed about it for a long time. I talked to a lot of people about this as well. I’m sure the position would be very challenging. During the past two years when I have been trying to raise the funds to go overseas to West Africa to do missionary work, I have been made more aware than ever of my own weak points and where I need to grow as a leader and Christ follower. Also, my grandmother, Margaret Eaton, is right now in hospice and I am really concerned for her health. I considered saying no.
However, I also thought about the children of Japan. During the three years that I spent teaching English in a certain rural city in Mie Prefecture that I love very dearly, I taught literally thousands of children, some adults, and experienced nearly every sort of teaching environment you can imagine. I remain very compassionate towards the problems that young people face there. Some of them are shared by their counterparts here in America, some are not.
Well, I would like to do what I can to help them. I decided that despite my fears I shall accept this completely unexpected opportunity the Lord has brought into my life. I will do my best to walk the path which leads through this open door before me to return to Japan to serve the young people of the school and the wider community there at large as well as I can and as long as I can with all of the skills and talents that have been given to me by the Lord.
I made this decision sometime after church on Sunday afternoon. On that day I did not tell anyone of my decision. To my surprise, on that very same day I received an email from a teacher in that teeny-tiny rural Japanese town that feels like a second hometown to me. He saw a very spectacular rainbow on that same day and he really wanted to share this photo with me over email. Truly, all of this was more than mere coincidence. I felt like the Lord was giving me a pat on the shoulder and saying, “At least you made the first step.”
I am not sure if the school will really actually accept me for the position or anything like that. However, at least this decision is one very important way to move forward. I feel like the Lord has called me back to Japan for a while. How long? I don’t know. I love Japan and even though it is really odd for an African-American girl like me to be saying this, I’m sure that in the future as well no matter what happens Japan will be a part of my destiny.
RICK THE ROCKER
At the thrift store where I work right now, I have a wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of many people- our customers and also the volunteers. It’s definitely ministry. It’s also true that yesterday was one of the most frustrating days that I have ever spent working there. EEK~!!!
I’m so thankful that the Lord in his wisdom recognized that I needed to have a day off. Today I am off work, and so I am able to reflect a little about the positive benefits of working there.
Many of the customers at the store are either recovering alcoholics, drug addicts, borderline homeless, or have some sort of cognitive disability. There are a few people who also regularly visit our store in search of deals, however. Brother Rick is one of our neighbors who has a disability. He has a big, booming voice, likes rock and roll, wears suspenders and has a belly like Santa Claus.
When I first came to the store, Brother Rick seemed to me to be lonely. He could easily come and speak to me for an hour or more, just chatting. Well, we are short of volunteers right now, so after a few visits from him I decided to put him to work. I recognized that he seemed to have some sort of disability and didn’t know how much he could really do, so I had him first just help me clean up a table by just picking up pins and placing them in a plastic bowl.
I watched him closely. He seemed to do a good job with that, so I then asked him to hang donated clothes on hangers so they could be priced. Then he graduated to arranging books. The children’s book section looked like a whirlwind had thrown everything off the shelf one day, so I asked him to put the children’s books on the shelf and he made that whole section of the store look as perfect as a magazine picture.
Not thinking anything of it all, I mentioned all of this to one of the longtime volunteers. She couldn’t believe it. “Rick has been coming to this store for years, and we have NEVER asked him to volunteer! He talks so much, it’s annoying. Usually we listen until we get fed up, and then we tell him he needs to go home after about an hour of that or so. Can’t get any work done when he’s here.”
“Really?” I said. “One of my brothers is special needs, and I guess I didn’t think anything of asking him to help. I know my brother can do volunteer work or a job, he just needs someone to be patient with him, somebody who knows how much he can do and who won’t ask for him to do more than he can. I just assumed everything would be the same with Rick. So far… everything that I’ve asked him to do, he’s done well. I’m really glad that he was willing to help. We’re short of help and we really needed it, anyways.”
To my surprise, Brother Rick’s caseworker came by one day to shake my hand. “Thank you so much for letting him do some volunteer work around here. It helps him to get out of the house. He needs the exercise. And it really gives him a sense of purpose and lets him feel that he is doing something that matters.”
“Well, whenever he stops by, we always appreciate it,” I said with a smile.
Recently I also gave Brother Rick some of my poems to give as kind of a present to his caseworker. “Aw, what do you want to do that for?” he said. “Well, sometimes it’s nice to give a present to somebody who is doing something nice for you. I’m sure sometimes her job isn’t easy.” He looked at me very intensely, and then nodded. I hope that he will try to understand her when she tries to give him advice and listen to her more.
Brother Rick has brought his sick mother to the store two times now, insisting that she had to meet me. He keeps stopping by on a day when I am not at the store though. I told him we’ll have to plan on a day when I can meet her because I want to meet her, too. He also made me promise that after I leave the store and start working somewhere else I will call him up sometimes because he will miss me.
Well, who could have predicted beforehand that just by asking for him to do volunteer work that I could make such an impact in his life? Certainly not I.
I think we all should do a little more to help one of our neighbors… whoever they are, wherever we may find them.
BOB THE HERO
Last Saturday was another crazy day around the thrift store. It started out actually with some poor soul being beaten up outside the store around 10 AM. The high school-aged group of young punks left the older gentleman laying in the middle of the road. He was passed out.
A car with a man and a woman stopped by the man in the middle of the road. The woman got out and looked at the older man laying in the street. Then they drove off.
