Today the guys were allowed to sleep in until 8, then it was breakfast on the first floor of the church (see pictures). Cereal, bread, fruit, yogurt, milk, juice---the guys didn't go hungry. We were joined today Yasu, who played for the Seahorse PDL team this year, and who had become a Christian on a prior trip to the U.S. while attending a soccer camp. Also joining us was Matthew Gordon, a Japanese young man who had been adopted by American missionaries (hence the American name). He is very interested in being part of the ministry and would possibly like to come to the U.S. to play (as he has all of his college eligibility years left. Oh, almost forgot. Also joining us was Yuka, a young woman who plays for the Sangyo University women's team. She has played against several of the women's teams that have come to Japan, and she was part of the Sangyo team that came to the U.S. last year. In addition, she spent 2 months in the U.S. last fall. She is not a believer, but keeps hanging around. She was very tearful when she said goodbye to Paul later in the afternoon as she lives a ways away and had to go home (she lives near Iwata and Pastor Hasui). Pray for Yuka that her continued contact with the Seahorses/Masa/BJ/Hasui will bear fruit.
After breakfast, we prayed for the day and hopped the bus for Masa's Seahorse International Soccer clinic. It was held on top of an 8-story building (mall and food court on the first floor). This is the same field we played on last year (see pictures). There were about 50 kids and lots of parents. It was a great time watching the guys having fun with the kids and they did some skills, and played various games (skill related) and actual soccer games. There were even some games where the dads played against the Biola guys (including Yasu and Matthew).
There were a number of God-stories today. Since sharing Christ in Japan is all about relationship, we saw a lot of that today.
Joe Adams, whose wife Naoko became a Christian on a prior Seahorse women's tour, came with his son Tsunemasa (3). Joe also played for the Seahorses years ago and it is great to see him still involved.
Some of you who have followed the Seahorses for awhile may remember a young lady named Mikki. She had accepted Christ on a very early tour, but lets just say that she was a very troubled young lady with lots of issues that she couldn't overcome. One year, she showed up to see Paul, having come with her uncle Yogi (pronounced Yo-gee). Well, Mikki's issues caught up with her and she died recently. And, it turns out that Yogi is not really her uncle, but just someone she hired to drive her the several hours to see Paul that year. Well, God does not waste chances like this and Yogi showed up today just to be around the Seahorses. It may have been an accident and a lie that first got him to see the Seahorses, but God has used it to keep him coming around. I wished I could have spoken with him more. I did tell him that I was very sorry to hear about Mikki (as he knew I knew her) and he began to cry. He doesn't speak English so all I could do was put my arm around him and he likewise. Pray for Yogi that his continued contact would also yield the ultimate fruit.
Several of the kids and their mothers, who had come to the US in April with Masa, were there and were very happy to see us again. One young man's father, Hiro, came up to me and must have told me a 1/2 dozen times how appreciative he was that we hosted his son (and the others) and that we came back again to Japan. This is the kind of continuing relationship that the Seahorses like to partner with Masa in. Pray for Masa & Chie as they continue their work with these kids and the parents.
Emi is another young lady who became a Christian through the Seahorse ministry and even played for the sister team (Charlotte Lady Eagles) for 2 years. Emi's mom, Shizuko, came yet again and Paul (among others) had a chance to continue building that relationship. Shizuko is not a believer (yet), but is one of the many who keep hanging around (like Mr. Mizuno mentioned yesterday).
The testimony given by a Biola player after this event was changed at the last minute and switched with someone else. Stephen Tanquary (know as Tanq) ended up giving his testimony. After he was done, he was approached by a man, Dean Hughes, who is a missionary from Australia (see pictures) who was very touched, even to tears, by what Tanq had to say. Who knew? Well, of course we know who, but that is how God works---a testimony intended for the kids, and switched at the last minute, spoke mightily to a visiting Australian missionary.
Well, after Tanq's testimony (see video), we sang our songs (see videos) and then passed out awards and t-shirts and took the obligatory group picture (you will see what a crowd we had)
After the clinic, it was off to play some games against the older kids from Masa's Seahorse International Soccer Club. We sang our song after the game and Joey gave his testimony to this group.
In addition to all the prayers mentioned above, please also pray especially for Masa & Chie, as they are pretty much lone rangers in Japan. They have BJ's support, but certainly not the large support network that a ministry like this would have in the U.S. They currently have about 45 kids in their soccer club and could use 100 to make it self-sustaining without support. Another way to help them would be for anyone who wants to (particularly college students who want the experience) to come spend 1-3 months in Japan helping their ministry. If you know someone who would like an experience like this, put them in contact with the Seahorses who could connect them to Masa.
This ended our planned portion of the day (about 4:30pm) and then it was back to the church, pick up our stuff for the sento (Paul gave the guys and 1 1/2 there tonight, and then we went to a food court for dinner. Since this was the first day after a long flight, it was good to have an evening to relax.
When we got back from the food court, we had a team meeting to discuss who was going to what church in the morning as we will be split between 5 churches. Then we followed with our first hynack session--a time to nominate each other for doing something stupid (a cultural faux pas).
Pictures
Video Montage
Testimony-Stephan Tanquary
Testimony-Joey O'Keefe
American Song Take 2
Andre's Saves
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