|
grandmastermissiology
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Jonathan
Country: United States
State: California
Birthday: 7/15/1982
Gender: Male
Interests: Missions, Japan, Anime, Baseball, Sports, Asian Cinema,
Expertise: random useless information expert, used to be really good at push-ups
Occupation: Missionary Appointee
Industry: Christian Ministry
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
6/14/2004
|
|
| Greetings all,
I've decided to start up the blog again, try to keep you all updated as to the (Jon and Maki) Robisons in Japan. And since this is the first entry I thought I'd go big with some pictures. Let's start with what has been a big part of my life lately.
Maki was in the hospital for 3 weeks on an IV to prevent a premature birth. She has been home the past 2 weeks and can now give birth safely at any time. The due date is December 20th. But let's back up a little...
I graduated from Kichijoji Language School in September, having spent 2 years and completed the Advanced 2 Japanese course. Yay!
Back to the pregnancy, Maki and I are getting ready. But back to missionary-related material. Also since September I've been interning at Tama Plaza Christ Church in Yokohama. Pastor Sakuma has been showing me the ropes...of church work. When you say 'showing me the ropes' what follows? of? in? at? when it comes to? Anyway, I've been working with the junior/senior high school groups, ladies group (since Japanese churches have a high percentage of women I was told that the ladies group in any church is important to understand for church workers in Japan). Here is a picture of me preparing for the Jr./Sr. High Christmas party.
hooray for $5 santa suits! Meanwhile, Maki is resting at home, waiting to welcome our little monster.
Here is my missionary schedule this week, if you would like to keep it in your prayers.
Thursday, Nov 26: leading a Thanksgiving (my theme choice) Bible Study for Tama Plaza Ladies group
Friday, Nov 27: SEND Evangelism Council meeting, lesson with Japanese Tutor.
Saturday, Nov 28: SEND Thanksgiving Dinner at Okutama Bible Chalet (in the mountains)
Sunday, Nov 29: attend Jr./Sr. High Sunday School, Worship service at Tama Plaza Christ Church
Monday, Nov 30: Day off
Tuesday, Dec 1: NEXT BLOG ENTRY!
| | |
| Dear Friends,
It has been too long and for that I apologize. I've got lots of news for you so I may not even need to use chapters, I'll just keep it short and sweet.
Language School update:
I've completed another term at Kichijoji Language School, and will begin my 8th 10 week term in the beginning of July, where I'll do a refresher on the odd numbered chapters in the advanced book, as well as reading and writing. I'm also preparing to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 2, for the second time, I took Level 2 last December and failed, but looking to go at it again. The test is split into a grammar/vocabulary section, a listening section, and a reading comprehension section. Last time I passed the first two. This time Im looking to pass the whole thing. The Test is July 5th, please pray that it goes well.
Ministry Update:
I was privileged to be the Speaker at camp 2 of Joy Bible Camp at Okutama Bible Chalet this Summer. OBC is the camp run by SEND, and JBC is the English language children's camp directed at kids from the international school. Our theme was 'In Touch' with Colossians 2:6-7 being our theme verses. I gave 8 20-30 minute talks on how we, as believers can walk with Jesus. We looked at examples from Jesus life and also I tried to relate to my target audience (9-12 year olds) with a few life experiences of my own. Response was mixed, but overall I was pleased that some kids were paying attention, and I heard that a little girl went home and decided to give her life to Christ. Praise the Lord for that! My camp name this year was Dr. Spaceman. I found it really funny that, when teaching the kids the counselors and camp director would start by saying 'remember what Spaceman said...' Who listens to a guy named Spaceman? It's ridiculous. It's...foolishness. And that's exactly why it was perfect. Who could possibly get the glory from such a situation other than Jesus? I'm not even sure that anyone else would hire a guy named Spaceman for that kind of job. Just my little tangent. Thanks for your prayers.
Partnership Program:
Maki and I had a chance to visit the church where we will be serving starting this September, Tama Plaza Christ Church in Yokohama. Everyone was friendly and we were comfortable in no time fellowshipping there. My assignment there will be to work with youth from middle school to college and careers age. I'll be responsible for giving a devotional in Japanese once a month for the Jr. High/HS group. Please pray for the transition from full-time language student to language user to go well. And pray that God blesses Tama Plaza Church and that Maki and I can be a blessing even as We have already begun being blessed there.
Church Softball:
Maki was able to find a softball field that is available every Sunday night, and, along with a group of guys at Tachikawa Church, we've been enjoying a good manly time of fellowship. I've been able to get to know some of the men at Tachikawa church better through softball, and we have guys looking to make it a more regular time so that friends can be invited for future fun and fellowship. Pray that God uses this opportunity as he sees fit.
