The time end of ACTION has come. It was an amazing experience, one that every member on the team will be stuck with for a very long time. We thank you for all the prayers you sent up for us, and all the support you gave each and everyone on the Osaka ACTION team. Our sincerest thanks. God blessed our time in Japan!

Wow...it's so hard to believe this month is almost over. It's flown by so quickly. For the past few days, we have been doing ministry at Izumi Hope Chapel. Honestly, we were all a little relieved to be out of EBS. I think I speak for us all when I say that we were EXTREMELY happy that Izumi has air conditioning!!! It was nice to not wake up sweating..haha Pastor Tabata and his family are amazing people with a heart for the Lord and for reaching the people of Japan. It's been great being here.
Our first day of ministry was thursday and our only class of the day was a kid's day program. We only had 5 kids (he originally had told us to expect around 40, so we were relieved when a lot less showed up!). They were all so sweet and well-behaved. They listened to directions really well, and sang along with the songs we taught them which was a first. Usually they just sit there and stare at us. Ha. We played some great games- the Handkerchief game (similar to our Duck, Duck, Goose) and musical chairs! Then we made God's Eyes and Paper Bag puppets for our craft. Eating sno cones for our snack was a great way to end the class :) Those kids were so awesome. I wanted to take one home..too bad I can't fit anything else in my suitcase...hahaha
Friday we had two classes- one adult and one youth. The first class didn't start until 3, so we had plenty of free time before hand to go shopping :) The adult class only had 4 students, and they were all fairly easy to communicate with. I think we all had really great conversations with them. We performed our "Everything" drime for them, and I know some of them were really moved by it. Heather gave her testimony, and one woman specifically said that she could identify with it. I hope she comes back to the service on Sunday! Our next class started at 7, and we only had 2 youth. Both were very shy and didn't know much English, so this class was a bit more difficult for us. Luckily, the pastor's wife was there to help translate. We played some awesome English games, and by the end of the class, they were talking more. Success.
Today (Saturday) we again only had one class. It was a youth day program. We made crepes for lunch, and then played some awesome games of Dutch Blitz!!!! We performed our "In the Light" drime, and then we ate more sno cones! Then Heather taught them how to make balloon animals. They loved that :)
Only 2 more days in Japan. Craziness. Being here has been such an amazing experience. God has taught us all so much, and I can't wait to share all of our experiences and memories with everybody back in North America!

The past few days have been so amazing. We've done so many awesome things!
On Monday, Pastor Tanaka and his family took us to a day spring/spa/public bath. First we went to the spa portion of the hot springs. It was basically a room full of jacuzzis and saunas. It was so relaxing. They even had outdoor jacuzzis, and it was great because you got a beautiful view of the mountains while you relaxed in a hot tub. It was great to let our bodies relax! After the spa we went to the pool portion. Personally, I had been looking forward to swimming all month, so this was perfect for me :) Then we went for lunch at the spa restaurant. I'm sure we all looked like zombies as we trudged to the restaurant- our bodies were so relaxed!! After lunch we all got a really nice nap in an area of the spa specially designated for naps!
After lunch came the awkward part- the public bath. We were separated by gender, took off all of our clothes and went into a big room with lots of showers. To be honest, it was a little relaxing, but we got stared at by everyone because we were white! However, it was great bonding time! hahaha... That was simply a great day.
Then on Tuesday we went to Hiroshima. That was a roller coaster of emotions. We got the opportunity to go through the museum there and that was incredible. It had two huge dioramas that compared Hiroshima before and after the attack. They also had lots of artifacts that had belonged to people that were killed in the explosion. That really struck and emotional chord within me, especially the sandal where you could still see a girl's footprint.
We also went to a nearby island by a ferry boat! We got the opportunity to do a bit of shopping while being attacked by deer. Good times :) The only bad thing about the day was that it was ridiculously hot- around 37!! We were HOT. But it was still a great day.
Now we're on our last assignment in Izumi church. We're looking forward to a great week :)

