Psalm 27

Of David.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked advance against me
to devour^[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the LORD,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Savior.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.

¹³ I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

For the past two weeks because of the potential radiation scares, we were evacuated from Tokyo and have been living in Kyoto.  At first it was really hard to have to leave behind all of our friends, staff, and students in Tokyo and I can honestly say I came to Kyoto with a complaining attitude in my heart.  But in coming here the Lord really started to expose my shortcomings, comfort me in my frustrations, forgive, affirm, and created much space for me to sit, be still, and dwell in His presence.

There is no excuse but with my running, the craziness of the earthquake, our national student conference, and the evacuation it has been hard to have space to just sit still and rest.  At the feet of my Savior, a place that I really do love, was so easily forgotten in an instant.  Kyoto, being a city that is surrounded by mountains and is a little slower paced than Tokyo has helped to slow down my heart and bring me back to a place of refreshment.  At times being in the big, fast paced city of Tokyo I can at times feel a bit suffocated.  I may be in Inokashira Koen, but a big building is clearly in view and has no place to hide.  There is often no place to run from the forest of cement that makes up Tokyo.  I am so thankful for the concern of our staff who gave the word to bring us to Kyoto so that we would be out of physical danger.  But even more so, I am ever more thankful for my God, my Father, who was concerned about the condition of my heart.  I know He brought our team here for sooo many different and wonderful reasons.  And one of them was so that I would return to my first Love and find rest.  To come back to a place where I am in a posture of humble submission is where I can fully experience the fullness of His love and delight.  How great is our God!

~ Lyndsey

This is a picture of one of the worship times at CHANGE Conference, our National Student Conference for CCC.  The Conference was from March 14-17, just days after the huge earthquake and tsunami in Japan that hit on March 11th.

The chorus for this song read…

“主の愛　主の愛　私にふりそそく

主の愛すばらしい　うけとる。”

meaning…

“The Lord’s love

The Lord’s love

Pour down on me

We receive the Lord’s wonderful love.”

It really was by the Lord’s grace that we were still able to hold our National Student COnference just days after the huge earthquake and tsunami.  Not everyone was able to come, but we still had over one hundred students attend.  Worship, messages, and prayer times were so fresh and so raw as the Lord’s presence was SO thick among us, healing us, comforting us, and drawing us into His arms of love.

This picture was the last night of the conference and Taka, the worship leader had us switch the chorus from “…pour down your love on me” to “pour down your love on JAPAN.”  It was a powerful time of prayer and worship as a room full of believers cried out for the Lord’s mercy and love to pour down on this country.  I love songs of worship like this that are SO simply yet powerful.  THe Lord’s love really is SO wonderful and we as believers need to continually pray for an even greater out pouring of His love on not only Japan, but ALL nations.  We gotta pray!  We gotta pray!

We live in a broken and fallen world.  God never intended for His beloved people to be broken, sick, depressed, lonely, abused, and separated from Him and His love.  But because of sin, there is this separation where people are unable to experience God’s love and a relationship with Him.  I look around and people try to fill the void in their heart with money, success, boyfriends, girlfriends, families, power, material things etc….shoot, I tried these as well.  But none of these things can give us what we’re looking for.  Sure we’ll get a temporary satisfaction, but it only leaves us unsatisfied and seeking for more.  God’s love is the ONLY thing that can bring us the true healing, satisfaction, purpose, fulfillment, assurance and life that we seek.  And what is this love?  Jesus.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  1 John 4:9-10

Let’s continue to pray for a greater understanding and recognition for not only others but also for ourselves that what we really need is Jesus.  And if we’ve already accepted Jesus into our lives as Lord and Savior, as the great Redeemer of our sins, than continue to ask for more and more of Jesus’ love to pour out into your life.  There is no way we can give love to others or even love God back until we’ve first been filled with His love.

lyndsey

Continue to lift up Japan in your prayers!  He’s working!  Pray for those seeds that are planted, that the Lord would grow them and they would blossom!

