Pray for Japan on Sunday, May 24, 2009

also posted on the Global Ministries website: http://globalministries.org/prayer/24may2009.html

Lectionary Text and Prayers for Japan: John 17:6-19
I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

Dear God, thank you for the many gifts of community and fellowship with the global Christian community brought to us through missionaries around the world. This week we pray for Japan. We ask for your light and guidance for Christians in Japan, while few, continue faithfully on their journey towards your kingdom here on earth. Help us, as missionaries, to learn to serve and walk alongside our partners in the Japanese church on this mission. We…

• Pray for global food security and for ministries like the Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi Prefecture which help to inspire leadership in rural communities both in Japan and around the world.
  
• Pray for the indigenous peoples of Japan from the Ainu peoples of northern Japan and Hokkaido to Ryu Kyu peoples in Okinawa, and others as they continue their struggle for acknowledgement by the Japanese people and government.
  
• Pray for the Christian centers and smaller ministries like the Emmaus Center, the Douhoku Centre, the Student Christian Fellowship (SCF), Bazaar Café, and Ginowan Seminar House as they continue to serve as a vital meeting point between the church and the wider community. Help them to continue their work serving the most vulnerable and needy.
  
• Pray for sexual minorities, the LGBT community in both Japan and the US, that they are able to find acceptance and understanding from their families, religious institutions, and government leaders.
  
• Pray that awareness of Article 9 of Japan's Peace Constitution will continue to grow both here in Japan and abroad. We pray that Japan will be an example of peace in seeking non-military means for conflict resolution.

We bring these prayers to you from a world, still broken, as a forgiving and forgiven people of God. Amen

(Prayer by SKLT)

Global Ministries International Partners in Japan:

• Doshisha University: http://www.doshisha.ac.jp/english/ Martha Mensendiek is a teacher of Social Welfare at Doshisha University, Kyoto. Casilda Luzares teaches English.
  
• Asian Rural Institute: The mission of the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) is to build an environmentally healthy, just, and peaceful world, in which each person can live to his or her fullest potential. This mission is rooted in the love of Jesus Christ. To carry out this mission, ARI trains and nurtures rural leaders for a life of sharing. Leaders, both women and men, who live and work in grassroots rural communities primarily in Asia, Africa and the Pacific form a community of learning each year together with staff and other residents. Through community-based learning they study the best ways for rural people to share and enhance local resources and abilities for the common good.
  
• Emmaus Center: Rev. Jeffrey Mensendiek works as the Director of youth ministries at the Emmaus Center, Northeast Conference of United Church of Christ in Japan, based in Sendai, Japan. Ms. Sandra Lee-Takei works as a global mission Intern at the Emmaus Center as the assistant to the Director of youth ministries.
  
• Kobe College: http://www.kobe-c.ac.jp/ekc/index.html
  
• Korean Christian Church in Japan: http://www.kccj.net/
  
• Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University:
  
• National Christian Council of Japan: http://ncc-j.org/english/profile.htm
  
• Tohoku Gakuin University: http://www.tohoku-gakuin.ac.jp/en/index.html
  
• United Church of Christ in Japan:
  

Global Ministries Missionaries in Japan:

• Sandra Lee-Takei serves as a Global Mission Intern at the Emmaus Center
• Casilda Luzares teaches English at Doshisha University and is involved in pastoral ministries to migrant workers from the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand.
• Martha Mensendiek teaches Social Welfare at Doshisha University
• Jeffrey Mensendiek serves and the Director of youth ministries at the Emmaus Center and the Sendai Student/Youth Center in Sendai.
  

May SHARE

Safe Place to Express Yourself

While we were visiting the Bethel House during this spring’s Hokkaido study tour, we met people who had psychological challenges like schizophrenia, addiction, and some who were recovering from agoraphobia. We also met social workers, doctors, and staff who worked alongside them managing the various Bethel projects like konbu sales and creating books and DVDs to teach others about Bethel. Because everyone works together in the same space there is a very friendly atmosphere and members are encouraged to express themselves freely. One of the social workers, Etsuko Mukaiyachi, helped us to understand how the ‘Bethel Way’ differs from contemporary medicine in that they try to avoid medication but to help members cure themselves through learning how to express their feelings and emotions in healthy ways.

