JOY and Loving the Poor

I heard another missionary speak on Sunday. He was so humble. I was thinking that if I didn't already want to be a missionary in Japan, I'd be a missionary to China! The thing that struck me the most was the tangible evidence of this missionary's relationship with God: the JOY on his face. May all Christians be as JOYFUL as this missionary! I once heard a story of a man who was rejected by a church as an elder candidate because "he wasn't joyful enough." Christians should be the most joyful people on earth!

Also, I have been thinking a lot lately about the poor in this world. The Bible has so many things to say about this such as:
He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.
How blessed is he who considers the helpless.
He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.
The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor.
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth...defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Happy is he who nis gracious to the poor.

Who are "the poor"? Well here are three orphans in El Salvador. They are three of those whom the Lord considers the poor and loves dearly.

I myself used to be an orphan. Meeting oprhans in El Salvador was a profound experience. I was moved by their stories, especially of one of these girls, whose mother was a prostitute who died of AIDS and whose father was a drunkard who committed suicide in 2004.

I have been thinking a lot about these verses a lot and wanted to share them.

Meeting a Missionary

Recently I have had the privilege to meet and hear from Michael Oh, missionary to Nagoya, Japan with Mission to the World (MTW). I am praying about going to Nagoya with MTW to work with Michael. On Monday I went to a dinner hosted by a young woman from Renewal Church in West Philadelphia and heard Michael speak about this work. There is also a support group from these church called FONTS that meets once a month to pray for Michael who is the president of Christ Bible Seminary and is training the future leaders of Japan.
Michael was also gave the keynote address for the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering 2006 in Malaysia last month. I was personally challenged by Michael to remember that EVERY Christian is called to be part of sending the gospel out into the world by being either a sender or goer.

Keeping Busy

Things are busy these days, but it is a very lovely kind of busy. I have many chances to meet with Japanese friends and chat, hang out, go shopping, and have lots of wonderful conversations. Occassionally I get together with a Mexican friend who lives in South Philly, but like most Mexicans I know, she is crazy busy with work so we don't meet very often. I am really enjoying teaching piano these days. I taught piano for a few years during college, but I have some really talented students right now, including Gio (see photo). He played "It Don't Mean a Thing (if it Ain't Got That Swing)" as his recital song this past June - he was awesome! Besides teaching, I keep busy with studying Japanese, reading good books, and working two jobs. I have been thinking a lot lately about how God is in control of everything, even down to the most minute detail. It really relieves any temptation to worry about the future when I focus on the sovereignty of God. Right now, I am not sure what I will do in the future, but I am thinking these days that I will pursue serving with MTW in Nagoya next summer and then return to Sendai next September for at least two years to focus on language study and serving the missionaries I used to work with there. I would love to see old friends living in Sendai. I think of Japan almost every day and remember fondly how beautiful the people and nature are in Sendai.