In His love,

Lyndsey

But just as a quick update our team of ten was just moved from Tokyo to Kyoto.  The decision to go to Kyoto was in light of recent events regarding the nuclear powerplant.  The situation in Tokyo hasn’t gotten worse, but we moved as a precaution in the event that things do get worse.  Please please be in prayer for the powerplants.  We’re hoping to be here no more than a week and we’re anxious to get back to Tokyo as soon as possible as most of our students live there.

Here’s a small map of Japan that shows where A. Sendai, B. Fukushima, C. Tokyo, and D. Kyoto is.
Map of Japan
This past week our team attended the JCCC National Student Conference or CHANGE conference.   Although many of the students that were planning to come didn’t, there were still around 100 students that came to the conference and it was a huge blessing. There were many people who were from the areas that were devastated by the tsunami or had close family and friends. Especially at a time when people had worries (that were mostly due to the media’s sensationalized reporting) and rescuers were going into places like Sendai to help, we along with our Japanese brothers and sisters were able to pray with and for Japan and it’s people, cry with them, but most of all worship our Lord as a body of believers.  God was doing a lot of healing in the hearts of students and really bringing affirmation of His love for them, His providence for them, and instilling peace.  Sorry I haven’t had a chance to upload my videos or pictures from the conference yet, but I shall soon.

Some wonderful news amidst these challenging times is that a student named Shoko accepted Christ today!!!  Shoko first was invited by one of our Christian students involved to our Girls Only Valentine’s Day Party.  She then joined the FREE Gospel choir and this past week she attended one of the evening sessions and sang with the FREE choir at the CHANGE student conference.  Today, her Christian friend who had been inviting her to all these things prayed with Shoko to receive Jesus into her life!  God is good!

Continue to be lifting Japan up in prayer in this challenging time.  We recently found out the universities may potentially be postponed for about a month so we are really praying for opportunities to partner with Crash Japan, a Christian organization that is helping with the relief in Japan.  You can join and/or find more information at http://crashjapan.com/

Love and blessings to you all!  God is working and I truly believe that spiritual healing is coming to Japan.

Here’s a song that has been really encouraging to me.  I hope it encourages you too!

In Christ alone,

Lyndsey

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. “

Psalm 46: 1-3, 10-11

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and emails.  I am safe as well as all of our Tokyo staff with minimal damage to our homes and Student Center.  It was pretty scary and since the big earthquake yesterday afternoon there has been a steady flow of aftershocks with multiple this morning.  I read somewhere on BBC that there have been over 50??

Last night I was reading and meditating on this passage in Psalm 46.  God really is our refuge and strength and because of Him I do not have to fear.  There is peace in my heart knowing that He is sovereign, He loves me, He loves Japan, and He will come and meet us exactly where we are at.

Doing ministry here is sometimes very challenging.  The soil is hard.  Our Stint team has been praying since the beginning of our time here in September that the Lord would really move and shake the hearts of the Japanese.  That He would break the ground so the seed of the Gospel can take root.  That Japanese men and women would recognize their sin, see their need for Jesus, and accept Him as Lord of their lives.

So please join us in prayer that the Lord really uses this time of tragedy in Japan for His glory.   Please especially pray for Sendai, which is located in the north eastern part of Japan where the big tsunami hit caused by the earthquake.  There is much damage there, many people have died and there are still hundreds missing.  Pray for comfort and that the Lord really works and moves in the hearts of the people here.

Next week, March 14-17th we are having our JCCC National Student Conference where students from all over Japan involved in our ministry will come for a 4 day conference.  We are still unsure if it is happening, depending on damage to the site of the conference, but as of right now we are moving forward as if it is happening.  Please keep the Conference in prayer as 183 students and staff from all over Japan will come together for a time of prayer, praise, teaching, equipping, outreach in Harajuku and Yoyogi Park, and fellowship.

“The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. “

Blessings,

Lynds

But things have been busy and very exciting here in Tokyo.  I’ve attached my December newsletter update so feel free to check it out for December happenings.

