Tsugaru Church

Miyako Report

2011-03-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

March 17, 2011
Martin Ghent and I set out from Misawa at 7;15 a.m. in a borrowed diesel van.
All the way down there were lines of cars at gas stations; one had a sign saying they would take the first 500 cars- that is a line over a kilometer long. By noon they were closed. People were lining up for kerosene as well.
We had lunch at Morioka Bible Baptist Church. We had some supplies from Misawa and got some more in consultation with a young woman who attends the Bible Baptist church and was in contact with her father (phone mail?) who lives in Miyako, where we were going. We took pastor Kondoh of the BB church with us, as he had connections there and wanted to go to introduce us and see the situation. The 90 km road in was wide open, and passage was allowed for anyone. It is a winding mountain road. Light snow made the road treacherous.
We left Morioka at 12;20 and arrived 2;10 at Miyako, a city of 60,000 people. It has 2 churches: a Kyodan church that has a church and kindergarten. The church was damaged but the kindergarten is in the hills and was untouched. There is also Miyako Community Church, and independent church of 12 members planted by Norwegian missionaries.
The pastor was at the emergency center talking with people who had taken refuge there; he had been doing so for several days. We talked with his wife, but she was unsure what to do and couldn`t contact her husband, so we set out to see the situation.
The church was completely untouched; they had water and electricity by the second day. But withiin a stone throw down the road, the head of the flooding started; no water or electricity there. Rubble had been piled high on both sides of the road; locals were adding the ruined contents of their houses to the piles, and scrubbing mud from the first floors. As we proceeded, the buildings got worse: several had collapsed and then we got to the place where they had been swept away.
We were stopped from proceeding to the end of the seaside road because the SDF was still working beyond that point. Up on a bridge above the town, we could see a valley where the higher houses were cut off by the huge drift of rubble below them.
The pastor`s wife said other parts of town were hard hit, but we didn`t see that. The village of Taro, where we were stopped the night before, is just to the north of this point.
We were told there were three types of victims. Some people stay at their wrecked houses burning rubble for heat, and waiting to see if family members will show up or call out. Some go to emergency centers because their houses are gone. Some go because they are afraid to stay in their house even if it is all right. Aftershocks continue daily. There were about 200 people in the center we visited, and we were told they had no immediate need of the supplies we had. We went to the town`s emergency supply distribution center (the water dept.) and for the first time we found someone who actually wanted what we had brought. They were very glad to get it (water, canned coffee, oddments of food and medicines, paper hygienic products, apples and juice, blankets and futon).
They would have been happy to have had batteries, gasoline and kerosene. I do not think there are people who cannot get basic shelter, water and at least some food, if they choose to go and get it. Very few of the buildings in the affected area will be easy to fix and people were saying it will take 10 years to rebuild.
None of the church members died or suffered loss.
Gasoline and kerosene are unavailable and will not be until sometime next week.

Some conclusions:
1. It is hard to believe that there is now only one church ministering to 60,000 people and even they are near closing. (the United Chruch technically exists and has an active preschool- but will they rebuild and how much longer will they carry on with around 10 on a Sunday) Seems we need to encourage MCC.
2. The church has becoming more inward and with this challenge has sensed God's calling to go forth. But they don't know how or what or ...... We need to be an encouraging, praying presence.
3. There are 5 or 6 harbors in the city containing a total of thousands of suffering people. The church is unable to think about what to do, but we could use the church as a sleeping/resting base and work out from there, not as a church program but individually offering help, a listening ear and as needed materials. We can direct people if so led to the church for followup.
4. My guess is that as we A) encourage the church, and B)go out into the city, there will be many opportunities that open for ministry.
5. Next year or after, we could partner with that church to do outreach meetings and tracting.

Give thanks for safety- almost smashed up the Driscolls van on the way back coming down an icy road- the person in front wiped out and we stopped beside them sideways with 4 feet to spare!!

We hope to start as early as next week or the week after. Pray for contact with the pastor- that we can push but not too much(we only want what Jesus wants anyway).
Martin

Japan Research- going in

2011-03-15T04:58:00.001-07:00

Things change rapidly here these days.
After a few conference calls and extended talks, John Elliot (brother-in-law) and I will be doing a 2 day research trip. Since CRASH and most mission agencies and relief workers start from Tokyo and head north, they get about as far as Sendai. However some of us are also concerned about the areas north as far as Hachinohe. Since OMF is the main mission agency in the north and since we are here and able to go in, we have decided that we will go.
So if you want to pull out your maps- or look at Google maps, we are planning to head south from Hachinohe. There are churches in Kuji and Miyako. Phones are down and cell phones numbers are unknown. So we don't know the condition of things although most pastors are reported alive. We want to find a place/ places that a small team can help from as early as next week. Hopefully after getting started this will gradually increase until we meet up with the folk coming north.
According to data the highest tidal waves were in this area but becasue of smaller towns, and distance from major centres, there isn't coverage.

