After Pastor Phil delivered a great sermon at Calvary Chapel Tokorozawa in the morning and then at Calvary Chapel Iruma in the afternoon; we went to Grace Christian fellowship in the evening and had a thanksgiving dinner and message with them. The family of God is so wonderful and such a blessing. We had a great day and are so filled both spiritually and physically. Praise God.
Nathan prior to the dedication service decided to tackle the largest stump in our yard and for two days he whacked and cut and chopped on this thing. I was quite surprised at his endurance and veracity with staying the course and knocking this thing out. He was so excited to defeat the rooted monster and we both rejoiced at the victory. It also was a teachable moment about sin in our lives that can get rooted deep down and to try and pull it up as he was attempting to do doesn't work. He learned when your stumped about sin to cut the roots and sever the ties and throw it out of the hole and get rid of it. If things are left sometimes they grow back. Also Nathan learned we can leave a hole but we have to fill it with good soil and sow the seeds of the word of God to be reassured that the monster won't grow back. Job 14:7 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
It was such a blessing I can't begin to describe it. It is now a blur and we are still savoring the fellowship we had with the other Calvary folks that came out to bless. The Ai no Kyoukai folks were overwhelmed and filled with Joy to see God's grace being manifested. It was shocking to for them to see Pastor Phil vacuuming the chapel prior to the service and they wanted to provide him a resting station as most Japanese Sensei require but we told them that God blesses through us serving one another. The pastor is not above the people and is first and foremost a servant of Jesus Christ and then the people and then their own needs. The weather was perfect and sunny and clean. Pastor Phil delivered an awesome message on dedication of ourselves to the service of the Lord. It was beautiful. God bless all who came and continue to pray with us as the ministry work moves forward. 
Calvary Chapel Kokobunji with Pastor Chizuo Sakurai. It was so cool to hook up with him and see the Lord's blessings upon his family and the church the Lord has belssed him with. We went out to a traditional Japanese restaurant and sat on a floor and ate things I can't tell you what they are as I have no idea. I discovered I might be aclimating to the Japanese culture because I actually enjoyed all the food. 4 years ago at a similar place in Shinjuku I almost lost everything when I got to a dish called chawamushi. I thought it was a sweet flan pudding but it was a tofu clam pudding and it was all I could to do to not launch it at my hosts. But today was a victory because I knew what was coming and it wasn't bad. I enjoyed the chawamushi and my mom would be proud as I ate everything. Pastor Phil enjoyed it more than me. He is quite the adventurous sort to eat everything first time out. Anyway, we went to CC Kokobunji and we had such fun that I forgot to take pictures. We were even serenaded by Pastor Chizuo and his daughter Hanna as they played the song "Hallelujah Jesus" in Japanese for me. I love this song and want to play it in Japanese. God bless you Chizuo May God continue to pour out his love through the Holy Spirit into your ministry and family. 
The weather could not be more perfect for the dedication ceremony. Today, we discovered some Roses had bloomed early and Pastor Phil was taking picts but more importantly is Sachiko was so blessed to receive Phil and be prayed for. She met Phil at the missions conference in Hong Kong and it was surreal for her to see him here blessing us. After a tour of the place off to Kokobunji.
We are having our Chapel Dedication service/potluck on Saturday at 11 and the Lord put it on Pastor Phil's heart to come on out and bless us. He is so encouraging and such a blessing. We returned from the airport kind of late and instead of running home and having a thankgiving dinner we decided to have Thanksgiving KURA KURA SUSHIiiiiiiiiii. Pastor Phil is even able to navigate the chop-sticks without flipping food everywhere. I still do that once in a while. Tomorrow we head out to CC Kokobunji with Pastor Chizuo Sakurai. 
Well it has taken a lot of work and creativity. God has blessed us and Saturday is the dedication Ceremony. We are not ready completely and will have to use the Ai no Kyoukai sanctuary for our service until the electricity can be turned on. The Meter box was removed a few years ago and they have to order a new one. It takes two to three weeks. So we are still going ahead with the ceremony on Saturday. The potluck will be in the new chapel and we will just eat and fellowship in there. The heat can't be hooked up until we have the electricity. Wow, who knew? (God did) We didn't turn the electricity on until the last minute to cut back on our expenses. We just didn't expect to have to order a meter. 
Mihoko's Aunt Emiko invited us months ago to go to their home in Gotemba. Go what bah? Well, we didn't know what all the fuss was about until we were obliged to follow through on a promise. I must admit I have a full plate of to-do's but God had other plans. Aunt Emiko, she made the arrangements and we had to go. I went moping...grumbling. God we have so much to do...Gotemba now? Okay I'll go. WOW this place rocked. Gotemba is a community at the foot of Mount Fuji that many famous people in Japan live and play. There is so much to do here. We went to a monkey show, saw caves, went to a wild animal park and the hippo smiled for the picutre, we went to an open air Coed (Swimsuit required) Hot Springs (Onsen). It was fun and the best part is that this time of the year is excellent for clear weather and seeing Mount Fuji. A lot of the time it is covered in clouds but our two days was beautiful and picture perfect. God gave us a time to relax and not stress about the ministry and just kick back. Aunt Emi was treating us to many blessings. Thank you Aunt Emi God bless you. We are praying that you will believe in Jesus. 
We had an outreach to some neighborhood kids. Sachiko contacted some of the former students of the Ai no Kyokai Kindergarten who are now grown up a little. It was a great time to share the gospel not only with the kids but also their mom's. We were able to play with the kids and build a relationship. One child and his mom want to take English classes with us. So keep praying that we can further love them into the kingdom. It was a fun day.
There are many projects simultaneously happening depending on the weather and my body I do that for the time being. I was able to carve our some fun in making a dove and a pulpit. We still have to cut the last bit of carpet and I am needing to buy some glue for the second room. We have two mirrored rooms one will be the chapel and the other multipurpose. The multipurpose room still needs glue and a few other items. Pray we can get these things out of the way as well. 
We have an entry that has a deka boko floor. It is bumpy. The glue from the previous linoleum has left us with a surface that won't allow paint to stick to the concrete. Our Grace Family came out to help us in scraping the floor. They worked a long time. It was hard but it is getting better. We still have a lot to do. We took breaks and enjoyed the last fruit of the season on our persimmon tree. God bless you guys for blessing us with your help. 
