Greetings from the National Coordinator

Transcription

1 JET Christian Fellowship Newsletter February 2013 Greetings from the National Coordinator February is cold! But this chilly weather didn t stop many of us from trekking into Tokyo for our National Retreat. I always look forward to seeing the smiling faces of friends, to reconnecting beyond Facebook and to being able to praise God all day, every day. You can read more about what went on at the retreat below! The end of the school year in Japan is coming soon and there are a few job openings available that we would like to share with you. There are position openings in JCF as well! For those of you who are looking for something new starting in April, definitely take a look at the announcements in this newsletter! Adrianna Avery Website: Facebook: JET Christian Fellowship Yahoo! group: jcf

2 In this issue: Announcements Job Openings in Japan Retreat Reflections God Answers Prayers JEMA Announcements Announcements Nagano NORTHSTAR Winter Sports Retreat Who is up for a SNOWBOARD/SKI/or SNOWSHOEING adventure in Nagano!??? Come on up to the BEAUTIFUL alps while they are still snowy. Registration deadline is March 1st!!! The link to the registration form can be found on the website and on the Facebook group wall. DATE: March 8th (Friday) -the 10th (Sunday). PLACE: Christian owned and operated lodge called NORTHSTAR. PRICE: For 2 night stay, three meals, and 2 day lift ticket it will come to about yen a) if you add 1 day rental (boots and board) with half day lesson it will be an extra 8000 yen or full day lesson 10,000 yen b) 2 day rental WITHOUT lesson is an extra 7000 yen c) 2 day rental wear (This is clothing, like jacket and pants) is an extra 4500 yen *prices will vary individually. Questions, concerns, contact Abi (abi.erickson@gmail.com) or Melissa (ladyestelle8@gmail.com) February Skype Prayer meeting This month s prayer meeting will be on Thursday, February 28th at 9pm. Add Chelsea as a friend if you are planning to join! (Chelseamak1) Leadership team positions open from April Four JCF leadership team positions will be opening from April. We would like to encourage everyone to prayerfully consider the possibility of serving with JCF in the coming year. You don t have to know everything about the position, or even feel qualified.

3 And you do not need to be a JET. All you need is a willing heart, to learn and to see how God can use you. *Note* Leaders must be in agreement with the JCF Statement of Faith, and be willing to participate in the monthly JCF leadership meetings via Skype. Below are the four open roles, all opening in April. For more information please contact Adrianna at jcfnatco@gmail.com or contact the current coordinator in a position to learn more about what it entails. Contact info is on our website. Prayer and Encouragement Team Coordinator Main Responsibilities: The P&E Team Coordinator leads and coordinates prayer meetings once a month via Skype. Librarian Main Responsibilities: The JCF librarian stores all the materials for the library in his/her apartment or house, and sends them out when a request is made. Regional Representatives Coordinator Main Responsibilities: Keep a list of the Regional Representatives around Japan and encourage fellowship at the local level. Newsletter and Blog Editor Main Responsibilities: Write, collect and edit articles for the monthly newsletter and the blog. Retreat Reflections Moving from Religion to Relationship by Michelle Noyes On February 9 th -11 th, Okutama Fukuin no Ie in Tokyo was filled with encouragement and inspiration from the participants of this year s JET Christian Fellowship Winter Retreat. The topic of the teaching at this retreat was Moving from Religion to Relationship. Adam Carlson, the guest speaker, emphasized God s delight in each person and how God longs for relationship with us rather than performance from us. He pointed out that our disciplines and resolutions and abstinences will never make us worthy of relationship. Relationship comes first and fruit comes out of that, not the other way around. He talked about how every action of our lives, every experience, integrates into our relationship with God and His will for our lives.

4 Though the retreat was officially in English, Japanese people made up about a quarter of the group. Songs were sung in Japanese, concepts from the messages were explained in Japanese, and a couple times some participants started praying spontaneously in Japanese, which gave the whole weekend an integrated feeling. The most recent JCF Retreat took place at a small retreat center in Okutama, a mountainous area on the fringes of Tokyo. Highlights included spontaneous social dancing; wapping massages before bed; JCF open mic session (poetry recitation by Joy, songs by multiple people, worship dance by Deborah Ruth, testimonies, and original rap by Bart Nation.); soaking prayer; hanging out in the ofuro; getting the chance to climb on the old fire truck in the playground and of course, reading the Warm Fuzzies (Warm Fuzzies are encouraging notes we wrote to each other throughout the weekend.) Mountain Top by Michelle Noyes During the Okutama JCF retreat last weekend, I had a special Mountain top experience. Throughout the weekend I met with three other girls for small group discussion and prayer after each teaching session. After the last session, the one Japanese member of our small group bounded up to me and said, Let s have small group outside today! The rest of us happily agreed. My Japanese friend added, Let s not walk down (to the river); let`s go up! So we went up. There were mountains all around so it didn t take long to find a set of stone stairs leading steeply upward. As we climbed, we prayed and sang whatever came into our heads. When the stairs ended, we found ourselves in a shrine, a place of prayer. So we prayed and sang there, praising God for His creation, affirming His place as God of that mountain.

5 Looking around, we weren t ready to stop climbing. One of the girls (who grew up in the jungles of Brazil) led the way and we foraged a path, always moving farther and farther up the mountain. Eventually we reached a plateau overlooking the valley. There, on top of the mountain, looking towards Tokyo, our Japanese friend said she would like to pray. This was her first time offering to pray aloud. The three of us held hands and she prayed in Japanese. After she said amen, before I could look up, our Brazilian friend started to pray in Japanese. After her prayer, I took a deep breath and dived in. It was my first time praying aloud in Japanese. I was surprised at how easily the words came and how beautiful it sounded to address God, address Jesus, in Japanese style. It felt that I approached God from a new vantage point, that He was somehow new to me. I felt I was entering a new room of God s house. I believe each culture uniquely reflects the heart and character and variety of God. For an instant, I felt I glimpsed God arrayed in new clothes, a new kind of majesty, the God of Japan.

