Go ye into all the world

I have two days to report about and I apologize for skipping a day...it was write a blog or sit in the communal bath, so I chose the latter.

Thursday, April 29th Mostly Sunny with a high of 67 degrees.

My group briefly split into pairs, I went to one of our permitted areas with my teammate; we passed a few tracts, but we decided to meet back up with our other teammates and stick together for the day. We were back at Ochanomizu Station and we brought our sign in Japanese that states "Holy God will bring Judgment Day on May 21, 2011." I cannot even begin to tell you how many eyes got to see that...a lot. We had it propped up with a roller bag and everyone coming out of the station had a perfect view of it. It even encouraged people to receive a tract.
I am just going to highlight a few things that happened to me throughout the day as I have them in my notes. They are not in any particular order, but are worth sharing anyway.

1. The babies.
I had 3 different experiences with the little ones (roughly 2 and under). I handed a tract to a father pushing his son in a stroller and the father accepted. The little boy wanted one too and wanted his father to give him the one he was handed, so I gave the little boy a tract and he was soooooo happy. It was simply adorable. Another little boy was the only one of his family who received a tract and he was standing there looking at it as if he was reading a newspaper. When the light turned to cross, his mother grabbed his hand, I watched this little guy continue to hold and look at the tract as he was crossing the street and down the sidewalk out of view. It was the neatest thing ever...I wonder if he can read... Then there was a little girl riding in a stroller, her mom refused a tract and she took one real quick as they were crossing the street, the little girl looked back at me as they were going along and I waved to her and she waved back and then I blew her a kiss...she was the sweetest thing. It was almost like she was saying "Hey! Thanks."

2. I approached a woman who was waiting to cross the street (usually people are more likely to accept a tract when they are standing still or sitting down) and she refused, so I walked away. Then moments later, she approached me and said "Oh this is about God?! I will take one" and she pointed to the back of my shirt. The back of my shirt has "Judgment Day 5. 21. 2011" and 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 in Japanese:

"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober."

I was excited and she was too, I asked if she had a Bible and she said yes she was a Christian. I gave her all three available books: To God Be the Glory. I hope God will save me. We Are Almost There! She accepted and said she will read them. Her English was great.

3. A man received the tract and was having a very difficult time communicating to me because his english was not very good. He told me "Son don't know, only Father" and I really couldn't have a good conversation with him because of the communication barrier. He said he has been a Christian (Protestant) for 25 years, he has been baptized, he is a seminary student and plans on being a pastor, he was VERY offended by the news, I gave him the books to look over, he did not want to take To God Be The Glory for some reason, but I wouldn't receive it back, I told him it was Part 2 to WE ARE ALMOST THERE! and I tried to shake his hand before we parted ways and he wouldn't. He was getting really upset and that confirmed that he was, which is expected. Maybe God will open his eyes to the truth. I hope so.

4. I met a guy from Toronto. I said that I live near Rochester, NY and we discussed that kind of stuff, and I asked him if he reads his Bible and he says "sometimes" I said, well time is short and you should really check this out and he said he definately would. Very kind, genuine receiving the information with readiness of mind, I just hope he searches the scriptures daily to see if these things are so like a Berean (Acts 17:10-11).

5. My teammate were off to the side resting, having some water and this woman must have seen our sign and she approached me. And was talking to me in Japanese, I dont know what she was saying, but she took a tract and then she pulled out some kind of flier that had a church or pastor on it and she was indicating to us that she was apart of it and we tried to tell her the Bible ONLY, no church. She wouldn' take any books, she said "So SORRRRRRY" she was really nice, but is not on tract, I just hope God will bless her and others she may share that tract with.

Also, the entire team purchased Bibles and we asked the hotel if we could leave them one for each room and they said no.

What else....I can't really think of anything. It was a looooong day. There are so many people and it seems that there are a lot of rejections, but then when you see your stack of tracts in your hand getting smaller you know they are going. It's pretty neat. Again, people approached me for a tract and it's great when that happens. May God Bless His people in Japan.