After a fun-filled week in Yokohama and at Hoshida Church, our team has been reunited once again! For our first day back together we had a free day, so we decided to go shopping at the Umeda Station. It's a huge shopping center with lots and lots of shops. We discovered a store in it called Kiddy Land (a store that sells lots of fun kid's toys and it features a lot of children's characters that are popular in Japan). It was huge. I think we spent a good two hours in that store alone! Then we found a store called Starvations. From the name you would think it would think that it would be a diet store, maybe? But no. It was a clothing store and it sold $5 Engrish T-shirts! We had a blast looking at them and laughing at the funny "English" sayings on them! At some point while we were at this shop, the team got separated :( Luckily, we all made it back to EBS Seminary ok! Soon after, a very intense and fun game of Dutch Blitz broke out!
Yesterday, we went to our first of two days at Sojiji Church. We did a kid's program from 11- 3:30, and then a youth fellowship time from 5-8. For the kid's program, we played some games for introductions, and then we played a few games to work on English skills. Then we played this amazing game where someone was blindfolded, and then spun around 3 times. We all then shouted directions to them to lead them to a watermelon. The blindfolded person was given a bat, and they tried to smash the watermelon! After all the kids tried, we as the ACTION team were given a chance. Eva was the lucky one that smashed it!! It was very impressive. :) Then for the youth fellowship evening, it was us and about 6 college students. We had an amazing game of Dutch Blitz going on, and then we all ate supper together. After supper, we performed a drime for them and then I told them my testimony. We all had dessert after that, and they served us delicious cream puffs! Then they had a game for us: they passed around a tray of cream puffs, and we all had to choose one. The catch was that two of them had been filled with wasabi!! Poor Judson was the only one that got a wasabi puff, and I don't think he liked it too much :( Overall, we had a great day there. I think I speak for us all when I say that we're looking forward to going back there tomorrow for church!
Today a lady from Ishibashi church invited us over to her home for lunch. She served us Yakisoba (noodles with meat and cabbage) and it was delicious! She invited some of her friends over, and one was a Buddhist man so we got a chance to minister to him for a bit and answer some questions about Christianity for him. That was amazing. I'll definitely be praying for him. Then we all got the chance to paint some fans! All of them turned out lovely. We're all such amazing artists. haha...
Tomorrow is our second day at Sojiji and I'm excited! It seems so weird that we only have about 9 days left in Japan. Time flew by too quickly :(

Konichiwa! This is Alyssa reporting for team Yokohama! I think I speak for the whole team here when I say that being here is completely amazing. On Friday we spent the entire day in Tokyo. I'll be honest,it was ridiculously hot, but just the fact that we were in Tokyo was enough to forget about the heat. We spent the day looking at various shops, and we also got to see a shrine and a temple. That broke our hearts.
Then on Saturday we had a lunch party with some of the congregation here at the church. We played a few games to teach English, and some games as basic introduction games. We all had a blast talking to the people and hearing their stories. There was a non-Christian man there who was brought by a friend and I got to share my testimony with him which was AMAZING. He asked a lot of good questions, and I just pray that God gave me the right words to say! He came back to the service at the church this morning, so I think that's a good sign! Then for supper we went back to Tokyo and ate at an apartment of a man from the church. He lives on the 5th floor, and from his balcony we had the PERFECT view of the Tokyo skyline which was perfect for the 2- hour fireworks show!! We were all blown away by that. It put to shame any fireworks show in Canada or America.
Today after church we had lunch with the college students at the church. It was fun talking to them and hearing about what they're up to. We all took really nice naps after lunch, and that gave us energy for going to the church BBQ for supper. They have fed us so well here. Everything was delicious.
Tomorrow we do our first kid's program. We're excited!