Pray we would be safe- that we wouldn't get in the way- that we would get accurate date- that Jesus would guide us to a place where we could faciltate ministry to those in need. We have managed to get enough gasoline to get there and back so even if we can't find gas, we should be ok. We plan to go to Morioka to sleep- they have utilities and are inland.

As to over here- the stores are cleaned out of essentials- meat, dairy, noodles, bread, rice. Gasoline is available but lineups are 80-100 cars. From tomorrow we have 3 hour blackouts as a means to not use up available power.
German embassy has ordered Germans to leave Japan, and since our cowokers are German, they are leaving now. Armin will stay behind to keep the fort.

So all in all, it is an eventful tme. We pray that people would find Jesus and would be minsitered to in practical ways. We also pray that there would be an awareness around the world of the lack of churches and Christians and as a result there would be a massive church planting effort.
We are on facebook- as is the church. Sometimes we update the blog.
Grateful for your partnership for Jesus glory.
Martin and Ruth Mae

Ghent Update after Earthquake

2011-03-12T05:22:00.001-08:00

Dear praying friends,
We finally got our power back tonight just as we were about to start another candle light supper. Last week when we had an earthquake I thought that would be as strong as it got. Yesterday started out pretty normal. I made pie for a special cafe event-Martin was doing a stained glass workshop with 11 people in the second floor of the bookstore/cafe. One of the ladies has been to several events and told me how much she wants to be invited to our house. We were having nice chats with people. I went down to help serve up the pie and drinks and then the earthquake began. It was the longest earthquake I have ever experienced. When it finally stopped everyone went back inside. The electricity went out pretty well right away. We thought it would come back so everyone went back inside and started to work on their projects again. But then it started shaking again so half of us ended up outside again. For awhile I tried to stop the hanging lights in the cafe because I was afraid they would shatter on the wall. It's interesting to try and figure out whether you should try and stop damage or run. But in the end we had no damage although we have had many aftershocks and some of them have been fairly strong. We lost electricity but had water and have a wood stove so have been warm and fed.
Yesterday and today some church members hung out at our house because it is warm and we could cook. I was worried about the coffee shop freezers because we didn't want them to lose what was in the freezers. We lost some of what was in the fridge. We moved our fridge onto the deck in the middle of the night to cool it down. We still don't know what will happen in terms of gas and supplies but for now we are ok. The place where we go on summer vacation has been hit. The tsunami hit the beaches we swim on and has taken out the villages there. There are two cliffs that have old cabins that missionaries stay in. The cliffs are ok but our friends are trapped on them with no way down because the water hasn't receded. They are melting snow to drink. News of the nuclear power plants down south is really disturbing. We have a nuclear power plant in our prefecture on the Pacific side as well as inground cannisters to store nuclear waste from France??!!!!! We pray it all stays canned. Fellow OMFers are all accounted for. We have much to be thankful for. We are safe and although it shook long and hard we only had a few things fall and nothing broke. But I think that the distruction up and down the coast will affect the whole country financially and emotionally.
Of the people killed most maybe even all of them will not have known Jesus. People already struggle with depression and hopelessness and it doesn't occur to them to look to Jesus for answers so the emotional blow to the nation will be huge...Pray that destruction will open peoples hearts to the message of hope and give us opportunities to share. Pray for our hearts to be protected. Pray for people to be rescued physically and spiritually. Pray for supplies to get to where they are needed. The reality is that we still really don't know the extent this will affect this nation. And of course we wonder whether we will keep getting aftershocks. We spent the morning listening to warnings.
We are supposed to have our annual meeting a week from tomorrow. It's hard to think about that right now but that really needs prayer as well. Will send you another update before it and probably say more at that time. We were so encouraged to hear of so many of you praying for us and for Japan.
THANK YOU!!! Love Martin and Ruth Mae

Music Team in Public Schools

2010-06-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

Our team was able to perform a few concerts at various sized elementary schools in Hirosaki and the surrounding area. I didn’t know what to expect to see at a Japanese school, but it turned out to be a time to show the students love while simply playing along with them. We got the kids jumping and dancing with us through fun games such as tag and an arm tangling challenge. We performed a hip hop dance that spoke about finding our identity in Jesus and not in our clothes or houses. A few team members acted out a skit about how Jesus can lighten our load when we feel over-burdened. It was great to get the kids involved in fun songs such as “Alleluia” and “This is how we overcome” with actions. The moment we got the kids involved in the songs, the smiles burst out and everyone began to relax and have a blast. During a few of the fast songs, some team members jumped with the students in the audience and joined in the fun. At two of the larger schools we were able to eat with the students and have fun with them during their lunch period. It was a blessing to know that we were God’s ambassadors showing them His love and opening doors to future ministry opportunities.

