The morning started off with breakfast and a devotional by Zoe. She read from Psalm 34 and then prayed for breakfast. Then the team walked about 10 minutes to a local elementary school and did a clinic for the kids there. We started with the team picture (before everyone was hot and sweaty) and then each team member introduced themselves (watashi wa-- "name", my name is "?"). After introductions we passed out gifts (team brochure and rubber bracelets). We were also visited by the school principal who thanked us and hoped we had a good stay in Japan. Clinic consisted of various drills and of course games. After the clinic, we did our post-game ceremony of Kimi-Wa, Hippo song. We had already done a testimony with this group the other night, so there was no testimony today. We did pass out another little gift to them (a rubber "popper" thing where you push the circles back and forth). After the clinic, the team walked back to the church. They were real troopers as it was another hot and muggy day. The kids "joined" us for lunch. There were so many of them, that they all ate while we chilled and then we ate while they chilled. Sooo many people that we have to give another special shout-out to Yoko the marvelous cook, and the team of church volunteers who help serve. One special note about the meal, which speaks to why we are here in Japan was when the boys and there coaches came for lunch. It was the first time they had EVER been in a church. Then Pastor Hasui prayed for the meal. Very unusual. Who knows what this introduction to a church, Pastor Hasui's prayer, and the fun they had with the team to follow will mean in the future, but some more seeds were sown. So, after both teams had eaten, everyone gathered back upstairs for English time. After breaking into groups, there was time for everyone to practice saying their name, age, favorite color, food, family members, etc. all in English. The various groups played their own games and then everyone formed one large circle to play some other games. It would take too much time to explain the various games, so just watch the montage and/or ask your tour member. Speaking of seeds, after lunch we were visited by Ken-Chan (who became a Christian through the 1998 Seahorse tour) and her parents. Her dad is the one who would not speak to her for a year after she became a Christian, but yet he still continues to make these trips to visit Paul, despite now his failing health. Who know what seeds are growing in his heart. Pray for him. After a break in the afternoon, it was back to SSU for another game (Sophie scored a goal tonight, Peyton scored one last night). There was more bonding after the game (as you can see in the pictures/video), many were connecting on social media, and many invites were given to visit the US (more seeds). Who knows the fruit this will produce in the future? The clinic had an impact on some of the kids such that some of them came to the game to cheer us on. After the game, it was showers at the field and off to the Cafe Gusto for dinner. About 6 of the SSU girls joined us at the restaurant. A long and tiring day, but lots of seed planting. Please pray for these seeds
Monday, July 31, 2023
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Church, Lunch with Congregation, Worship Time, Game and Dinner/Fellowship with SSU, 7-30-23
This morning started at 8 with the ladies needing to clean up the sanctuary where they sleep and put everything away in the room at the back (where Lauren sleeps) and get the sanctuary ready for church. Breakfast was at 9 and started by a devotional from Lauren. Church here is not like in the US where people arrive last minute or late. People started arriving as early as 9:45 (for a 10:30 service) and were coming up to visit. Paul got a visit from a man called Yoji. It was very special, but the story is way too long to repeat here. We also receive a visit from the Nakamuras (Kojai). Kojai had become a christian way back in 1998 or 1999 during the Seahorse ministry in Nagoya. He drove an hour just to see the Seahorses and have a chance to worship with them. We were also joined by Ken-Chan (& her husband). Ken-Chan is a master translator who also became a Christian through the Seahorse ministry in Nagoya in 1998. The service was so special. Hasui-sensai's son Yo led a lot of the service. There was a song by 5 children (very sweet), a Bible time done by Keiko (Pastor's wife), singing, Paul's testimony, the team's Kimi-Wa song (accompanied by the band) and Pastor Hasui's sermon. After church and some post-service visiting, we had lunch upstairs with the congregation who could stay. This is always a special time of encouragement for all. At 1:30 it was back to the sanctuary for a time of worship with the band until about 2:45. The words for the songs were on the screen with some verses being in Japanese (but the Japanese included both the Japanese characters and the words using the English alphabet, so we could try to sing along). There was special music too: a 6-person choir number made up mostly of the older members and a soloist who had a phenomenal voice. As one of the girls said, it was a little taste of heaven worshipping with another culture in another language and imagining what heaven will be like. Sophia gave her testimony at this service. After worship there was about a 90 minute break and then it was off to the field for our game with SSU (Shizuoka Sangyo University). They are a very good team. As I am not a soccer player, I will leave it to the players to tell you about the game. After the game, Paul told about the team, there was some passing out of gifts (Paul's book, team brochure, a Biola womens soccer shirt for each girl), and then Kierstin gave her testimony. After testimony, we did our Hippo song and Kimi-Wa song. After the Hippo song, we had the translator for Kierstin's testimony come up and line by line explain the words of the Hippo song, so it was not just a fun song, but a simple testimony also. Paul then tried to get them to do a fun song, but this time they were hesitant. So, Paul improvised to break the ice and put several jerseys in a circle and created a Sumo ring and had some of the girls do Sumo. You'll just have to see the video to see how it worked. After that it was a time of mixing, which you can see from the pictures and video went really well. When that ended it was showers, back to the church for another wonderful meal prepared by the church ladies. We had invited the Sangyo girls back to the church for dinner and we were told that 15 of them would come. It was quite a turnout. All the girls had a great time and seemed to bond really easily. We have been told in the past that it means something to them to hear that these girls who believe in God can also have fun and express their emotions. That was certainly evident tonight. Only God knows the long-term impact it will have, but tonight it was great (as you will see in the pictures and video montage). AND, the schedule worked such that we will play them again tomorrow night and also have dinner with them. This is a first and a great way to continue relationships.