Today our team separated. Judson and I are now in Yokohama, while the rest of the team is doing a week of ministry at Hoshida chapel. It's really exciting to be here- we're really close to Tokyo, so tomorrow we'll get to go sightseeing in the big city! We'll be here until next Wednesday, and our week is made up of various English lunch parties and Kid's camps where we'll help them with English classes. We're all a little worn out from our long day of travelling, but it's great to be here.
Yesterday we spent the day at Hirano Christian church. The day started with a kid's summer festival, with lots of songs and games! We performed one of our drimes, and then the all the kids went downstairs to participate in a carnival-type activity where they went from station to station and played different games. I think all the team had a great time just playing with the kids-they're all so adorable even though we can't understand a word they say! For supper the pastor took us out to another sushi bar...I'm honestly not the biggest fan of sushi, but what I had was good :) Next the evening program began around 7:30 and it was an adult english class. We played a few introduction games and sang some worship songs and did a drime. After some snacks, we had to say goodbye. It was hard to do that, even though we had only been there a few hours.
After only being here a little less than two weeks, I think we're all falling in love with Japan!

We're back at EBS seminary after a fun week at Amagasaki. Sunday we spent most of the day at Amagasaki church. We performed our "Everything" drime for the first time, and it went well. I think the people of the church understood the message that we were trying to make :) My prayer is that we made an impact in someone's life! We had to listen to the sermon twice since we had to perform our drime for both services, but it made it a little hard to concentrate since we couldn't understand a word the pastor was preaching!
After the service we all filed downstairs for lunch. Lunch was a cold noodle dish with ham and cucumber. During lunch we got to spend time with people, fellowshipping and trying to break the language barrier! Around 1 all the younger people headed upstairs for a game and worship time. There was around 30 of us, so first we spent some time introducing ourselves. Then we played a Japanese version of Duck Duck Goose. Rebecca and Judson lost, so they had to drink a "special drink", which looked like very grainy green tea! From the looks of their faces after they drank it, I'm happy I didn't lose. Then we played a hand game which we taught them. It's hard to explain, but it was fun once we got started. They got really into it, and it was a blast :) We then had to leave the church for the last time and head back to Amagasaki. It was so hard saying goodbye to such wonderful and gracious people. They're so on fire for God.
Yesterday (Monday) we met up with Doris and Amberly, a long-term missionary who was heading back to Canada in a few days. We spent the day at Namba, which is basically a loooooooong covered street filled with stores. It sort of reminded me of how New York City looks in movies- lots and lots of people, shops of all sorts all around you, and lots of chaos! It was so much fun though. I think we were all relieved to be under some shade! It was a great day, but we were all exhausted when we got back to EBS.
Today (Tuesday) we'll spend the day planning since we're going to Hirano Church tomorrow.
The team is all doing really well- no serious health concerns, but we are running a little low on energy. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Quick Update

Hey there world, this is Judson, reporting for team Shien No Ai (or, I think that is how it is spelt)

Tomorrow (July 18th) is our last day in Amgasaki. We have really enjoyed our time here, and it seems to have just flown by. We arrived on Wednesday, and sat in on some English classes on Thursday. We are all staying with different host families, while Gary and Eva are staying at the church. On Friday we toured Kyoto, and visited a Buddhist shrine. We were all saddened by the lost souls that came to that shrine, rang a bell, and left with nothing more than they came with. It made our mission in Japan even clearer to us. Today (Saturday) had us at an English party, where we got to interact with many Japanese people, and even got to watch a traditional Japanese dance. It was a great honour.

Truthfully, I got nothing else to add. Like I said, this was a quick update. We're all doing well, none of us are sick, and slowly we're all getting more sleep. Thanks for your prayers. God bless!

Osaka!