Thankfully, Bob was walking by when this happened. I hear he considers himself kind of like a policeman and he always tries to watch what’s going on in the street to make sure everyone is OK. I’m so grateful that God made him this way. He could very well have saved this older gentleman’s life.
Bob ran into the street. When he noticed the older gentleman was passed out, he got a lady he met on the street to call an ambulance. While he was doing that, the group of young thugs began to return… probably to try and rob the poor older guy.
Bob shouted at them. He scared them enough that they ran off, and didn’t come back.
The ambulance came and took the older gentleman to the hospital.
I talked to Bob a little while after this happened, when I opened the store around an hour later.
You know what? I think Bob is a superhero. He just doesn’t have a cape and magic or mutant powers. You might not think he looks like a superhero on TV either, because he actually looks a lot more like an ordinary person like you and me.
It is true as the proverb from our ancient ancestors says…”Whoever saves the life of one person saves the world entire.” I wish I could reward Bob for his good deed but I really don’t think I have anything whatsoever that I can do for him myself. We need more people like Bob in this world. Let’s pray that God will reward Bob and also other people who are like him- He always does.
Thank you very much Bob.
WE THREE POEMS
At my writing group recently, I printed out a list of most of the poems I wrote in 2010. I guess a few of the more popular ones I’m going to try to get published by this bilingual haiku magazine in Japan. Ooh, I’m nervous y’all. Seems like almost all my efforts to get published before have ended in failure so far. What makes me think I could be a writer, anyways? Might this day really be different than any of the ones that came before? I don’t know. Maybe I was born this way- crazy!
I selected three poems of the ones that I’ve written this year to share with you. They are all on the theme ‘Helping Others.’ I have plenty of pretty nature imagery poems that I could share and like but I hope these poems in particular can help you when you face some tough things in your life.
to be an artist
make your life a masterpiece
touch one soul each day
This is the third poem of three that I wrote partly about ArtPrize, the world’s most lucrative art contest which held here in Michigan. I also wrote it for a friend too, though. I have a friend, Mr. S who was attending art school, but had to drop out for financial reasons. He was considering giving up his dream of becoming an artist entirely, actually. Perhaps still is. I really felt bad for him and wanted to do something to encourage him. So kind of as a pre-birthday present I wrote this poem for him.
Actually, he didn’t like it. He said it wasn’t a poem at all,” just a weird mix of preaching and lecturing.” All right, maybe that is entirely true. And on top of that, maybe it’s not very good at all either. But for some reason I like it. During ArtPrize there is so much emphasis on voting and money prizes for art that I wish there was more of an emphasis on how art can impact someone’s life and also the wider community. So this is my little contribution to that issue, I suppose. My voice is small, totally not cute, and easily ignored, but I hope somebody somewhere somewhen will listen to it.
broken heart syndrome
reconstructive surgery
begins with prayer
I wrote this one the day after I explained to a lot of people that I know in the English Department of Calvin College that oh, I totally failed to raise the financial support necessary to go to West Africa to do mission work there. Yes, the past two years of my life has really been toughness beyond words. Still, great is the faithfulness of God my father… our father. I emerge from these two years of much pain with more passion and understanding of the need of prayer.
With God’s help, I prayed for like 600 people by name this morning. That’s nothing, easy peasy. You can do it too. If you pray for countries as well you can easily pray for over a million people too. Why not take an hour away from whatever else you had planned to do this weekend to get down on your knees to pray for somebody else?
poem in pocket
go somewhere new & get lost
go before snow falls
Sister Mary, one of the volunteers at the store, came to work with me one day wearing a shirt that inspired the second verse. She calls herself an ‘earth mother, poetry sister.’ Heh heh. Funny, there are many people I know that could fit that description…
I guess I should apologize for sharing this poem so late in the year, when it’s already snowing and you can’t really take the advice of the poem here, can you? Sorry! What happened is that this poem sat for a long time in my journal without any final verse. However, in the thrift store I recently noticed the title of a book by Charles Swindoll called “Come before Winter,” and I then got inspired. However, only this morning could I finally revise the poem enough where I felt satisfied with the result. Whew~ these poems are short but they do take a lot of work.
Right now we are in the season of Advent. This busy season before Christmas can truly be distracting us from the real reason for the season if we are focused on buying gifts and decorating our home and Christmas tree. Let’s all take a moment and JUST STOP~! It’s time to breathe and relax and close our eyes and remember that we are celebrating Jesus and all this other stuff is secondary. While you have your eyes closed, it would be the perfect time and you are in the right spirit to say a prayer- for yourself and how about for someone else as well?
Did you notice a theme here? Hee hee.
In sum, let’s all pray more. Merry Christmas~! My next two posts will be two heartwarming true stories, methinks…
Hey internet friends,
I was recently offered a position at a certain Christian school in Japan. I prayed about it for a long time. I talked to a lot of people about this as well. I’m sure the position would be very challenging. During the past two years when I have been trying to raise the funds to go overseas to West Africa to do missionary work, I have been made more aware than ever of my own weak points and where I need to grow as a leader and Christ follower. Also, my grandmother, Margaret Eaton, is right now in hospice and I am really concerned for her health. I considered saying no.
However, I also thought about the children of Japan. During the three years that I spent teaching English in a certain rural city in Mie Prefecture that I love very dearly, I taught literally thousands of children, some adults, and experienced nearly every sort of teaching environment you can imagine. I remain very compassionate towards the problems that young people face there. Some of them are shared by their counterparts here in America, some are not.
