Road to Japan

The Land Between

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:22:12 -0400

As I’ve been going through this period where energy is elusive, a friend of ours recommended a sermon series called “The Land Between”. Whether you’ve lost your job, you’re having problems with your kids or spouse, or you’ve encountered health problems, we all at one point or another find ourselves overwhelmed with changes that we didn’t expect and don’t feel equipped to deal with. Sometimes we feel isolated from society and stuck in limbo between what life once was, and where we’d like to be.

This sermon series highlights some of the pitfalls and blessings that we often encounter during these times. I’ve found it almost entirely overlaps with my own experience, which has been no small source of encouragement.

If you also feel stuck in limbo, for whatever reason, I’d encourage you to take a look:

Trust & Complaint
Meltdown & Provision
Discipline & Growth

Always Learning...

Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:14:22 -0400

Every time we undergo a change in our lifestyle, it seems that we have to re-learn our priorities and how to manage our time. This process of developing ministry partners and preparing for Japan is no different. Over the last several months, we’ve been learning how to juggle our regular jobs, language learning, loads of administrative tasks, and meeting with people who are potential partners in our ministry. Needless to say, this can be quite exhausting - particularly when trying to give our best to both our regular jobs and preparing for Japan.

In university I was very good at balancing school and social activities with my need for a Sabbath rest - this is one day a week on which I would refrain from doing any work-related tasks, and just focus on spiritual things. Even when Peter was juggling two jobs over the past five years we were able to maintain a Sabbath rest. However, that rest had dropped off of our radar for awhile as our lives ramped up in the busyness of our preparations. However, we’ve recently realized the need for us to make this a priority again in our lives.

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)

“Be still and know that I am God...” (Psalm 46:10)

Double negative...

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:06:41 -0400

Our latest newsletter should be arriving at your door or in your inboxes in the next week. We’re really excited about how God is moving. We are continually seeing His blessings in our lives by the way he is sustaining us during this incredibly busy season. During the middle of March we were busy meeting with churches and friends, as well as working at our jobs. Our initial enthusiastic energy was coming to an end and the reality of our busy schedule started to hit us physically and mentally. I remember looking ahead to an evening appointment and praying, “Lord, we need your strength to get through, because we most certainly can’t.” About two hours later I was contacted by the person we were meeting. They were really apologetic but they needed to reschedule. We made alternate arrangements immediately, but God used that to give a chance to be refreshed and readied for the week ahead. I was amazed at how God took a bad situation (a cancelation, and our tiredness) and made a positive. I guess in God’s kingdom two negatives really do make a positive!

“I am an alien”

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:12:22 -0500

I think that intellectually I’m beginning to accept leaving the church and Peter resigning as pastor there. We’re very busy with missions-related things now and it’s nice to have a break from all the work involved in church life. It’s nice to sit through an entire worship service together an not jump up every time there’s a problem. However, emotionally it’s still very hard to attend and not actually be involved.

So, the question is: what do I really miss? Not getting up early on Sunday mornings, surely. Maybe it’s more the sense of belonging. Perhaps, the knowledge that I may not have that sense again in my life - ever again. We may become people of two countries, and belong to neither. Not understanding Japanese fully, but also forgetting our English vocabulary. Not fitting in anywhere. We won’t be able to come back to Canada and simply re-acclimatize. Things will change while we’re gone. This is us essentially giving up all earthly citizenship. The only citizenship which will remain is our citizenship in heaven. Are we willing to do that?

The answer is unequivocally “yes”. The line from the song that has been my soul’s anthem for the last decade comes to mind once more:

“Give me one pure and holy passion,
Give me one magnificent obsession,
Give me one glorious ambition for my life:
To know and follow hard after You.” (by Mark Altrogge)

“Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 3:13b-14)

Change...

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 18:19:10 -0500

Change is inevitable, we see it all around us. There is some change that we can control, like what we eat, where we go, how we choose to live. Then there’s change that we can’t control, like new taxes, or aging. But then there’s another type of change... change that we go after - change that we not only control, but willfully begin. Today, for me (Peter) was the first day of that type of change. I sat in the congregation at our church for the first time in four years. I had been the Associate Pastor, and leading worship every morning, but for the first time I now am not.

It’s an interesting feeling - this bitter sweet feeling. I knew that I wouldn’t make a good pastor and a good missionary at the same time, so Val and I decided to withdraw from ministry to focus on going to Japan. We need to learn Japanese, be calling people and churches. We need to go places, visit people, talk to missions committees. We think a lot of this stuff will take place on weekends... that’s why I stepped down, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Knowing that God is leading us this way and that He is directing our steps, is comforting, but the change still is challenging.

Why is it that the right choices seem to be difficult?