Rain down!

Hello all my wonderful supporters! (Disclaimer: I did not have time to proof read this so I am sorry for any grammatical errors.)

I am so sorry that I have not updated my post in a few days. Things have been pretty busy here and I go to sleep exhausted each night. A lot has happened so there is a lot to update you on, but I will keep the details just to the ministry so you don't have to read a novel! I also don't have any pics right now but I will give you some more in a few days. I have not updated since last Thursday, so I will give you a day by day play!

Thursday: This was the most incredible day. I was back on the Histostubashi Campus and met with students for the business English lunch. This was the day I had set up to share the Gospel with Shun. After the lunch, Shun stayed because he wanted to talk about know God personally. Shun sat down with Robin (one of the long term missionaries,) Omar (one of the full time staff,) and me. I asked him if he had read the Knowing God Personally Pamphlet and if he had any questions. He said yes to both. The four of us ended sitting in that room for two and a half hours. Shun asked some great questions. The Japanese do not understand the concept of sin, so we had to explain that to him. He then asked if there was anything that a person had to do once he accepts Christ or if he could go back to leading the same life. He also asked if God is perfect, then why is there evil in the world. The Holy Spirit really spoke through Robin, Omar, and I and we were able to answer all of his questions. Shun understood everything but still could not make the connection for his NEED for a Savior. WE asked them if he would want a life where Shun was in control or if God was in control. He said he wanted his same life where he was in control. He does not think that he does anything bad and he does not see why he needs to surrender his life to God. Omar then told Shun about the story of the young rich man that Jesus has an encounter with (Matthew 19:16-26.) Omar told him that this rich man reminds him of most of the Japanese he comes in contact with and that is why hardly any Japanese come to know Jesus. Omar then asked Shun that even though he didn't want to believe in Jesus, if we could still pray to Jesus for him. HE SAID YES!!! So all three of us prayed for Shun and he was very thankful. We then gave Shun a Japanese bible and said that he will have a better understanding if he reads it. Robin and I had to get going as we had to get to the train to get to another appointment. Shun said that he wanted to walk us to the station. Shun did not have to do this and it was completely out of his way. Once we got to the station and was about to say goodbye, Shun asked if we could meet again to pray for him some more!!!!!! PRAISE JESUS!!! And he asked if we could pray for his Friend as well!! Robin and I were amazed at this as he had decided not to accept Jesus! We, of course, said yes and I have plans on meeting up with him again. The Holy Spirit is definitely working in Shun. Even though it may be a slow process for Shun to accept the Lord and I may not get to be there to see it, the Lord has a hold of him! This was an incredible day and Robin told that this doesn't happen very often.

Friday: Today we had our picnic outreach at a park near Gai Dai University. It was so much fun and really helped us solidify our relationships with our students there. We were able to hang out and get into spiritual conversations with them. It was mostly the students we have already been meeting with but two new students came and they ended up skipping class and staying for two hours after to keep talking to us. Richard and I got in a spiritual conversations with one of the students named Kei, and he was really open to the Gospel and he talked about how sad and depressed a lot of students are in Japan and how they all turn to drugs. We were able to give him a Manga Gospel and have plans to meet with him again. I also had brought some Alaskan smoked salmon to the picnic and the students loved it!!! Ayaka could not make it to the picnic but had sent a message with her friend saying that she was so sorry and that she really wanted to see me! Today really opened a lot of doors for the students getting to hear even more about Jesus.

Saturday: Today, Katherine Anne, Casey, and I met up with two of our friends we met on the Hitostubashi campus, Emily and Mint, along with Anita, who is on staff with CRU here. We went and got carousel sushi and then went and did Karaoke afterwards. A truly Japanese day. It was a lot of fun! We are meeting up with the girls again and its time to share the Gospel with them. Please pray that they are open to hearing and that we have the boldness to tell.

Sunday: A few of us met up with one of our Friends from the Gai Dai campus named Bond. He has been coming to all of our lunches and we have been getting to know him well. Our plans were that he was going to take us around Tokyo and then come to church with us after (church is usually in the afternoons or evenings here in Japan.) He took us to Tokyo Tower which is like the Eiffel Tower except higher and the mansion that was built in the late 1800's by the Founders of Mitsubishi. It was fun and interesting, but we were all exhausted. We then got on the train and headed to church. As soon as we got off at the station, Bond told us that he could not come to church as he had a project to do and that he would come next time. We were all really disappointed as we thought that Bond was really open to Christianity. However, it is not our doing, but the Lord's doing to have Bond come to know Him and we have to trust in the Lord's plan.

Monday: This is our day off from ministry and we spent it by going to Tokyo Sea at Tokyo Disney Land Resort. IT was so much fun, but it rained all day and we were all sopping wet and cold. It was nice coming back to the apartment and able to have an evening of relaxation and getting a good nights rest for the two weeks of ministry we still have before us!

"The Prayers of a Righteous man are powerful and effective." Please keep our team and Tokyo in your prayers as we desperately need them. Please be specifically praying for the Japanese students and that the veil over their eyes is lifted and they see the need for a Savior. Pray for the students I have mentioned by name: Ayaka, Shun, Emily, Mint, and Bond.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers! Pictures to come soon! Please shoot me an email if you have any questions or thoughts! I am so thankful for all of you!

In Christ,

Courtney