Tracting in Japan

2010-06-14T06:17:00.001-07:00

In Kanagi half of our team went tracting to promote a concert we were doing a few weeks later at the Kanagi Chapel. Tracting isn’t something normally appreciated in Canada. The majority of tracting done in North America seems to be done by overly friendly cult members and sleazy sales people. It was quite popular in the church in the 70s and most of the 80s but lately the church has tried to distance itself from that form of ministry. Because of the stereotypes associated with ‘tracters’ (one who hands out tracts) I felt most nervous about participating in tracting. However, I was pleasantly surprised about how the Japanese people view the service. When I first started walking door to door (all by myself) I was hoping not to run into anybody face to face. The trick was finding the mailbox. Unfortunately in Kanagi its hard to distinguish which door is the front door of a house (or even what the house is from the shed) and thus the location of the mailbox. So I was forced into stepping in open doorways and calling “Konichiwa?” The great thing is that instead of getting the door slammed in my face, I was welcomed by many smiling faces. Furthermore, through broken Japanese, English, and primitive sign language I had great interactions with the people who were quite pleased to receive my fist full of tracts. I learned what an important part of ministry tracting is in the Japanese culture and not to be apologetic in my deliverance of the Good News. It’s not about pushing your views on someone else, the way we view it in Canada, but about making information readily available to people. So I say to all, “Happy tracting!”

Misawa Concert

2010-06-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

I am a musician. I have played a lot of concerts and shows, at big clubs and small bars, jammed out summer camps and empty rooms. I was surprised to then find out that no one rocks harder than the people at the Misawa Air Force Base in Japan.

At first I was taken aback. It seemed odd to me to fly half way around the world so that I could play worship music in Japan, and then go do it in the United States... in Japan. But OMF told us to be flexible, and hey, I don’t ever mind playing guitar. It was a beautiful drive through the country, we saw hills and mountains and forests and even some public washrooms (those are new to Japan). After a few hours in the car I was relieved to pull into the Airbase parking lot. We grabbed our passports and ID’s and went inside. We had lunch first, provided to us by the officer who invited us, and it was a bizarre switch to suddenly have Taco Bell and Pizza Hut available to us. After lunch we headed to the chapel to set up. We were greeted by some friendly US military who helped us set up and did our sound check. After a few “Check one two’s” we were ready to go, so we headed to the back room to pray. We prayed that we would play well and that God would minister to people through our music and through Martin’s message. He did. As we went through our set the whole team just let go of whatever thoughts or issues they were dealing with and entered into unhindered worship of the most high God, and in doing so we were able to lead others to do the same. As I looked out into the congregation I saw people of every age, race and background jumping and praising God. With hands raised they worshiped, with voices raised they worshiped, with knees bent they worshiped, with heads bowed they worshiped. With genuine sincerity they worshiped, and I was blessed.

Tyndale Music Team In Nakasato

2010-06-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

Not three days after our arrival in Itayinagi, our Tyndale music team was split up to take on various tasks. Half of the team loaded up into vans and traveled with a youth group back to Tokyo for a Chris Tomlin concert; the other half of the team headed to Nakasato.

This division of the team, consisting of Amanda, Sarah, Rachel, Jaclyn, and myself, met up at the home of a missionary named Angela. After brief introductions, we split up into two’s and went tracting. We passed out information for the Itayinagi/Tsugaru Evangelical Church, Kanagi Chapel, and some of our upcoming concerts in Nakasato and Kanagi. After about an hour and a half of wandering around neighbourhoods and engaging the locals as best we could, Angela picked us all up and we re-convened at her place for some well needed lunch.

Now tracting, for us and our Western minds, comes with a lot of baggage. One would not easily get away with doing it in North America without getting a serious scolding from some unhappy person who’s conscience is offended at even the mention of religion. Here, we had to unload that baggage and accept the task before us. We managed to hit many mailboxes and even interacted with a few people. Getting beyond the language barrier was difficult, but not impossible. The day gave us a taste of the attitude of the people in Japan.

This day also brought realizations and a deeper perspective on the needs for the Gospel. We had with us copies of a Manga magazine called “The Messiah”. It was the gospel presented in a form that was appealing to a younger audience. At one point, a crowd of young boys was waving at us from a window, and I motioned for them to come say hello. When they all came down, I handed them each a copy of the Manga. They took it with excitement. I heard one boy exclaim to his friend “Kiristo-kyo” while indicating the cover of the book. I had mixed feelings. We had just given these kids a unique copy of the Gospel, but I felt that there was still danger for them. Would their parents, with all their traditional cultural and religious views, allow them to engage this literature on any meaningful level, if at all? As we walked away from those kids, I felt that we were leaving them in God’s hands, hoping that what we had given them was a well planted seed that would not be choked out by weeds or taken away by the ravens.

That afternoon we put on a children’s program with Angela and Armin, a missionary from Kanagi Chapel. We held the meeting in a local Nakasato community center. The kids engaged with games, songs, and snacks, and seemed to have a very good time. They even listened attentively to Bible talks and testimonies about the work of Jesus! Weeks later, a larger portion of our team found itself again in that community center, this time putting on a concert for the adult population of Nakasato. This time, we were received with stronger criticism and scrutiny. There was slight tension in the air because of our open profession of Christianity. We all noted the reality of spiritual warfare that night. For me, it was a reminder that everything we have done here in Japan is only the beginning of a work that God only knows the end of. For now, we must pray.

