Japan!

From where I rejoined the ship in Hong Kong we sailed onwards to Nagasaki, Japan.

This city should sound familiar from your history classes. Nagasaki is a city with a lot of history. It was the first port from which Japan opened to the rest of the world. In time past it was one of the most reached areas in Japan but sadly the church is a lot smaller now. In more recent history it, along with Hiroshima were the cities that atomic bombs were dropped on during world war two.

The berth in Nagasaki

We could see this as we walked around the city. There were no old buildings, everything was new. This is not entirely due to the destruction however. Japan is a state-of-the-art country. Even the toilet seats are heated along with... other abilities.

The African-American Choir

One of the first events we had in Japan was a gospel choir concert. I had never even heard an African-American choir before and suddenly I find myself mixing sound for one, in Japan of all places! There were three different choirs at this event and at one point we had around 65 people on our tiny stage. This was a great event. Many Japanese people enjoy gospel and choir music. Our prayer is that they will stop and listen to what is being sung about.

Wednesday that week was my ministry day. Myself and my team travelled to a Catholic school to run a cultural program. We played a game with them, sang a song or two, performed a drama and shared about Jesus' love for us. Afterwards we shared the lunch meal with the students. Something different to Australia is the students all help clean the school after lunch! Promptly they all grab a broom, duster, cloth or brush and set about making it look nice. Some wash up the plates from lunch and some mop the floors. We should do this! It's great for the students and the teachers!

Later in the week we had the reverse process, they came to visit our ship for a school program. It was very special seeing the children again and show them where I live.

Altogether, I think Nagasaki was my favourite port so far.

Around the coast, our second and last port in Japan was Kanazawa. One day here I was sent to a kindergarten. I'm not sure why they keep sending me to work with such young kids because I'm not quite sure what to do with them...

We were a small team of myself, a German, a Nepali and our Japanese translator. Our program went smoothly and they again enjoyed a game and our drama. It was a little challenging as they have an attention span of about a minute and thirty seconds.

A proper sailboat near the Logos Hope in Nagaskai.

Overall our time here in Japan was a huge highlight. The people were a lot more receptive to the gospel than we ever anticipated. Many people came to know God during our time here. We had many well received events. My team are learning quickly and we're slowly developing new resources and making small improvements. Thank for your ongoing prayers and support. I truly appreciate it.

Prayer Points:

• For our next port in South Korea. It will be extremely intense with 3-5 events a day.
• Praise God for an outstanding port in Japan. Give thanks for those who came to know Him.
• That I would lead my team well and train them well for when myself and Rowell, the other guy with experience on the AV team leave.
• One of the members of the gospel choir generously donated a new microphone to the ship. Thank God for the generosity of the Japanese people and those working here.
• Pray for wisdom in handling ongoing conflict within my team.

Japanese Wind group - 'Esprit'