Team gathering!!!! =)

Hello all!

I'm so sorry that I haven't blogged in forever but hopefully that will change. =)

Today we were blessed to be able to have a team gathering! The Kawases (with the addition of Dacia!) and koalas (Stan, Kimberly, and I-we renamed ourselves while on the trip =) ) and our families got together at my house today for fellowship and prayer. It was really encouraging to see everyone and be together again. One of the things we had noticed while on the trip was that God was using our group as a support group for each other. We had what we called "flamily" meetings where we would go around one by one and tell what was on our hearts and then pray for each other. God was able to minister to our hearts in deep, powerful ways through these times so we felt it was essential to continue them! We prayed for each other today and one of the big concerns for lots of people, including me, was where to go from here. Where was God leading us in our lives and how to faithfully walk His plan no matter how hard the decisions seem to be was the big question that needed answering. We were asking God for his wisdom and clarity in hearing His voice.

We were also able to pray for all the churches we visited. To name a few we prayed for Living Waters Church in Tainan, Taiwan, the Hongodai church in Yokohama, Japan, Ricky Gordon's church in Shizuoka, the Bostroms and their community in Kakegawa, the churches in Kure near Hiroshima, and many of the surrounding churches we have maintained contact with. It was a great time of intercession for our beloved friends!

Because we were able to have Dacia with us, who is a daughter of the Bostrom family living with the Kawases for school purposes, we were able to have direct prayer needs from Kakegawa. Please pray for Mrs. Bostrom as she is suffering with a pain in her forearm, back, and other pains. Also please pray for them as they are in the process of acquiring an old public school building for their Christian school. While this is a tremendous blessing it also comes with lots of stress due to the monetary aspect. Pray that God would bless them financially to be able to compensate the teachers who have to work an additional job for enough income.

We are planning on being able to have regular meetings as God allows! I'm so grateful God has enabled us to maintain such a closeness as a team and as friends.

I will write more later!

Many Blessings,
Ashton =)

Back in the USA..... =)

Well, I have been home for a week now. I can't believe that much time has passed by! It has been good to be with my family and re-adjust to the time zone. Jet lag hasn't been too bad which I am forever thankful for. Abi slept for 19 hours once we got home. Now that's what I call a deep sleep!

I am hoping to be able to put LOTS of pictures on the blog soon. We downloaded all of the pictures into the Kawase's computers so I should get them sometime near the end of this week and then figure out how to put bunches on the blog!

It was amazing to see God work through us when we least expected it and felt the least usable for ministry. God truly does move in mysterious ways. Being able to see another view of who God is and see Him through the eyes of a different culture group was an incredible experience. Many good friendships were made and others were strengthened. I am so thankful that God allowed this trip to be written in my history! God is so good!!!! =)

I'll write more later. I am currently trying to study to take another test before I leave for Georgia in a week. I'll post pictures soon!!!!! See ya in July! =)

dancing in the orient - day fifteen/sixteen-

We're at the Narita Airport, two hrs. from takeoff. Below is our final trip diary and a few pics attached.

See you soon.
Sue

_________

SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2010 : TOKYO

Quick Sketch:

• Zushi Beach
• One hr. visit with Nagisa & mother
• Ja Mata Hatanakas’
• Kobe Beef , Hymn Singing, and Nakadairas’
• 10 Yukatas + 20 slippers + 1 bed = slap-happy fun

Trip Diary:

Dear Friends and Family,

Our final day has been pure relaxing, fun, connecting with extended Kawase relatives, and playing the American tourist. With our busy two weeks, this has been a welcome chance to relax and debrief.

Saturday after breakfast, Reina, Hatanaka’s 15yo daughter, took the teens to the beach. Walking along the Pacific shoreline in the sand and water was relaxing. They discovered live starfish; some stayed on for devotions.

After their return to Hatanakas’ designer home, Nagisa arrived with her mother. (Nagisa was a JCCC student in 2008 who we had taken in at a crisis moment in her life.) How good to reunite with her and meet her mother for the first time. We were moved to tears when at the end of her visit she stood before us, reading a long thank you letter in her broken English. She is finishing her teaching degree in Japan.