Well, I would like to do what I can to help them. I decided that despite my fears I shall accept this completely unexpected opportunity the Lord has brought into my life. I will do my best to walk the path which leads through this open door before me to return to Japan to serve the young people of the school and the wider community there at large as well as I can and as long as I can with all of the skills and talents that have been given to me by the Lord.
I made this decision sometime after church on Sunday afternoon. On that day I did not tell anyone of my decision. To my surprise, on that very same day I received an email from a teacher in that teeny-tiny rural Japanese town that feels like a second hometown to me. He saw a very spectacular rainbow on that same day and he really wanted to share this photo with me over email. Truly, all of this was more than mere coincidence. I felt like the Lord was giving me a pat on the shoulder and saying, “At least you made the first step.”
I am not sure if the school will really actually accept me for the position or anything like that. However, at least this decision is one very important way to move forward. I feel like the Lord has called me back to Japan for a while. How long? I don’t know. I love Japan and even though it is really odd for an African-American girl like me to be saying this, I’m sure that in the future as well no matter what happens Japan will be a part of my destiny.
RICK THE ROCKER
At the thrift store where I work right now, I have a wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of many people- our customers and also the volunteers. It’s definitely ministry. It’s also true that yesterday was one of the most frustrating days that I have ever spent working there. EEK~!!!
I’m so thankful that the Lord in his wisdom recognized that I needed to have a day off. Today I am off work, and so I am able to reflect a little about the positive benefits of working there.
Many of the customers at the store are either recovering alcoholics, drug addicts, borderline homeless, or have some sort of cognitive disability. There are a few people who also regularly visit our store in search of deals, however. Brother Rick is one of our neighbors who has a disability. He has a big, booming voice, likes rock and roll, wears suspenders and has a belly like Santa Claus.
When I first came to the store, Brother Rick seemed to me to be lonely. He could easily come and speak to me for an hour or more, just chatting. Well, we are short of volunteers right now, so after a few visits from him I decided to put him to work. I recognized that he seemed to have some sort of disability and didn’t know how much he could really do, so I had him first just help me clean up a table by just picking up pins and placing them in a plastic bowl.
I watched him closely. He seemed to do a good job with that, so I then asked him to hang donated clothes on hangers so they could be priced. Then he graduated to arranging books. The children’s book section looked like a whirlwind had thrown everything off the shelf one day, so I asked him to put the children’s books on the shelf and he made that whole section of the store look as perfect as a magazine picture.
Not thinking anything of it all, I mentioned all of this to one of the longtime volunteers. She couldn’t believe it. “Rick has been coming to this store for years, and we have NEVER asked him to volunteer! He talks so much, it’s annoying. Usually we listen until we get fed up, and then we tell him he needs to go home after about an hour of that or so. Can’t get any work done when he’s here.”
“Really?” I said. “One of my brothers is special needs, and I guess I didn’t think anything of asking him to help. I know my brother can do volunteer work or a job, he just needs someone to be patient with him, somebody who knows how much he can do and who won’t ask for him to do more than he can. I just assumed everything would be the same with Rick. So far… everything that I’ve asked him to do, he’s done well. I’m really glad that he was willing to help. We’re short of help and we really needed it, anyways.”
To my surprise, Brother Rick’s caseworker came by one day to shake my hand. “Thank you so much for letting him do some volunteer work around here. It helps him to get out of the house. He needs the exercise. And it really gives him a sense of purpose and lets him feel that he is doing something that matters.”
“Well, whenever he stops by, we always appreciate it,” I said with a smile.
Recently I also gave Brother Rick some of my poems to give as kind of a present to his caseworker. “Aw, what do you want to do that for?” he said. “Well, sometimes it’s nice to give a present to somebody who is doing something nice for you. I’m sure sometimes her job isn’t easy.” He looked at me very intensely, and then nodded. I hope that he will try to understand her when she tries to give him advice and listen to her more.
Brother Rick has brought his sick mother to the store two times now, insisting that she had to meet me. He keeps stopping by on a day when I am not at the store though. I told him we’ll have to plan on a day when I can meet her because I want to meet her, too. He also made me promise that after I leave the store and start working somewhere else I will call him up sometimes because he will miss me.
Well, who could have predicted beforehand that just by asking for him to do volunteer work that I could make such an impact in his life? Certainly not I.
I think we all should do a little more to help one of our neighbors… whoever they are, wherever we may find them.
BOB THE HERO
Last Saturday was another crazy day around the thrift store. It started out actually with some poor soul being beaten up outside the store around 10 AM. The high school-aged group of young punks left the older gentleman laying in the middle of the road. He was passed out.
A car with a man and a woman stopped by the man in the middle of the road. The woman got out and looked at the older man laying in the street. Then they drove off.
Thankfully, Bob was walking by when this happened. I hear he considers himself kind of like a policeman and he always tries to watch what’s going on in the street to make sure everyone is OK. I’m so grateful that God made him this way. He could very well have saved this older gentleman’s life.
Bob ran into the street. When he noticed the older gentleman was passed out, he got a lady he met on the street to call an ambulance. While he was doing that, the group of young thugs began to return… probably to try and rob the poor older guy.
Bob shouted at them. He scared them enough that they ran off, and didn’t come back.
The ambulance came and took the older gentleman to the hospital.
I talked to Bob a little while after this happened, when I opened the store around an hour later.
You know what? I think Bob is a superhero. He just doesn’t have a cape and magic or mutant powers. You might not think he looks like a superhero on TV either, because he actually looks a lot more like an ordinary person like you and me.