December Happenings

One of my team leaders, AJ, does a great job in making videos and I wanted to share one of his most recent ones.  Meet the 2010-2011 Tokyo STINERS!

I’ll try to write again soon!

Lyndsey

^“1 The words of the Teacher,^[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”

³ What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
⁴ Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
⁶ The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
⁸ All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹ What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
¹¹ No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.

¹² I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! ¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Ecclesiastes 1:1-14

For the past couple of days I have been reading through the book of Ecclesiastes and again and again King David writes that a life lived “under the sun” is “meaningless.”  A life that is lived “under the sun” describes a life lived apart from God and with no belief in the afterlife.  King David had it all!  Riches, fame, wisdom, pleasure, power, yet it is all meaningless.  A temporary happiness may result from some of these things, but it never satisfies or leaves you fulfilled, often it leaves you wanting more.  These things in itself aren’t bad.  That’s not what the writer is saying.  But when your self fulfillment, your happiness and joy, your life’s purpose depends on or is maintained by these things, that’s when we’re caught in a lie.

Japan is a rich nation and a major economic power.  But by the show in the number of suicides just like it says in Ecclesiasties, riches, power, wisdom isn’t cutting it.  I strongly believe that that the percentage of Christians and the suicide rate is highly correlated.  A life without Christ is a life without hope, without a lasting love, joy, or peace.

32,845.  Every time I think of that number it leaves me feeling SO unsettled and breaks my heart.  Please please be in prayer for those in Japan who are without hope.  For those who are chasing after things that are meaningless.  Please please pray that truth and light may come to those who are seeking to find satisfaction and fulfillment.  That they would come to know Jesus, the ONLY ONE that can satisfy them, redeem them, give them life, and save them from a life that is meaningless.

_______

“Take courage, dear Heart.”

This is one of my favorite lines from Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis.  I read and reread this section so much that when I returned the book to my teammate Mike it immediately opens to this page.  In the book in the midst of trouble Lucy cries out to Aslan and He whispers these words to her instilling her with a strength, peace, and confidence in the love He has for her.

In the last month my team has really been growing close and uniting together as we strive to bring glory to God.  It’s been a real joy and a privilege to be here and have an opportunity to be a part of God’s ministry in Tokyo.  This is my second year, but everyday is still a challenge, a battle.  Our team has committed a good chunk of our time in prayer and even fasting.  Crying out to God for we know that without Him we are helpless.  Four days a week we are serving at Waseda University and every moment it is so essential that we completely depend on God and yield to the Spirit’s leading.   Everyday there are temptations, worries, and exhaustion, but God always provides more than enough, covers us with His grace, instills truth, and fights alongside us.  I’ve found on more than one occasion Him speaking to me, “take courage, dear heart” when I’m feeling nervous, scared, homesick, or tired.  And just like Lucy in the book, these words have brought a peace and calmness to whatever I was feeling at the moment.  Please continue to be in prayer for courage.  That we would have strength and confidence in God and not in ourselves.

At the end of our days on campus we always end with a short debrief and close in prayer.  What’s been exciting is that everyday the Gospel has been shared to at least one but on some days multiple students.  I might have mentioned it before, but for many we are the first Christians they are meeting and they are hearing the gospel for the first time.  As we continue to minister on this campus please be praying for the Spirit’s leading and opportunities to share the gospel.  Continue to pray for the softening of hearts and revival not only at Waseda University, but throughout Japan.

I want to also share a song that I have recently heard for the first time and love.  It speaks so much truth and the more I experience God and the more He reveals Himself to me the more I desire of Him.  I’ve been truly truly enjoying my quiet time with Him.

I hope you are all doing well.  Thanks for all your prayers, support, love, and encouragement.  I miss you all.  Many many blessings to you!!  I don’t know where you’re at, what you’re thinking or feeling, but I pray for you that you may experience God’s love daily.  It’s at His feet, in a position and state of humility and full surrender that we will find all that we need.  Complete satisfaction, peace, joy, strength, providence, grace, freedom, and purpose.

