ベサニー・キリスト教会

On Sunday the 29th of July our church welcomed the 88th member to join our church here in Japan. At times like that I always find myself looking back over the years. On October 5th, 1980 we held the first Sunday service here with six people in attendance. Over the years, God has guided 88 people to our church here either to believe in Jesus and be baptized or to join our church as an already practicing Christian. At our service on the 29th, the first two people to join our church here, Mr.and Mrs. K, and their son who was recently baptized here and who also is now a member of our church were in the audience. It has been a wonderful experience to see God guide each individual member here and build up a group of people into a living church.

I would covet your prayers for our church here that God will continue to add to this little flock of believers in Japan.

来週、FamCampがはじまります。緊張とわくわくした気持ちがわいてきました。鍛冶屋S君は昨日のLateEntryでした。びっくりでした。頼りになります。今回も４教会から参加者が応募しいる。大勢人数で祝福の時間になるように祈りをお願いします。PaulとReikoが無事に戻れる様にも忘れず。。。　　MKN

皆さんお元気ですか？私達は無事アメリカのベサニーに到着しました。中学生のホームステイが昨日から始まりました。みんな元気でアメリカの生活を楽しんでいます。主人は昨晩、22年前に病気をした時祈って頂いたブロッキー先生に再び祈って頂くことができました。体調も守られ ています。どうか続けてお祈りよろしくお願いします。ＲＳ

ON JULY 24TH I WAS DIOGNOSED WITH CANCER OF THE COLON. I PLAN TO HAVE SURGERY AT THE END OF AUGUST OR THE BEGINING OF SEPTEMBER. Ｉ PLAN TO HAVE THE SURGERY IN TENNESSEE. PLEASE PRAY FOR REIKO AND I. PAUL

ON AUGUST 6TH REIKO AND I FLEW TO AMERICA WITH 3 JR. HIGH BOYS FROM OUR CHURCH FOR A HOMESTAY AND CAMP PROGRAM IN MINNESOTA. THE HOMESTAY SEGMENT IS NOW DONE AND THE CAMP WILL START ON SUNDAY. REIKO WILL GO TO THE CAMP WHILE I WILL STAY AT BETHANY. ON THE 20TH THE BOYS WILL FLY BACK TO JAPAN WHILE REIKO AND I WILL FLY TO TENNESSEE. PLEASE PRAY FOR THE LAST WEEK OF OUR TRIP.

8月10日、大渋滞を通り抜けて、目的地の琵琶湖畔、白浜荘に各教会からの参加者が続々と到着して、約2時間遅れのスケジュールでキャンプが始まりました。本当に暑い2日間でしたが、琵琶湖ビーチを前に、早く水に入りたい気持ちを抑えて、グループミーティングでは”We are one!"をテーマに話し合い、終了と同時に、大勢が水着に着替えて、湖に飛び込んでいきました。魚やザリガニもいましたよ。
シャワーの後は食べきれないほどのBBQに舌鼓をうち、子供達は花火を楽しみ、恒例の森繁さんのゴスペルコンサートに聴き入り、キャンプファイヤーを囲んで昼間のグループでの話し合いの報告をし、"shmore"を食べ、満天の星空の下で、米国帰省中の牧師達の安全と主の守りと導きと癒しを、皆で輪になり、手をつないで共に祈りました。
8月11日、翔一君のリードで、早朝ビーチウォークを楽しみ、礼拝をもち、朝食後は、三堂氏の見事な福音マジックを楽しみ、森繁氏のミニコンサートに共に賛美をしました、体育館でバレーボール大会も盛り上がり、クロージングでは、リクエストに応えて共に祈りあいました。初めて参加された友達も、常連になりつつある仲間達も、みな、WE ARE ONE!と喜びを分かち合いました。充実したキャンプの立役者は参加者全員の協力と、準備にあたって関わってくださった多くの教会員の方々と、温かいご協力を惜しみなくしてくださった白浜荘のスタッフ、それに、キャンプに参加できなくても祈りによって支えてくださっていた各教会の皆様でした。そして、たくさんの祝福を与えてくださった、私達の主イエス様に感謝します。渋滞の帰路も無事に守られ帰宅しました。
みなさん、ぜひ、来年のファミリーキャンプにもお友達をお誘いして参加してください。本当に心に残る2日間を過ごせますよ。
MAYUMI

