We are extremely grateful to have seen God's provision so far. The summer team to help with the garden, money to purchase the first 2 pieces of land, and a building up and running.
We are now looking for yet another miracle. In 29 days we need to have the money in hand to pay for the last section of land. It will provide enough parking for 80 cars and a place for children to play. (not to mention space to dump snow) The church is able to borrow but would like to have some indication of how that will be repaid. Pray for the church as we face this challenge with prayer and fasting.
For pics scroll down to the summer blog posts.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Evidence of Grace
Lately I have been challenging people to see evidences of the grace of Jesus in their lives.
Yesterday was one of those days I got to see Jesus grace first hand.
When Harvest was purchased there was an old house also purchased next door and the water main is used for Harvest's new pipes. All the water turn-offs were closed properly, or at least so it was thought. One wasn't and so with the fluctuating tempratures one pipe in the house kitchen broke. For 10 days the water ran unabated. Aparently 750 cubic metres of water can run in that amount of time. The bill was 358,000 yen which s about 4000 USD. That would be about 8 years of water bills in one month!! I went on hands and knees to the city water department. They graciously reduced the bill to 9000 yen which is about 80 USD. That was 3 times the usual monthly charge-- but gratefully agreed to.
So where have you seen evidence of God's grace lately.
Yesterday was one of those days I got to see Jesus grace first hand.
When Harvest was purchased there was an old house also purchased next door and the water main is used for Harvest's new pipes. All the water turn-offs were closed properly, or at least so it was thought. One wasn't and so with the fluctuating tempratures one pipe in the house kitchen broke. For 10 days the water ran unabated. Aparently 750 cubic metres of water can run in that amount of time. The bill was 358,000 yen which s about 4000 USD. That would be about 8 years of water bills in one month!! I went on hands and knees to the city water department. They graciously reduced the bill to 9000 yen which is about 80 USD. That was 3 times the usual monthly charge-- but gratefully agreed to.
So where have you seen evidence of God's grace lately.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
PIZZA at harvest Chapel Hirosaki
The Aussie short term team and newly made Uni friends got together in December for a pizza party. Now you have to know that pizza has always been one of Ruth Mae's specialties; however she was busy with a class. So intructions were given and a trial run in Itayanagi led up to the evening. Altogther about 30 people had lots of fun making the pizza and hanging out.
Christmas cooking at Harvest Chapel
It remains a great way to meet new people. The advertising was mostly word of mouth. However ads were handed out in the direct neighborhood of 200 houses. The ladies enjoyed trying new things and Ruth had a good time talking about Jesus love.
Christmas at Harvest Chapel in Hirosaki
2008 saw the 3rd Christmas Worship meeting. However the 1st and 2nd were held at rented facilities and there were limits to what could be said and done. So in a sense we had the first Christmas at Harvest Chapel. Being limited to 1 room and not many resorces, we needed to be creative. First the floor was covered with a rice mat-like covering. Then apple boxes were used as platforms to put tables on. Being on the floor meant we could put 90 people not 50 into the room. In the 
end 80 
people showed.An acapella group came from the local uni and sang 5 songs. A christmas play and carols were sung. People really paid attention to the 20 minute Bible talk. The Aussie Team was very helpful in setting up and cleaning up.
We look forw
ard to being able to invite without worry of the room size. Hopefully next year!!!!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Worship at Harvest
January 11th, 2009
Following the morning service at Itayanagi, I joined Martin Ghent to go and set up for the service at Harvest chapel. To the casual observer, this collection of old farm buildings might appear rather dilapidated and uninviting, but they would be wrong for a of couple reasons. One: these buildings look like they've stepped right out of My Neighbour Totoro (ok, a bit silly but still rather neat)! Two: the potential for the future is incredible. It'll be amazing to see how Harvest develops in the next few years. There's space for a worship hall, offices, gym, kitchen...
Even with so much work to be done, the rooms and service at Harvest have a homely feel. The congregation may not be large, but that allows for a greater intimacy between those attending. We sang together, I gave my testimony, Martin shared his message - and all this was accompanied by the inviting smell of the next meal cooking! There's a definite upside to holding a service in a room with a kitchen attached. After the service, we all shared an afternoon meal together, and I couldn't help thinking how beautiful the surroundings of the chapel were. With so much room to expand, I can see God doing many great things through Harvest chapel!
- Jonathan
Following the morning service at Itayanagi, I joined Martin Ghent to go and set up for the service at Harvest chapel. To the casual observer, this collection of old farm buildings might appear rather dilapidated and uninviting, but they would be wrong for a of couple reasons. One: these buildings look like they've stepped right out of My Neighbour Totoro (ok, a bit silly but still rather neat)! Two: the potential for the future is incredible. It'll be amazing to see how Harvest develops in the next few years. There's space for a worship hall, offices, gym, kitchen...
Even with so much work to be done, the rooms and service at Harvest have a homely feel. The congregation may not be large, but that allows for a greater intimacy between those attending. We sang together, I gave my testimony, Martin shared his message - and all this was accompanied by the inviting smell of the next meal cooking! There's a definite upside to holding a service in a room with a kitchen attached. After the service, we all shared an afternoon meal together, and I couldn't help thinking how beautiful the surroundings of the chapel were. With so much room to expand, I can see God doing many great things through Harvest chapel!
- Jonathan
Harvest Chapel Garden
On Tuesday 7.1 and Wednesday 7.2, most of our group went to the future location of Harvest Chapel to do some much-needed practical work. Because the location is legally classified as farm land, we have to grow crops there in order to maintain use of the land, making Harvest Chapel a very fitting name indeed. We had quite a bit of work to do, as the field was overgrown with weeds and garbage. Through a combination of old-fashioned weed-pulling and Mr. Ghent's weedcutter, we succeeded in clearing out most of the field and threw the weeds into heaps for burning at a future date. Adrian and Deborah quickly proved adept at weed-clearing, but the rest of us worked our hardest as well. With a rotor tiller we chopped up the dry, hard ground to prepare it for planting, and by Wednesday, we were ready to plant some crops. Throughout our hands-on work at Harvest Chapel, we attracted stares from many Japanese passing by; a large group of foreigners farming in northern Japan is not an everyday sight! With any luck, we managed to get a little early publicity for the upcoming chapel before the land had even been officially bought.
We started with squash transplanted from the garden behind Itayanagi Chapel, but the farm-experienced Mortley family provided some corn that was planted as well. We finished our first planting with the help of a church member who actually assisted in buying the land for us in the first place. He provided some fresh tomato plants that transplanted near the back of the field to save passerbys the temptation of stealing their fruit. We finished up by watering, and in only a two-day span, had transformed the weed and garbage-ridden field into fertile soil for a new crop! Hopefully God will do the same with the people of south Hirosaki and make Tsugaru Gospel Church's latest endeavor a success!
- Kyle
Before & after pictures:
We started with squash transplanted from the garden behind Itayanagi Chapel, but the farm-experienced Mortley family provided some corn that was planted as well. We finished our first planting with the help of a church member who actually assisted in buying the land for us in the first place. He provided some fresh tomato plants that transplanted near the back of the field to save passerbys the temptation of stealing their fruit. We finished up by watering, and in only a two-day span, had transformed the weed and garbage-ridden field into fertile soil for a new crop! Hopefully God will do the same with the people of south Hirosaki and make Tsugaru Gospel Church's latest endeavor a success!
- Kyle
Before & after pictures:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)