It is true as the proverb from our ancient ancestors says…”Whoever saves the life of one person saves the world entire.” I wish I could reward Bob for his good deed but I really don’t think I have anything whatsoever that I can do for him myself. We need more people like Bob in this world. Let’s pray that God will reward Bob and also other people who are like him- He always does.
Thank you very much Bob.
WE THREE POEMS
At my writing group recently, I printed out a list of most of the poems I wrote in 2010. I guess a few of the more popular ones I’m going to try to get published by this bilingual haiku magazine in Japan. Ooh, I’m nervous y’all. Seems like almost all my efforts to get published before have ended in failure so far. What makes me think I could be a writer, anyways? Might this day really be different than any of the ones that came before? I don’t know. Maybe I was born this way- crazy!
I selected three poems of the ones that I’ve written this year to share with you. They are all on the theme ‘Helping Others.’ I have plenty of pretty nature imagery poems that I could share and like but I hope these poems in particular can help you when you face some tough things in your life.
to be an artist
make your life a masterpiece
touch one soul each day
This is the third poem of three that I wrote partly about ArtPrize, the world’s most lucrative art contest which held here in Michigan. I also wrote it for a friend too, though. I have a friend, Mr. S who was attending art school, but had to drop out for financial reasons. He was considering giving up his dream of becoming an artist entirely, actually. Perhaps still is. I really felt bad for him and wanted to do something to encourage him. So kind of as a pre-birthday present I wrote this poem for him.
Actually, he didn’t like it. He said it wasn’t a poem at all,” just a weird mix of preaching and lecturing.” All right, maybe that is entirely true. And on top of that, maybe it’s not very good at all either. But for some reason I like it. During ArtPrize there is so much emphasis on voting and money prizes for art that I wish there was more of an emphasis on how art can impact someone’s life and also the wider community. So this is my little contribution to that issue, I suppose. My voice is small, totally not cute, and easily ignored, but I hope somebody somewhere somewhen will listen to it.
broken heart syndrome
reconstructive surgery
begins with prayer
I wrote this one the day after I explained to a lot of people that I know in the English Department of Calvin College that oh, I totally failed to raise the financial support necessary to go to West Africa to do mission work there. Yes, the past two years of my life has really been toughness beyond words. Still, great is the faithfulness of God my father… our father. I emerge from these two years of much pain with more passion and understanding of the need of prayer.
With God’s help, I prayed for like 600 people by name this morning. That’s nothing, easy peasy. You can do it too. If you pray for countries as well you can easily pray for over a million people too. Why not take an hour away from whatever else you had planned to do this weekend to get down on your knees to pray for somebody else?
poem in pocket
go somewhere new & get lost
go before snow falls
Sister Mary, one of the volunteers at the store, came to work with me one day wearing a shirt that inspired the second verse. She calls herself an ‘earth mother, poetry sister.’ Heh heh. Funny, there are many people I know that could fit that description…
I guess I should apologize for sharing this poem so late in the year, when it’s already snowing and you can’t really take the advice of the poem here, can you? Sorry! What happened is that this poem sat for a long time in my journal without any final verse. However, in the thrift store I recently noticed the title of a book by Charles Swindoll called “Come before Winter,” and I then got inspired. However, only this morning could I finally revise the poem enough where I felt satisfied with the result. Whew~ these poems are short but they do take a lot of work.
Right now we are in the season of Advent. This busy season before Christmas can truly be distracting us from the real reason for the season if we are focused on buying gifts and decorating our home and Christmas tree. Let’s all take a moment and JUST STOP~! It’s time to breathe and relax and close our eyes and remember that we are celebrating Jesus and all this other stuff is secondary. While you have your eyes closed, it would be the perfect time and you are in the right spirit to say a prayer- for yourself and how about for someone else as well?
Did you notice a theme here? Hee hee.
In sum, let’s all pray more. Merry Christmas~! My next two posts will be two heartwarming true stories, methinks…
Saturday, November 20, 2010
**~Depressed? Little Ducklings' Top Ten Cheerful Songs~** VERY SHINee~! Mostly Godly.
**~Depressed? Little Ducklings' Top Ten Cheerful Songs~** VERY SHINee~! Mostly Godly.
My plans for the past two years to do ministry work in West Africa have not worked out. . . God shut the door, just like He did when Noah entered the ark. There is instead now an open door to go to Japan to teach English in a Christian school. So I'm praying about that. It's a wonderful opportunity. Still... I feel like an idiot for pursuing something for two years that seems to have blown up in my face and been a complete failure.
Sounds like the perfect time to turn to some cheerful songs, ey?
Recently (almost against my will) I have been writing a lot of poetry. It's really amazing when you realize there was only three books of poetry that I really read over and over in elementary school- 1) Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear (one summer I think I re-read it every two weeks) 2) Final Harvest by Emily Dickinson (no, I didn't understand any of the poems, but I liked the music of her language, also her plainness/simplicity, and quiet,still, almost Holy-Spirit-like voice... guess I was destined to attend Amherst College) 3) Black Poets edited by Dudley Randall (local poet David Cope gave me this book when I was in sixth grade and I treasured it because it seemed like for the first time I realized that African-American folk write poetry too sigh). Somewhere in there, I read “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein and kind of liked it too, on the basis of recommendation from Mr. Joshua Wells, one of my favorite teachers who also influenced me later in life to become a vegetarian.