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Iwata Orientation with Hasui-Sensei, Clinic, Game, 7-29-23
Today was just the day the team needed after a long travel day. Everyone got to sleep in as breakfast (see pictures) was at 8:30. It was a leisurely time. Before Paul did his orientation, a lady name Yoko showed up who is a great cook and has prepared food for the Seahorses for many years. Paul honored her this year by having special made a Seahorse jersey with her name on the back. Before we did the orientation, Paul had the team practice both the Kimi-Wa song and the Hippo song. The hippo song had been more of a chant, so we listened to the real Mary Rice Hopkins version on YouTube to get the tune down. Paul then introduced then introduced Hasui-sensei who gave us a history of ministry here in Iwata as he is a part of JISP (Japan International Sports Promotion). It is a group of pastors who have seen the vision and benefit of sports ministry. As he explained (and Paul translated), there are many Japanese who will not go to a church, but they will go to a soccer/sports events where they are willing to hear a message. After orientation, there was a long break until lunch at 1, so Paul escorted a group to a local mini-mart where the team could buy some snacks on their own (10-min walk). We returned to find lunch all set out on the table. What a servant heart Yoko has. Bowls of rice with lettuce, broccoli, chicken & potato salad (see picture), along with some soup. Before lunch we were visited by the coach of the Daiichi club that we will be playing. He has had a long-standing relationship with the Seahorse and this church and came for a visit and wanted some pictures. After lunch there was some more down time until 3:30 to prepare for the late afternoon clinic and evening game. When it came time to go to the clinic, it showed once again what servant hearts these people have as 6 different cars show up to transport us to the field. On the way to the field, there was a surprise treat for the team. Hasui-sensei had arranged for us to be taken inside Yamaha stadium where the Jubilo Iwata play. They play in the J League which is Japan's highest level of play. They are so careful with their field, that while we could go inside, we could not walk on the grass, but only on the turf around the edges. The turf is so special, that when it comes time to change it, instead of throwing it away, they remove it and use it for local school fields, so that is why Iwata schools have grass fields and most others are just dirt. After this visit it was off to do clinics with the boy 6-13 about. We split into three groups to practice dribbling, shooting and passing. Then we mixed up the players and played several games. Afterwards we sang Kimi-Wa, the Hippo song, and Brett gave his testimony. After the clinic there was a short break and then it was some games against a men's team of 70 year olds. Hasui-sensei said that this the first time they have had contact with him, so hopefully this will continue. They played very well. We did our songs after that game and then Paul spoke about his book and then passed it out to the men, explaining how God works in mysterious ways and can work in their lives that way too, and they too can have an assurance of where they are going after they die. They it was off to the sento (Japanese bath house) for cleanup and relaxation. Then, believe it or not, at almost 10pm we walked to the restaurant (Joyfull) for dinner. By the time we ate dinner and got our rides to pick us up, it was 11:30. While breakfast tomorrow morning isn't until 9, the ladies have to be up early enough to move all of their stuff out of the sanctuary for church by 9, then eat, and then people start to arrive around 10. It was a loooooonng day.
Friday, July 28, 2023
Travel Day, July 27 & 28, LAX to Tokyo to Nagoya to Iwata
We met at Biola at 8:30 ish and were off for the airport shortly after our target time of 9am. We were all there by 10:30, checked in by 11 and through security and waiting by the gate by 11:30. Relatively painless for such a large group.
