Last weekend I spent 3 days in the northern mountains of the main island with about 50 Japanese christians. This is the same camp I attended at the end of my last trip. It is specifically for Returnees: Japanese christians who have studied abroad at some point and have come back to live in Japan. It was fun to see the same people from last year and also meet a few new people. In general, it seems that everyone is doing well and growing in faith.
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| Camp facility operator That's rice wrapped in marinated pork about to be grilled. Mmmmmm :) |
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| I can't remember her name, but I love her! |
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| Yuko and Noriko |
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| Mari, my travel buddy |
Yuriko and Mari lead worship with a couple of guys both named Daisuke. They're both really good musicians, love Jesus, and seem pretty solid in their faith. Worship was one of the highlights of the camp because of the heart that they all put into it.
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| Nozomu, Daisuke, Powerpoint Man, Daisuke Yuriko, Mari, Sachie (Powerpoint Woman) |
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| Yuriko, Daisuke Mari, Me Crammed in an elevator |
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| Daisuke sharing his lunch with a bee. |
On the last day of the camp, I taught a bible study to a group of about 10 people. We read from 2 Kings chapters 22 and 23. I talked about the importance of reading the scriptures prayerfully and diligently and some of the effects of it:
- Revelation of how we don't measure up to God's standard (a call to repentance, not condemnation)
- A greater desire to experience God's promises
- Wisdom and passion to fulfill God's calling
- Deeper understanding of God's character and of who Jesus is
- Sharpening our swords in preparation for spiritual battle
- Renewal of the mind
It's hard to summarize a 2 hour bible study. Well, it would have been 1 hour, but it became 2 hours with translation. It went really well. The people there were really receptive, encouraged and strengthened. In general, most people walked away saying that the Bible is awesome and that they really want to read it more. Yes!
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| That's my name in Japanese at the top of the name tag and bible study notes behind me. |
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