August Update - I have the Go

Three Months to Go

Please permit me to share some really good news; I have received the “GO” from the SEND Japan office to go to Japan this fall. The last several weeks SEND Canada, SEND Japan and I have been in communication with each other about my anticipated arrival in Japan. In my last update I indicated that I needed to raise just under half of my monthly financial support; no, I do not have 100% of my support, however, SEND Japan is inviting me to serve at Okutama Bible Chalet (OBC) in Tokyo for a 2-year term while several full-time staff are on consecutive home service 2 years.

I will be serving at OBC and doing language studies part-time so a large portion of my out-going support that was designated for 2 years of full-time language studies has been freed up for other areas of my ministry support. There is still a need for financial support totaling $8792 over the next 2 years (or $365 per month for 2 years). This is very exciting for me.

At the end of the two-year term I am hoping to continue ministry in Japan as a “tent maker”, one who financially provides for his own ministry, by teaching English. This is not the “ideal” situation but through discussions with friends and trusted advisers this past month it seems that this may be the direction God is leading me. A job as an English kindergarten teacher during the weekday could potentially free my evenings and weekends for ministry and connecting with the Japanese people.

While I writing this letter, the visa application forms from the SEND Japan office have arrived!!! I will complete the forms and forward them to the SEND Japan office where the process will be completed. My understanding is that it can take 1.5 to 3 months before I get the approved documents and then I take them to the Japanese consulate in Vancouver for my Visa to be stamped in my passport. So, sometime in the next 3 months I will be on a plane to Japan. The last time I went to serve in Japan for more than a year was Sept. 26, 2006. It’s hard for me to believe that it has been 6 years since I first really met and got to know Japanese people one on one.  Through those relationships my heart desires more than ever to see the Japanese national church grow even more.

PLANTS in Toronto

This month I’ll be going to Toronto for the Principles of Language Acquisition: Natural Tools & Strategies (PLANTS), this course will prepare me to learn Japanese in the most efficient way for me.  While in Toronto I have made plans to connect with a number of Japanese churches in the area. I am looking forward to sharing with a new community of believers of where God is leading me to serve in Japan.

On another note…a little less than a year after demolition started on Family House at Okutama Bible Chalet (OBC), the new Ome House its replacement, is now complete; the keys were handed over on August 6^th. Ome House will provide new office space and another floor of dorms that the previous building didn’t have.

Please Pray

• That the visa application process will go smoothly
• The last of my financial support will come in quickly
• Wisdom and God’s leading as I share during these last months here in Canada

The other day I posted a blog by Megumi Glosson on my Facebook page, about 違う, chigau, the Japanese word for different and wrong.  She wrote that because there is no difference between these words in the Japanese language, there is a strong negative view of being different. In Japanese culture because of 違う, chigau, there is a very strong sense of community and conformity, which results in a morality based on the group rather than the individual’s values. Also, since being different is looked down upon, standing out as a Christian can be difficult in Japan. One of my friends asked me after reading Megumi's blog, “if the church has difficulty with contextualization?” My natural reaction to the question would be yes, but now I think I am wrong…here are my thoughts…

Because community is so important to the Japanese, the church strives to build community for its members. One example I have seen in all but one church I have visited is that the congregants have a meal together after every service as a way of building community.

Another way the church has tried to be culturally relevant is by using popular media to reach their nation. Manga (comics) is one of the most popular mediums for entertainment in Japan and has covered every genre, from classic folk tales to adult entertainment. The Bible has been produced into a number of manga volumes.  The Manga Bible has become a very useful evangelistic tool and I’ve met people that have become seekers through reading the Manga Bible. Christian stories have also been produced by manga artists. In popular music the worship band Growing Up has produced great worship music for the Japanese. They are known to use traditional Japanese instruments which are being popularized by contemporary artists.

In the summer of 2007, Power to Change alongside the Japanese church put on their own “Power to Change” outreach campaign in Japan called Power for Living which was very similar to the Power to Change campaign in North America in the mid 1990‘s. For this campaign they produced television commercials and a book that included the testimonies of well-known Christians in Japan as an evangelistic tool.

These are just a few examples of how I believe the church in Japan is trying not to appear 違う, chigau, from those in the communities around them.

Check out my Financial Blog to see my support stats.

I also posted a video this month, I hope you enjoy a Quick May Update.

Your brother in Christ,

Karl Friesen

May Update

March Update

CELL CHURCH PLANTING

In my past updates I’ve talked about the effectiveness of camp ministry; having said this however, it has become clear to me that camp ministry is not church but a tool that can be used to build the church. 

