AACF Japan Missions - Aichi UPDATE 1

hi everyone! 

It is Day 2 of #AACF2Japan and we are starting to get into the rhythm of doing ministry here in Japan! 

I haven't used this blog in 4 years!!! The last time I posted here was when I studied abroad in Japan in 2013-2014, so I thought it would be a good time to bring it back (MY BLOG POSTS FROM 2014 ARE VERY CRINGE). 

I apologize for not updating earlier; it’s been a really crazy three days and jet lag is hitting us hard! 

here's a recap of what we’re doing this week:

We’ll be helping teach music at Nisshin Christian Church’s Kid’s Gospel Camp, which is very similar to a vacation Bible school except it has a gospel music focus! Tom, the music director for the camp, was telling us about how gospel music is a special opportunity for evangelism in Japan because it was made widely popular by influences like the Sister Act films (random, but very popular!!). Most all of the kids who come are not Christians, but the event is extremely popular and it always fills up really quickly each year. They're PAYING to be at this camp! A big focus of the camp is to not only communicate the message of the gospel through bible stories to the kids, but for both kids and parents to understand that the church is a safe and enjoyable place to be. A huge amount of people who have been saved in Japan first came into contact with the church through vbs and summer programs, so this is a very special mixture of both music and vbs ministries; a tactic to fight stigma against Christians and to remedy religious apathy that is prominent in Japan!

Our team is teaching students how to play instruments and acting as the accompaniment for the kids as they sing and dance to the gospel songs! On Saturday they have a chance to perform all they've learned for their parents.

Here’s whats happened so far: 

On Saturday we all met at the JEMS office at 1p, ate together, and did some last minute prep for our trip. 

Sunday morning we got up at 6, packed up, and headed to the airport with plenty of time to catch our flight at noon. 

traveling to Nagoya was quite uneventful; the 10+ hours to Tokyo was a breeze, and I even randomly bumped into a friend from my summer at JANM! I got up to go to the bathroom, saw her and was like, “wow that would be so funny if that were Karina,” and LO and BEHOLD it's her! 

Customs was no problem, neither was our connecting flight to Nagoya; when we landed, JEMS missionary Tim Burns picked us up from the airport and took us to dinner. We tried going to the nearby AEON mall but all the restaurants had JUST closed so we just went to 7/11. Stopping at a convenience store for a meal in Japan is super normal for me but I hadn’t thought about how that’s a weird thing to do if the only convenience stores you ever known are American! 

Day 1: we got to see the church space where Kid’s gospel camp is taking place (A HUGE AND BEAUTIFUL SPACE) and then we got a tour around the Nagakute/Nisshin area. After lunch we met the rest of the camp staff and then started helping out with the camp! each team member is teaching a different instrument everyday; I'm teaching keys, Becca is on bass, CPJ on drums, and Gissell on guitar. Jon is documenting/trying to make himself helpful elsewhere.

All of the music practice for the kids throughout the week goes into the final performance on Saturday, so Gissell and I worked with Tom on the solos that he asked us to sing. *NERVOUS BC I’VE NEVER SUNG GOSPEL* Praying hard that things go okay. The music that Tom has asked us to sing and play is very challenging so it's been a struggle learning it all. 

In the evening after the campers went home we had some staff bonding time and then we started watching the Greatest Showman but we were so tired that we decided to go home and sleep. 

There are two other teams helping out at the camp: 

there's a group of 7 college students from the University of Missouri who have been in Japan for almost 2 months now, and they've been doing college outreach with Tim. They're a super friendly bunch and very passionate about building relationships with the college students at nearby universities so they can introduce them to church and share the gospel with them! The church is very strategically placed nearby three different universities, so they've had lot's of opportunities to go and meet students throughout their time here. SO COOL. 

The other group is comprised of 4 students from Chiba (near Tokyo) who come over every year to help out with Kids Gospel: Ema, Jay, John, and Bianca! They're all bilingual and very mature for their age (the youngest, jay, is 13 and the oldest, Bianca, is 18). The four of them are helping our team translate while we teach instruments. I keep catching myself getting very jealous of their abilities... not only are they all fluent in both English and Japanese, but they are all musicians! I just know that they're going to do great things for the church when they get older... thinking about those things get's me really excited. They were telling me about the rest of their summer plans and pretty much all of them are going to help at other Christian camps and participate in training retreats for the remainder of their summers. Wow. 

Day 2: pretty much a repeat of day 1! Teaching was a bit easier now that we've done it once, but the language and cultural barrier can be a bit tough. It's so interesting to see 上下関係 (social hierarchy) at play. Once someone introduces you as a Sensei then immediately the kids will address you formally and start speaking in more formal language; they become less expressive and more reserved, and it becomes harder to connect with them. the language barrier doesn't help. All challenges to work through! Still, this is a pretty crazy and unique opportunity to serve the church in this way. the kids are also learning dances/hand motions to all the songs we are singing, and they are already learning really quickly. 

in the evening we spent some time with the Chiba team and bond over a meal at another family's house; tomorrow is another day full of music! 

Prayer requests: 

Right now Japan is facing a heatwave that has killed over 40 people and hospitalized another 10,000. Not good. Please pray not only for our health and the health of our campers but really all the people of Japan, especially those who have been affected by the flooding of recent months and do not have shelter or homes. 

For energy throughout the day. We need it! Jet lag is kicking our butts (i slept for 11.5 hours last night). 

For our music and for diligence in practice!

For strong relationships with the students.

For our vbs programs next week!

and of course, for the kids and their parents to know the love of Jesus!

Thanks everyone!! more updates coming soon. Follow us @aacfAichi on instagram!! 

ugly photo dump: (I'm too tired to make it look nice HAHA)