After a bunch of crazy train connections, we're finally in Osaka! We rode the bullet train to get here and that was an amazing experience. The Japanese countryside was directly outside of our windows, so we got to see the beautiful mountains as we zoomed by.
We're staying at the Ishibashi Seminary with our host Pastor Fuji and some students from the seminary. The seminary is a four-story building, and we stay on the third floor. The bathroom is on the second floor and the shower is on the fourth floor, so we get plenty of walking up and down stairs everyday! Tuesday morning we met with the leaders of the churches we will be serving in, which was a bit intimidating, but also very exciting as we learned all the different things we will be doing throughout the month. By the time the meeting was over we were starving so we decided to eat lunch at a restaurant in town. One of the seminary students, Manabu, was our guide as we walked around the city until we found a place to eat. We ate our lunch at the Beef Bowl, which was interesting since at first all they gave to drink was green tea that nobody except Heather enjoyed! The food was good, too, but it was hard slurping up the noodles with chopsticks!After lunch we followed the course that Manabu had set for us and saw various shops around the town, and by the time we got back to the seminary, we were exhausted.
For supper, Pastor Fuji's wife and mother-in-law prepared us a delicious meal of fried chicken and fried pork, along with rice and some delicious fresh fruit (those were some of the biggest grapes we had ever seen!). Manabu shared his testimony with us after we ate, which was wonderful. He has an amazing story and he has a passion for God.
Today (7/13) is much less busy. We woke up to the sound of lots of thunder and rain this morning. It poured all morning, and then stopped for the afternoon. Today is the first of our free days, so in the morning we had team time and assigned roles for upcoming ministry for various churches. We ate lunch at a Pizza and Pasta restaurant, and it was surprisingly delicious! I was a little skeptical how good it would be, but my bacon alfredo was amazing. I think everyone would agree with me that we could go back to that place again :)
We had a bunch of free time still, so we decided to shop around a bit to work off our meal! We went to all sorts of different stores like fish markets, a sports shop, a technology outlet store, and trendy clothing stores. Right now the girls are relaxing while the boys brave the torrents of rain to buy some ingredients for supper. Tomorrow we leave for Amagasaki Church to begin our first week of ministry.

We're Here

Hello! We have arrived safe and sound in Japan, and have spent the last two days learning a bit more about the culture, mainly by just jumping in. First, let's introduce the team.

Gary Cool (31); Finance minister, co-leader
Eva Cool (25); Team leader
Heather Morrissey (27); Team pastor
Alyssa King (20); Team reporter
Rebecca King (17); Food co-ordinator
Judson Rempel (18); Team photographer


The flight to Japan was long. We woke up at 6am to drive to Winnipeg and get on the plane by 11am. We flew to Minneapolis, spent 3 hours in the airport, then boarded the biggest plane I've ever seen for our flight to Tokyo. I was in the 54th row, and I was sitting right on top of the wing. There was a staircase up to first class - they were sitting on the level above us. A two story plane? I didn't even know that was possible. We were on a Boeing 747-400 if that means anything to you. Then we spent 3 hours in Tokyo's Narita airport (there are two airports in tokyo). It was beautiful and clean, colourful and the people all looked so polished - crisp uniforms and they all match. the security people even had white gloves.
Then we flew another 2 hours to Nagoya, and customs was interesting. They have cameras to check body temperature and a health quarantine for people they think may be sick.
The missionaries and some pastors and families from the churches we will be going to met us at the airport. We then drove another 1 and a half hours to Toyota. The roads here are very cool. There are walls on either side of the highways to block the sound because there are houses right beside the highway. The roads are spotless - they are completely smooth - no bumps or potholes - they all look like they were paved yesterday. And the highways are all toll roads, you need to pay to use them. It's very cool.
Everything is different here - even the bathrooms. You know you're in Japan when you have to stop to figure out the toilet. There are 5 different buttons. And the sink is on top of the tank, you don't use soap (you wash with water then use hand sanitizer), and the water you use to wash your hands fills the tank for the next time you flush.
And the toilet is in it's own room. The shower is in another room completely, which was also a very interesting experience.

We sat in a Japanese church service today, and some of us gave our testimonies. We had curry for lunch and it was delicious!

Sunday night all the youth from the area are invited to a okonomiyaki party (cabbage pancake and noodles - an Osaka specialty).
Today for lunch we had Mabodofu, a rice dish with beef and tofu, which made Eva sick :(
Everyone on our team seems to be doing fine, but we're still getting over our jet lag! We're having a lot of fun so far :)

Final Day

Final day of orientation for the Osaka, Japan team. We are very excited to be heading out, and are sure that we belong in Japan. We hope God leads us where he wants to!