I think what really forced me to become interested in poems was all the millions of songs I was exposed to growing up, really. My mom is a singer, and my dad is a hobbyist musician. A lot of all their natural talents passed me by... I can't sing much, and can't play an instrument either. However, I've always been fascinated by song lyrics. There are pages and pages I wrote out in elementary school, copying down song lyrics that I enjoyed and tried to memorize... while I was in Japan, one of my hobbies was also to translate some songs I enjoyed into English, not very easy I know, but it helped me to improve my Japanese skills...
Anyways, here are some of the songs that have helped to cheer me up, hope they can help someone else, too~!!!
1) Josh Groban- “You Are Loved [Don't Give Up].” In regards to lyrics, sometimes simplest is best. Wait a minute, don't I write haiku? Yes, the briefest, most condensed message can have an intensity longer works don't have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGLSk3AVcUU
2) Chosen- “No More Pain.” Intense South African Harmonies, man. What could be calmer? And why my goodness isn't this group more widely known?!?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyFjNORODLM
3) BeBe & CeCe Winans- “Heaven.” Ah, the dearly beloved classic. I just found out today there was actually a music video for this song, too~! Happiness~!!! I wish more contemporary gospel artists would develop more calm songs instead of focusing on party hype-type praise songs with a booming baseline...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2x_sPRnRVE
4) The Winans “Count it All Joy.” Nearly forgot about this among the so many other stellar songs of the Winans, but I'm so thankful for my mother because she played this song today and reminded me of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6f47WfJtCA
5) Matt & Sherry McPherson- “Carry Me.” I plan on buying their whole CD after hearing this one song, no kidding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXjT8Jz3Fqk
6) Selah- “Unredeemed.” Now this is a poetic prayer song. Very deep. Yeah~!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhOSspNj84w
7) Wayne Watson- “Friend of a Wounded Heart.” The classic. Lyrics have a lot more deep meaning than many songs nowadays. I love the version Damaris Carbaugh sings but couldn't find it online, sorry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgq-GPRKVkg
8) Byron Cage- "I will Bless the Lord." Sneaky song. Even if you don't feel like it, he will make you sing along with him by the end of the song. And you'll be praising the Lord fer reals. Yea~!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR1UzUhPknc
9) Damita- “No Looking Back.” It is just crazy amazing how well she and her husband can sing, yo...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IhNqocWrxk&feature=related
10) Hillsong- “Mighty to Save.” At a certain time in my life this very much spoke to me. It will always be on this list for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ
11) DeWayne Woods- "Let Go."This is one of those songs I heard just the last five seconds of, and then I had to search and search and listen to the radio like mad until I could finally find out WHO was that and what was the song title. Heh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76o4xhxIKfs&NR=1&feature=fvwp
12) Deitrick Haddon- “He's Able.” I like the way he sings so confidently and matter-of-fact. That's faith.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GVZeRIaAhI
13) Seabird- “Don't You Know You're Beautiful.” I was visiting a Detroit church and staying at the pastor's house. This song came on the Christian station. It really spoke to me at the time, when I was having a string of disappointments...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsaMplgr3c4
14) Nicol Sponberg- “Resurrection.” Together with one of the little girls that I mentor in the neighborhood, I saw a dance to this song which was so touching and inspiring, which was performed in my hometown for our Festival of the Arts downtown by special needs kids. Never forget that, a memory precious in my life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t8Sk6cZ-PA
15) Erykah Badu- “Didn't Cha Know.” Not Christian... but a mesmerizing beat with a meaningful message. Everybody's felt that way sometimes... like we were born to make mistakes. But God will guide us to the right path if we trust Him...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np21rH7Ldto
16) Coldplay- “Fix You.” For the awards ceremony of ArtPrize 2010, there was a dance company out of Texas that created an lavish production to this song with costumes. It was about the frustrations and joys of one day in the life of an artist. The gentleman was at an easel, trying to pain, while there was a forest of plants behind him, inspiring him and encouraging him although he at times felt unable to express what he really wanted to. I had never heard this song before. It brought tears to my eyes for some reason, even though I felt like I didn't really understand what the song was about at first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ
Guess I can't count. Somehow I ended up with six extra songs there. Oh yeah, and this list would not be from Little Duckling without some Japanese songs thrown in:
Kyu Sakamoto- 'Sukiyaki Song' Ue wo muite Arukou This translation is maybe not so good, but at least you can kind of understand the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U2nBre-JEU&feature=related
The BOOM- “Shima Uta” There is a lot of pain and the ups and downs of life inside this song. The first time I heard it, I didn't understand a word but was nearly instantly driven to tears.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ggJquImms
Kariyushi 58-“The End, the Beginning” “Owari, Hajimari”
Thanks to my friend Yui, just found out about this Okinawa group. Like her, I really like groups from Okinawa for some reason. Sorry no English translation I could find yet...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOh6Sy7dXTo
Next post... planning to share three recent poems. Now let's see, which ones are good...
My plans for the past two years to do ministry work in West Africa have not worked out. . . God shut the door, just like He did when Noah entered the ark. There is instead now an open door to go to Japan to teach English in a Christian school. So I'm praying about that. It's a wonderful opportunity. Still... I feel like an idiot for pursuing something for two years that seems to have blown up in my face and been a complete failure.
Sounds like the perfect time to turn to some cheerful songs, ey?
