Lights, Camera, Action!

Tokyo is such an easy city to fall in love with. The city is

captivating and it's a blast to explore. The metro system is a maze

that takes a great problem solver to understand where we are and what station we unload at next. Thankfully, Danny is in charge of transportation and in conjunction with Josh, our team leader, the team is in great hands!

Danny proved himself worthy of his position day one of exploring the

city when we had communication issues and bought the wrong train

tickets. He was persistent despite the language barrier and was

successful in gaining us a refund, the correct train tickets, and even

got us home only a few minutes late.

Tokyo is vast and there truly is so much to see! It can be

overwhelming to take in especially when almost everything is written

in Japanese symbols and very few of the population speaks any English.

We learned to manage though! We studied and practiced basic phrases

and were at least capable of saying "Hello! How are you?". Haha! Trust

me, it's a mouthful!

Outside of Tokyo Metro Station

Our team learned to make a simple hello into something that brightens

the day of others. The smiles of the Japanese people are one of the

most heartfelt expressions I've ever experienced. Our team noticed

after one day that the city had a heavy, even depressing atmosphere

over it. To break through that atmosphere we decided to parade through

the streets, smiling and saying Konichiwa to passerby. The reactions

we received were priceless. Most people were startled and shocked that

someone even spoke to them! They would then turn and say Konichiwa

back to us.

Other times we would walk down a sidewalk beside a street covered with

traffic and wave to the people sitting in the cars. Their faces would

completely light up and break out into huge smiles, complete with

small eyes, squinting because their smile was so big.

Fun in the metro

We also brought joy into the trains by sparking up conversations with

people on their daily commute! As well as that, we stopped and had a

worship session in the park next to the Imperial Gardens for about an hour.

Henriette leading our worship next to the Imperial Gardens

It has been a blast! While we may not speak the language, we are

speaking a heart language to the Japanese people. We are bringing joy

and the light of Jesus into a place that is referred to as a

missionary's graveyard. Our efforts will not be defeated by the enemy

and we continue to praise and worship God while we are here. It is

evident He has great plans for this nation, and we are working to help

plant the seeds He has given us for our time in this city.

Charlee, Zach, and Danny in downtown Shibuya

Please continue to help us by praying for the nation of Japan and the

beautiful city of Tokyo. Pray against the strongholds of shame and

materialism. This nation is one of joy, honor, peace, and serving.

Please pray for these things to be lifted up and for a covering over

the people. Also, pray for more missionaries. People who are fluent in

Japanese and who can be disciples for those who are newcomers to

Christ. Please pray that the people of the nations will develop a

compassionate heart for the Japanese people.

Thank you all for your endless support! It means so much to this team,

and your prayers and encouraging words continue to keep us motivated.

We look forward to keeping you posted!

Downtown Shibuya