6 God Answers Prayers Praises and Prayer Requests For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. -John 1:16 *Let us continue praying for the upcoming mission trip to the Philippines on March 24th -April 2nd. Pray for all the preparation necessary on the part of the JCF mission team and the receiving party in the Philippines. *Let us keep on praying for our schools and teachers as we approach the final stretch of the term. May we have God s blessing on the last couple of weeks in our schools and be a light for His glory. *Some of our Christian Indonesian nurse friends took the recent national examination for nurses. This will determine whether they stay in Japan to work as nurses in public hospitals or return home if they fail. Let us join them in praying to pass this very difficult test, hoping God can use them as ministers in Japanese hospitals. *E. and M. are tying the knot next month. They are not yet Christians but let us pray for them to get to know God and receive His blessing in this wonderful covenant. *S. is praying for a regular position as a school nurse in Tokyo. Let us join him in seeking whether this is God s will for his career in Japan. Job Openings in Japan Part-time English teacher in Tokyo Joshi Seigakuin, a Christian girls Jr/Sr High School in Kita Ku, Tokyo, is looking for a part-time English conversation teacher to teach 10 hours of Jr. High School classes during the school year starting in April. Please contact Peter Blank to apply or for more information. He can be contacted by at: blank@joshiseigakuin.ed.jp

7 Christian "Shadow Teacher" Needed Desperately needed! A Christian "Shadow Teacher" (preferably one who is trained specifically to work with special needs children) for a 6-year-old boy at Kansai Christian School in Heguri-cho, Nara-ken. The child is bright and polite, but needs someone to work with him to keep him on task. This would begin with the new school year in September Please contact his mother as soon as possible so they can make plans to move to the Kansai area this summer. Luisa Vanegas Tel: Address: Chokoji kita Toyonaka-shi Osaka andresvanegas100@yahoo.com Teachers Needed at Kansai Christian School Kansai Christian School urgently needs for the school year 1) a principal who can teach a couple classes in the high school (math/science or social studies), and 2) an English teacher for the middle and high school. Both should be credentialed and would come on a missionary visa sponsored by their home church or mission in their home country and a church or mission in Japan. Please view the website: and send an for information to office@kansaichristianschool.com if you are, or know of, a qualified individual willing to serve the Lord in this way in Japan. We are seeking commitment to the Lord and commitment to excellence in these individuals. This is not a job--it is a real ministry. More Announcements: Events from JEMA: (JEMA=Japan Evangelical Missionary Association) Rural Japan Church Planting Seminar In Japan, 26 cities and 521 towns still do not have church. Come find out how you can be used by God to fulfill the Great Commission of planting more rural churches. If you have a growing burden for rural areas attend this seminar. Come be a part of a network to encourage and equip you for ministry! March 4 (Mon) 10am-7pm (registration from 9 AM) Location: Sendai, At Seaside Bible Chapel Topics to include: The status of rural church planting, models for planting rural churches, how to

8 build contacts, and the blessings of rural church planting. Presented by: Martin Ghent, Dawn Birkner, John Mehn, and others. This seminar is in English. Only 3,000 yen including lunch! Soccer Camp at the Okutama Bible Chalet This is a camp where the Gospel is more important than soccer. Please invite your church friends and unsaved friends for a fun time of soccer training, games, fellowship and chapel messages throughout the camp. Beginners and girls are also welcome! *International Soccer Camp (for English speakers only please) Saturday 3/23 (1 p.m.) to Monday (3/25 (until 2 p.m.) Chapel Speaker: Clayton Fergie from Scripture Union International Soccer Coaches: Coach Jean DeSouza (Seahorses Soccer ministry in Osaka) with Masa Yokota *Japanese Soccer Camp (for Japanese speakers) Monday 3/25 (from 2 p.m.) to Wednesday 3/27 (until 2 p.m.) Chapel speaker: Pastor Miki from Asagao Kyokai Soccer Coaches: Masa Yokota (Seahorses Soccer ministry in Osaka) with Jean DeSouza Cost for each camp: 16,000 yen (all meals & lodging included) Check out the OBC website to apply for the camp online: We are also recruiting Camp counselors for the Japanese camp only (soccer skills not required, would prefer someone that can interact with kids during the non-soccer times), if you can recommend anyone from your church (Japanese speakers only please), please let us know! Questions about the soccer camp? Please contact Charles & Anne Marie Smoker at charlessmoker@yahoo.co.jp International Christian Study Program in Japan Greetings in Christ from Kyoto! Kyoto International University Foundations Program upcoming Open Campus information sessions For information on the Open Campus: On February 16 and March 16 (2 5pm), we will host an Open Campus whereby students, parents and guardians can learn more about the Foundations Program and experience trial classes. Open Campus participants will also meet with professors and engage in an interactive Q&A throughout the session. KIU has a proven record of successful credit transfer to many other North American institutions. Please visit our website to learn more If you have questions or I may be of service, please feel free to contact me david.taylor@kyotoiu.ac.jp If you would like to attend the February 16 "Open Campus" please send an (if possible) to my assistant Ms. Yuki Bito yuki.bito@kyotoiu.ac.jp or simply attend. If you know of a family member or friend who might benefit from this information, please kindly forward this . Sincerely in Christ, David Taylor, Ph.D., Dean, Professor of International Business