Where are Bob & Chris in Japan December 28

Happy New Year from the Kyushu District of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. Chris and Bob worshipped today at Oeh Lutheran Church where Bob preached. The pastor was not at the church so worship was conducted by a lay member of the congregation This was Taniguchi Sensei a history professor at Kyushu Gakuin who was in seminary at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary with Pastor Bob in 1995. He earned a Master of Arts in Religion in his two years at Southern. He and his children and his wife Mikki enjoyed their time in South Carolina. The Byrnes , Taniguchi’s and Iwaski’s spent Christmas day touring Mt. Aso . They enjoyed the time to tour and share memories of seminary days. Bob and Chris were also blessed to have their two sons Michael and Steven in Kumamoto for Christmas Day. Today they were in worship together. The called pastor of Oeh church was not in worship but he was not taking a Sunday off after the hectic Advent season leading up to Christmas. He was serving at Uto Church. It is a small congregation about 30 minutes from Kumamoto. It is not uncommon for the pastors in Kumamoto to also take responsibility for another smaller country parish. Worship this Sunday at Oeh church was warm and lively. Pastor Bob & Chris were thankful the time to be with these brothers and sisters in Christ. After worship they shared some sweet cakes and tea. All looked forward to the coming New Year’s Holiday in Japan. It is the largest celebration in the country in the winter season. This year the new year of the cow will begin and the year of the rabbit will end. On New Years Day Bob will preach to an ecumenical service at Kengun Lutheran Church.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where are Bob & Chris in Japan December 21

Worship today was especially alive and good for Bob & Chris. It was warm and welcoming in contrast to the weather that was cold and with an almost constant rain. They were at Murozono Church. It is located near the campus of Luther Gakuin and Luther College. It is a beautiful building that sits up on a hill from the road below. It has a green cast to it. The receiving room and fellowship kitchen area typical of the Japanese Churches is on the first floor. The winding staircase takes you to the second floor and the nave. The facility has an electric stairway lift for the handicapped thus somewhat handicapped accessible. The pastor is a young positive energetic woman; Gotoh Sensei (Rebekah Yuki Gotoh). She is like a hummingbird going from blossom to blossom; but not to take nectar; rather to make sure the blossom (person) was content with their presence. The service was alive with YOUTH. The location was conducive; but the fact is she is doing something or the congregation or more properly the Spirit is doing something such that the youth are coming to worship; both Christian and non Christian! This Sunday the highlight of worship was a Baptism of three adults; two youth and one middle aged man. It was a moving experience for Bob to watch from his chair in the transept. He kept thinking what a joy and privilege to watch three adults join the community of saints. Baptism was followed with Holy Communion and another new experience. The wine was received from a common chalice by SPOON! Each person who wished to receive communion took a small silver spoon from the spoons on a tray as they walked forward; dipped it into the chalice and then received the wine/blood from a spoon. It was a new way to receive the common cup that would never have occurred to Bob if he had not seen it first. It is a very old tradition in the Lutheran churches in this area. It also had the advantage in a congregation where one fourth of the people coming forward were not Baptized of giving one an immediate signal of who was and who was not baptized or who was to receive a blessing or the bread of Holy Communion. The postlude was a hand bell concert by the hand bell choir of Luther Gakuin It was fabulous. The highlight of wonderful bells however was the virtuoso violin by a young person from Luther Gakuin in the concluding work. It was a postlude for the Holiday Season. After worship there was time to relax. Bob & Chris were at a fellowship meal. The meal was a feast, a Japanese version of a South Carolina church “potluck”. It was also a chance to experience more music; more joy; more chances to be with more families and children than they had seen in any church to date. All too soon it was time to leave. Bob and Chris headed back to the cold and rain and eventually to the bus and their “mansion”. They were, however, far too warmed by the day’s worship to notice the weather.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where in Japan are Bob & Chris ? December 17

Bob and Chris visited the Powlas Home for seniors who are in need of care ranging from nursing to hospice. It is one part of the vast ministry of Jiai-En Social services in Kumamoto City, Japan. They visited a modern, bright and very clean facility. It had all the amenities for excellent care of seniors. The requirement in Japan is for one caregiver for every three residents. To insure quality care the ratio at the Powlas Home is one caregiver for every two residents. Bob and Chris’s visit had two purposes. They were to see the facilities and meet some residents. They were also to attend the Christmas party for all eighty of the residents of the home. They also had the bonus of touring and meeting some of the seniors who come to the senior day care facility that is immediately adjacent to the Powlas Home. It too was bright and modern and staffed by enthusiastic and professions care givers. The day care has about twenty seniors come each day. They come either two or three days each week. The total of about eighty seniors who are in day care receive therapy, medical checks, baths and various recreational activities. Bob and Chris hope you enjoy the pictures. There will be more as they visit other parts of this vast ministry of social services.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where in Japan are Bob & Chris December 16