Late morning we left for Jiyugaoka, a suburb of Tokyo. The Tokyo commuter trains and stations are quite busy. There was no way we could have made it without Yutaka and Jenna’s Japanese language. The rushing of black-haired crowds in all directions is a sight to see. These people are used to the tight spaces; they learn to talk quietly but move swiftly from place to place. We enjoyed seeing an evening train packed to the gills! The train screeches to a halt; the doors open. No one gets off the crowded train. But a line of 15 people still push forward into the train. The final people in the line turn around and simply back up into the crowd then hug their purses, skirts, briefcases to themselves as the soothing whistle blows and the doors close. Despite one woman’s skirt getting caught in the door, the train sped forward. Very efficient. A sight to see.

Our final visit was with the Nakadairas’ . Yutaka’s uncle and aunt and cousin welcomed us to their home. So did G’ma Nobuko. How pleasant to see them all. Immediately we were invited in for a meal of Kobe beef, rice, salad followed by ice cream. (Beef is very expensive in Japan; Kobe beef is even more rare—the beef cattle are massaged and given beer to give us very tender steak….a very expensive and delicious plate!) Oishi to ippai desu nee! (delicious and filling). The guys were wide-eyed when they were given seconds! A gift from God!

Uncle Kenkichi is a retired Tokyo appellate court judge. More importantly, he is a believer who for the last 25 yrs. has argued many cases (even before the Japanese supreme court ) on behalf of minority groups in Japan, especially the Koreans. He is a man of words. We each gave our greetings and thank yous to this dear family, all translated. At his request we worshiped together, singing “Jesus Loves Me” and “It is Well.” He then presented each of us with Japanese yen to spend. You truly can never out give a Japanese person!

Later the teens enjoyed the Japanese private garden outside while some of us rested and chatted further. We took pictures in front of the Japanese garden gate before we bowed, hugged, gave our final “sayoonaras” and sped away on the taxis to the train station where we were taken to Richmond Hotel, just one train stop from Narita airport3pm Sunday. where we will leave at

Our final debriefing was slap-happy fun as the entire team dressed in our Japanese style white robes and slippers jumped on Yutaka and my bed for some former god-stories when Yutaka was a student here 35 years ago. The stories moved to giving thanks for all that God has accomplished in our trip here. What a time we had. There is much more to share. Pics will have to wait…if we find a WiFi connect at the airport.

Please pray for our final trip home…. About 13 hrs from Narita to Detroit, MI…a short 2 hr. layover, before we meet in Kansas City.

Much love and thanks for being our stateside team. We are very grateful for each of you.

With love!

Sue, for our entire team

Hatanaka home.


Nakadairas

Team at Tokyo Garden Gate

Tokyo Trains

dancing in the orient - day thirteen-

FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2010 : Zushi

Quick Sketch:

• Train traveling north
• Tourists
• Hatanakas’ welcome weary travellers

Trip Diary:

Dear Friends and Family,

8:30am our team gave our final “chows” at the Nishi-Hiro train station, then headed north past Hiroshima, Nagoya, Osaka, and finally to Yokohama. There, for two hours we enjoyed being tourists. We had caught snatches of sleep esp. on the shinkansen. We were grateful.

Yokohama, Japan's 3rd largest city is set for tourism—lots of beautiful sites to see--parks, Japanese gardens, waterfronts, architectural structures, and shopping. We thought of John Ho as we marveled at the Yokohama Landmark Tower : built to withstand earthquakes with shifting plates within the foundation. This 70-story structure is the tallest building in Japan and has the world’s fastest elevator, rising 28mph . Here’s a pic and website if you want more info: http://web-japan.org/atlas/architecture/arc10.html Mostly, we laughed and enjoyed ourselves.

At 8pm we arrived at Zushi station where Yutaka’s cousin graciously greeted 10 weary travelers. The Hatanakas’- Ichiro, Itsuko, and daughter-Reina are believers that minister in the corporate and educational sectors. You may have known, they housed Monika & Juergen Kramer’s youngest daughter several years ago. They have a fascinating story of the Lord’s pursuit. It includes a dangerous Zaire I love hearing each believer’s story—each so fascinating and unique. This is certainly no exception. military coup, Buddhism, Havard MBA, regularly hearing the audible voice of God (it began when he was 20yo as a Buddhist.), and a Christian baptism in Boston, MA.

