Report from Japan by Dea…

We returned from our vacation/ministry time in Japan, June 18. Jet lag hit us for a few days. The 2nd night home, Carissa’s younger son, Caden, woke up their household from 1-5 AM. Ha, ha!

I give a ministry report and also tell you things we observed and learned in Japan. I ended up preaching 3 times in 3 different churches! In the first church, there was a Japanese man who had been attending the church but hadn’t yet made a decision for Christ. After I preached the glorious gospel, and made it clear what a commitment to Christ entailed, he raised his hand, for the first time! That one soul was worth the whole trip! (Leaving the 99 for the 1!)

I preached at Nathan’s home church in Osaka, Jesus Café House, a Foursquare Gospel Church. The pastor’s wife spoke good English and translated for me. You could tell that they really love Nathan. He was among the boldest praisers there: leaping and raising his hands and joyfully worshiping. (You know that really tickled his father!). At the altar, I had opportunities to pray and counsel.

The third church was especially interesting. It had been planted by a woman in the 1970’s sent by Paul Yongi Cho, from the Seoul, Korea. She had turned it over to another pastor. But she was still a part of the church and she and her husband, now well advanced in years, sat in the back enjoying the fruits of their labor.

There were healing touches, some affirming that, though with loud services, and a language barrier, we trust the Lord for lasting results (He is the one who does the healing anyway!)

Kathy helped me pray at some of the altar services. The women, especially, lined up to let her minister to them. She boldly prophesied, spoke healing, or cast out demons. I long for the day when she again travels with me regularly! She outshines me! (as though I shine! Ha, ha)

Life Pacific University (LPU) helped pay for Carissa’s trip to represent the college, especially for the annual Japan Foursquare Conference. Carissa spoke six times, in churches and at the conference! She had a couple of students show interest in coming to LPU college in LA. But more than ½ of LPUs students are online, (which is how many colleges are evolving today). There was significant interest in online programs or developing church partnerships with LPU. “Wonderful partnerships” is the phrase Carissa used to describe the fruit of the trip to Japan.

I was pleased that Nathan showed his ability in conversational Japanese. He became our official tour guide, helping us read signs (and menus!). His familiarity with the culture also helped us behave right, as foreigners. The most difficult thing in Japan, for us, was transportation. Most people, including even businessmen and students, ride trains to school, college, or work. Tokyo has the world’s busiest train station, handling over 3.5 million passengers daily! At commuter hours the train cabins are crammed full like sardines. Most people have to stand the whole trip. I held tightly to the straps hanging from the ceiling to keep from falling. One time I opened my resting eyes to find a strange woman, facing me, only inches away! It was very unnerving for someone from America who always expects his “personal space” respected.

Japanese food is very different from Los Angeles! While growing up, we ate Spanish Rice maybe once every couple of weeks. They eat rice almost every meal…and even for snacks! Bread rolls are big there, but different from ours. Some have noodles in them! They have a kind of breakfast hot dog, with a sausage link inside. I never ate a hot dog for breakfast in my life!

I refuse to eat raw fish or Sushi (Even Jesus knew to cook fish on an open fire for the disciples after his resurrection!). So that also limited my eating. Probably my best meal there was in an Italian Restaurant (Ha, ha!).

You would never guess what we saw more often than any other store: 7-Eleven! Among the most difficult things to find in Japan were fresh vegetables and fruits! I eat one or two bananas every day and an Apple. But 7-Eleven was often out of them. Instead they offered what was apparently fresh-frozen and sealed with juice or water in plastic bags to eat. Many Japanese would grab fast-food on the run at 7-Elevens or their several Japanese imitators. You couldn’t walk very far before you passed these markets.

The seven of us stayed primarily in Airbnb’s. One had low door jams (obviously intended for shorter people). I had to duck or hold my hand over my head to remind me not to bang my head! Every Airbnb we stayed in had the steepest stairs I have ever seen! You had to hold on for dear life going up or down, so you didn’t fall and break your neck! The toilets were so different from ours that I never fully adjusted to them. I did like the fact that the seats were heated electrically for comfort. America’s idea of an electric seat, however, is to kill people!

One of my first experiences in Japan was to see a Muslim with a hajib. I found myself praying silently for their salvation, as I often do in the states. Then I realized: those Muslims were no more in need of salvation than the nearly 99% of all the Japanese I passed. That was one of the most sobering revelations to me: seeing thousands of Japanese who were on their way to an eternity in Hell. It was a new experience to not be able to say a word of the gospel to countless Japanese speakers. I’m glad Nathan is studying to be more fluent in their difficult language.

Japan is a very private-minded culture. You pass many on the sidewalk who purposely don’t even look at you. And if they do, they rarely smile, even if you smile at them (new experience to an extrovert bearer of good news!). I did pass out a few of my gospel tracts to some I met who were tourists and spoke English. I had to ask the Lord why He confused the languages at the Tower of Babel, making it so difficult for missionaries and evangelists! He didn’t tell me why. God knows!

The Japanese are usually thin people. There is a reason. Starting in grammar school, they teach children to eat only 80% of what they would like to eat. (Kenneth Hagin taught to “live the fasting life by pushing away from the table before you eat all you can) That wisdom is proven by the Japanese where only 4% are obese, compared to the USA where 40% are now obese! There is a reason why Japanese have such a long-life expectancy and the lowest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease among developed countries (Their high rice diet and green tea consumption could also contribute toward it!).

As you know, I am a runner and a weightlifter. My first few days there, I tried to find a gym and got lost! (ha, ha!) I did manage to lift weights twice and ran a few times. I didn’t lose much aerobically or anaerobically though. The next day after arriving back home, I went to the gym and ran. I was pleasantly surprised that I hadn’t lost much ground and know I will regain it soon. I know the primary reason for this was the fact that there were so many stairs in our Airbnb’s and at the train stations. I have a tracker for my total steps. More than once I walked at least 25,000 steps (about 13 miles!). We walked a lot at the Disney and Universal parks we visited too!

As I wrote earlier, Warford Ministries did not pay for this trip, as it was primarily a family vacation (though we later learned to call it an adventure, more than a vacation!). We did use ministry monies to pay for some of the transportation to get to the churches to minister! We spent many hours on trains! I don’t ride trains in America except for recreation, like at Disneyland!

We considered going to Hiroshima to see the effects of the first atomic bomb drop. But it was a 4-hour trip by train. Such sightseeing trips aren’t necessary anymore. All you need to do is google a site on YouTube and you can hear and see without spending a dime or sitting in a train! On this page, I include a picture I took which epitomizes Japan better perhaps than any other photo! It is a picture of a graveyard. Notice how dark and ugly it is! Japan is a graveyard for tens of millions of people! They dwell in great darkness. They need the light of Christ!

Shinto and Buddhism are Japan’s two major religions. Shinto is as old as the Japanese culture, while Buddhism was imported from the China in the 6th century. Since then, the two religions have been co-existing relatively harmoniously and have even complemented each other to a certain degree. Most Japanese consider themselves Buddhist, Shintoist or both. Religion does not play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people today. The average person typically follows the religious  rituals  at  ceremonies  like  birth, weddings and  funerals,  may  visit a shrine or temple on New Year and at local festivals (matsuri), most of which have a religious background. (Japan-guide.com)

The Japanese culture is less concerned about what happens after death but focuses more on this life. The irony is that, without Christ, their life ends in an eternal death. This death is not Nirvana, the belief among many Buddhists that one can achieve a state of near non-existence, a oneness with the universe, at eternal peace.