DCAT 2007 (Doing Church As a Team)

DCAT 2007 was held on 26th and 27th Oct, a non-stay in camp organised by New Hope Japan (a church founded in Hawaii but now has several branches in Japan).

Check out the cute DIY eco-bag! Was stamping away on the bag like the happy kindergarten kids I used to teach, with the cheery aloha and hibicus and ferns and what have you.. ha!


The camp was held at a church 6 minutes by subway from my place, cool! hee! Ps Elmer kicking off the first session on Day 2. The Caucasian lady besides him is actually interpreting for him in Japanese! Is that cool or what! The sessions were conducted in both Japanese and English (Hurray for me!) because many Japanese people in Hawaii speak English as well.

Me, Ronnie, Steven and Kangling, posing happily, despite the typhoon blowing outside..

There were 3 tracks available at the camp: Design (Discovering your talent and gift for serving), Frontline (Levites and worship) and Leadership. Opted for leadership, erm... because it sounds general? Ha, was worried that we have to do a lot of talking for the other 2 tracks.. will come back next year though, turned out all tracks were fun! Some of the people from Shalom went for the other 2 tracks, thumbs-up they said!

Ronnie, Kangling and me at the Leadership sessions... in a comfy little chapel..

A 21-year old youth sharing his vision for Japan, very encouraging to see the youths on fire in Japan! Praise God for them!

Yummy Hawaiian lunch, packed in a eco-friendly box with a pretty cover.. kudos for taste and packaging!

Ps Elmer speaking during the leadership session.

Q&A session to wrap up the leadership tracks.. pastors from New Hope churches and Ps Elmer.

Vibrant worship from the New Hope team, and my first time seeing dancers in Hawaiian costumes and flowers in their hair.. Cute~~

Final session to wrap up DCAT 2007 by Ps Taro, the organiser and pastor of New Hope Japan. That is his wife, interpreting for him in Japanese besides him. He`s funny and she`s quick.. their chemistry is amazing! Ps Taro talked about the HEART, one of my favourite topic!

A mime depicting the sharing of God`s love.

We were given keylights and when the session ended, the lights in the auditorium were switched off. Ps Taro told us to hold up the keylights and woah! I was amazed to see everybody`s little light was lighting up the pitch dark auditorium... and this is the point he wanted to make: Unity is strength! Everyone of us has a part to play in the church and everyone is important! Woohoo!

Take home from DCAT 2007:

1) Make your time with God the best part of your day.

2) See the potential and the GOOD in everyone.

3)Find your dream and pursue it with GOD.. remember Moses only had a stick, David only had a few stones and Joseph only had a dream (but he saved a nation!).

Ending on a high note! Yeah it can only get better! See you next year guys, DCAT 2008!

Courage

Hebrew 3:6

But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

戦士として

日々　不調和と　戦いぬき
日々　暗闇と　戦いぬき
自分の　弱さと　戦いぬく

戦いぬき
夜の　静寂(しじま)に　身を　休め
朝の　鼓動(ひびき)に　身を　整え
ふたたび　戦地に　赴いていく

見上げれば
雲の　向こうに　晴れ間が　ある
愛の　光が　さしこんでくる
天使の　祈りに　護(まも)られている

安らぐ　未来(とき)を　目指してゆこう
地道な　勝利を　重ねてゆこう

The Time has come!!

The Time Has Come....

Found love beyond all reason
You gave your life Your all for me
And called me Yours forever
Caught in the mercy fallout
I found hope found life
Found all I need
You’re all I need

The time has come
To stand for all we believe in
So I for one am gonna
Give my praise to You

Today today it’s all or nothing
All the way
The praise goes out to You
Yeah all the praise goes out to You
Today today I live for one thing
To give You praise
In everything I do
Yeah all the praise goes out to You

All we are is Yours
And all we’re living for
Is all You are
Is all that You are Lord

秘密基地之约 2007

结果它成了我们的代言。Ａｎｙｗａｙ重点是人嘛！

大家都忘了带相机，不过这一年心里捕捉的，应该够我们回味了吧！

欢迎归队！ 要不要看冲绳有没有choco-cro? *笑*

爱你们。重要的你们。

Ｌｏｖｅ，

爱与和平的我　：Ｐ

Hey ladies: Offering your heart?

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

A contrite heart:

• Does not seek to rationalize or explain or excuse or defend or justify sin.
• Does not try to fool God or others or self. It recognizes that God demands truth and honesty.
• Does not mean merely feeling bad or remorseful about sin!
• Does not seek to blame circumstances or other people or God for our own failure.

A contrite heart recognizes that sin is:

• A spiritual crime since it is a violation of God's laws.
• An offense against all that is decent and moral and right.
• Rebellion, disobedience, and stubbornness of heart.

When we become aware of our sins, iniquities and transgressions, and are contrite, we need to know that

• God isn't interested in empty apologies.
• God doesn't want cheap promises or resolutions.
• God cares nothing for our efforts to balance evil with a little more good.
• God desires a broken and contrite heart which is the true sacrifice of one who determines to turn from sin, to forsake sin, and to abandon it.

To offer our hearts, means coming to God with our desires, not our demands.

And remember, the experience of sorow does not diminish the joy of living, but rather it enhances it because it makes us more alive to the moment and more aware and more present.

And only God can tell us who we are. Only God can speak the answer we need to hear.

Our core validation, our PRIMARY validation has to come from God and no one else.

Only a woman who has received this validation will dare to be TENDER in this sometimes- ruthless-sink-or-swim world. And tenderness is the key to relating to people, something which we women are born to do. And tenderness allows you to love all people (better, easier).

Tenderness is the real strength because only an incredibly strong woman, a woman rooted in Christ Jesus who knows whose she is and therefore knows who she is , can offer a tender vulnerability. In addition ,we need a steadfastness of heart to keep saying `Yes` to God. Even when it is hard, even when it hurts, WE CAN.

