MTJ Gospel Choir

Warren Griffith is known by many OIC people, as he was in Osaka for several years. And currently he is most known for his Florida-based Christian homestay program called Homestay International. But he also understands the popularity of black gospel music in Japan right now, and is talented as a choir director and drummer. So he brought a choir and musicians to tour churches in Osaka in 2003. In our case, rather than in a church, we rented a public concert hall and advertised with flyers and posters. Then we prepared packages for everyone who came, with a Digest Bible, a questionaire for them to fill out (which Japanese are usually happy to do), and flyers for both our cell church and Warren's homestay program (see Rachel above with her pile to assemble). The choir was great, and although we didn't get as much audience as we had hoped, those who did come enjoyed the music, testimony by the keyboardist, and visiting with the choir after the concert.

OSM English Outreach

OSM, or Overseas Summer Mission, is a short-term ministry organization based in California sends out teams of short-termers to teach 3-4 week intensive English classes as an outreach. They teach in pairs, and we originally just agreed to take one pair, but we were the only ones in Osaka who were taking them and the OSM organizers wanted more than two in the same city so that they could get together for fellowship. So we talked to pastors we knew, and Pastor Suematsu of Shin-Osaka Chapel agreed to take another pair. So we got Kim (wearing purple) and Haruyo (green), and he got Deborah and another Kim. We had classes for kids and adults - here Kim is teaching Sakika and Manaka to count using clothespins and crayons.

Dewayne Dancer and Amie Cuhaciyan

Although they didn't know each other, and came to work with us through totally separate channels, and came from very different backgrounds, they came on the very same day in late August and made a great team for about a week.

Dewayne is best known as a radio personality on a large network of stations, but serves as a missions coordinator for Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas. Somewhere along the way he developed a personal interest in Japan, and first came for a few days with us while we were in Hiroshima. This time he had even learned some Japanese language, and put it to use. Amie was an 18-year-old from Seattle who originally wanted to bring several friends from her church youth group to Japan as a short-term team, but in the end only she was able to come. Dan put Dewayne in the OIC pulpit as guest preacher (above left), and together we all did a variety of literature outreach, delivering special packages with Digest Bibles (see us assembling them, above right) to every home in a Buraku area near the cell church, and passing out church brochures near train stations. To the left Dan and Amie get a seat on the subway with our big cart of Digest Bibles on our way to the neighborhood we selected. Below, Amy is awed by the gold in a freshly remodeled temple on the edge of the Buraku - I was briefly showing Amy the outside and explaining some of the Japanese Buddhist customs, when the lady who takes care of it invited us inside to show it to us and to chat. She had already gotten her Digest Bible packet at her house, and said it looked interesting. We were able to share the Gospel with her a little bit before catching up with the guys.

Kurt Yanagimachi

Japanese on the outside, 100% Californian on the inside! Kurt came for a couple weeks from the San Francisco area in late September, coming just in time to help us get thousands of flyers for Aukje's new English school (classes she was starting in October at Sekime Chapel) into the hands of potential students. It's one thing to design a flyer and have lots printed - it's another thing to get them all distributed! Kurt faithfully wound his way through the neighborhood around the church to put flyers in the mailboxes of both houses along the narrow streets (left) and apartment buildings (top right). He also braved the crowds at popular commuter hubs (can you spot him in this photo?) to give them to passers-by as they hurried back and forth.

But he got some variety also. Here you can see him at one of Pastor So's homeless worship services, where he shared with the men in song and testimony. Paster So is a dynamic speaker, but these guys clearly enjoy the variety of faces, personalities, and stories provided by the short-termers.

Kurt enjoyed his chance to share in the missions work in the country of his roots, and who knows - maybe he'll be back!

Ken Woodfin

In Ken's case there is less doubt - he would definitely be back! He came first in late November/early December 2003, but he came already having a sense of calling long-term to Japan. While he was with us, he helped us prepare and distribute Christmas outreach materials, and participated in an early Christmas party for college students (below), but he also traveled to meet and consult with our field director near Tokyo and to see another MUP missionary in Kyushu, exploring the possibilities of long-term service. Tim, in Kyushu, invited him to try out a mid-term stay, teaching a slate of established English classes for 3 months (the maximum stay on a tourist visa). When Ken asked Tim when he should consider doing that, Tim said, "You can start tomorrow!" That was a little too spontaneous for Ken, who owns a business with his brother back in the U.S., but he did manage to come back to do it starting in February 2004, and he and Time got along very well. We expect that Ken will soon be in Japan to stay.