A Sunday at Tsugaru Church

2010-06-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday Worship

Sunday is the busiest ministry day with English classes starting in the morning followed by worship practice, the worship service, and lunch with the church. The evenings were either filled with and English church service or a concert.

It is always amazing to be able to worship God in another language alongside brothers and sisters that I have never met before. In Itayangi the church of consists of a group of about twenty people, ranging from about age six to about over seventy. This, by Japan standards is a large church. Churches are small but they are tightly knit because when a person chooses to commit their life to Jesus, many times they are cut off from their family. Because becoming a Christian means paying a high price – and worshiping in church with people who have had to sacrifice so much to be there is a rare and real blessing. There is a strong feeling of “togetherness” among the people at the church and we were welcomed into that community for the three Sundays we were there. Leading them in worship was an even greater blessing because we were able to give them a special type of worship that they do not usually have. Because churches are so small there are not many people who are able to lead worship and singing in the way that we have in Canada. It is a blessing that the church in North America can give to the Japanese church. It is also an encouragement to the missionaries here as well to be lead in worship.

Summer Ministry at Kanagi Chapel

2010-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Our group set off for three days to spend time with Armin and Heike and their ministry in Kanagi, a town 30 minutes north of Itayangi. The second night we were in Kanagi we had a concert scheduled in an art gallery beside the church. The owner’s of the art gallery are an elderly couple, NAMES. The lady attends the church, and is said to be the backbone of the church, being an example of a real servant through her hospitality. She cooked us a lovely curry dinner before the concert and throughout the night went around quietly serving people. Her husband is quite a famous artist and attends the church on Easter and Christmas. It was his art that surrounded us as we sang songs to the Lord. The colours of his paintings are vivid reds and blues and speak of both the joys and pains of his family’s life. Singing glory to God in that space was a bittersweet experience because we were in the midst of an expression of the pain and joys of life experienced without God. The room was crowded with people, about forty or so, and as we sang I realized that some of them were hearing about Jesus for the first time, and although in a different language. A few of the church attendees brought along friends to here the music and see the skit about the love of God. A definite highlight was meeting the parents of Yudai, our friend from the Itayanagi church who was with us for the month that we were in Japan. Yudai came again to our concert and brought along a friend of his from school, who we got to hang out with later.

We also had the priviledge of seeing God water some seeds in a man name Abbe. He had come to the concert the night before because he had been given a poster about our concert. He had enjoyed it so much that he drove to Kanagi to hear us again. This is one of the exciting parts about being involved in a short term mission trip: that our team can have unique opportunities of ministry that can be followed up and built on by the missionaries here. We hope that this connection is one that will bear fruit.

It is amazing to me that we can have so many different styles in which to worship the Lord in the same concert. We had a dance, a drama, contemporary worship and choral songs all in the same two hours. And all of this worships the Lord!

Winter Retreat

2010-02-10T00:12:00.000-08:00

As a church we try to get away for a 24 hour retreat 2 times a year. For the winter retreat we use a government facility for free and pay 1200 yen(about $12) for 3 meals that are provided.

We go sliding, play in the gym amd have 3 study/worship sessions. One of the church's all combined worship services of the year is held at the retreat place at the end. This year our theme was joy- it actually was enjoyable.

Parachuting into Church

2010-01-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Well not exactly into church. Friends donated a parachute to the church before the snow came. For those not familiar with it, a few years ago someone was creative with material resembling a parachute. A few handles were sown on around the outside. People stand around and lift the parachute as high as they can and then touch down to the floor. The material is light and the trapped air stays in for quite a while. The material is in different colors and as colors are called, places are changed. Or everyone can turn and sit inside.

I highly recommend it. All ages, a status of life enjoyed it. Even the cool high schoolers and the 70 yr old grandparents.

Tako Yaki

2010-01-18T10:57:00.000-08:00

What is Tako? It is Japanese for octopus.

Often is group events the tako yaki hotplate is pulled out and people's eyes lite up. I haven't found anyone living in Japan who doesn't like it. Visitors sometimes turn up their nose.

A batter is made and spooned into halfmoon cups in a cast iron hotplate. After it starts to cook, little chunks of tako are put into the batter. After the bottom s cooked, the little balls are turned over.

Usually a sauce is put on, then eaten by the dozen.

The Art of Mochi

2010-01-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

Mochi making is an art handed down thru the generations. We have taken it on as one more way to identify with people. It also provides a place to do it. Most families eat mochi but rarely do they have home made mochi anymore. Up til 10 years ago almost everyone made it.

Sticky rice is soaked from the night before and then steamed for a few hours. It is dumped into a hollowed out tree stump and then pounded until becoming a sticky mass. They with dexterity it is formed into little balls. Before eating, one decides what to put in the middle or coat the outside. Favorites are azuki bean paste, sesame seed jam, soybean paste. It can also be put into soup.

It is one treat that I can eat and eat and eat...

Bingo in Church!