Family Update:
Jon's older brother David was married on to Maki's little sister (this is legal in both countries) on April 30th of this year. It was wonderful to see all of Jon's family here in Japan (Jon sometimes like to write in the third person for clarification, sometimes because he thinks it very manly) for the wedding. David and Tomo are now back in California raising support to come back to Japan with SEND as missionaries. Jon also had a chance to visit relatives in Okinawa for 4 days after seeing off most of the family back to the airport. Truly a blessed time seeing where his (my) grandmother is from, meeting her brother and other relatives. Maki did not make the trip this time because she is pregnant. That's not the way I intended to make that announcement but Maki and Jon are expecting their first child to arrive around December 20th of this year. Please pray for continued growth, good health, and a heart for God. Pray for Maki and Jon as parents, and also, for David and Tomo, as they begin their married lives together.
Well, that's all for now folks, longer than I (Jon) expected but largely without the fluffy blog fodder. Come to think of it, I think it would be a good idea to post this on the blog. I will. Shalom ya'll!
Jon and Maki Robison | | |
| Sorry gang, I guess this is the first post of 2009. I've been trying to think of ways to get updates to ya'll in the most efficient way possible, and obviously updating Xanga hasn't been part of that strategy so far. At any rate, I think I'll keep this up until I can set up a blog that works better, and if/when that happens you will all be the first to know. I say 'all' because it appears that I've had footprints this week despite the obvious dry spell. But for those of you looking for life and ministry updates, here's what I have since last time, utilizing the easy to scan bullet format.
* Finishing another 10 week round of language school, only one more before we look at a partnership program (like an internship) with a Japanese pastor. I'm looking forward to working with a church near Kawasaki (close to Tokyo), focusing on youth ministry, ages ranging from middle school to the college and careers groups.
* Enjoying basic conversation with both Japanese and fellow language students. I've been spending more time talking with people in the office at my language school, as I've also volunteered to be a group leader in the upcoming school field trip, as well as put together a team which created the school's new hata, or banner/battle flag. In the latter case I didn't do any of the actual art work, just worked more as a go between for the school and shy art students.
* I've done two interviews in the past two weeks or so, one in Japanese, one in English. The Japanese one was taped and heavily edited, if used at all. I don't have a radio so I haven't checked, but I've heard it's a popular radio program. They were just talking to language students about their favorite dives/haunts in Tokyo, as well as their impressions of the Japanese, proving that they are as narcissistic as any of us. The more I look at myself and societies in general that more I find that to be true, people love hearing about themselves, talking about themselves, etc. It's something I try to remind myself not to do, especially when I meet new people...but then here I am blogging about myself for all ya'll. The second interview was for some sort of Money TV show, where I was asked about how the high yen prices are hurting me as a foreigner in Tokyo. I kept it short and to the point. In retrospect I realize that, as I was on a day trip with a friend I wasn't dressed to impress, and may have ended up on TV with my signature sweatshirt, ballcap and jeans combination. Sorry mom.
* Looking ahead to this summer I've been asked to be the speaker at a five day children's bible camp. I'm humbled to be asked, but another part of me realizes that there was a shortage of available, affordable (free) speakers available. Even so, I've worked as a counselor before at the same camp and love working with children so I think it will be a blast. Please pray that I can put together 8 30 or so minute messages that get the message of 'staying in touch with God' across without terribly boring them. I think they're mostly 11 and 12 year olds. This will be done in English.
I imagine a lot of this will be in my upcoming newsletter, which will look drastically different from my newsletters in the past. I'm aiming for more of a personal approach to the reader, that is, more easily scannable, while not sacrificing content for you readers who enjoy my prose and witty banter. I suppose that's all for now, Thank you all for your prayers, thank you all for your support. We serve a great God, and I'm blessed to be working for him, alongside all of you.
| | |
| (First paragraph is thoughs on the election, if you wish to skip the politics please start at paragraph 2)
Today I hurried home after school to see how the election was going. First time I checked McCain was up 8-3 after Kentucky and Delaware were projected. by my mid-morning recess at school it was something like 106-32 in favor of Obama. When I got home and checked CNN I was surprised to see that it was already over. Now, I think I have a grasp of where most of you stand on this, and I think most of you have a grasp of where I stand, but it is not my intention to discuss that here today. Regardless of how you feel about this election's outcome it would be good to put it into perspective. To all you Obama fans out there, congratulations. It was a hard-fought victory, and I hope along with you that Obama continues to fight hard for the good of America as a nation, it's place in the world, and before Jesus, in whom Barack Obama believes (I liked Rick Warren's take on this one, both Obama and McCain are Christians, though neither is by definition an evangelical, fair enough for me). To all you McCain fans out there, well-fought, please continue to do your best in the democratic republic we call our temporary home, until heaven is ready. To all the evangelicals out there, I think it is important to realize that while America is not now, never was, and never will be a Theocracy in the vein of Old Testament Israel, please remember your brothers and sisters in Christ who come from other countries. Think of the Christians who live in Islamic republics, or communist countries which subscribe to a no-God creed. If we are dissapointed because the candidate who represents more hope for the unborn and traditional family values has lost the election, well, at least we had the opportunity to hope that such a candidate might win. Such candidates have won in the past, and quite recently, in America. Not in most countries in the world, and not in Japan. Japanese Christians do not have the luxury of hoping that their prime minister will fight for the lives of the unborn, or fight for other social issues because they are written in the Bible. Why would they? They don't quite make up 1% of the population here. I'm thankful to God that he placed me on this Earth as an American, but infinitely more grateful that He chose me to have faith in His Son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins.