Okay, so I will move right on and talk about what today was like. It was an awesome day. I woke up this morning and picked my Bible verse out for the day which can be found in 2 Timothy 2:3 "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
This helped me a lot because this work is definitely HARD.
My team paired up with another team and we went into a Eumo Park.
Reception was SUPER high. However after about an hour of distributing tracts, the Koban on bikes came over and gave us the "X" which meant we could not pass tracts there. So we seen a couple others who were told the same thing so we headed to join everyone together for an early lunch. I was sitting on some steps and I handed a tract to a pair of young men passing by. One of them continued on and they other stopped and asked "What is this about?" and I said "Oh you speak English!" and "He said, Yes, a little." (that is what they all say, but he spoke it great). I said "Well this is about the Return of Jesus Christ and the End of the World next year" he replied "THE END OF THE WORLD!!!??? REALLY??!!!" This young man was so concerned and very genuine. I offered him the three books TGBTG, WAAT, IHGWSM and I asked if he had a Bible and he said "No" I asked if he would like a Bible and he was trying to hand it back to me. I said "No, it's free." He said "FREE!!???" I said "YES FREE!!!" and he was so overjoyed. We got a couple pictures together and he went on his way saying "Thank you, I will read all of these!!!"

Now truly, this was the highlight of my day. There were many others who took tracts, even English tracts, etc. It was a nice day. Beautiful weather...mostly sunny with a high of 65 degrees. It was a nice day. Except my teammate had me try straight up ginger and I thought I was getting poisoned. That stuff is so strong, tasted like a stiff glass of ginger ale. I had to spit it in my napkin.

Well I would like to end my blog with this verse:

2 Timothy 2:19 "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

Wednesday April 28, 2010

Well today was again rainy with a reportable high of 65 degrees. I was pretty chilly.
The morning started pretty good. Marie stayed behind because she has been dealing with sinus issues and needed to rest. So I went down for breakfast and I ate this itsy bitsy piece of fish, rice, and some other stuff then got ready to head out. I was a little emotional this morning. I think it had a lot to do with the built up past few days of the trip and just being exhausted. My team was really supportive to me, which was nice. So I felt ridiculous to get so emotional, this is very hard work and the seriousness of the trip and to realize that the majority of the people in this world are going to be destroyed is a painful FACT. People do not even realize what is coming, they hear about it, but they don’t believe it. I know that God has His people in Tokyo and Japan in general or we wouldn’t be here! So it is often hard for me to maintain myself and hold back tears, I think of my family, my nieces and nephew, and friends...myself, and even these dear people in Japan. Everyone needs salvation from the LORD. Thank you Jesus for everything you have done for me…allowing me to know this. Wow.

My team was selected to take a couple of the permitted areas in Tokyo. Today was also the first day that we wore our “Judgment Day 5 21 2011” shirts in Japanese. My team broke up in pairs, so my teammate and I went to Ochanomizu Station entrance way out on the street. We were initially unsure where we were allowed to stand so we found the Koban (police) and asked them. There was a communication barrier so it took a while to get things figured out. One of them called someone who could speak English and we were shown our area to stand to pass out our tracts.

Well it was raining, so instead of us standing in the street, we stood under the station overpass. People were all over the place…coming on and off the subway. Reception was good because there were A LOT of people. Not everyone took a tract, but today was different than the past few days. We were LEGAL with a stamped permit, we were wearing our shirts and as a result people were taking notice. I noticed a lot of eyes on my t-shirt, even from those that didn’t take a tract and caused people to want to take a tract. It was great.