2010-01-18T10:41:00.000-08:00

Even tho the Japanese evangelical church tends toward serious behavior, a common game during special events is bingo. Cards are handed out with random numbers. Until recently I only saw the spinning ball with little numbers balls but now there is a digital version. After the Thanksgiving Party and Christmas party, all ages really got into the game with shouts of joy when they were able to say BINGO. Prizes were 100 yen specials.

Of Food and Fellowship!

2009-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

January 11th was my first Sunday in Tsugaru as I'd only arrived in Japan a couple of days earlier. I was looking forward to experiencing the worship services at Itayanagi, Harvest and Grace Chapels, although I admit that I did wonder how it was possible to manage such a busy day! If I were the one trying to organise it all, there would probably be a lot of stress and panic about who was doing what, and where, and when...

Not so for the Ghent family, who showed me how it's done with a smooth precision and an easygoing attitude. The key to it seems fairly straightforward: first, ensure that your focus is on sharing the love of Jesus with others, by offering your time and building relationships. Secondly, just keep putting one foot in front of the other! Perform each task as it comes, and enjoy the chance to have fellowship with others.

I couldn't help noticing (with pleasure) that food seemed to be a common element to all the services. Both Itayanagi and Harvest chapels had a meal after the service, and at Grace we ate before the service as well as going to a coffee shop after! I've heard it said that "Those who eat together, keep together", and I think I'm starting to see some truth in that. Time spent in fellowship is important for the members of every church; it's how we grow from acquaintances to friends, and then to family. Without the time to actually relate to each other, we can't make any real connections with the people around us - we become little more than a weekly club! There seems to be something about sharing a meal that works very well at pulling people together. Maybe it's the feeling of hospitality, or the unity of preparing together, or something else entirely... I'm not sure! Whatever it is, I'm glad I could join in with the Tsugaru chapels, and I hope I can encourage more of the same activity when I return home.

I won't deny that at the end of the day I felt absolutely exhausted - and I'd primarily been an observer! Nonetheless, it was a very rewarding day, and I look forward to next week.

- Jonathan

Attending a Baptism

2008-07-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

Today I got to see a baptism.
The man to be baptized's testimony was written by himself and placed in the bulletin for all to read (assuming they could), and then there were the normal questions asked about whether or not he believed before he would be baptized. Since the church is still too small for baptism like you'll see in most places in the US, the method was 3 sprinkles on the head. The church then also gave him a small gift as congratulations.
Baptism is huge in Japan. It's supposedly the sign of just how serious you are about actually following Christ. So for this man to make this statement was a large one.
It's funny how from the human persspective his baptism held little meaning, but I'm sure in Heaven God was throwing a HUGE PARTY over this man's decision.
So praise be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
God bless, all.
~Aikin, Scott

Helping at Kanagi Chapel

2008-07-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

On July 15th Amy and I went up to Kanagi by train and met up with Adrian and Deborah in transit. The entire trip was full of excitement. Upon arriving, the four of us helped a German missionary, Angela, hand out tracts in the area surrounding where she lived. After we finished with this she drove us to Kanagi Chapel where the Messers', the German Missionary couple that ran Kanagi Chapel lived. Once we arrived, Amy and I gave an english lesson to Japanese children, ranging in age from 2 years of age to 6. Meanwhile, Adrian and Deborah were preparing dinner, which we all enjoyed at the conclusion of the english lesson.
Then we went to an Onsen or natural hotspring, which we all seemed to enjoy, and then Adrian and I spent the night at Kanagi Chapel and Deborah and Amy spent the night at Angela's house. After spending the night there we met up in the morning to go and work on the Messer's vacation home. Although such places are provided for the missionaries, due to Heika Messer's severe allergies they had to buy a more modern place which contained less allergens, so we spent the day dismanteling old furniture, removing old grout, stripping the walls of wallpaper, as well as ripping up the old vinyl flooring in some of the rooms. All in all it was a great experience and God was definately with us throughout it all.

- Jordan

Helping at an Apple Orchard

2008-07-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

Aoyama-san is an apple farmer. He is also a vibrant Christian who practices the love of the Lord Jesus Christ every day. Before I continue, I need to explain that the town of Itanayagi, where we are ministering, is apple country. This town is very famous for its apples and very proud of its apples. The town symbol is the apple and it graces everything from stores and homes to bridge guard rails and manhole covers and even cell phone ornaments. Not too far from the train station is a walkway called the Apple Walk. It is a lovely walkway, about 2 km in length, which many of the local townspeople enjoy. Along the walkway are huge red granite apples, which look as if they’ve just fallen from the sky. At the end of this walkway, there is an apple museum and also a shop where all parts of the apple and apple tree are used to create dyes, food and artwork.

Apple trees are everywhere; acres and acres of them in all directions, interspersed with rice fields, houses and commercial areas, and of course, Itayanagi Chapel. J The apples of this region are truly special. They are cared for meticulously, and when they mature in September, they are the size of grapefruits. They also have an amazing delicious apple flavor, and we haven’t even had the fresh ones!

This brings me back to Aoyama-san. Aoyama-san is committed to serving the Lord with his whole heart. He is very generous and gives a great deal of his time and resources to the people of the church and to church ministry. He also has family concerns that involve a good deal of his time.

