Praise God for getting us through the first day of VBS (Kids Summer English)!
Today’s main idea for the teaching and snacks was God is Creator. The teaching walked through aspects of Genesis and select Psalms. The craft today was coloring tote bags and the kids continued to decorate the bags after. Life discussions for the 3rd through 5th graders was very encouraging! The moms that were helping also seemed to be thinking about what was taught and the kids opened up quickly. Duane shared that at first he was unsure about the depth of questions kids would be open to sharing about, however, he was grateful that the kids shared openly about some of the challenges in their lives. Recap discussions for the 1st and 2nd graders went really well too! While the kids might’ve looked distracted during the teaching time, afterwards they were able to recall what the main ideas were and remember that God is Creator! Zoe led the kindergartners the whole day and they were able to share in English names of animals that God created.
Lunch was the first opportunity to speak more directly with the parents that came to eat lunch with us. Several were returning from previous years but also some new. I could tell that there was still a barrier between us and the parents when leading the conversation towards Christianity. There were, however, great conversations to build friendships and relationships with the locals there. Learning names is challenging but the effort is well worth it to have tangible names to be praying for. Today was also our first day to see Alessandro! He had been feeling a bit under the weather, but John came to camp so we also got to see Alessandro. It was great to get an update and listen to some of the challenges and blessings of being in Japan. We were originally scheduled for dinner with the Gonzales family, but wanted to let them rest. Instead we got to Sakae and do some shopping! Several of us got Onitsuka Tiger’s. The weather was really starting to heat up, even through the evening, but the team enjoyed the opportunities to try many drinks from the vending machines.
After the first day of VBS and traveling on the trains, God has shown us first hand how idolization has enslaved the people of Japan. It was saddening to realize that on the trains, we were probably the only people who had been given new life in the gospel or even heard the gospel spoken. Many of the Japanese people are searching for something to worship, but the gospel has yet to pierce through the cultural barriers, so they seek it at the temples and shrines.
Prayer Requests:
