Life2gether

The video above was made by Rudy Vaughan of LBC

How do you deal with being so far away from family and friends?

I am still trying to figure that one out!  I thought that after over nine years in Japan that I would be used to being away from family and friends.  I am not.  I think this is just one cross that I am called to bear for the glory of God.  And that is exactly how I fight the temptation to go back to the states…  I recall that my desire and goal is the glory of God and not in temporary comfort and ease.  As with all Christians, my real home is heaven, not America.

What are you believing God to do through you and Maki in the coming years?

We are believing that God will use us to raise up young people who can be great leaders for Japan’s future.  In many ways we are like the scaffolding for the building.  It isn’t a very glamorous job, but we are happy to do and it have many faithful – faith-filled people joining with us in prayer and support.

How can we pray for you and partner with you in reaching Japan for Christ?

I’m glad you asked, because we can’t do anything without a team!  For most people, we will not continue in laborious, passionate prayer unless we are economically tied to a mission.  I encourage everyone who is able, to give even a little bit of one’s money or resources away to a foreign mission or missionary in order to really engage in a meaningful way.  We need personal engagement through finances, encouragement and prayer.  More than specific prayers, we need prayers of faith and prayers of passion to move the Father’s heart.  It will take many miracles to change Japan and get Japan above 1% Christian.  We are so appreciative to all of our state-side friends who sacrifice for God’s kingdom right along with us!

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Thanks for your words, Mark.  May God bless you and your family and your gospel witness in Japan.

Many of you know that I have a twin brother who serves as a missionary in Japan.  He is married to his beautiful wife, Maki, and they have 2 little boys, Noah and Taka.  I thought it would be fun to do an interview with Mark so you can get to know more about his ministry in Japan.  I encourage you to ask Mark a question or give him a word of encouragement in the comments section below …

How did God lead you to become a missionary, specifically in Japan?

Divine intervention.  No, seriously, I wouldn’t be where I am today without some profound things happening in my life – without God working powerfully.  Growing up, I never dreamed of living overseas or becoming a missionary.  I wasn’t interested in “manga” or Japanese culture whatsoever.  However, as God changed my heart and life during college, and as I grew in Him and in my knowledge of His will as revealed in the Bible, I wanted to share that with others.  God’s heart for the nations, and the need here, was something I could not get around.  God finally showed me that in following Him, wherever He would lead, would be the place of greatest blessing and joy.  My specific calling came while reading and praying over Isaiah 58:10-12 back in 2002.

What does a typical week of ministry look like for you?

 After coming to Japan I realized that I had an overly romantic view of the situation.  Being a missionary means that my aim is to bring the gospel to a lesser reached area of the world.  The strategies and means we use differ from place to place, but really all Christians are called to do the same work where they are placed.

The particular strategy that God has called us to is in building up the foundations of the next generation (see Isaiah 58:10-12).  I spend most of my weekdays at our bilingual Christian school where I teach 2nd-5th graders about God and the gospel through science, social studies and English classes.  About 70% of these kids are not from Christian homes.  The rest of the day I spend in preparation for Sundays, where I lead worship, teach ESL classes, preach, and teach Sunday school.  (Obviously I don’t do all of these every Sunday!) We also enjoy spending time with individuals at our home who are seeking, such as college students we meet at church.  We also try to make significant time with our two boys.  We see them as our main investment for the future of Japan.

What are the biggest cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan?  Give us a funny example too!

Where to start!  I think these two cultures may be two of the most different cultures on the planet!  I think most Americans don’t believe that, since outwardly Japanese seem quite westernized, but it is true.  Here is just one huge difference:  Japanese value politeness more than friendliness, and seriousness more than frankness or humor.  America is the exact opposite!  (Which is maybe why you asked the question the way you did, Doug! : )

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Look for Part 2 of this interview tomorrow.  Until then, check out Mark’s blog here.

The following is a guest post by Tom DeZarn, a good friend and fellow member of LaGrange Baptist Church.  Tom is a humble man of God who has a burden for orphans and the people of Cambodia.  I asked him to write about his recent trip to Cambodia and how God blessed him.

I was blessed to be able to visit Cambodia in July with the Talton family and a team from Springdale Church. The main purpose of our trip was to serve at RDI (www.rdic.org), a company started by IMB missionaries sent out from Shively Baptist over 12 years ago. We also got to visit a very unique Children’s Hospital north of Phnom Penh, where a pair of Christian doctors sent out from Springdale serve the poor children in that area.

However, the highlight for me was probably a separate visit I made to the slums near a city dump. Nearby live hundreds of families who send their children to scavenge for garbage that can be resold. About 5 years ago the director of a Lexington-based adoption agency partnered with a church in Phnom Penh to begin a school for some of the poorest of the poor who live there and now serve nearly 130 kids with Christian instruction and loving care at the same time they receive their education.

