  Blue-shirted Variety Show Back in 2000, Troy and Rachel Cooper brought 13 high-schoolers from Indianapolis to work with three churches in Japan for one week each (here's the story). We worked them into the ground, and thought we'd overdone it. But later we heard that our week was their favorite because it was ministry rather than vacation. So Troy contacted us about bringing an even bigger team in 2003, saying that he knew we would put them to work. His wife Rachel gave birth to their first child a month before their trip, but that didn't seem to slow her down). |
 This team not only looked great in their blue shirts, but they had lots of talent. They came prepared with a praise band formed from their members, including a couple original songs, who often got the audience involved in actions and singing simple,  fun responses (left). They also had a juggler who could do up to 5 balls, pins, knives, tricks like under legs and behind back, etc., while adding humor and words of testimony. This same "Amazing Tim" did a "magic" trick that illustrated the Gospel using a sock named Fred who gets in the dirty water i.e. sin),  then tries to clean himself up using other water (the world/his friends), which of course just dirties that water. Finally he comes to Christ, represented by water with a chemical that makes the ucky color disappear, and not only becomes nice and white again but can even go back to the "world" and have a cleaning influence on it.  Most of the team was also involved in a variety of wordless, evangelistic skits. And four members of the team (Rachel, her mother, and two young siblings) had been in Japan for years as a missionary family, so their fluent Japanese language ability really made things go smoothly.
So we put them to work, like they asked for. Like Antifany did, the Outsiders started out on the street for a few days and then performed an organized event to which they could invite people. We scheduled two "variety show" concerts (afternoon and evening of the same day) at a community center, and another one at OIC the next evening. A good time was had by one and all! |
So a gang of 22 (counting baby Mayah, who definitely filled her role in friendship evangelism by charming half of Osaka - in the photo on the right, she foudna friend her age and introduced the moms!) descended upon us for 11 days. Fortunately a missionary couple who has a huge old house between Osaka and Kyoto offered it to us for housing short-termers while they were in the States for the summer. Yes, the house was big enough for the whole team! |
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