Saturday Prayer:

• Connecting with former student- Nagisa- here at Hatanakas.
• Our final trip to Jiyugaoka, a suburb of Tokyo
• Honoring Uncle Kenkichi Nakadaira (84yo?) who helped us first establish contacts in Japan
• Reuniting with Grandma Nobuko
• Travel to hotel by airport: Reorganizing our luggage ; Debriefing

Much love to all!!

Sue

Natalie

More than Ashes

Hiroshima City Hall after Abomb

Hip Hop Blocking

dancing in the orient - day thirteen-

THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2010 : Hiroshima³

Quick Sketch:

• Reunited with team : heart check-in
• Last rehearsal
• Brazilian home-cooked lunch
• Finale Concert

Trip Diary:

Dear Friends and Family,

Our final dance concert is over! It was truly a grand finale for all the past four months of preparation. The concert was held at the newly built Hiro Civic Center adjacent to the busy train station. Lighting, sound, and stage (with large wings!) and separate dressing rooms made it a perfect place. Natalie and Jenna co-led this one. Who would ever have guessed when they met 17 years ago at MCF that they would be leading dance teams near Hiroshima, Japan!

The local Brazilian hip-hop dancers opened the evening with the vibrant dance:“He Reigns”, followed by “Go Get “em, and later “Living Clean” . Natalie had prepared the dancers well—with four practices each week for the last two weeks—all spoken in Portugese! And this is Japan! They love their Natalie!

Our dancers joined with them in the opening piece, then later in the program added their own repertoire- “When It Was Over” , “Man of Sorrows”, and among others, a powerful Cory Asbury piece “More Than Ashes.” Some of the song lyrics were first read in English, then translated to Portugese, then Japanese. We ended with improv worship to a Battlestar Gallactica instrumental. The evening was a celebration of friendship with these warm-hearted believers; a gift of encouragement during their hard months.

True to Brazilian culture, the socializing continued on and on- first in the civic center lobby, then outside, and finally in a local Italian restaurant. Lots of laughter and hugs… slap-happy fun. Exhausted, we fell into bed after midnight. Our final “chows” and pics taken—our hearts full. We had accomplished our purpose in coming.

Friday prayer points:

• Four hours of train travel to Zushi (near Yokohama)
• Late afternoon and evening with Hatanakas’ (Yutaka’s cousin)…pure relaxing.
• Touching hearts with our team: beginning debriefing

Much love and gratefulness,

Sue

PS: The movie, “Ratatuolli” (sic?) portrays well how much tasty food reminds us of past conversations, places, and emotions. Ask Kimberly. One of the Brazilian grandmas cooked a large meal of soup beans, rice… at noon today. Kimberly’s eyes quickly brightened at the sight and smell….”This is my mom’s food,” she exclaimed! She looks forward to her return with them in mid-July, as we all do with our families and friends. Just three days left here.

Natalie and Kirsti Backrub

Kimberly and Soup Beans

Sayumi and Gustavo

Team Heart Check-in

dancing in the orient - day twelve-

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2010 : Hiroshima²

Quick Sketch:

• Team on-their-own for the day—rehearsal, train ride, shopping & A-bomb visit, & more rehearsing
• Yutaka and Sue counseling day

Trip Diary:

Dear Friends and Family,

As Yutaka and I ate our Wed. supper in the “Thankfull Restaurant” (that really is the name!), it felt like dejavous. Just two years earlier, our last team in 2008 had ended their stay in Kure (town near Hiroshima) with an evening at this restaurant. It had seemed the perfect ending to our time with these joy-filled folk. Never would have we imagined the testings ahead for these believers.

We met for several counseling sessions and various conversations; we have heard quite a few stories—many the same—how hard the last months of trial (abuse on all fronts) have been, but also how faithful God is. We came home both saddened and encouraged—many going on with God despite the hard season, yet other younger believers struggling in their faith. We are sobered. We are called to prayer. We are reminded that in this earthquake ladened land, where every building is constructed in preparation for catastrophe, we too must have solid foundations, and develop our daily personal history with Jesus that will withstand any possible catastrophic event.

We also came away with two other assurances—

-- that God is faithful and will not allow more than we can handle;

--that these people feel incredibly loved by us for traveling the distance to hear their hearts.

The dancers successfully managed their 24 hrs. without their “team parents.” Surprise?! It was we who missed them! We couldn’t stop talking about the great team that we have. Some shopped; others visited the A-bomb Peace Memorial—very sobering.