In actual Jon Robison news, I started attending a devotional time Bible study on Wednesday mornings in Kichijoji. Now that SEND has 3 missionaries in language school I meet with the other two, a fellow from Kansas and a very nice man from Hong Kong. We share a little of how the week is going and then have a small devotional time followed by prayer. I really enjoyed our first meeting this morning. It wasn't at all hard core theology, but it was still wonderful to delve into the word with other people...in English. It has been a very long time since I've been able to do that. For those of you praying for me out there, thank you.
Odds and Ends...hmm. Oh, SEND's camp ministry ran into a Crisis recently, as the current Camp director (filling in for the current camp director who is on home service) has retired for health reasons. A new leader is needed for the next 7 months or so. The camp is also trying to raise significant support to rebuild most of the facilities to keep them functional to meet the needs of the next Generation.
Language study continues to progress. Maki and I bought some flash cards the other day, and in order to prepare for my test in December I'm trying to learn 20 new cards a day in order to get through the 739 cards in time. Please pray for that  Thank you all for your continued prayers, support and encouragement.
Tachikawa Church camp was this past weekend. Among good food, fellowship, and an evangelism seminar that stirred quite a bit of discussion between church people a highlight for me was attempting to share my thoughts on the camp in Japanese. Maki said she was surprised, although I did use some translation help, and at one point forgot what I was trying to say, since I was thinking about the Japanese words to use instead of the actual message. All the same, it was an encouraging step for me. Well, sorry, this is pretty long, isn't it. If you made it all the way to the bottom let me know in the comment box and I'll buy you a riceball next time you visit me. Shalom ya'll.
| | |
| If my life in Japan were a movie I feel like this whole language school part would be a musical montage, like ok, fast forward from the start to the time when you can do something useful. Agree or disagree isn't really what I'm trying to get at in this post, just a bit of reflection. Today I helped a friend move to his new apartment. I've been seeing this guy every day in class since the new semester started last week, but actually met him at the beginning of the year when I used to hang out with a group of Koreans from my previous class. At any rate, our first stop was basically Tokyo's K-town, where a Korean from another school was moving home and had lot of household stuff that was no longer needed. As my buddy was moving from a furnished apartment to a not furnished apartment he was more than willing to take a few items off this other person's hands. We finally found the place and I realized it was someone I had met some time ago. Seems like I don't remember all the details, but I remember it was a fun dinner with myself and my two Korean friends, this girl and her roommate (who had already moved back to Korea). The things that I remember about that meeting are really more the ambiance, we were all having fun, we weren't using as many utensils as a more formal meal would use, and I remember thinking this girl had a unique way of being forceful and motherly at the same time, and would do a great job taking care of one of these Korean guys should they ever decide to settle down.
Fast-forward to today, and let's put things in context. This whole recession thing, it's bad. I sympathize with all of you, I hope you the best, you know? From what I hear it's much worse in Korea and especially for Koreans studying abroad. When I started school a year ago most of my class was Koreans. Today I noticed the loud English speaking during break time from the level 1 class next door. A longtime classmate also pointed out the shrinking roster for new classes on the school board. So here I was, taking away the household items of a girl who had, after succeeding in her Japanese studies, found herself a week away from moving home to find work in Seoul, no roommate, no future in Japan, and after we left no refrigerator or microwave. I tried to think of something encouraging to say before getting into the moving van, but couldn't think of much, and that was that.
I want to tell all of you that I appreciate your prayers and financial support. I am grateful that God is using all of you as partners in the work to reach Japan, and am especially grateful during this time of economic difficulty around the globe. I find it humbling that I am still in Japan, living in a comfortable apartment with my wonderful wife, while others who are more qualified in a cultural or educational sense are struggling or finishing their tenures in this country. I don't know what God's plan is here, I don't know what part we are to play, either. I have ideas, goals, ambitions, etc., but for now I just hope that for tomorrow we will all be able to soak in the warmth of Christ's love, and that through Christ's love we can all be witnesses to his goodness and greatness wherever we are. And for those of you who are wondering, in my case that means school, meeting with an old Japanese buddy who you would have read about in this blog, and then prayer meeting. Shalom ya'll.
| | |
|