Bob and Chris are visiting and serving in the many institutions of the Lutheran Church in Kumamoto. In the past few days they have visited Luther Junior and Senior High School, Luther College, and Kyushu Gakuin Junior and Senior High School. They have met with boards, staff, faculty and students and toured the campuses. They were impressed with first class facilities to be tools to educate the mind, body and spirit of the students. They sat in our various classes including English conversations classes taught by our missionaries in the ELCA J-3 program. They also observed college classes taught by long term ELCA missionaries. They have spent time with our missionaries learning about their experiences of living and working here. They were very impressed with the schools the programs the teaching and the students. They both were asked to make presentations and lead discussions at the Luther College and Luther Junior and Senior High School. Bob has preached for a morning chapel service and is honored to have been asked to deliver the Christmas message at Luther and Kyushu Gakuin schools. The days have been long and wonderful with ministry opportunities abounding. Bob and Chris have just begun the month of serving the JELC and the Kumamoto District in the city of Kumamoto. Christmas is just around the corner. The season here is full of the joy of ministry in the extensive outreach of the Lutheran Church. This year the gift of Christmas, has come early for Bob and Chris. They are serving the Christ child in Kumamoto Japan.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where in Japan are Bob & Chris December 12

Bob and Chris are in the City of Kumamoto in Kyushu Japan. After the final Sunday in Tokyo where Bob preached at Ikebukuro Lutheran Church Bob & Chris finished packing and rested up for the flight to Kumamoto. Monday they left for Haneda Airport and the flight to Kumamoto where they arrived around 3:30 PM. They were greeted at the airport by legendary missionary Andy Ellis (a fellow Wittenberg University graduate) and the words "Welcome to the Center of the Lutheran Church in Japan". The warm welcome delegation also included Koizumi Sensei, Tanigawa Sensei, Iwasaki Sensei (retired) and his wife Yoshiko. After a tour of the churches where Bob will serve; and some of the many social agencies and schools that are part of the Lutheran presence in Kumamoto all had a wonderful traditional festive meal at a local restaurant. Bob and Chris received their carefully prepared packet of information and were taken to the their apartment or as it is called in Japan, their mansion for the next month. The first two months of orientation, language training, and serving in Tokyo with it's 12 million inhabitants, intricate transportation system and mulitple distinct areas within the huge city was a wonderful start to ministry serving the JELC. Now the ministry changes for the holiday season in the Kyushu District and Kumamoto. Here the numbers of Lutherans are comparable to the East District; but the population in total is around 800,000. Bob and Chris are excited as they begin the second leg of the Exhange Pastor Program and spend Christmas and New Years serving together in Kumamoto.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where in Japan are Bob & Chris December 4

A busy day and a blessed day is the best way to describe December 4 for Bob & Chris. The day started and ended with bible studies at Hachiohji and Tokyo Lutheran Churches. It is always a blessed day when you have the joy of studying God's Word. Between bible studies Bob & Chris had two other wonderful activities. After bible study at Hachiohji Lutheran Church they had a lunch followed by a tour of ministry in action in the work of Yasuhiko & Setsuko Imai. This couple has dedicated their lives to starting and running a sheltered workshop and home for the mentally disadvantaged. Through their faithfulness men and women employed and living at Akebonokai have meaningful and happy lives despite other challenges. Bob & Chris felt blessed to see their ministry and be in the presence of such examples of lives responding to God's Grace in their serving. This experience was followed by another special time. Bob & Chris joined Rev. Dr. Timothy McKenzie of the Japan Lutheran Theological Seminary for a special remembrance at the grave of Mrs Alice Wilburn Stirewalt wife of Rev. Dr. Arthur J. Stirewalt. Alice Stirewalt is a daughter of St. John Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina. Her husband was one of the great early missionaries who paved the way for future Lutheran missionaries and their work in the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. As the newest form of missionaries to come from South Carolina Bob, Chris and Dr. McKenzie thought it most appropriate to take time to visit Alice Stirewalts grave, straighten the grounds, wash the head stone and honor both her and her husbands memory with a service of prayers. The exchange pastor experience of serving in Japan has given Bob and Chris many wonderful serving opportunities in the East District of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. They will remember December 4 however as a special day to be among the saints present and remember the saints past.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where In Japan are Bob & Chris November 30

On Sunday they were in worship at Den-en-chofu Lutheran Church. This church has a number of Sunday services. They begin with a children's worship at 9:00 AM. This service was led by a seminary student: Okamura san. Bob and Chris were in attendance. Okamura san asked Bob to say some greetings to the children. Bob's greetings included candy and a lesson about the sweetness of candy and the sweetness of God's love. Thanks to Okamura san's translation the smiles of the children indicated they received both the message and the candy. Two services took place at 9:30 AM simultaneously; one for the parents and one for the children who attend the school that is part of the minstry of Den-en-chofu. Bob was blessed to speak to parents. He spoke in a worship setting on the subject of parenting. The pastor of Den-en-chofu, Sugimoto Sensei asked Bob to prepare on talk on parenting. Though that subject is addressed indirectly in some sermon texts this was the first time he had ever been asked to speak on the topic directly. He had been asked to prepare his talk for parents who were not Christians. He shared the approach of parenting that Chris and he used to raise their two sons Michael and Steven. Their parenting and Bob's talk come from the context of Christian Stewardship. The 10:30 am Sunday worship service followed this meeting. Bob was honored to preach on the texts for the 1st Sunday in Advent. After worship a fellowship lunch of wonderful curry rice finished a visit and multiple experiences of serving this beautiful church.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben