Departure!

Hello dear friends,

The team will be departing for Japan tomorrow and we are soOo excited! It feels like this past semester has already been such an adventure and time of growth, it is so exciting yet it is a strange feeling to finally be taking off for our ministry destination. Please continue to be lifting us up in prayer as we begin this new stretch of this ministry process.

Prayer Requests:

• Safety as we travel to Japan
• Good comprehension and guidance in the airports as we transfer flights in Japan.
• Health and rest during our travels and the start of our ministry trainings in Japan.
• Bonding, patience, and fun as the team enjoys fellowship on the airplane, and maybe we will even get to talk to people on the plane!
• To quickly get through customs and pick up our luggage.
• For no lost luggage
• That God would prepare our hearts to serve in whatever capacity the Lord calls us to.

Thank you for your faithful support of our team, and for your love. May our eyes always be turned to Christ.

--

A.M.

$ Update

We are at 100%! Thank you all for supporting us!

12 day countdown...

Only 12 more days until we depart for Japan. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

• Next week is finals and graduation: please pray for our studies to be balanced with our emotional, spiritual, and all other prep needed for our departure to Japan.
• Please continue to pray for our health and rest.
• Please pray for team unity; both interpersonal relationships and spiritual unity.
• Please pray for peace for our families as we depart for this 6 week mission trip. Support from our families is a huge source of encouragement.

Romans 12:

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Gifts of Grace

³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

⁹Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation,be constant in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written,"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." ²⁰To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Haiku by Michelle Apple

Sipping barley tea
Cranes in the expanse, praying...
Nihongo comes out

Prayer Request: Current Health

Please keep Team Japan's health in your prayers!

Finals is coming up and stress is heightened, which means our immune system is lowered. Our health is a crucial player in our preparation for the mission trip and rounding the end of the school year out.

Specifics:

-Stress level

-Healthy bodies: (Specifically Stomachs, Eyes, Heads, and Ankles)

-Rest/good sleep

-Healthy minds

-Love and patience in this time heightened stress

Thank you for your prayers!

Update by Rachel

Hello all!! We are just four weeks away from heading off to Japan. This is Rachel, one of the team members, and I wanted to share with you what we have been up to lately. The Thousand Crane Project that was talked about before is now on display on campus and it is a great reminder for everyone who is walking from class or going to study in the Library to keep Japan in their prayers as they nation is still going through a lot right now. I am really excited about going and I know God is going to do great things, cause when you think about He always does great things. The littlest things can have a huge effect on one persons life and though it may not always be seen by those who are doing missions work, there is comfort that reality of God working in a ll things. Already through preparing for the trip I have been blessed through all the people in my life that have been supporting me through kind words of affirmation, prayer, and financial support. I am having to put everything in Gods hands, the fact that I am going to Japan in the condition it is in, the relationships that are being built through the team, and raising the amount of money that I need to, to be able to go. I serve a great God and He does great thing all the time. Please keep Japan in your prayers as well as our team.

thank you Rachel Sornoso

The cranes are UP!

BIOLA COMMUNITY is PRAYING FOR JAPAN!

BIOLA community & friends folded 1,000 cranes, Senbazuru.

With each crane, we suggested that each student donate $2: one for Team Japan and one for CRASH relief efforts. This way we show that the BIOLA community is not only praying for Japan but also doing what we can for physical and spiritual needs.

We are in the process of creating a video to send to the Churches in Japan. If you have suggested churches, please send us their email address in the comment section (or email Andy).

Thank you to Ian Mayta who is working hard at making the video. Also, thank you to the Sugiyama Family of SLzJCC, DaWu, Ben, and Eva Dunbar for helping us fold, string, and/or hang the cranes. <3　　 ありがとう　ございます！