"here at your feet, I lay my life down."

 

 

the view from my 4th floor balcony

Psalm 104

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

² He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent

³ and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.

⁴ He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

⁵ He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

⁷ But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

⁸ they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.

⁹ You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

¹⁰ He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.

¹¹ They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

¹² The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.

¹³ He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:

¹⁵ wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the LORD are well watered,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

¹⁷ There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees.

¹⁸ The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

¹⁹ The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

²⁰ You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

²¹ The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

²² The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.

²³ Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

²⁴ How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

²⁵ There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.

²⁶ There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

²⁷ These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.

²⁸ When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

²⁹ When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.

³⁰ When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-

³² he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

³³ I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

³⁵ But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.

Thank you Lord for all your beautiful creation.  Thank you Lord for providing for me and for taking care of me each and every day.

Since they’ve arrived it’s been a whirlwind of meetings, prayer walks, and short intros to different campuses.  It’s been interesting being the one answering questions rather than asking the questions.  I’m so thankful for the patience and kindness of my previous roommate, Lillian, whom I was constantly asking questions last year.  It’s tough work and I’m much in need of the Lord’s patience and kindness.

As for campuses we will for sure be on Waseda two days a week.  I am really excited about this since I had the opportunity to serve at Waseda last year.  God is doing great things on this campus and we really hope and pray for Him to continue to expand the ministry at Waseda and draw more students to Himself.  Right now we are still praying for a second campus.  We’ve been able to check out a few and have talked things through a bit, but we are still praying for direction as to where the Lord wants to use our team.  So if you could also be praying with us for direction and vision that would be great!!

My teammate Esther and students Yuka and Nana as we tour the Toyo campus

chair socks...another great Japanese invention

Over the past few weeks the Lord has really been speaking to me through His Word.  One of my biggest prayer requests since forever has been growing in knowledge of God’s Word, discipline in reading His Word, and falling in love with His Word.  It’s always been a struggle for me and an area I’ve always wanted to improve in my walk with the Lord.  Maybe it was good that I started out in Japan living alone for three weeks because it’s really helped me in these three areas and I’ve been excited to read the Bible.  God’s been giving me fresh eyes and revealing to me much about His character and my short comings as I’ve been reading through the book of Joshua, Judges, and a few of the Psalms.  This morning I read through chapter one of the Gospel of John.  It’s jam packed with goodness, but one thing that really stuck out to me that I want to share was Andrew’s response in vs. 41 after His first encounter with Jesus.

It reads, “The first thing that Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Christ’ and he brought him to Jesus.”

I feel Andrew is easily overlooked, especially in having a brother like Peter.  It’s a short passage, but it really says much about Andrew’s heart.  After John the Baptist commends Jesus as the “Lamb of God” Andrew quickly drops everything and follows Him.  After spending time with the Messiah one of the first things that he does is to fetch his brother and bring him to Jesus.   By the sovereign grace of the Lord I’ve had the opportunity to know Him for most of my life.  I’m so thankful, yet can’t feel a bit convicted after reading this.  After only a few moments with Jesus, Andrew is already bringing more people so that they too may be able to experience the One who will bring true life, peace, and joy.  I want to be more like that.  So readily available and so aware of the delight and weightiness of knowing Christ that bringing more people to know Him is automatic.

Prayer Requests

-  I would continue to be hungry for and take great delight in God’s Word.  I pray for a deeper intimacy in my time with the Lord. He would be my first love and continue to fill me and reveal more of Himself to me.

-  The love, grace, and joy I receive from the Lord would fuel me and cause me to act and respond to what I have first received.  I pray that my face may radiate with the glory of the Lord like it reads in 2 Corinthians.

-  Team unity.  Also vision and direction for out team as we begin ministry on campus.

-  The greatest of Jesus’ name to be known in ALL nations.

I’ve also attached my September newsletter.  If you would like to receive these via email just send me a message and I can add you to the list.

September newsletter

Blessings,
Lyndsey