Dear sisters, we have an irreplaceable role to play in this world that God so loves. You can be strong yet tender, by following the lead of Jesus wherever He leads you. He will lead you first into Himself; and then, with Him, you bring forth life to the world that God loves and needs you to love.

Will you say `Yes` to His invitation?

(Inspiration from `Captivating` by Stasi Eldredge. Thanks Rou for the book, it is amazing! Get this book ladies!)

Happy Birthday!

God rejoices over your salvation!

こういうわけで、私はひざをかがめて、天上と地上で家族と呼ばれるすべてのものの名の元である父の前に祈ります。どうか父が、その栄光の豊かさに従い、御霊により、力をもって、あなたがたの内なる人を強くしてくださいますように。こうしてキリストが、あなたがたの信仰によって、あなたがたの心のうちに住んでいてくださいますようにまた、愛に根ざし、愛に基礎を置いているあなたがたが、すべての聖徒とともに、その広さ、長さ、高さ、深さがどれほどであるかを理解する力を持つようになり、人知をはるかに越えたキリストの愛を知ることができますように。こうして、神ご自身の満ち満ちたさまにまで、あなたがたが満たされますように。

どうか、私たちのうちに働く力によって、私たちの願うところ、思うところのすべてを越えて豊かに施すことのできる方に、教会により、またキリスト・イエスにより、栄光が、世々にわたって、とこしえまでありますように。アーメン。

[エペソ3:14-21]

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

[Ephesians 3:14-21]

あたしｈａｐｐｙ ｓｔｕｄｅｎｔだ － Part ＩＩ (試験＋焼肉写真）

Gigi和Taguchi君的连弹 - 濑川先生的考试。我和裕翔partner!



Ensemble的考试- 我们需要独奏Jazz classic - Satin doll.. actually only comping but 叫我们classical的人弹big chords, 还蛮stressed out 的！



Can see my concentrate face again... very stressed playing alone!!



Gigi和裕翔，一起弹 Girl from Ipanema... 很快乐因为大家一起make music ^_^


Kagazume的偶像！打鼓很厉害的老师，名字嘛。。。忘记了。。。友情客串！！谢谢他的伴奏！



我和Nanaちゃん一起弹bossa nova, 很有feeling!! 连我的fave pose 她都配合了！很有默契吧！


好！继续介绍我在Shobi的同学们。。

大家都介于18-20岁（日本人），之前有一个30多岁的日本人，不过退学了。。。

我们班4个留学生- 我，Gigi(香港），Akihiro(台湾/美国），裕翔（台湾）。

可爱的日本小朋友们～～

座号在我前面的小原ちゃん、她的Ａ４ｓｉｚｅ的镜子，吓到我了！！

大家都很开心！考完了！！Woohoo!!

Gigi你在干吗？其实她很candid,很搞笑！！裕翔也很配合咯！

班长。。你醉了。。。

感情好到可以借位拍奇怪的照片。。。深谷良平，你真的醉了！

真的。。只有华人，才会晚上10.30还在卖泡泡茶！很好喝！！！喜乐茶！（JoyFoo..你来franchaise 啦！）

Thank you God, for blessing me with so many new friends, here in this foreign land that You had called me to.

Because love is an act of faith.

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime,
therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore we must be saved by love.

- Reinhold Niebuhr

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
-- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Life in sushi-land篇 之 我是幸福的学生！

恐怖的第2学期钢琴实践考试当天，在很讲究衣装的sushi-land，考试也要打扮得严肃一点以示尊敬。

这是考试的顺序，我排第9个，在裕翔和Gigi的中间，还是先考比较好，不会这么紧张。。。

大家都弹很难的曲子！！

结果我的Tchaikovsky荡掉！！不过算了，回家落了不少失望的泪水后，还是带着喜悦的心面对未来，下学期再奋斗吧！

很sweet的裕翔，过后我们和班上同学吃烧肉时，悄悄地把这递给我，叫我不要sad, 下次再努力！

谢谢你的好货巧克力！好感动！

好不容易等全班的人考完，相约在秋叶原吃yakiniku!从早上10点开始，靠到晚上7点半，最累得应该是听完全场的Okano班主任吧！他应该是太累，所以没有被我班的漂亮妹妹干事邀请来一起party。。。

照片中最左边的女生，就是这次的organiser- 砂坂ちゃん！最右边的是20岁不过有点像ah-pek but 弹琴很厉害的 山口君！

台湾人/美国人的Akihiro君，很有艺术家的造诣，弹jazz很棒哦！

温柔的奈奈ちゃん，i think是我们班年纪最大的 ，不过和她很谈得来，她很sweet,我生病的时候都会传简讯到我手机慰问我, 我们ensemble的课都会一起坐，她是护士，人美心地善良，是好人！！

拿手歌曲是「千の風になって」的浜ちゃん，也很厉害哦！ 后面突然挤进很多人！哈！

太stressed out 的班长，良平。。。和裕翔是好兄弟！每次被我们捉来当活字典！

可爱的小女孩 - 永井ちゃん，我和Gigi觉得自己好老哦。。。

大家都好像未满20岁，烟酒不离手咯。。。。welcome to Japan...

大合照~！

我班有个萧亚轩！！很かわいい吧！ （有点看不清楚though...)





我们班的小帅哥！河村君！！





醉死的班长和漂亮小妹妹。。。



（喝一杯sour就很high的我，是解放自己吧！不可能啊？我怎么可能会醉呢！？

Anyway 谢谢小欣因为不放心我而跑到Akihabara陪我回家！还我陪我等她的Gigi和裕翔！）

很累but快乐的一天!!みんな、お疲れさまでした！！！！