I was reminded about a period in my life right after I graduated from college. I didn’t have much success finding work and it seemed like everyone else around me seemed happier and more successful than me. At the time, I lived with a friend who had graduated from university the same year as me. We had lived together for almost 3 years and could talk about all the stresses of each day. I also had one teacher in school that I respected very much and always made time for me when I came to his office. Because I had this support network of friends who helped me verbalize the anxieties I had about my future I was able to realize that there was nothing wrong with me and that I had talents too. When I did finally receive my first job offer, the thing that made me the most happy was telling those same friends.

Something that was unique about Bethel is that members and staff work together as equals and it was often difficult to tell who was recovering from mental illness. We all have anxieties and a low degree of mental illness in away. But, maybe we can also learn to help ourselves by seeking out a community we can trust to talk about and express all the joys and difficulties in our lives. Through simply expressing them aloud to others, we learn to appreciate both our talents and faults and grow from them.

- SKLT


北海道の「べてるの家」を訪れたとき、精神障がいを負う人たちがスタッフと一緒になって働いている姿に驚いた。スタッフの向谷地悦子さんによると、べてるではクスリで病気を治すというよりは、当事者自身がいろんな人に自分を表現できる方法を通して病気とつき合う道を求めているとのことだった。

　自分が大学を卒業したばかりの頃を思い出す。就職活動が上手く行かず、他の人たちの方が自分より幸せに見えた時期があった。あのころ一緒に生活していたルームメイトとは日常的なストレスとか何でも話し合える仲だった。また尊敬していた先生も、いつでも私のために時間を取ってくれた。このような人たちのネットワークの中にあったから、私は自分の将来に対する不安などを表現できたし、自分はおかしくない、自分にはいろんな可能性があることに気付くことができた。やっと仕事が決まった時、私は喜んで真っ先にこの人たちに嬉しい知らせを伝えたのだった。

　べてるの大きな特徴の一つは当事者とスタッフが対等な者として隣り合わせで働いていることだった。誰が当事者であるか分からないほどだった。私たちにだって不安はあるし、精神「病」も少しはあるのではないかと思う。自助努力として私たちができることと言えば、自分を表現できるコミュニティーを探すこと。信頼して自分の悩みや喜びを伝えることのできる場所を見つけることだと思う。単純に言葉でもって自分の内面を他の人に表現することで、自分の良いところも悪いところも見えて来るし、それと付き合って行く力が与えられて行くのだと思う。

サンディー（SKLT）

May Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,

Spring is the season of change in Japan. The fiscal year in Japan begins and ends on April 1^st and companies work hard to close their books for the year and hire new employees around this time. The school year also starts in April and realtors often find themselves busiest during this time and desperately searching for work the rest of the year. It’s no different here in Sendai. At the student/youth center 2 staff retired, one person returned from maternity leave, and one temporary person finished her term. Now, we are left with 3 people, our administrative person Miho Ookoshi who manages the building during the day, Jeffrey Mensendiek and myself who take care of the student center activities in the evenings.

In March, while all the students were on spring break we were hard at work preparing for the new school and fiscal year while Jeffrey and I were traveling most of the month leading a study tour to Hokkaido and a volunteer work camp to the Asian Rural Institute in Tochigi Prefecture.

Hokkaido was the major event of the spring holiday because it was an 11-day trip stopping at various places all over Japan’s vast and northernmost island. Also, the student/youth center has not lead a study tour to Hokkaido in over 7 years. An outline and explanation of our trip’s schedule is at: http://skltsnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/hokkaido-study-tour.html. I’ve also written more about each part of the trip here: http://skltstravels.blogspot.com/search/label/Hokkaido.

Other projects I’m working on are creating an English website and providing more English materials both for English speakers in Sendai but also for our many supporters abroad. I will be sure to keep you updated on these projects as they develop.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

 

SKLT

Global Missions Intern (GMI) and
Assistant to the Director
Sendai Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan

 

To learn more about what Sandy has been doing be sure to check out her online resources:

• Newsletter Articles (English and Japanese): http://skltsnews.blogspot.com
  
• Personal Reflections (English only, sorry): http://skltstravels.blogspot.com