1. There were about five people throughout the whole duration of me passing tracts today that came to ME for a tract. WOW. This says A LOT. This happened the first day when a schoolgirl came and asked me for one because all her friends, but her got one. This was great. They were men, some in suits and their was a young girl who asked me for a tract.
2. I gave 2 young boys a tract and they were simply shocked like they didn’t know what to do with it. It was like handing a baby a new toy they have never seen or played with before and they ponder at it for a while before they start to play.
3. There were about three teenaged guys standing around and so I approached them bowing and Konnichiwa-ing to them individually. The first two refused the tract and the third took the tract, looked at it, started laughing and as he kept reading I watched his face turn from laugher to more of a serious fearful look. He tucked it in his bag after a few moments and continued conversation with his friends.
4. An older man started walking toward me, slowly. I handed him a tract and he took it. The man stood by me smiling as he was looking at the tract. He raised the tract and bowed with a smile on his face. He gave me a thumbs up and a hand shake. I offered him three available books: WE ARE ALMOST THERE! TO GOD BE THE GLORY. I HOPE GOD WILL SAVE ME. He was overjoyed. I even got a picture with him. It was nice to see someone VERY happy to receive God’s truth.
5. My teammate and I ran into 2 American young men. They were probably in their 30’s. The first guy received a tract and stopped and said “Holy God will bring judgment day on May 21, 2011” and then looks at us and says “According to…?” and my teammate said “According to the Bible, God’s word. Do you read the Bible?” and the guy said “No...I haven’t in awhile.” And my teammate said to him that “in Daniel 12 God tells us that end time information will be sealed til the time of the end and we are now at that time where we now know.” I gave the guy a card from WECANKNOW.com The guy (looking serious) said “I will check it out.” This was awesome to see. The man seemed to take it and never once acted like it wasn’t possible. That is what I am talking about!!! Later on, the guy was later on, he approached me and asked “Do you have a We Can Know?” I said “what?” but then I noticed he had a tract in his hand, he said “the guy from across the street (my teammate) sent me to you for a We Can Know. I said oh yes and I got him a WECANKNOW.com card. The guy said he is a missionary from Minnesota and he has been living here for a year and a half and that he is learning Japanese. He asked what the information was from and I said Family Radio and he said he had never heard of it before. I said yeah, it has NO CHURCH affiliation, just the Bible. He said he would look into it. It is the first church person I have met that has taken this information with readiness of mind, who has it in him to check it out. Or at least I hope he does and that he is blessed by it.
6. My teammate also had a French woman take a tract and she said “Oh Family Radio” and my teammate replied, “Family Radio, you know family radio? From where?” and she answered by saying “in France, on itunes.”

This day was blessed and I was happy to experience everything I did. God is truly good and I can just see His work being done here. This message doesn’t just bring salvation to God’s elect, but it brings judgment to all the unsaved of the world. The world does not want God.

John 12:48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

There are 387 days until Jesus Christ Comes. CRY FOR HIS MERCY, because HE IS RICHLY MERCIFUL!!!!!

Our team went into Yokohama, a few stops outside of Tokyo. There was a lot of shopping and places to eat. It was really busy. We passed tracts all day and reception was pretty low. It seemed like 1/150 took a tract, maybe I am making it sound worse than it actually was. Imagine bowing & saying "Konnichiwa" 150 times and one person responds There were other people in the streets passing out stuff too and maybe they thought we were just like them. That's what I am thinking, but of course, all those that didn't get one yesterday weren't suppose to. I have to keep reminding myself that God is in control.
But people did take the tract, my teammate said it great "I'm just happy when someone takes a tract" it sounds great coming with a Haitian accent.
I remember this one instance when I was trying to pass the tracts and everyone just passed me...but this one guy stood out as he passed me and reached out his hand to take one. And he walked staring at the tract for about a minute. NOW THAT WAS WORTH IT.
I have to be patient and keep saying prayer or even bringing scripture to mind. All the rejection just for God to reach His people here in Japan. It's amazing.
A woman from another team found a Lutheran Church while she was out with her team yesterday and she handed out 25 tracts to the people, only 2 of them refused.
I'm noticing that the Japanese culture is VERY VERY different from ours. People avoid eye contact with eachother, they pass each other as if the are walking on a street alone. No one says hi to eachother and when they do you can tell they know each other. They have a lot of technology. Someone is always on their Ipod or cell phone. It's nuts. I have NOT seen one person acting up in the streets, yelling, etc. NOTHING. It's like a twilight zone.
My team leader and I were walking down some steps leading out to the street from McDonald's and this Japanese old man was handed a tracts and he murmured something in Japanese and signaled that he didn't want it. Then all of a sudden the man says "Yeah, I will take one." PERFECT ENGLISH...it was so funny. We were both laughing and the man even took a book "TO GOD BE THE GLORY"

A good thing is these people have not at all been hostile, rude, etc. they either ignore you (which is what they do culturally) or they take a tract. Basically everyone who owns a business or store on the street take a tract; it might be bad for business if they don't.

God Bless you all. May God give my team and all the other teams strength today and in the remainder of the trip to go out and share the beautiful gospel message. Time is increasingly running short and it just could be that this is the last chance that these Japanese people hear the gospel call.