On the 5th of August, we had our 57th baptism service at our church. We usually have baptisms at Christmas and Easter and sometimes at Pentecost but I believe it was the first time for us to have a baptism in August. As I have shared before, I believe that the baptism of new members into the church is the Critical Event that must be happening in a Christian Church. The Christian members need to be maturing in Christ but at the same time there must be a constant reaching out to people who have not yet believed in Jesus and these people need to be led to faith in Christ and to baptism according to Matthew 28:19.

I was especially blessed by Mr. N's testimony as he shared how God started to work in his life 18 years ago through his aunt who lived in Hawaii. Through his aunt's witness and bringing him to church, she challenged him with the idea of the existence of God. For 18 years he was not able to forget this powerful truth and as a result, a couple years ago, was led to Bethany Church and both he and his wife are now baptized members of the church here

Please pray for Mr. N and his new found faith in Christ and that we will again see a baptism in our church in the near future..

The three boys and Reiko and Lydia all came back safely from camp yesterday evening. The boys were still full of energy even after 5 days of camp!!! Last night they all did washing and then went to play ping pong before going to bed.

We now only have a few days left of our trip. We will spend the last 2 days here at Bethany. We may do some shopping or we may go to enjoy some local sights or attractions. The boys all tell me that they have really come to like America and don't want to return to Japan so soon! So, I am glad that the trip seems to be a success.

On the 20th, we plan to fly out of Minneapolis and then the boys will fly on to Osaka, while Reiko and I will fly to Tennessee. Please continue to pray for God's guidance and protection on this trip. Thank you.

On the 20th of August the three boys and Reiko and I said a rainy good bye to Minnesota. At 7am in the morning we left for the Minneapolis Airport and by 10:30 we were in the air heading for Detroit. At Detroit we said good bye to the boys and saw them unto their plane for Osaka. Fourteen hours later they arrived and were met by Mr. N and their big adventure came to an end..

Reiko and I continued on to Tennessee and are now taking it easy at my folks' place. I will post no more American Trip 2007 entries but will post Health Updates. Let us keep in touch and keep on praying.

"The mass media, in summery, are amazingly adroit in supplying new dimensions to the age-old crisis of word and truth. Their indecision about spiritual realities, their deference to moral relativism and spiritual vagabondage, and their obvious accommidation of a materialist and sex-centered view of life are familiar devices for gaining attention and manipulating minds."

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"When truth and word remain as the accepted universe of discourse, then all abberations can be challenged in the name of truth. Today, however, the nature of truth and even the role of words is in dispute."

Carl F. H. Henry in "God, Revelation, and Authority Volume One" God Who Speaks and Shows

On the 24th of August I had my first meeting with my American doctor. He scheduled me for some blood tests and also for a CT scan on the 27th. On the 28th we will look at the results of these tests and will decide what to do in the future. Please pray that the cancer has not spread out from my colon in any way and that the plans for surgery and any other treatment will go smoothly.

I appreciate all of your prayers so much. Please keep praying!

I had my last meeting with my main doctor today. He told me that my recent blood tests and CT scan showed that I had what seemed to be cysts on my liver but that it did not seem to be cancer. On that basis he set things up for me to meet with my surgeon within the next few days. At that time we will set up the actual schedule for my treatment. There will probably be some weeks of chemo and radiation treatment followed by the actual surgery on the lower part of my colon. When that is decided I will file another report.

