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CCV 2005 Summer Team Tracker: |
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Wednesday, August 10th– The day has come for my summer team friends
to go home! Wanna know how I really
feel about it? “POOP” That’s how!
It’s always hard for me to see my friends leave after having a great
summer of ministering together as a community! I know that it could not continue for the
three years that I’m here, but the initial few days after the summer team
members leave are always the hardest for me!
Nevertheless, God has really been working on my saying bye process,
and this year has been the best and most smooth transition yet, although I
still miss their presence. I could
sense that the team had a hard time leaving Japan too with all of what God
did in their lives. All of the summer
teams left the hotel together and checked in together. The CCV team and I went to have our last
Japanese meal together. After that it
was off to customs they go so we said our “see-ya laters!” I am so grateful that I got to pick up the
team from the airport and take them back to the airport when they left! Although we’ve had many many awesome, capable,
faithful teams come to our church for summer teams, this team has been the
best team! God truly blessed our
summer with them! Thank you guys for
coming and spending the summer with us! Tuesday, August 9th– The full day of re-entry! This was different for me, as I re-entered
the world of Asian Access. My role no
longer became helping the summer team at the church, but rather being a part
of leading the re-entry program for
the summer teams! Asian Access gathers
together all the six week, four week and two week teams from all across the
US and Canada that went with Asian Access and helps them with adjusting back
to life in the North America after an incredible summer. We talk about what to expect after arriving
back home, how to tell effective stories about their trip to supporters and
how to deal with culture shock. I had
the greatest job of all, leading worship!!!
To lead worship in English, singing with a bunch of passionate college
students was just an unspeakable joy!
The team did well during the re-entry process as well, really
responding to and processing what God has done in them for the past two
weeks. It was fun to have them be a
part of re-entry for me personally, because my friends from Asian Access got
to meet my friends from back home! The
most moving moment of re-entry was to see many people open to doing full time
missions or even coming back to Japan for missions! Not just a handful, but more people were
kneeling than sitting! What a moving
moment to see God’s work in the lives of the summer teamers as well. Monday, August 8th– This was the last day at the church, and it
was very short and rushed. After
packing and meeting with the pastors, we had a lunch party for the summer
team. Kellie, Alan and Danny tried
“natto” (this gross-extremely-smelly-fermented-stringy-soy-bean) in front of
everyone! My word this this score
points for them! The Japanese lit up
that these Americans would even try such a strange tasting food item and like
it! During the party, a few people
gave speeches. Minoru, a man I’ve been
teaching English Bible Class to, opened up about how touched he was to see
ordinary people come to know Christ.
He even tried praying out loud for the first time! We were undoubtedly surprised and excited
for him that he took this step of faith!
Shima-san wrote an incredibly touching letter to the summer team
explaining that she had just become a Christian less than a year ago, and her
husband was a bit tired of her going to church all the time while he stayed
at home. He didn’t want to go to
church because he thought church was boring and not for guys like him. Then he met the guys on the team, and Alan
especially got to his heart. Alan
being the fun-loving, daring and hyper guy that he is won Shima-san’s husband
over. He never knew that people like
Alan went to church. Shima-san was so
touched that God moved her husband’s heart through the summer team’s work
here in Japan. Stories like this are
the reason why summer teams are so effective in Japan. God really does use ordinary people to
touch and affect lives for eternity!
After the party it was off to debriefing we go! |
