good TRAIN-ing

...these days we've been spending a lot of time on the subway trains...it has been good train-ing for us to get quickly familiar with osaka-kobe's massive transit system...i must admit: without claire by my side, i would've been somewhere in okinawa last week...but she's so good at asking directions and figuring things out...

...on thursday afternoon (nov. 17th), we headed for sanda (map below) for our second GROW group meeting with our kansai teammates as well as several important training sessions on language learning with peter and wendi, two of our mentors...

...when we arrived at their home, peter was already conducting his weekly english class to neighborhood kids...i went in to observe the first class...

...while claire helped wendi and sophia get dinner ready (later both claire and i observed and participated in peter's second english class of the evening)...

...on friday morning, we went to eric and sue's house for our bi-weekly GROW group meeting...it was good to see the kansai team again, spending time in lively worship...

...the kids love being part of the praise time too...

......spending time in the word, discussing in pairs a passage from 1 john chap 2..

...spending time praying for each other...

...during lunchtime chatter, we all gave two green "thumbs up" to eric's mad botanical skills...

...and of course what a joy to hug and have fun with all the children...

...later we went back with peter and wendi to their home for more training...they provided us a wealth of practical wisdom flowing from a firm commitment to contextualizing the gospel in japan...we were all ears as peter and wendi shared field-tested principles and practices for effective language learning...

...peter, a first-class mac-enthusiast...

...peter helped us tremendously by recommending language resources at a nearby bookstore...

...we took the evening train from sanda to our home in gakuentoshi...we were tired but excited by what we've been learning...we went to bed thanking God for each member of the asian access kansai team who has trained and encouraged us...we pray that by God's help we will be able to implement all the things we've been learning...

...on saturday morning we took a hour-long ride on the subway to nishinomiya for a meeting of church planting teams from four different churches in the kansai region...this network of four churches have been meeting for three years and has a shared vision for seeing churches multiply and take the gospel to more and more unreached neighborhoods in the kansai region...this kind of networking lies at the heart of asian access's work with japanese churches...

...among several instructive talks, kawasaki-sensei (below), a pastor's pastor, led the four church planting teams through a time of discussion and reflection on each church's vision and process of church planting...

...we learned a lot in the group discussion time (thanks minoru for your translation help!)...

...it was so encouraging to hear reports from members of the four churches, such as these fervent sisters below, regarding God's work in and thru their evangelistic ministries...

...it was particularly striking to see churches from 4 different denominations working and praying together...a foretaste of the John 17-type unity that we'll realize most fully in heaven...

...afterward, we had good fellowship with several young japanese christians...while communicating is a challenge, God helped us encourage one another in the faith...here are some of the radiant faces of God's children that are shining in japan...

...as the dinner hour approached, perhaps realizing that i've been under the weather (which is why i've been wearing a mask in the subways, like most japanese who are sick)...

...minoru and yoko took us to one of their favorite udon restaurants...immediately upon entering, we were struck by a famous aspect of japanese culture: it's simple and symmetric designs utilizing natural elements of wood and light...

...minoru and yoko taught us that japanese people love "o-nabe" which refers to everyone cooking and eating out of the same big bowl of tasty broth boiling under a flame...

...throw in a colorful array of seafood, meats and vegetables...

...and a limitless supply of squiggly udon noodles...

...and vwaaaa-laaaa, you have an awesome family-style meal that will make you sweat and say "syonara" to that mouth mask for a while...

...mmm....that hit the spot!...thank you, minoru and yoko, for treating us to an authentic japanese experience...o-nabe!

...at the conclusion of these three days (thur-sat) of intense training and learning and growing, we thank God for the good train-ing we're receiving from many godly men and women who believe that the good news of Jesus is indeed good news for all of Japan...be certain too that we thank God for YOU, our friends and ryuminations readers, for walking with us in prayer and investment and interest during this time of field training...