Monday, June 13, 2011
Update #1
Hey guys. On my support letter, I talked about how we'll be staying in Higashi-Kurume and putting on a Bible Camp at Kurume Christian Church. Well, we're still doing the camp, but there's a chance we're going to be heading up to a camp in the mountains where we'll be hanging out with some disaster refugees. Nothing's official yet, but I wanted to let you know it's on the table.
Funding
I hope everyone's funding is going well! We're getting pretty close to the deadline! Are you guys doing ok?
Spain-goers
This post has absolutely nothing to do with Japan.
I have a personal request to everyone who reads this: There's a handful of friends of mine (and then a bunch more talented students) who just took off for Spain through the I.U. Honors program. They'll be spending most of the Summer there. These students spent the last year trudging through a grueling admission process, and now at last, their efforts have paid off. Please keep them in your thoughts and pray that their journey is safe, fun, and eye-opening. :)
I have a personal request to everyone who reads this: There's a handful of friends of mine (and then a bunch more talented students) who just took off for Spain through the I.U. Honors program. They'll be spending most of the Summer there. These students spent the last year trudging through a grueling admission process, and now at last, their efforts have paid off. Please keep them in your thoughts and pray that their journey is safe, fun, and eye-opening. :)
The Team
This blog can't go on without me introducing the team. So, without further ado, we have...
Laura, our fearless leader;
Dean, the musician;
Ken, the artist;
Emily, the dancer/choreographer;
Isaac, our skit-writer;
Jason, the guy who's not going with us, but is still worth mentioning because he's awesome;
and me, Abbi, the craft-coordinator.
My teammates are all very talented and well-placed. I truly believe that God handpicked them all for the roles they have been assigned. Laura has been to Japan a whole bunch of times, and she's taught English over there. She is incredibly helpful and compassionate and a fantastic choice to be this trip's leader. Dean is in charge of the worship we'll be doing over in Japan. He's already got a great, high-energy line-up set up for us! He has a passion for outreach, and he's just a great guy in general. Ken is a VERY talented artist and will naturally be heading up our decorations, designs, etc. I know the camp is going to look amazing, thanks to him! I havn't had the chance to meet Emily yet, but I've heard that she's an incredible dancer. She's putting together the motions for our worship; I can't wait to see her talent in person! Isaac's been meeting with us via webcam; he's currently attending a military academy (so I think it's safe to assume he's a cut above, right?). He's writing our scripts for the skits we'll be putting on for the camp. I know they'll be great! Last but certainly not least, we have Jason. Jason has done the BEK trip several times before and has helped our team organize and prepare. He was generous enough to host us at his house and take the time to meet with us, even though he's not going on the trip himself. He's been super-helpful to all of us.
:)
Laura, our fearless leader;
Dean, the musician;
Ken, the artist;
Emily, the dancer/choreographer;
Isaac, our skit-writer;
Jason, the guy who's not going with us, but is still worth mentioning because he's awesome;
and me, Abbi, the craft-coordinator.
My teammates are all very talented and well-placed. I truly believe that God handpicked them all for the roles they have been assigned. Laura has been to Japan a whole bunch of times, and she's taught English over there. She is incredibly helpful and compassionate and a fantastic choice to be this trip's leader. Dean is in charge of the worship we'll be doing over in Japan. He's already got a great, high-energy line-up set up for us! He has a passion for outreach, and he's just a great guy in general. Ken is a VERY talented artist and will naturally be heading up our decorations, designs, etc. I know the camp is going to look amazing, thanks to him! I havn't had the chance to meet Emily yet, but I've heard that she's an incredible dancer. She's putting together the motions for our worship; I can't wait to see her talent in person! Isaac's been meeting with us via webcam; he's currently attending a military academy (so I think it's safe to assume he's a cut above, right?). He's writing our scripts for the skits we'll be putting on for the camp. I know they'll be great! Last but certainly not least, we have Jason. Jason has done the BEK trip several times before and has helped our team organize and prepare. He was generous enough to host us at his house and take the time to meet with us, even though he's not going on the trip himself. He's been super-helpful to all of us.
:)
Welcome Aboard
(Wait, before I get totally started here. I got in from Colorado last night at about 1. Jet-lag has been my best friend today, so I apologize in advance if some of these words just seem like a melted mass of letters :D )
What better time to get started than much later than you planned to get started?
I originally wanted to do this vlog-style, but of course, all my technology decided to fail me. So I finally decided to stop waiting and just do a good ol' fashioned blog. You know, with words!
So, first off:
Thank you, kind viewer. By reading this, you're giving us your support. Keeping up with the twists and turns of our trip is both very considerate and very appreciated. You're awesome :D
Second, the url (abbigoestojapan) is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, I started the blog, but everyone from the team will have the chance to pitch in. I'm going to be posting what they have to say as well as my own reports on the trip progress.
Third, I want to go over the purpose of this mission trip again.
The trip itself is called "BEK" (Bible English for Kids). The team and I are going out to Higashi-Kurume to put on a Bible camp that introduces the kids who attend to English vocabulary; but more importantly, introduces them to Christ. The percentage of Japanese Christians is dangling below 2%, and after the horrific disasters that have stricken Japan, many local faiths have been questioned. God's guidance is needed more than ever.Along with the Bible Camp, we may be interacting with refugees from the flooding, radiation, etc. So many lives have been broken, and it's my (and I'm sure my teammates' as well) hope that we'll be able to start stitching them back together with the hope that He provides.
What better time to get started than much later than you planned to get started?
I originally wanted to do this vlog-style, but of course, all my technology decided to fail me. So I finally decided to stop waiting and just do a good ol' fashioned blog. You know, with words!
So, first off:
Thank you, kind viewer. By reading this, you're giving us your support. Keeping up with the twists and turns of our trip is both very considerate and very appreciated. You're awesome :D
Second, the url (abbigoestojapan) is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, I started the blog, but everyone from the team will have the chance to pitch in. I'm going to be posting what they have to say as well as my own reports on the trip progress.
Third, I want to go over the purpose of this mission trip again.
The trip itself is called "BEK" (Bible English for Kids). The team and I are going out to Higashi-Kurume to put on a Bible camp that introduces the kids who attend to English vocabulary; but more importantly, introduces them to Christ. The percentage of Japanese Christians is dangling below 2%, and after the horrific disasters that have stricken Japan, many local faiths have been questioned. God's guidance is needed more than ever.Along with the Bible Camp, we may be interacting with refugees from the flooding, radiation, etc. So many lives have been broken, and it's my (and I'm sure my teammates' as well) hope that we'll be able to start stitching them back together with the hope that He provides.
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