At both the Member Orientation Program (MOP) and the Reaching Japanese for Christ (RJC) conference there were sessions about cell church planting.  At RJC Richard Nakamura, a fellow SEND missionary to Japan, shared of his experience in a cell church plant in East Tokyo. He and his wife focus their ministry on discipleship and mentoring the people in their faith. One aspect of their ministry is to train others to share their story so they can go out into the community and share their faith. The purpose is not to bring people to "church" but to bring Jesus to the people. There are many dysfunctional families in Japan; the Nakamura’s hope is that a close, small group environment models what healthy relationships can look like.  When they meet together, they study the Word in participatory Bible studies, they pray, sing and encourage each other, etc. Their house church plant started in Shin-Koiwa and has grown into a network of four churches. Although each house church is independent, the network is important, they depend on and hold each other accountable, they encourage and support one another. 

SEND’s mission statement is “to mobilize God’s people to engage the unreached in order to establish reproducing churches”. Whether through camp or in a cell church, our mission is to establish reproducing churches.  Would you help me join the frontline team in establishing reproducing churches?

JUNE DEADLINE FOR OCTOBER

Determining a departure date –

• SEND Japan asks missionaries to arrive a few weeks before the beginning of language school
• The visa process takes 3 months and is needed before departure
• The visa process cannot begin before the missionary is at 85% of required support.

My departure date –

• I need to arrive in mid September for language school in October
• I need to begin the visa process in June
• I need another $1,800 pledged to bring me to 85%.  

Prayer Requests:

• The continued relief effort in northern Japan and that Christ will be spoken of boldly there.
• That I’ll continue to seek God’s guidance as I learn about cell church planting in Japan.
• That people will prayerfully consider becoming involved with me in ministry to the Japanese through prayer and finances.

Your Brother in Christ,

Karl Friesen

A must watch

Very good video on ministry after disaster and hope in Christ.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/June/After-Japan-Quake-Pastor-Finds-New-Purpose/

Twitter

I've created a Twitter account you can follow me at @karlinjapan.

Facebook Page

Check out the freshest info on what's happening.

Karl Friesen with Send International

Jan. 2012 Update

Here is the PDF of my Jan. Update


Happy New Year
I hope that you had a really great Christmas with your family and friends, that you were able celebrate Jesus’ birth with your church and have created wonderful memories with your family.  I trust this coming year will be one that opens new doors, doors beyond your wildest dreams; I certainly am praying that 2012 will be just this for me!

Bringing in the New Year in Japan is a time when families gather to practice Shinto rites worshiping their ancestors. In Buddhist temples all over Japan when the clock strikes midnight, the priests ring their bell 108 times believing this is the way to be forgiven for the sins of the previous year. New Years is the time that most Japanese visit both the Shinto shrine and the Buddhist temple in anticipation of the New Year to obtain good luck for the coming year.

With New Years being a family event, there can be pressure to participate in Shinto rites.  Many Christians meet in their churches on December 31st and January 1st to give Christians a reason not to be home and participate in the Shinto worship. 

As Christians we know that it’s only through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross at Calvary that there is forgiveness for our sins. The prayer of my heart is that the Japanese people will look to Christ for forgiveness of their sin rather than the Shinto and Buddhist cultural traditions.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

My next step is going to Member Orientation Program (MOP) which I’ll be attending this month. It feels like I’ve been talking about MOP forever. It is the cross-cultural/ministry training aspect of my preparation for serving in Japan. It will also give me a better understanding of how SEND functions as an organization. It’s exciting to finally be able to attend and get one more step closer to serving in Japan.

My monthly support is about 46%; the standard policy for SEND is to be at 50% before allowing its members to attend MOP. SEND believes that I should be serving in Japan so they are sending me to MOP this January.

1 to 69

I have created a visual, by adding the numbers from 1 to 94,  each square represents potential partnerships. The sum equals my total monthly support. Since $2051 is promised, the red squares represent my present partners.

The sum of the black squares 1 to 69 is $2413, the remaining amount of my monthly support needed. A financial partnership with me could be a combination of more than one square. Once I have 100% of my support I will have completed the partnership development phase of my ministry and will be able to go to Japan!

Please pray...

- How God would want you to partner with me as I serve in Japan. 

- That my support base will reach 100% by June 2012 so that I can serve in Japan soon thereafter.

- For me as I travel to and from MOP.

Feel free to contact me if I can pray for you.

Your Brother in Christ,

Karl Friesen