Because of these things, his apple trees have suffered. They are VERY full of apples. Now we would think that is a good thing, but it’s not. In order for his trees to produce the best fruit possible, most of the apples they produce naturally, must be cut off. Now we could give something back to Aoyama-san: we went to help prune his trees. Apples grow in clusters of 5, sometimes 6. The trees must be pruned so that each apple left on the tree is about one scissor-length apart from another. This way they will stay on the tree longer and will be able to grow very large and sweet.

It was very difficult deciding to cut off so many apples. We literally had to decide which would die and which would live. Many had to die for the sake of a few. The parable of the vine and the branches became starkly clear to me. Pruning is necessary for abundant life, both for specialty apples and for the children of God.

However, I still struggled with the loss of all the apples on the ground. And I thought, do I care more for these apples, whose death will actually help the ground they come from? Or, will I care more for the millions around me who are perishing without ever knowing the Lord of the harvest?

The next day, I spent most of the day at the orchard with 2-3 other teammates. I had fun pruning that day. Aoyama-san’s lovely wife, Emiko-san, worked on the lowest branches. I worked on the ladders, going up as high as I could. Aoyama-san had his cherry-picker type truck and he cut off the very highest apples, which we couldn’t reach from the ladders. Watching him work made me feel much better. As master of the apple trees, he knows what needs to be done and he does it.

I pray for an abundant harvest for him and his family. I pray for an abundant harvest for the Master in Japan as well.

- Kathie

Church Retreat

2008-07-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

We went to the annual church retreat at a retreat center that was just 15 minutes away from the church.

We first went to a park with a huge colliseum area. The whole park was all lush and green. It was beautiful. It was another surreal moment where i felt like I was transported somewhere other than Japan.

For the most part, throughout the entire retreat, I experienced a sense of community. It was great seeing all the families together. We had met most of the people and kids that attend the church during the weeks past already. However, it was neat to find out who the families were and who the kids belonged to and seeing each of the families together. Even though language was still a great barrier, I really enjoyed just being in the presence of the community there, watching the kids play, watching the parents enjoy fellowship with eachother etc..
We had a barbeque on Sat night. We all loved the yakisoba noodles! We had a chapel time where the "I am the gate" skit was done. Most people went to the onsen afterwards. When it was all dark, the kids (and adults) played with the many kinds of fireworks! We progressed to playing games, dancing, snacking etc....the rest of the night. All in all, we got to meet more of the church members and was able to immerse ourselves in the community.

- Jen

Artisans Fair Ajigasawa

2008-07-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 5th the team including the Mortley's, a family the Ghents have known for many years went to C-point. C-point being the artisans fair which comes to this area once a year. We spent close to 2 and a half hours there enjoying the seaside breeze and looking at all the different creations of artists from all over Japan. The works of art included everything from sculptures to jewelry to wood carvings. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we were able to visit the kiosk set up by the Ityanagi Chapel's Coffee House. It was very nice to see the local artists work and to be able to encourage the Ityanagi Chapel's workers.

- Jordan

7-8-08

Let me introduce you to our team baby. Yes, we have a baby on our team and she is a very important member of the team. Her name is Madelynn and she is almost 11 months old. Madelynn, or “Maddie,” as she is affectionaltely called, is here with her parents, Nghi and Jessica.

Maddie has become our team mascot in a way. She is an encourager. She makes us smile and laugh – a lot – even when we’re feeling stressed or tired. And her energy is amazing. Not only that, she is one of the happiest, most pleasant babies I have ever met. She has a smile for everyone, and she has willingly adopted all of us as her surrogate aunts and uncles.

She comes to every one of us, and, on occasion has allowed some of us to feed her, change her and even put her to bed, so that her parents can do ministry together or just have some down time. Because as lovable as she is, being a baby on the go, sometimes her parents just need a little break.

Madelynn is also a little missionary in her own way. The Lord has used her to start conversations with other moms at cooking classes. She has made people smile on trains and basically, everywhere she goes. People are curious. They will offer help or simply come up to her parents and ask questions, practicing their English. She opens doors that otherwise might not be opened. The Lord has a special purpose for Maddie on this missions trip, and I, for one, and very thankful to God for bringing her and her parents here to Japan.

And oh, by the way, keep your eyes posted…she may be walking on her own soon. Who knows, maybe those first independent steps, already ordained by God, will take place here in Itayanagi. The Lord bless you, Madelynn.

-Kathie

2008 Serve Japan Team in the Tsugaru

2008-07-03T03:19:00.000-07:00

Day 1-4 June 27-30

Day 1:: June 27

After staying in Ichikawa for a short while we came to Ityanagi chapel to stay with the Ghents. Our first meal was a collective one which we shared with Michael, a current JET teacher. During this time we shared our personal testimonies. We each shared how we came to know and accept Christ. It was very uplifting to see people form different places coming together with a common goal and desire to serve the people of Japan.