Thursday prayer—

• Final rehearsal for Thurs.7:30pm (Th., 5:30am CST) performance at the public auditorium near the Kure train station.
• Marcio (one of pastors Yutaka, Joshua, & I homestayed with) & friends will prayer walk the streets Th. before the performance, attempting to gather interested unbelievers to performance.
• Final “chow” (Portugese for goodbye) Friday morning early.

Much love,

See you in just four days!

Sue

dancing in the orient - day eleven-

TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2010 : Hiroshima¹

Quick Sketch:

• Chapel with KIC School
• Sword posing in front of Japan’s oldest castle
• Shinkansen and Commuter trains to Hiroshima
• Three Japanese HS gals fascinated with Americano dancers
• Reconnected with Natalie!
• Team hiphop rehearsal in open park while
• Yutaka and Sue joined the Hiroshima Church’s prayer meeting

Trip Diary:

Dear Friends and Family,

After just 40 hrs. with the Bostrom family and students of the Kagegawa International Christian School (KICS) we loaded our suitcases into the 20-passenger Toyota van (a far cry from our Ford diesel van affectionately named “Clifford”—Yutaka did I catch you drooling?!) and headed for the Shinkansen downtown. Paul Bostrom graciously chose to drive us via the old section of the city where we spent 15 min. inside the giant gates of the Kakegawa CastleJapanese swords (replicas) for them to pose with. What fun they had for the few remaining moments! I have no doubt it was a gift from God to seal their time here! complex- the oldest castle in Japan. It was beautiful! Of course the guys immediately began climbing the huge stone base of the watchtower followed by sparring at the gate entrance. A Japanese man noticed them and brought 2

The next 7 hrs. were spent in trains and stations…the further south we travelled the more crowded it became as we headed into rush hour Japan-style. As before, the guys were such a blessing, regularly stacking 50# suitcases overhead our train seats and racing down stairs with a large suitcase in each hand. They were troopers! Pas de Deux trained them for this life!

We were so glad to reach our southern most destination around 6pm. As we awaited our contact, our team engaged three Japanese high school 15yo girls, attempting to try out their English on us. I pulled Jenna and Yutaka into the conversation when needed. The gals were fascinated that we were dancers from America. We invited them to the Thursday night performance. Pray that they come. As we left, we exchanged our American coins for some of their Japanese coins. We had made new friends.

And then Natalie arrived! How good it was to see her! We all cheered and hugged. Of course, it was also great to connect with Marcio, Hernaldo, and later at a pastry/coffee shoppe with Eri, Sayumi (Paula), Hiro, and other friends. It was great, yet sad because of all that has transpired with these Brazillian immigrant believers in the last half year. Their world has been shaken by much abuse at the leadership level. Though several limping churches now, they appear to be holding on to God. Hopefully, they will allow time for their hearts to heal completely.

Last night, the team had a 2 ½ hr. hip-hop rehearsal in an open public park led by Natalie. The Brazillian/Japanese dancers will join our team for a few dances on Thursday night. During this time, Yutaka and I joined Marcio, wife Sayumi and the believers of the new Hiroshima church for a prayer meeting. Unfortunately, the 45min. hum of Portuguese prayer was just enough to “sing” me to sleep! I awoke in time for Yutaka & my translated talks! We hugged and cried with the believers, encouraging them to take time to heal their hearts.

The entire team divided into groups of two or three for welcoming homestays for the next two nights.

Please pray for—

• The weary dancers--esp. Jenna/Natalie as they lead the two groups (Portuguese/Japanese/Spanish/English speakers)
• Abi and Joshua our youngest team members-emotionally/physically hard with the constant travel and quick entry/exit in each place here in Japan.
• Yutaka and Sue --as we travel to the other church today, engage in listening/counseling two separate couples.
• Jenna--as she leads the team this afternoon ON HER OWN : travelling by train/trolley cars to downtown Hiroshima shopping and/or the Peace Memorial (A-bomb museum).

Again, thank you so very much for your prayers. We are greatly indebted to each of you for “holding up our arms.” Don’t stop…in this place especially, we need your prayers!

Much love,

Sue, for all the team

Kimberly and Maharia




KICS Dance Camp

KISC Camp
Kakegawa Castle