Recently (almost against my will) I have been writing a lot of poetry. It's really amazing when you realize there was only three books of poetry that I really read over and over in elementary school- 1) Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear (one summer I think I re-read it every two weeks) 2) Final Harvest by Emily Dickinson (no, I didn't understand any of the poems, but I liked the music of her language, also her plainness/simplicity, and quiet,still, almost Holy-Spirit-like voice... guess I was destined to attend Amherst College) 3) Black Poets edited by Dudley Randall (local poet David Cope gave me this book when I was in sixth grade and I treasured it because it seemed like for the first time I realized that African-American folk write poetry too sigh). Somewhere in there, I read “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein and kind of liked it too, on the basis of recommendation from Mr. Joshua Wells, one of my favorite teachers who also influenced me later in life to become a vegetarian.
I think what really forced me to become interested in poems was all the millions of songs I was exposed to growing up, really. My mom is a singer, and my dad is a hobbyist musician. A lot of all their natural talents passed me by... I can't sing much, and can't play an instrument either. However, I've always been fascinated by song lyrics. There are pages and pages I wrote out in elementary school, copying down song lyrics that I enjoyed and tried to memorize... while I was in Japan, one of my hobbies was also to translate some songs I enjoyed into English, not very easy I know, but it helped me to improve my Japanese skills...
Anyways, here are some of the songs that have helped to cheer me up, hope they can help someone else, too~!!!
1) Josh Groban- “You Are Loved [Don't Give Up].” In regards to lyrics, sometimes simplest is best. Wait a minute, don't I write haiku? Yes, the briefest, most condensed message can have an intensity longer works don't have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGLSk3AVcUU
2) Chosen- “No More Pain.” Intense South African Harmonies, man. What could be calmer? And why my goodness isn't this group more widely known?!?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyFjNORODLM
3) BeBe & CeCe Winans- “Heaven.” Ah, the dearly beloved classic. I just found out today there was actually a music video for this song, too~! Happiness~!!! I wish more contemporary gospel artists would develop more calm songs instead of focusing on party hype-type praise songs with a booming baseline...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2x_sPRnRVE
4) The Winans “Count it All Joy.” Nearly forgot about this among the so many other stellar songs of the Winans, but I'm so thankful for my mother because she played this song today and reminded me of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6f47WfJtCA
5) Matt & Sherry McPherson- “Carry Me.” I plan on buying their whole CD after hearing this one song, no kidding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXjT8Jz3Fqk
6) Selah- “Unredeemed.” Now this is a poetic prayer song. Very deep. Yeah~!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhOSspNj84w
7) Wayne Watson- “Friend of a Wounded Heart.” The classic. Lyrics have a lot more deep meaning than many songs nowadays. I love the version Damaris Carbaugh sings but couldn't find it online, sorry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgq-GPRKVkg
8) Byron Cage- "I will Bless the Lord." Sneaky song. Even if you don't feel like it, he will make you sing along with him by the end of the song. And you'll be praising the Lord fer reals. Yea~!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR1UzUhPknc
9) Damita- “No Looking Back.” It is just crazy amazing how well she and her husband can sing, yo...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IhNqocWrxk&feature=related
10) Hillsong- “Mighty to Save.” At a certain time in my life this very much spoke to me. It will always be on this list for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ
11) DeWayne Woods- "Let Go."This is one of those songs I heard just the last five seconds of, and then I had to search and search and listen to the radio like mad until I could finally find out WHO was that and what was the song title. Heh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76o4xhxIKfs&NR=1&feature=fvwp
12) Deitrick Haddon- “He's Able.” I like the way he sings so confidently and matter-of-fact. That's faith.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GVZeRIaAhI
13) Seabird- “Don't You Know You're Beautiful.” I was visiting a Detroit church and staying at the pastor's house. This song came on the Christian station. It really spoke to me at the time, when I was having a string of disappointments...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsaMplgr3c4
14) Nicol Sponberg- “Resurrection.” Together with one of the little girls that I mentor in the neighborhood, I saw a dance to this song which was so touching and inspiring, which was performed in my hometown for our Festival of the Arts downtown by special needs kids. Never forget that, a memory precious in my life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t8Sk6cZ-PA
15) Erykah Badu- “Didn't Cha Know.” Not Christian... but a mesmerizing beat with a meaningful message. Everybody's felt that way sometimes... like we were born to make mistakes. But God will guide us to the right path if we trust Him...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np21rH7Ldto
16) Coldplay- “Fix You.” For the awards ceremony of ArtPrize 2010, there was a dance company out of Texas that created an lavish production to this song with costumes. It was about the frustrations and joys of one day in the life of an artist. The gentleman was at an easel, trying to pain, while there was a forest of plants behind him, inspiring him and encouraging him although he at times felt unable to express what he really wanted to. I had never heard this song before. It brought tears to my eyes for some reason, even though I felt like I didn't really understand what the song was about at first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUJ-B6oVDQ
Guess I can't count. Somehow I ended up with six extra songs there. Oh yeah, and this list would not be from Little Duckling without some Japanese songs thrown in:
Kyu Sakamoto- 'Sukiyaki Song' Ue wo muite Arukou This translation is maybe not so good, but at least you can kind of understand the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U2nBre-JEU&feature=related
The BOOM- “Shima Uta” There is a lot of pain and the ups and downs of life inside this song. The first time I heard it, I didn't understand a word but was nearly instantly driven to tears.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ggJquImms
Kariyushi 58-“The End, the Beginning” “Owari, Hajimari”
Thanks to my friend Yui, just found out about this Okinawa group. Like her, I really like groups from Okinawa for some reason. Sorry no English translation I could find yet...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOh6Sy7dXTo
Next post... planning to share three recent poems. Now let's see, which ones are good...