-Jordan

Day 2:: June 28

International Potluck
This was the first day that the new kitchen was used! We came just in time. =P This was a church potluck where everyone bought a dish of their own. Our team made tuna pasta casserole, rosti and brownies. We thought the rosti wouldn’t turn out at first, but it was all gone by the end of the night! Others brought an assortment of dishes, all really delicious. We had rice balls, marinated cold dishes, miso soup, salad, deviled eggs, guacamole and nachos, bean sprouts and pork stirfry etc…
The food brought about conversations among everyone. We got to meet some of the committed church members. =)

-Jen

Day 3:: June 29

English classes

On Sunday morning, the OMF team helped with English classes held at Itayanagi Chapel. The more advanced English speakers practiced conversational questions like “What type of music do you listen to?” and “If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?” The younger students had a blast slapping their hands at action cards to show their knowledge of English vocabulary. At the end, everyone gathered together for a Bible talk and to sing a song praising Jesus called “Get Up and Dance.”
- Jessica

Japanese worship service
Well, for me at least this wasn't the first service in Japanese I've sat through. This being my second time here, I knew what to expect. Basically, I wouldn't be able to get more than a slight gist of what was going on at best, haha. I suppose for those who don't have prior experience in the language or any at all the service had no hope of them understanding anything more than the names of the chapels they'd already know. Well, that and I believe we all were told that Matthew 28:16-20 was the topic for the mission conference/weekend passage.Well here's the gist of what I caught the guest speaker talking about. Mind you, my Japanese is probably about at either the "highest low" level, or the "lowest medium" level. The gist of what the pastor seemed to be speaking on involved some kind of metaphor about having a dying relative in the hospital with only 2 hours or so to live. This relative in the hospital idea, I can only assume, was meant to be tied in somewhat with the idea of the urgency of the need for those without the Gospel to hear and understand, and then hopefully choose to believe and follow Christ as their Lord and Savior and become His disciples.Otherwise, I ended up using the time to reflect on a few other things God brought to mind during the service. Mostly things that had already happened in the short time we'd already had here, and a few more things I'm in need of thinking about before the trip ends.While I may not have understood all the words the speaker said, one thing indeed was clear: God has something to say to us all. If we listen, He'll speak. We may not understand it at first, but given enough time and the perseverence and faith to trust in Him, eventually we'll understand.

-Scott

Lunch w/ everyone
After the church service we had the chance to have lunch with many of the people who had come. Some of us were able to help put together the food for lunch (udon soup). While we were helping prepare the food and then eating, we had the chance to meet and talk to some church members. They were very nice (and patient) with us, although there was something of a language barrier for most of us; sitting down and eating together gave us a great opportunity to have conversations. And we got to meet their cute kids. :)

-Amy

Harvest Worship
After a lunch with the Itayanagi Chapel members, we headed to the future site of Harvest Chapel, the newest daughter church of the chapel. The site is located in Hirosaki, which is a former feudal capital and thus, it has a castle. The city is located near the southwest corner of Aomori-ken, approximately 40 minuets by automobile from Itayanagi Chapel.
Mr. & Mrs. Ghent, our hosts, told us that they were hoping to have the final settlement on the property earlier in June, in order for us to do some work on the property. However, the paperwork is still pending. They were told that the delay should not be viewed with any concern, i.e., everything is in order but it must to go through the proper channels.
Although we have no reason to suspect otherwise, please pray that the sale will be consummated as soon as possible.
The property is located next to a public playground. It has a two-story building and enough ground for a parking lot. The first floor of the building is subdivided into garage/warehouse areas. They are intending to renovate the 1st floor into a gym, meeting room, and kitchen. Having so much open-span areas makes this building attractive from the perspective of conversion into a church. We did not see the second floor. The property was last used for an agricultural purpose. Therefore, the ground must be cultivated for at least one year by the subsequent owner, according to the local law. The church is planting some vegetables for this summer to meet the requirement. Although the property is not officially conveyed, they are allowed to do cleanups and planting. If the final settlement takes place later this month, as projected, we may do some serious demolition, renovation, etc.
We worshiped in the future kitchen area (an oversized garage with concrete floor) on goza, a thin straw mat. A few songs led by Jessica Tran and a message by Mr. Ghent were followed by a time of prayer. All of us thanked God for His guidance for finding the property, His provision for purchasing the property; and all of us committed the site and the future ministry of the chapel to God. Some light snacks were served on the center of goza.
Please pray with us that God will use Harvest Chapel for His purpose to draw many people to Himself through Jesus Christ, our lord.

