I have dreamed of church planting for 12 years,
In 2022, I moved to Ueda, Nagano, and prepared for a year,
In the summer of 2023, the church planting finally started.

During this summer, people from all over the world came and ministered with us.
From Texas, Australia, Hong Kong, and of course, Japan.
Looking back at the calendar, we had people coming every week from about Golden Week, and in July, we had people almost every day.
In the latter half of August, as expected, me and my wife got sick and went down (probably Corona), but after living with people with a strong missionary mindset for a few months, I see that my mindset and lifstyle are changing.

I feel I was very much influenced by the months of "time together" of daily Worship, prayer, and ministry.

Justin, who told me more than 10 years ago, "I'll definitely help you when you start a church!" and he really brought his team with him from Texas. (What a faithful guy).

There were 5 people in the team, 10 if you count Justin and his family.
It was twelve include us.
We lived and ministered together for almost 10 days and it felt like we were all family.

No matter how big the house is in the countryside, it gets little bit stuffy.
But that is also good.
You get closer to each person.

They are truly worshippers.
They start worshipping the night they arrive.
They had just flown in from Texas and then taken the bullet train to Nagano,
But when one of them started playing the guitar, they started playing the cajon, the piano, singing, and praising...
In the morning, one person starts to play the guitar, followed by the cajon, piano, songs, and praise...
and it repeats

From Australia, Jonathan, Carla, and their children.
As some of you may know from my previous newsletters, Jonathan is the son of a missionary, born and raised in Japan, and a professional guitarist. And Carla is a missionary born in Peru.
They are the kind of couple whose second word is "God," and their antennae are always pointed at God.
When I share with them some of my issues and worries, they immediately start praying, "oh, God, help him..., oh, God,bless him...," and I don't know whether they are talking to me or to God.
They are really worshippers and praying people.

The same was the case with the missionary couple from Hong Kong.
Their stay was short, but they spent time praising and praying with us, and I was impressed by their overflowing prayers.

Many other people of all colors came to visit us, and for several months, there was praise and worship, prayer and encouragement, and every day we ministered together.

When you are immersed in such a time, your mindset is no longer "this is ministry and this is not ministry," or "this is worship and this is not worship," or any such "separation" and over time, the rhythm of your life becomes the rhythm of a missionary.

I realized that what kind of mindset and lifestyle one spends time with has a great influence on one's life.

Christ did not say to His disciples, "Come and learn from Me at what time each week."
He always lived with His disciples.

The months I spent surrounded by people who were serious left me with a rhythm of seriousness.
Surrounded by people who are not passionate about what they do, they throw cold water on my passion,
This summer was like being poured boiling water by a group of passionate people.
To use a bathtub analogy, if you mix 37°C water with 50°C water, it becomes hot,
Rather than becoming lukewarm water that hopefully needs to be added,
I would rather be the one who heats the lukewarm water by becoming a water heater than the one who needs to add hot water.

Be the water heater, not the lukewarm water!

Hmmm, What did I want to write?

Anyways, God bless you all!

2023, summer memorandum.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)