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Update on the Missionary in a Thrift Store
At my volunteer work in a thrift store on the other end of town (whose proceeds go to fund care of orphans in Uganda as well as for a farm and clinic there), I have a lot of ministry opportunities and things that happen which make me consider my own walk with the Lord.
Last week Thursday, we had a lady come in who was in the store for nearly an hour but who was nearly ready to leave without finding anything. “Can I help you, ma'am?” I asked.
Her shoulders drooped as she spoke with me. “I really like hippos, you know. I collect them. I go to different thrift stores all the time to see if they have a T-shirt or any little figurines or anything with hippos on them. Guess I didn't find anything today.”
I was really shocked to hear that. Secretly, I thought there was no way that we might ever something with hippos in the store for a long while... we sell what people donate to us, and for the nearly month and a half or so that I had been in the store, I could not recall anything like that. “Um, as far as I know, we don't have anything in the store like that. But you could leave your name and number, and we'll call you when we do. Sorry, I just have no way of knowing when we will... it's not that common that people will donate something like that.”
Well, that's okay, I won't leave my name and number,” said the lady. “I live nearby here and come by here fairly often. I'll visit again looking for the same thing.”
I shook my head after she left, thinking that there was no way that we would have what she wanted.
The very next day however, someone donated a hippo! It was really unbelievable. It was this gigantic hippo someone bought in Kenya for decoration that is kind of painted weird colors like orange, yellow and red. It hangs on the wall with kitchen wooden spoons and a spatula hanging beneath. Each of the utensils also has a hippo at the top. Pretty cool- straight from Africa and exactly what this lady wanted!
This reminds me so much of how the Bible says that we should Ask, Seek, and Knock. We should not feel afraid to ask the Lord anything. If the Lord can the very next day give this hippo lady what she is searching for... such a minor, little thing that I don't think that she may have even bothered to pray for... then he will so much more hear and answer our own requests. Sometimes, we think the Lord may not be answering our requests, but his answer may in fact be “WAIT.”
Well, after two years of seeking to raise the financial support and having missed two deadlines set for me now by my missionary organization to raise 100% of the financial funds, it seems certain the Lord has something else in store for my future other than going to West Africa with this organization. We will find out more details about this situation in November.
Really, as Christians we are all called to be missionaries wherever we are now. Wherever you are now, God has put you there for a purpose. And wherever you are, you are to tell others about Jesus, to teach and make disciples of all as we are told in Matthew 28, where Jesus gives the Great Commission.
I know that the Lord is using me in surprising ways right here in the United States. On Tuesday of this week, I went over a friend's home for Fujinkai (Japanese Women's Bible Study). There I spoke to my friend's daughter Yoko, who has an incurable disease and spends much of her days on the couch or in the bed. I told Yoko she reminds me of the poet Emily Dickinson! She is quite smart and whenever I see her she is always so unbelievably cheerful (okay, maybe the poet Emily was not so cheerful heh heh). I enjoy speaking to her so much! Perhaps also I can bring her some sunshine (encouragement). When I saw her on in September during our Fujinkai (Japanese Women's Bible Study meeting), I told her that she should think about doing something with her free time and perhaps consider writing stories- perhaps for kids. It is something simple that she can easily do whenever she feels well and it will be a wonderful way to bring joy to the lives of others.
Yoko took a class in creative writing before, but she had not really considered that she could try to write stories outside of class. As soon as she heard what I had to say, she seemed really excited and sat up like someone had struck her by lightning. She asked many questions with great vigor, sitting up straight and speaking in a strong voice with her most radiant sunshiny smile. For a few moments she completely forgot her own illness and pain and looked like any other healthy person you might see on the street! Some of her questions were,“How do you write? Where do you get your ideas? Do you really think I could tell a story other people would be interested in?”
It was moving to be able to sit down and speak with her about writing and stories and boo, the word arts that have meant so much to me in my own life, comforting me much despite some very damaging abuse and difficult times that I experienced early in my life. When I left her home, I couldn't help wondering... if I was not in her life, who else would have shared this with her? I'm not sure. Who knows? Perhaps it was for such a time as this- precisely to encourage Yoko- that God has made me a part of that Fujinkai group from the beginning. Although Yoko is limited with her physical capabilities, she is such a precious person to me and I hope that we can find some ways (such as through her writing stories) that many other people in this world can appreciate her beautiful spirit.
There are other people too who God has placed into my life right now in Grand Rapids, using me to bless them in some surprising ways. I would like to speak about them too here in this blog, but since this post is long enough already I will save that for another time. For now, He is keeping me here to do more good work right here in my hometown. One person can make a world of difference.
DELAYED BUT NOT DENIED.
On a side note, this is a very challenging time in my life as my paternal grandmother Margaret is in and out of the hospital. We don't know how long she has to live, actually. Especially this is taking a big toll on my father, who is not a strong Christian and who does not really pray and leave things in the hands of the Lord. If you can pray for her health and his depression that would be good.
I'd like to close with this Scripture reading from the King James version of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”
NIV version: “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Same passage (plus a little more afterwards) from the Message version of the Bible: “We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us in trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in our lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!”
Last week Thursday, we had a lady come in who was in the store for nearly an hour but who was nearly ready to leave without finding anything. “Can I help you, ma'am?” I asked.
Her shoulders drooped as she spoke with me. “I really like hippos, you know. I collect them. I go to different thrift stores all the time to see if they have a T-shirt or any little figurines or anything with hippos on them. Guess I didn't find anything today.”