-Takashi
Night English worship

On Sunday night, those working and serving in Tsugaru gathered together for International fellowship at Itayanagi Chapel. It was the first service relaunching this much needed ministry held in English. Since it was missions weekend, Martin shared about the kingdom work going on around the world as a result of believers sent out from Aomori. He also challenged those attending with Bible passages from Romans, Acts and Isaiah to share the good news of Jesus with those who have never heard the gospel message. He said that church planting has been an exciting endeavour and has brought him and his family great joy to see people follow Christ.
-Nghi

Day 4:: June 30

Our first day off Yesterday (Monday, June 30) we did some sightseeing around Tsugaru peninsula. We stopped at a shack where squid was sold, and got to chow down on some tasty sea critters. After that, we drove a bit farther to a beach, where we ate some lunch and enjoyed the view. After lunch the team drove to rock structure near the town of Ajigasawa, where we climbed the tall volcanic rock formations and enjoyed the pleasant wind that helped to keep us cool. Although most of Japan is sweltering hot and humid this time of year, the weather in Aomori feels like early fall in Georgia, and is very nice. A tour group of elderly people stopped at the rocks on the beach where we were there, and probably were freaked out by the glut of gaijin climbing all over their glorious homeland’s rock formations. Escaping with barely a sunburn, we proceeded to make our way back towards the church. (Most of) our group next visited an old farmhouse that was several hundred years old (minus modern accoutrements such as restrooms and electric lights) formerly used by an apple farmer. It provided us with a more historical perspective of Japanese life before we went to a bridge in Tsuruta, where we enjoyed some delicious (and cheap) ice cream and wild mulberries before visiting some cranes and a park with an awesome, nearly vertical slide, which many of our team members enjoyed riding. Unfortunately, it was kind of dirty and the back of my (white) shirt looked like a mess for the rest of the day. We returned to the church, as Yuriko-san used her van to transport many of us. Her family isn’t too thrilled about her being a Christian, so she was glad to help the Ghents transport everyone.
After we got back to Itayanagi, we rested briefly at the church and headed for the local mall. Scott and I ate dinner from a tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) restaurant, which not only served amazingly delicious food, but also provided awesome customer service courtesy of the lady at the counter, who not only gave us free drinks and refills, but also took our trash after we finished. Once again, I was greatly impressed with Japanese service. Next, we went shopping, which allowed me to acquire some writing utensils, a shitajiki (a plastic pad that goes under paper to keep the back side smooth for writing on it), and some hair products that I can’t easily (or cheaply) acquire in the ‘States. Scott and I also visited several video game stores, but it seems the games he want are never in stock.
After a rousing adventure at the mall, we went back to the church and got some rest. It’s just another (uncharacteristically) relaxing day in Aomori.

-Kyle

Memorial Service

2008-05-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

Every year we travel 5 minutes to the church graveyard and have a memeorial service. There are only 10 people who have been buried here none of whom were church members. Still its a good time to rmrmber we will return to dust and of the need to be ready to meet Jesus anytime. We sang a song, read from Rev 19 about the day when people from every nation and language is going to be gathered around Jesus throne one day. Then we talked about one of the ladies, Mrs Saitoh who is buried there. She was from the town and an avid Christian. Meetings were held in her home before we arrived in 1991. Partly it is because of her prayers that we see fruit today.
Then for those who can stomach it, we push back the stone slab and look down at the bones. Basically everyone is cremated here but they stop the fires before the bones totally turn to ash. Then they are dumped into the pit so that they turn to dirt over 20 years. There is something sobering about seeing all that remains of ones physical life. Sure points to the need to have our priority on laying up treasure in heaven where nothing is corrupted.
We look forward to our new bodies and to the new heaven and earth.

Swiss Night

2008-05-23T03:19:00.000-07:00

Beat Richenbach has been our short termer since February. His time is wrapping up and so we wqanted to have a time to invite his friends and church contacts. He cooked all day May 16th and 17th and put on a spread. There were 49 in attendance- half nonchurched people. He gave a powerpoint presentation on Switzerland. The hilight was the 7 minute video clip of his hometown- wow!!! It would be hard to be impressed by scenery anywhere else after growing up there. He then gave a clear presentation of the meaning of the cross using the Swiss flag.
Beat leaves us June 8th. We appreciated his servant heart.

Another Milestone

2008-03-31T04:43:00.000-07:00

March 30 was our big Annual Business Meeting. Reflecting on Jesus' goodness in leading and providing during the year was great. The hot topic was about whether we should start Harvest Chapel in 2008. There was good discussion and dialogue which indicated that people were really grappling with the issues. Stepping out into the unknown and walking by faith is a scary thing unless eyes are firmly on Jesus. In the end all of the points were overwhelmingly approved.
So now the real work of the new year begins. May people meet Jesus and may His name be lifted up more in the Tsugaru in days to come.

Irish Nite

2008-03-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

On March 27 there was an Irish Nite in Itayanagi. Visitors from Northern Ireland, John Orme and his mother Katie planned it and made the food. There were 38 who attended of which 22 are not attendees of a church. The food was great and John spoke clearly about St.Patrick.

Who are we?

2008-03-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

Tsugaru Gospel Church is a non-denominational evangelical church found in the Tsugaru Peninsula in Western Aomori Prefecture. Founded in 1991 by Martin and Ruth Mae Ghent, the church has expanded to multiple congregations at multiple locations (the chapels). Additionally, Tsugaru Church operates a café, bookstore and gallery.

A New Start

2008-03-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

We wanted to have a website that would be easy to use, support multiple church sites and facilitate many people contributing. So we got the idea of using blogger. So here goes.
Comments are welcome.
Pastor Martin