We boarded right on time at 1:10. Japan airlines was very efficient and we loaded quickly. The plane was a 2-4-2 configuration (787) with a lot of seats empty. Many of the middle four seats had only 1 or 2 people in them. This was as empty as I have seen it in my 12 trips. So our whole team got to sit together whereas in past years it was more split up. We took off at 1:50 and were served our first meal at 3:15. This would have been 7:15am if we were in Japan time. The meal you see in the picture (main course) was what they called “Ketchup Chicken”. Didn’t taste that much like it, but it was good. Uneventful flight (hardly any turbulence). The 2nd meal was served about 9:15pm (or 1:15pm Japan time the next day). We made it to Tokyo about 4:30 and had to catch a connecting flight to Nagoya. Between deplaning, getting our luggage, re-checking in and making it to the gate, we actually had to call the gate and ask them to wait. Japan airlines employees were absolutely wonderful through this whole process. This second flight seemed harder in some ways. Everyone was tired from the first long flight and when we got on the plane, the air wasn’t working and it was rather stifling. To add to it, the plane was another 20 minutes before it pulled out and then another 20 minutes of taxiing down the runway. At times it felt like we were going to drive to Nagoya. Anyway, the flight was only 45 minutes and we were met at the airport by Pastor Hasui who had a bus to take us to Iwata. The bus ride was 1 hour 40 minutes, so we didn’t get to the church until almost 11pm. The bus could not fit in front of the church (as the streets are so small), so it parked in the usual spot about 2 mins walk away. Pastor Hasui’s wife Keiko met us at the bus with her van to be able to load all the luggage that was either the big team stuff and/or ones that weren’t on wheels. The rest we wheeled to a 2-min walk to church. No evening meal, no showers, just a quick evening meeting and off to bed. The men are sleeping on the 2nd floor, Paul in Pastor Hasui’s office, and Gil & Brett in the little room off the kitchen. The ladies are in the sanctuary where the pews get turned front-to-front and makes a little bed to put the futon (foo-tone) on. Will show pictures of sleeping arrangements tomorrow. There is no video montage today as not enough happened to make one. I did include one video though, taken about 5:30 this morning. It gets light very early, as shown by the sunrise picture taken about 4:30 and the video about 5:30. The video just shows a panorama of the street the church is on, but the point was for you to hear the noise of the cicadas. They are really loud and were going at least by 4:30. It is constant all the time.
Thursday, July 27, 2023
Orientation Day 2, 7-26-23
First of all, some words on how to work the links below. Every day there will be a link to pictures for that day. If you have already seen all the previous pictures, you can select that link. If for any reason, you want to see all of the pictures so far, you can select the "Pictures, All" link. There will always be a daily link so you won't have to scroll every day through all the pictures to find that day's. Also, when you open the picture, if all you see is the picture and not the info bar on the right side, you can select the little "i" in the circle near the upper right and it will bring up the info bar which will include a description of the picture. This will be more important once we are in Japan. Any comments you make here are read by all. If you want to ask me a question directly, I can be reached at seahorsesinjapan@gmail.com. Enjoy, and thank you for your prayers and support.
The morning began bright and early at the Biola soccer field as the team gathered for morning practice from 7-8:15. Then it was off to breakfast at the Biola cafeteria, showers and on to the first orientation session at 10am in the Biola business building Rm 206. The morning started off with Paul giving the schedule for what we were doing the rest of the day. Then Paul introduced testimonies practice and discussed that testimonies had to be given in short sentences (for the translators) and that length had to be short (a 3 minute testimony becomes a 6 minute testimony translated). Lauren then instructed the team on how to complete a testimony, what to include and what not to include. Paul also added some instructions on how to avoid "Christian-ese". After spending some time writing, the team broke into groups of 2-3 to each practice their testimonies. Everyone most likely at some point will give their testimony, but no one is required too. Then a few of the players got up front to practice. After completing testimonies, it was off to lunch at the Caf. After lunch, we got back to the room which had been locked for security and no one was there to open initially, so Paul improvised and started discussion of skit practice while we were in the hallway. Once we got back in the room we continued skit and song practice. To explain, we always have at least 2 songs to sing depending on the circumstances. One is a Japanese song called Kimi-Wa which they love to hear us sing in Japanese. Kimi-Wa means "You Are Born To Be Loved." Then we sing a fun American song, but one that has a message and hand motions, so the audience can participate and the message of the song can be translated. To get more of a taste, see songs and skits on the blog header. The skits are always at least one serious skit that can also be translated (like the House Built on the Rock from Matt 7:24-27). Coach Brett then organized teams for the clinics to be held at our various locations. We finished around 2:30. 3:30 to 4:30 was pre-game practice, game from about 4:30-6:30, then off to dinner. While at dinner, Paul & Cody Snouffer (Seahorse CEO) addressed the parents about what to expect their girls will face in their ministry opportunities. He also explained that one of the players (Riley) got sick and will not be able to go on the tour. Another player (Cassidy) is still having passport issues and will not be traveling with the team tomorrow. Hopefully she will be able to join the tour in 2-3 days. Please pray that it works out that way. Paul also introduced some of the staff and explained what their roles were. After dinner, Paul gave final instructions for departure tomorrow morning and Cody Snouffer gave the send-off prayer.
Just as a reminder, the will be no blog for at least 2 days as we are traveling. Then it depends on when we arrive and how much time I have.
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Opening Day Orientation, 7-25-23
The day began at Biola with the assigning of lockers and rooms. Then it was off to Paul & Vickie Gizzi's house for dinner and the initial orientation session. After about an hour or so of relaxing and waiting for all to arrive, Paul gave a brief orientation of what to expect in the next two days, followed by dinner. Thank you to Vickie Gizzi and Debbie Jones for doing the food preparation. After dinner, Paul gave a brief orientation on the basics of ministry in Japan. Then he had Seahorse staff member Lauren Cleope, and long-time Seahorse tour participant Gil Mellis (11 previous trips), share some insights from their experiences. Paul followed by going over some administration details, including the information included in the team notebook. The evening ended with passing out the team t-shirts.
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