Oops... A little late

Wow, I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this update out to you guys. I can't believe it's already been about two weeks since we've been here! It's been quite the experience adjusting to the culture, figuring out our schedules, learning our trains routes, and getting familiar with the college campuses. A brief overview of the week for the entire team looks something like:

Mondays: 10am Quiet times (QT); 11am get on the train with our campus teams to go to the specific university campus for that day, return about 5pm; Date night with Jesus 6pm-8pm (extended time to "go out" and spend with the Lord.)
Tuesdays: 9am group prayer/worship; 10am QT; 11-5pm leave for/minister to/come back from specific campus; 5-6pm Training; 7-9pm men's and women's time.
Wednesdays: 9am group breakfast; 10am QT; 11-5pm campus time; 7pm family night (there's a family team that decides what we do during this time)
Thursdays: 9am group prayer/worship; 10am QT; 11-5pm campus time; free night (although sometimes we'll be going to the Japanese Campus Crusade meetings here - called Student Impact).
Fridays: 10am QT; 11-5pm campus time; free night
Saturdays: Free!
Sundays: 11am team lunches (the group is broken up into smaller teams like the family team, prayer team, outreach team, etc... since I'm a campus team leader I meet with my partner, the other campus team's leaders, and the project directors to discuss how things are going on our campuses; 2pm Church; 7pm group meeting.

A week ago Tuesday was our first time to split up into our two campus teams to go to our respective campuses. My team went to the International Christan University (ICU) and spent most of the day prayer walking and getting familiar with the campus. (Even though this school is labeled Christian most of the students and faculty are not at all). On Wednesday we went to our second campus, Gaidai University, where we also prayer walked for most of the time. These are the two campuses that my team of 8 will be going to each week. Every Monday and Wednesday we'll be at Gaidai, and every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we'll be at ICU. The other campus team is going to two different University campuses each week.

Ministry so far has been both challenging and encouraging. The first day on Gaidai campus my teammate Sammy and I were able to start a conversation with a student sitting at a table studying english. As we talked we were able to tell him why we were there and give him information on Student Impact (That's what they call Campus Crusade for Christ here). His response was "I don't have religion, but I like to practice my english, so can I come?" The next night he came to the Student Impact meeting and after the message asked what the gospel was. One of my teammates who speaks Japanese was then able to take him through the gospel with Student Impact staff members so that he could understand. Isn't that awesome?! Please pray that God would soften Hiroki's heart that he might come to know Him.

Thursday and Friday we went back to ICU and were able talk to students in the cafeteria, setup appointments, and even participate in an existing Bible study. Saturday was a free day and most of the team went to the heart of Tokyo to see the Imperial Palace. (Unfortunately we weren't able to go through the gates and see anything up close). Afterwards we went to the Asakusa district in Tokyo where we visited Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple. Right as we walked in the sight was heartbreaking. People stood throwing their money into a big vat in front of an image of a dragon just before folding their hands to pray to it. I really felt weighed down just being there. My eyes fell on a woman who was so involved with what she was doing, and as I watched her go through multiple rituals my heart broke more and I just wanted to tell her that Jesus loves her. When she finally walked by me I asked her if she spoke english, but she didn't understand and kept walking. There is such a dark presence here in Japan, and I ask that you would continue to pray that our hearts would be broken for the Japanese, and that God would lead us to those whose hearts are being softened to hear His word.

The entire team is continuing to get along and work together really well. My campus team makes it pretty easy to be a leader, and my partner Emily is much more organized than I am and very encouraging. It's been a blessing to do ministry with all of them. Thank you for your prayers for unity for the entire team. Please continue to pray for that, as I'm sure the evil one isn't too happy and will try to bring discord.

My Campus Team: Guys Left to Right- Tim (Merced College), Jack (Arizona State), Kyle (Central Michigan), Sammy (USC), Me (USC) Girls Left to Right - Amy (Arizona State), Traci (University of South Carolina- the other USC), Emily (Eternity Bible College)


I think I'll stop here for now. There's much more to tell so I'll be sending another update very soon. Thank you for all your prayers. God Bless!

In Him,
Matt