Otherwise, I have been in good health. I still eat well and am feeling strong and do not have any pain. I have had trouble sleeping at night and would appreciate prayer about that. I would also appreciate prayer for the whole process now that it will go smoothly. And of course I am so thankful that my liver has turned out to be cancer free! PTL

Today I met with my surgeon and he set up two tests for me. On the 5th of September, he will take a look at my colon using a short fiberscope and so he will know exactly where and what he is to do. Then, on the 7th, I will take a test that will show my doctor whether or not the cancer is only inside my colon or also outside. With this information he will be able to actually set up a time to do the surgery and also what kind of chemotherapy and what kind of radiation therapy to do and also when to do it.

So, the plans for my surgery are going ahead very smoothly. Thank you so much for your prayers and please continue to pray for Reiko and I.

I have always wanted a pair of snake boots! However, I have never seen a pair on sale in Japan. I have always thought that they would be the perfect footware for climbing Mt. Kongo in the fall and in the winter. In the fall, there are actually quite a few poisonous snakes around and I have often worried about getting bit. Then, in the winter, the snow is deep enough that a pain of knee high boots would really come in handy. However, none of the local stores stocked snake boots and so I have been waiting my time.

However, yesterday I was able to buy a pair. Here, in Maryville, Tennessee, where I am staying for my medical emergency, I found a store that stocked ONLY boots. And in the back, I found the snake boots that I was looking for. Just about the time my surgery is done and I can head back to Japan will be the time that I can start using my new snake boots to go mountain climbing. So, now I have yet another reason to want to hurry back to Japan as soon as possible!

昨日、大阪市内のホテルで、現在「世界陸上大会」に参加中の選手達をたくさん見かけました。すごく背が高い人もいれば、強そうなひと、ちょっと華奢な体型だけど敏捷な感じのひと…。エレベーターの沈黙が嫌で、話しかけてみました。みなさん、大会と大阪を楽しんでいるようでした。日本も外国の選手もみんな、がんばれ！！！

そろそろ礼拝や集会のレポートと案内を入力しようかなっ…と思っていたら、やっぱり来ました！今朝一番の携帯受信メールは、アメリカに滞在中のポール牧師先生からでした。ハハハ（^_^；）、教会のＨＰが英語で埋まっているようでは、皆さんに、活動報告ができていないのが、バレバレですね。
さて、8月の礼拝振り返ってみて、なんと多彩な説教（と、奨励）を聴く機会であったのかと気づきました。お話いただいたO兄、M兄、T兄、ご奉仕ありがとうございました。来週９月２日は、E兄が奨励をしてくださいます。楽しみですね。
さて、実は教会の皆さんが誕生を楽しみに待っているBabyがいます。Y夫妻の初めてのBaby、また、男の子か女の子かもわかりませんが、先日のエコー検査では、”すごくかわいい！”かったそうです。まだこの世で会うときまでは数ヶ月かかりますが、新しい命を待つ喜びはいいものですね。この分だと、教会員みんなで名づけコンテストができるかもしれません（^0^）。神様は、イエス様をこの世に与えてくださいました。私達の罪を許し私達を救ってくださるためにです。ご自身の子を犠牲にしてくださるほど、私達をも愛してくださっているって、本当にうれしいことですね。きっと、神様も私達ひとりひとりがこの世に生まれてくることを、楽しみにしていてくださったんだと、Y夫妻のBabyのことを思うと、心が熱くなりました。

アメリカに行っていたN－Boyｓ3名は、真っ黒になって帰国しました。すっごく、よい経験ができて、同行してくださった牧師夫妻と、キャンプに同行してくださったLydia,そして、現地でお世話になった一人ひとりに、心から感謝していると思います。また、証しをききたいね。

ポール牧師夫妻が留守の間、河内長野ニューライフ教会の牧師先生方が、説教にいらしてくださいます。皆さん、どうぞ、ご遠慮なく、美木多のべサニーキリスト教会にお越しください。(^o^)/

MN