It's 7:00 pm here and barely 5:00 am back home. I'm in the corner of the cafeteria plugged into the only internet available typing away while Rascal Flatts is playing on my phone. I can't help think, "One more week." In 5 days I will be on a plane back to America, and, I must admit, it will be bitter sweet to leave Okinawa! There are some many great memories that I will have of bentos and curry, of green tea and bean/rice candy, of doughnuts and cool cars... I think my favorite day of all my time in Japan may have been yesterday, Sunday.
When Em and I gave the Heart for Africa presentation to some of my classmates, one of them invited us to his church, his Christian church. I was very surprised, and very excited to get a chance to meet some brothers and sisters here in Okinawa!! On Sunday, after a "fake" taxi ride and a long walk, we made it to this amazing church. Thank God that I have met some amazing people who keep me from getting lost!!
When we walked in and saw the drums on the stage, I felt like a kid who just spotted the ice-cream truck. I absolutely LOVE to worship and sing and just kind of loose my self in the Lord... Sunday, I had the opportunity to do exactly that. The songs were in Japanese of course, but there was a translater that would brief you on what the lyrics meant. I don't have the words to describe how good it felt to stand and sing and worship with everyone. I was trying to sing the Japanese words (hahah! Soooo bad!) but mainly I was just thanking God for how faithful He has been to me in my life: today, yesterday, and tomorrow.
The sermon was great. The baptisms afterwards were beautiful. These people pray. They pray with urgency, all at the same time, interupting each other, in the name of Jesus. They pray for their island that God would show mercy on their people. It's so encouraging to me, soooo encouraging!! At the end of the sermon everyone gave a round of applause... I just can't explain it.
We gave our presentation to the pastor and a small group of students afterwards, and some friends translated for us. I continue to be impressed by the compassion that I find in the faces of these people when they hear of Swaziland and the need in that country. We prayed together at the end, and I truly expect some miracle happened somewhere because of those prayers. The Lord is working in Okinawa.
I am so humbled by how big He is. I feel as if I might burst because of the joy and strength I feel welling up within me. My God is bigger than distance, bigger than language, bigger than culture, bigger than I realized. I continue to be amazed by how much I have to learn about this King I serve. He loves me more than I deserve and He knows exactly what I need. He has never left me, not once. It may be difficult sometimes, but it's really not so difficult when I remember that He is on my side. I may be weak, but His Spirit is strong in me.
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