Since adopting our youngest daughter from Cambodia 9 years ago God has put a burden on our hearts for the Cambodian people. Through the years we have supported various ministries there, but recently have decided to take a more active role in finding ministries that couple our passion for orphans with our connection to Cambodia.  We realize we have been greatly blessed in the US and with that comes an obligation to help our brothers and sisters around the world. We look forward to seeing what new doors God will open in the coming years.

This will awaken your heart to God’s heart and mission to the world. Please watch this video then pray, give, send, raise up, and perhaps go for the sake of His name.  Specifically, I covet your prayers for my twin brother Mark and his family who are serving as missionaries in Japan.

(HT: Zach Nielsen)

The folks at Matthias Media recently adapted the well-known Two Ways to Live gospel outline into a new tract called Two Roads.  I really like the new and improved design and wording.  Here’s an example below.  I encourage you to check out the whole thing and order some here.

My good friend, Dustin S____, recently started a blog called, His Peace Upon Us.  Here is the description of his blog in his own words:

I am a Christian follower of Jesus who loves the people of the Middle East. The basic premise of this blog is that we cannot love those we do not know. So I am hopeful that this blog is one way Muslims and Christians get to know each other.

Dustin calls himself a cross-cultural peace-maker.  I call him friend.   He is a man of God whom I deeply respect.  He is one of the most passionate guys I know.  His heart for Muslims and the Middle East challenges me as does his love for the church.  My wife and I have known Dustin and Kellie for a number of years.  They are dear friends of ours.  We are always encouraged and refreshed in our faith whenever we see them.

I invite you to take a look at his blog and learn more about how we can extend “His Peace” to all peoples of the world.

• Dustin also wrote a chapter in one of John Piper’s books called, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.  You will be blessed by his words and personal story of suffering.

Sometimes I need to get out of the little bubble of my life and remember the reality of the big world I live in.  Statistics like these from Family Care Foundation help to do just that:

If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

• The village would have 60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 from the South Pacific
• 51 would be male, 49 would be female
• 82 would be non-white; 18 white
• 67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian
• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 67 would be unable to read
• 50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
• 33 would be without access to a safe water supply
• 39 would lack access to improved sanitation
• 24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76 that do
  have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)
• 7 people would have access to the Internet
• 1 would have a college education
• 1 would have HIV
• 2 would be near birth; 1 near death
• 5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth; all 5 would be US citizens
• 33 would be receiving –and attempting to live on– only 3% of the income of “the village”

 For the full report, click here.

(HT: JustOneChild)

Earth's City Lights

In light of (no pun intended) the power outages around Kentucky this week, I thought this picture was pretty fascinating.  Over 100 years have gone by since the invention of the lightbulb, but as you can see many areas of the world remain thinly populated and unlit.  Yet it comes as no suprise that the United States is well lit and urbanized much like Europe.

What shocked me most about this picture, however, is that some of the most lighted countries are most spiritually dark.  I already mentioned the U.S. and Europe, (which are becoming increasingly secular) but look at Japan for example.  My twin brother, a missionary in Japan, has told me that this country is only 1% Christian.  Clearly urbanization does not equal salvation.  But, like many have noted, we must reach these urban areas for Christ since they are the hubs (if you will) for the rest of the world. 

Just think if these bright, well lit cities of the world, would actually become the “lights of the world?”  Imagine the impact.  So let us think globally and act locally–doing whatever we can where God has us now and praying all the while for the well lit, dark cities of the world.

• Read this post by Al Mohler called “A Reflection On Our Electric Lives”

Today I got a little hungry for Christian biography.  So, I went into our church library, browsed for awhile, and finally pulled off the shelf, The Story of John G. Paton.  I had heard about this missionary before but never read the full story of this man who was called by Spurgeon, “The King of the Cannibals.”  

So far I’ve been most influenced by Paton’s father.  What an example he was to his kids.  Look below and learn from this dad in the way he prayed, disciplined his children, and loved his wife.  He may be dead, but his legacy lives on. 

His Prayers

John and his brothers and sisters often heard their father praying for their salvation, as well as for the heathen people in distant lands who had never heard the gospel.  Even when he was still only a young boy John began to cherish the hope that one day he might, by God’s grace, have the privilege of taking the gospel to some part of the world where the inhabitants lived without the knowledge of Christ.

His Discipline

Of course, there were times when one or more of the children had to be punished.  When that happened John’s father would first go to his ‘sanctuary’ and there pray for God’s wisdom that he might do what is right.  Then before dealing out the punishment he would carefully explain the reason for what he was about to do.

His Love for His Wife

John’s mum and dad truly loved each other and their love filled the home with great joy.