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Team Changes

On Friday, the team said goodbye to Ken and Gerry Millhous. This couple served in Japan for 40 years and retired 6 years ago. After the disaster they felt called to return to Japan and spent two more months serving. This was their last week in Japan and their kindness faithful service will be missed. They also took their car back to Tokyo leaving the remaining 9 team members and all of our gear to fit into a single van for the weekend.

Sunday night, the team welcomed two new Japanese members: Suzuki Hirohumi and Araki Hiroto. These fresh volunteers joined our team for the second week of work. They will be a great asset as they are native Japanese speakers and will make it easier to build relationships at our Hula and kaki-gori party. They also brought a car so we will be able to return to Tokyo with all of our equipment in two cars (like we arrived in).

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Devotions and Sharing

Our team has been trying to be good stewards to the base, which means volunteering to wash dishes, participating in evening sharing time and singing hymns. It also means preparing and leading morning devotions which are translated between English and Japanese. John, Ken, Mas, Phil and Yoji have all led devotion time. Attached below is Phil's devotion, which includes verses that some of you may recognize from his support letter.

In the midst of all the destruction that surrounds us in Japan, some of you may be asking, "Why did God let this happen?" Maybe some of you have even struggled with your faith because of this disaster.

I hope to encourage you with some favorite verses from Habakkuk. If you don't know who Habakkuk was, he was the 8th out of 12 Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. His book can be found about 9-10 pages before the New Testament, between Nahum and Zephaniah.

Chapter 1, verse 5 is one of my favorites and became my theme verse for my first short term missions trip to Japan in 2001.

"Look at the nations and watch - and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." - Habakkuk 1:5

We all know that God has a plan. But God's plan is so amazing that even if He told us what it was, we would still not believe it.

Now, just so you know the context, Habakkuk was a prophet that was frustrated by the sinful decline of the nation of Judah. He cried out to God and asked Him to do something about it. What do you think God did?

God told Habakkuk he would raise up the Babylonians to destroy Judah. That's probably not what Habakkuk expected.

So Habakkuk asked why God would let such a thing happen? God's response can be found in Habakkuk 2:4 "See, he (the enemy) is puffed up; his desires are not upright - but the righteous will live by his faith."

In the rest of the chapter, God assures Habakkuk that despite the coming destruction, all will be made right at the appointed time. All Habakkuk needed to do is wait for it and live faithfully.

I'm guessing here, but this is such a powerful verse, that I think it was one of the Apostle Paul's favorite verses. Paul actually referenced it three times in his writing.

Romans 1:17 - For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 - Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."

Hebrews 10:37-38 - For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay, but my righteous one will live by faith..."

As we look around at all the destruction around us, we may not be able to fathom or comprehend why it happened or what the future will bring. But that's ok, because God has an amazing plan that we would not believe anyway.

Like Habakkuk, all we need to do is live faithfully: to faithfully serve the Japanese in the name of the Lord.

Now that I have shared one of my favorite verses and what I like to think is one of Paul's favorite verses, let me leave you with some of my sister's favorite verses, found at the end of Habakkuk.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior." - Habakkuk 3:17-18

I hope that despite all of the destruction around us and our inability to comprehend God's plan, you will continue to serve Him faithfully and rejoice and be joyful in the Lord.