I was really shocked to hear that. Secretly, I thought there was no way that we might ever something with hippos in the store for a long while... we sell what people donate to us, and for the nearly month and a half or so that I had been in the store, I could not recall anything like that. “Um, as far as I know, we don't have anything in the store like that. But you could leave your name and number, and we'll call you when we do. Sorry, I just have no way of knowing when we will... it's not that common that people will donate something like that.”
Well, that's okay, I won't leave my name and number,” said the lady. “I live nearby here and come by here fairly often. I'll visit again looking for the same thing.”
I shook my head after she left, thinking that there was no way that we would have what she wanted.
The very next day however, someone donated a hippo! It was really unbelievable. It was this gigantic hippo someone bought in Kenya for decoration that is kind of painted weird colors like orange, yellow and red. It hangs on the wall with kitchen wooden spoons and a spatula hanging beneath. Each of the utensils also has a hippo at the top. Pretty cool- straight from Africa and exactly what this lady wanted!
This reminds me so much of how the Bible says that we should Ask, Seek, and Knock. We should not feel afraid to ask the Lord anything. If the Lord can the very next day give this hippo lady what she is searching for... such a minor, little thing that I don't think that she may have even bothered to pray for... then he will so much more hear and answer our own requests. Sometimes, we think the Lord may not be answering our requests, but his answer may in fact be “WAIT.”
Well, after two years of seeking to raise the financial support and having missed two deadlines set for me now by my missionary organization to raise 100% of the financial funds, it seems certain the Lord has something else in store for my future other than going to West Africa with this organization. We will find out more details about this situation in November.
Really, as Christians we are all called to be missionaries wherever we are now. Wherever you are now, God has put you there for a purpose. And wherever you are, you are to tell others about Jesus, to teach and make disciples of all as we are told in Matthew 28, where Jesus gives the Great Commission.
I know that the Lord is using me in surprising ways right here in the United States. On Tuesday of this week, I went over a friend's home for Fujinkai (Japanese Women's Bible Study). There I spoke to my friend's daughter Yoko, who has an incurable disease and spends much of her days on the couch or in the bed. I told Yoko she reminds me of the poet Emily Dickinson! She is quite smart and whenever I see her she is always so unbelievably cheerful (okay, maybe the poet Emily was not so cheerful heh heh). I enjoy speaking to her so much! Perhaps also I can bring her some sunshine (encouragement). When I saw her on in September during our Fujinkai (Japanese Women's Bible Study meeting), I told her that she should think about doing something with her free time and perhaps consider writing stories- perhaps for kids. It is something simple that she can easily do whenever she feels well and it will be a wonderful way to bring joy to the lives of others.
Yoko took a class in creative writing before, but she had not really considered that she could try to write stories outside of class. As soon as she heard what I had to say, she seemed really excited and sat up like someone had struck her by lightning. She asked many questions with great vigor, sitting up straight and speaking in a strong voice with her most radiant sunshiny smile. For a few moments she completely forgot her own illness and pain and looked like any other healthy person you might see on the street! Some of her questions were,“How do you write? Where do you get your ideas? Do you really think I could tell a story other people would be interested in?”
It was moving to be able to sit down and speak with her about writing and stories and boo, the word arts that have meant so much to me in my own life, comforting me much despite some very damaging abuse and difficult times that I experienced early in my life. When I left her home, I couldn't help wondering... if I was not in her life, who else would have shared this with her? I'm not sure. Who knows? Perhaps it was for such a time as this- precisely to encourage Yoko- that God has made me a part of that Fujinkai group from the beginning. Although Yoko is limited with her physical capabilities, she is such a precious person to me and I hope that we can find some ways (such as through her writing stories) that many other people in this world can appreciate her beautiful spirit.
There are other people too who God has placed into my life right now in Grand Rapids, using me to bless them in some surprising ways. I would like to speak about them too here in this blog, but since this post is long enough already I will save that for another time. For now, He is keeping me here to do more good work right here in my hometown. One person can make a world of difference.
DELAYED BUT NOT DENIED.
On a side note, this is a very challenging time in my life as my paternal grandmother Margaret is in and out of the hospital. We don't know how long she has to live, actually. Especially this is taking a big toll on my father, who is not a strong Christian and who does not really pray and leave things in the hands of the Lord. If you can pray for her health and his depression that would be good.
I'd like to close with this Scripture reading from the King James version of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”
NIV version: “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Same passage (plus a little more afterwards) from the Message version of the Bible: “We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us in trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in our lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!”
Sunday, October 17, 2010
poem of pain, song of sorrow
My friend Connie and I ran into a local poet on the street here on the last day of voting for ArtPrize... the first poet laureate of Grand Rapids, Mrs. Linda Nemec Foster. She encouraged me to share some of my poetry on my blog. I guess I will try that.
yellowing leaves
last glimpse of light before night
all things are shadows
What does our guture hold? Death lies before us all my friends. But it is not the end. There is a life to come after this one. Are you ready for eternity?
This I write in pain, too sick to be able to go to church today. Still, I seek to share what I know about my Heavenly Father (Our Father) and my Jesus (Our Jesus) with the world. That is what it means to be a missionary, indeed. . .
yellowing leaves
last glimpse of light before night
all things are shadows
What does our guture hold? Death lies before us all my friends. But it is not the end. There is a life to come after this one. Are you ready for eternity?
This I write in pain, too sick to be able to go to church today. Still, I seek to share what I know about my Heavenly Father (Our Father) and my Jesus (Our Jesus) with the world. That is what it means to be a missionary, indeed. . .
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