in Christ Alone

Yay! Our church starts in the afternoon! :P But I keep waking up around 4 - 6 AM anyways. -.- Anywaysss, an update of what Japan has been like for us so far! 
Orientation and training has been kind of intense. On Thursday - Saturday, we work on writing/editing our testimonies and other stuff from 9 AM - 5 PM (with a nice lunch break from 12 - 1 PM!). The training has proved to be pretty difficult for all of us. We all had to really open up the door to our hearts to write this testimony. To be honest, our training staff seemed pretty intimidating at first, but I really appreciate everything that he has done for us. I’ve realized so much more about myself and where God’s hand was in my life. I’m really glad that our training staff pushed us to make our testimonies the best we could. 
Also, we were able to look around Shinjuku last night. At first, we were all mesmerized by the size of the city, the masses of people, and the bright lights everywhere. We all felt it hitting us, “We’re in Tokyo.” But, we got a closer look at Shinjuku. The Red Light district. We didn’t actually go into the district, but Ariel explained a little about it to us. Then, one of our team members, Aimee, felt deja vu near the Red Light district. She had a bad dream on that very street, so we decided to pray on the spot. It was such a good reminder that we’re not on vacation. We’re here to be fishers of men. We’re here to plant seeds in the hearts of the lost. Though the city was so bright with all its flashing billboards, the city began to seem so dark. 

Please join us in praying for the lost and hopeless. Pray that our eyes will see what God sees and our hearts break for what breaks God’s heart. Pray for our boldness and courage to speak to the people God leads us to. Thanks again, everybody. Your prayers are much appreciated.

First of all, I should probably let you guys know:

• Though I don’t have access to a phone, I have access to the internet! So, feel free to send me an e-mail if you would like to contact me or leave lovely words of encouragements♥. I probably won’t be able to check them everyday, but I will reply as soon as I have time. :)
• No e-mail updates! I will just be posting on this blog~ 
• I have raised 55.5%. That’s $3,207! I definitely was able to see God work in ways I didn’t expect through raising all this support. Thank you guys!

 
Whooo! I arrived in Orange County safely for briefing~ So far, so good! :) I loved meeting all the members of my team! Can’t wait to see how God will bring each of us closer to Him and each other. Today, I had a chance to bond with some of the girls on my team through a group nap in the afternoon. :P We shall be having another one tomorrow night! Also, it was nice hearing the the goals, hopes, and dreams each of my team members have for this project. Some of the ones that came up the most was:

• to deepen our personal relationship with God
• sharing the gospel and seeing the fruit of our work
• develop really close ties with each of the team members so that we can love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ

Please, pray that my team will really be able to see these goals and hopes play out by the end of our project!! 
I’m so excited to see how God will work in Japan!!  

 My team!

146 support letters have been sent out!~ :) Praying that I’ll be done with sending out support letters this week and receiving support and partnerships soon!!! Right now, I have…

WHOOO! :) I am 11.5% there! To be honest, I am getting a little anxious and worried though. >_< I only have about two weeks left until the due date now! But, I know He will DEFINITELY provide. I will continue praying and trusting in Him!~ 

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:19

Though tornadoes are relatively rare in the Tokyo area, a tornado has hit Tsukuba city (40 miles from Tokyo), Japan on Sunday, killing one 14-year-old boy, injuring more than 30 people, and damaged about 200 homes.  

Please pray for the family and friends of the 14-year-old boy, the speedy recovery of those injured, and the families whose homes may have been lost. 

Finished putting about 40 support letters together!!! I’m getting really excited about the trip and even just handing the letters out! :) Hope everyone will be just as excited when receiving my support letter! Praying that these letters will convey my heart and need to the readers. 

Edit:
Finished all the Epic support letters!!! I will be handing them out tomorrow at the last large group meeting. Excitement!