Philippians 1:28-29 "And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;"

P.S. A permit was approved for 8 spots within a mile radius of Tokyo station to pass out tracts. This is wonderful news!!! This means that the cops cannot bother us in our efforts to get this message out.

PRAISE GOD!

I have been extremely tired and breakfast is soon. It is suppose to rain today.
Yesterday was awesome, our team went to the beach/tourist spot that Min suggested. I rode a monorail..which was a bunch of cars being pulled by the top with NOTHING underneath. It felt like a rollarcoaster.
Anyway, we went to Enoshima, Japan. The reception was great. More took than not. We also stopped into Ofuna again during transportation exchange. Nothing that really stook out. We passed a few english tracts, but not many took. A french guy was with his girl and their son and received a track and he told my partner, I will see you on the 22nd. That belief is so universal. People make a prediction themselves that we will be here on May 22, 2011, because it is expected, but the Bible says that May 21, 2011 that this world will start to be destroyed (on October 21, 2011).. Some people were Buddhist and a FEW, like 2 or 3 handed them back after reading the heading "HOLY GOD WILL BRING JUDGMENT ON MAY 21 2011", so they are getting the message. But the Buddhists ARE taking these tracts and it's wonderful to be able to see some of HOW God works. Amen and Praise God. God is so good!

The message is going to bring one of TWO things: Salvation (eternal life) or Judgment (eternal annihilation) to these people and that is completely in the LORD's control.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Trip Report on Sunday, April 24, 2010
{Sunny High of 61 degrees)

Today, my team and I went to Ofuna. We arrived at approximately 12:30pm and we split up in pairs and began passing tracts. People were more receptive today than yesterday. It was very encouraging. I was thinking “Thank You God!” each time someone took a tract from me. It was truly amazing. We had a couple of encounters with people. A couple Christians and Buddhists.
An older woman whose named is pronounced (A-kee-amma) stopped and started talking to my partner and I about the tract. She spoke English and she said that she was a Methodist. She was very happy to see us there. We told her that there is information in the Bible that God is now sharing, yet the churches are not aware of this, since the church age has ended. She said she was going to do a lot of reading “today”. She received WE ARE ALMOST THERE! TO GOD BE THE GLORY! And I HOPE GOD WILL SAVE ME. As well as the tracts “Does God Love You?” And “Holy God.”
A Buddhist stopped regarding the tract, my partner asked if he was Christian and the man (who spoke English) said no, I’m Buddhist. I leaned into the conversation and told the man that this information is for everyone, even you, a Buddhist. The man was very friendly and nice and was asking more information; he asked if we were protestant. What was VERY interesting to me is that the man tried offering us a Christian newspaper, we told him we could not read Japanese. But I recognized a picture of one of the reformer’s photos in the paper; I want to say it was John Calvin or Martian Luther.
My team and I were ready to break for lunch and we were going to go into an Italian style restaurant, I suggested that we went to a Japanese style restaurant. So we started walking out and back down to the street and this woman pushing a stroller with her son it in was right there and I smiled at her and she smiled back and then she asked me if we needed help trying to find somewhere to eat and that she knew a great place. I talked with her for several minutes. I then said why we were here and what we were doing. I asked her if she was a Christian and she said no, more Buddhist. She was originally from Korea. Her name is Min. She was so nice and friendly. She said she lived in Toronto for two years and her husband is Japanese, whom she met in Toronto. So that’s how she ended up in Japan. I handed her a couple of tracts and some of my team members offered her books. I talked with her about the information it contained and let her know that this is the truth. That the God of the Bible, He is ALMIGHTY, bigger than any other gods. He created you and me and this entire earth, everything. And it is today that God is saving a great many people and may you be one. It was as if her attitude changed from when we first met in comparison towards the end of the conversation. She was delighted to hear about Family Radio and that they have information available in her native language “Korean” and she was delighted to receive a “NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE” she was just amazed. She said thank you and that she would check it out. She gave me her email and we plan on keeping in touch. She gave us areas that we could go to, to pass out information and she was just very helpful.
Some people stopped and said “Christian?” and we said “yes” and they shook our hand. It was very nice. They pop out of “no where” it seems. God is truly good. May many people we encountered receive the greatest gift from God, eternal life.

Matthew 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.