Yay my first blog entry! This blog will be my primary way of informing my family, friends, and supporters of how my mission in Japan is coming along. I will list daily challenges, achievements, and faith stories as my time ensues. I encourage you to check in periodically with this blog as I explore my faith as my new role as a missionary for the ELCA while I serve out my three year commitment in Japan.
Currently I am in Chicago for training for the month of July. I have had ESL training, which was a new experience for me. I learned some very practical ideas for teaching classes as well as ways to engage students. I will also have ELCA specific orientation, an ecumenical conference, and finally my training will conclude with a Global Missions Summer Conference.
This entry is not to explain but I've been doing here so far, but rather to share my moments that scream, "How Great is our God?" moments. So far I have had two experiences with fellow ESL-ers that have just been really cool.
1.) I was grocery shopping at Dominicks with another couple who is also going to Japan with me when the first moment happened. I was carrying my ELCA bag that I had received at a church wide assembly over my shoulder when the man in line behind me asked if I worked for the ELCA. I responded, "Well I do now" and proceeded to tell him how I was recently hired, along with the two people in front of me, to do mission work in Japan and I was in the area for training. He proceeded to tell me that he was an ELCA Pastor of a church near by and invited our group to church. He gave us the name of the church and then we proceeded to say our goodbyes and finished checking out. We began walking back to our hotel and nearly got back to the hotel when we noticed him walking towards us on the sidewalk, he then apologized for not offering us a ride to the church and gave us his name, phone number and offered a ride to the church for Sunday morning worship. How awesome is our God?
2.) The next amazing experience happened this evening. A group of us (Sue, Doug, Erin, Rebecca, and myself) walked to a local restaurant for dinner tonight. On our walk home Rebecca and Sue were walking ahead of us, while the three of us slowly walked behind taking our time, with our full stomachs, when we noticed a man trimming his hedges outside. Doug tried to offer Erin and myself to help him with his yard work, we all had a chuckle. We then began a conversation of who we were and what we were doing in Chicago. The topic of our mission work came up and we began to talk about what we were doing, our mission sites and the work we would be doing for the church. The man, Nick, then told us his daughter would be returning from Peru from her mission trip the following day. The conversation then turned to churches in the area and different beliefs. Nick the offered to pray for us, right then and there, on the sidewalk, in the middle of his yard work. We gathered around and bowed our heads and this stranger we just met prayed over us and our journeys to come. How awesome is our God?
These experiences are slowly reinforcing what we all know, our God is an AWESOME God.
