Planes, Trams and Buses

We made it to Tokyo.  Yesterday was a long day.  We headed to the airport around 4:30a Nashville time.  

Check-in went relatively smoothly and security went quickly.  We boarded straight onto the plane and then sat on the runway for 15-20 mins while ALT decided when we could take off.  Atlanta airport is huge, but the Lord blessed us with arriving and departing gates right next the tram.  After getting some breakfast, we boarded the plane.  The pilot started backing the plane out and then stopped to inform us that due to volcano activity in the Aleutian islands, we were being rerouted.  That process took about an hour and a half and added about 3 hours to the flight time.

We landed in Tokyo around 15 hours later after traveling @ 8000 miles.  Tokyo airport was basically empty which was kind of weird.  Another huge answer to prayer:  all 14 bags arrived in Tokyo.  We met Ken Bailey, resident missionary, and caught a bus that would get us to their side of town in about 2 hours.

After a quick bite at McDonald's, we made it to the Bailey's and got in bed around 11:30p Tokyo time.  That would be 9:30a Wednesday morning in Nashville, about 25 hours from the time we left.

My back decided to act up last night after all the sitting on the plane.  It is pretty tight this morning and I may need to stay here at the house and let it rest before the afternoon activities.  A member of the church has taken off work to be our tour guide so I would really like to honor his time.

Thanks for your prayers.

How can I help?

E-Team training has gone very well.  Our 6 six students have bonded nicely.  We are a little concerned that we haven't had any flare-ups.  Sometimes it's better if it happens before leaving the country.  Our biggest concern, so far, is being serious when it's needed.  We have some jokesters and gigglers.  They are very excited about going.  The first day of training we take they cell phones and ipods.  Today we have returned them for an hour so they can call home.  It was great to hear their excitement about the trip and what they have learned so far.

Last night's service was great.  Sandy Atwood, a missionary's wife, shared her thoughts on servanthood, which starts with asking, "How can I help?"  

Here are a few thoughts:

20/40/60 rule

20 years old - everyone's thinking and talking about ME

40 years old - I don't care what everyone thinks about ME

60 years old - They weren't thinking about me at all

- Do little things as if they were big things.

- Real servants base their identity in Jesus

- Real servants serve for the approval of GOD, not man

- Real servants make themselves available

- Real servants think more about others

- Real servants do things that are beneath them

- Real servants keep the glory of God as their goal

Our flight leaves early in the morning.  We have to leave the college by 4:30am.  We travel to ATL, then 14 hours to Tokyo.

Thanks for all your prayers.

Christ is a better Isaac

On Friday night of E-Team, the message topic was on Genesis 22:  the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac.  Several things were brought to mind, some from the speaker and others from the Holy Spirit.

Several times the phrase "his son" or "my son" are used.  It just made it so obvious that God was already living the sacrifice of his own son on the cross.  

Verse 8 says "God will provide for himself the lamb..."  God provided the ram then and provided his spotless Son for us.

Verse 6 Abraham laid the wood upon his son and in verse 9, he laid his one and only son upon the wood.  Christ is the better Isaac.  He willing laid the cross upon his back and climbed the hill to the altar.  Then he willing laid himself on the cross, sacrificing his life, the life he chose and gave himself, for my sins.

He is the perfect sacrifice that God provided.

E-Team Training

Today was the fourth day of training for our E-Team trip.  E-Team is a program created by FWBIM (fwbgo.com) to immerse HS students in missions.  This is the 18th year.  9 groups will be traveling to 8 different countries to serve with FWB missionaries for two weeks.  Before each trip there is a week-long intensive training process.  Students take part in training seminars about missions, evangelism, etc.  They learn songs and skits to perform for nationals, usually in their language.

We have 6 HS students that will be traveling with us to Tokyo Japan.  We just met them on Wednesday for the first time.  They are a great group of students, very respectful and willing help each other.  We have had some great talks during our morning team devotion time and team meetings in the evenings.  They are very open and share their thoughts with the group.  We leave on Tuesday for our nearly 20 hours of travel, including the 14 hour flight from ALT to Tokyo.  We have learned two songs in Japanese and a mime skit to perform while there.

Please pray for our group as we continue this journey together.  Pray for safety, sharing our songs and testimonies, and traveling in Tokyo.  Also Katrina and my wisdom and influence with the students.

As the Waters Cover the Sea

Habakkuk 2:14 - For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

I was introduced to this verse recently.  It is an amazing promise found in the middle of a chapter of woes to the Chaldeans.  "The earth will be filled... as the waters cover the sea".  What a word picture!  What sea do you know that isn't covered by water?  God is a jealous God.  He will get the glory due his name.

This month marks the one-year anniversary of a journey God set me on.  Starting this blog will hopefully be a journaling of that experience.  Some will be of present adventures and others will be reflecting back.  A big portion of it has been shift to a greater missional mindset.  A short-term trip to Iraq was one of the catalysts and the Perspectives course last fall added tremendous fodder to keep the fire self-sustaining.

Today we will meet up with 6 HS students to begin a full week's training before loading a plane bound for Tokyo, Japan.  The students will be coming in from 5 different states and most will know each other very little at best.  This week will be spent learning more about each other, about missions, and about some of things we will be doing while there (mime skit, songs in Japanese, ballon animals, face painting, etc).  I am sure there will be many exciting times.