Mrs. Shin,

How are you doing these days? Any news? Here is my next newsletter. Thanks!!

PR:

1.    Direction for preschool and new teachers to come to replace me in July or August and more students

2.    New church members to be encouraged to go deeper and be committed

3.    Personal discernment of next steps to take this summer as I juggle ideas

4.    For all of us especially me to focus on his completion in us finding satisfaction always in that, not what we haven't seen yet or supposed "lack" (finances, opportunities, fruit, victory, etc)

It's May in Japan and the fleeting beauty of the sakura has been swallowed up by the flourishing green and warm weather. The preschool here graduated a couple of students at the end of March as Japanese schools start the academic year in early April, and we've gotten just as many as left to sign up. This means more families to get a chance to build relationships and more children to sow into.

There's been an amazing transformation that I can only attribute to God that's taken place in the lives of all those who've enlisted in the preschool. We are strict with b a d behavior, but the children all see us as their friends and know we love them. Many are those who come with foul attitudes and end up all becoming the picture-perfect teacher's pet. I think it has to do with the Presence-charged atmosphere of the school coupled with decent discipline, which has been an amazing witness to me personally of what God is able to do. Terrible two's? Original sin? These concepts don't look familiar to me at least on the surface, in the face of the quick and permanent transformation for good we've seen in most of our students. I suppose not being the parents of the children, we are better equipped to to discipline them without too much emotional attachment. I think parents' emotionally based decisions on discipline often leads to one extreme or another: being too harsh or simply letting the children rule their own lives. Imagine how we are treated by our Father. When we give children everything they ask for, and reward their b a d behavior, we not only reinforce it but we endorse it. God is very kind to not fulfill all our requests in order to give us the better.

As always, I'd like to share some testimonies. "They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony..." (Rev 12:11) These are just simple daily workings of God, just scratching the surface of what's available. I heard a message where a pastor spoke of how the word testimony in ancient Greek was "to produce it again." Whatever is written here, you can walk in much greater things. Beyond even what we've seen Jesus do, according to Jesus himself. Be encouraged!

I went to a military base for my high school soccer team I was helping (season is now over) to watch them play. As I was walking home, while still on base, I ran into an introverted looking woman with a large brace on her arm. I stopped her to ask what it was about, and she hesitantly explained that it was tendentious and that it was fairly painful. I asked her to pray, and she let me, though she had a skeptical look on her face. As I was praying, and this is not the first time this has happened, but I felt the pain jump on me, maybe as it was leaving her, just for a moment. I asked her if it was specifically where I felt it and she confirmed. After I said, can you check that out? She says, actually the pain is totally gone right now. I also liked how personal you were in your prayer, she said. Isn't that awesome? I responded, and she replied, "Yeah it is. I'm actually going to be a chaplain one day." Wow! She was highly encouraged and I got to talk to her about Power and Love, a ministry that empowers to live like Jesus in the power of God.

Another was when this woman walked by me and I caught a prolonged look at her eyes, which carried a seemingly heavy weight on them. I thought, I need to go tell her Jesus wants to take her burdens, but I missed the chance. A couple of minutes later though, I saw her in the grocery store that I was going to! I stopped her outside and told her I just wanted to encourage her in who God sees her as, and what he wants to do. As I was doing that but having trouble describing some difficult things in Japanese, a hand touched me on the shoulder. It was one of the few bilingual players from the soccer team I was helping coach! He stayed and translated for me for a few minutes and she was really moved and fascinated with the whole experience. Many interesting things were going on, but one just being that as always, God is his foresight knew exactly when I would say something (though I delayed out of doubt) and that I would need help communicating, thus he perfectly timed this high schooler's crossing paths with me.

There was also another soccer player that was sitting out of a practice because of shin splints. I prayed for him, it left, and he rejoined practice! I have David Choi to thank for this one, because I shared the testimony of his shinsplints disappearing before I prayed for him. Again the power of the testimony is so incredible for opening up possibilities for us to walk in what others have experienced. 

I was invited to a basketball practice an hour and a half away, and after playing for a bit realized one guy was playing with only one arm. I asked him after if I could pray for him, and felt that he had some connection to God through his parents, which he confirmed but said he had walked away since a death in the family. I prayed for his shoulder and asked his to check it, to which he kind of smiled like oh boy, what did I get myself into? Then his face changed as he said something to the degree of, "it IS better! That's so weird, I couldn't stretch it this far before, especially without pain." He communicated the pain had subsided and had a very genuine reaction to a miracle. Turns out he is an investment banker, going back to the US and is on a trajectory to become a real leader in his industry. May he influence all those he interacts with for Him.

I have a friend here who is a kind, calm yet skeptical agnostic who I spent time with and talked about spiritual matters over dinner. I asked him if he had any issues he needed healing for, and he told me he had trouble sleeping before the sun comes up. I prayed for him even though he was slightly uncomfortable, and he said he felt better, felt peace and his countenance had changed from skeptical to optimistic. Later he told me with a chuckle that he actually fell asleep on the train ride home even though it was only about 11! It reminds me of when I prayed for me friend to receive Jesus, and being a chain smoker, he told me the next day that the weirdest thing had happened: my friend had totally lost his desire to smoke! He went the whole day without a craving. We can give away what we have. Freedom.

There are two boys in the preschool here which had some physical issue briefly (like stomach pain). I've noticed a very high sensitivity in children towards the presence of God and his things. I decided to just put my mind on letting Holy Spirit move through me and do whatever He wanted while holding their hands for just a moment. Both told me, doesn't hurt anymore! One said "I feel strong in here!" and pointed to his heart when I had not given him any suggestion I was praying for him in my heart, or that anything should happen. I have a video of one testifying to it! Too cool.

One woman I ran into in a busy place downtown was walking with a crutch. I think she told me she had just had surgery on it and it was too weak to walk on without pain. I hesitated to talk to her but summoned the courage. She was so open and interested in my message, and let me pray for her. Like clockwork, my friend showed up on the scene just in time to translate some things I was having trouble getting across about the cross at just the right time. We prayed and she noticed an immediate change. When we left her, without suggestion she walked away without the crutch! Haha!

Hope is rising in Japan and in our ministry here. I think it's important to always hold an optimistic eschatology: things are getting better, not worse. We allow God's completed plans for good that he has already established for us in the future to permeate our minds and pull it into this reality. By pull I mean let it fall :) there's no human "effort" involved. I've been being taught of God recently more and more about grace and living from flow, where we are fruitful everywhere not because of our efforts to try to earn or please God, but out of a natural response to giving it over to God. He wants our cares, worries, doubts, concerns, fears, so that he can reveal more of his love that he has for us in us already, that things change shape because they can't help but change. The idea of the quantum mechanics concept of Harmonic Resonance is that objects' vibrations all affect each other, and they tune to the higher frequencies. When we "vibrate" with love in his rest, things just happen. That means a constant awareness of letting go of every single bond of control. The good thing is, when we let go, though it seems we're sacrificing, we find that we live in what the kingdom is really made of, "righteousness, peace and joy in the HS" that eclipses all previous desires by far. What are you snacking on and trusting in to provide those three elements? Be filled with him, not just hamburgers. Let your energy be heavenly.

Thank you for participating in what God's doing in the earth even if it's just by reading this and sharing in the wavelength vicariously of what we're experiencing. Thanks for your praying and care for the suffering and lost. Keep the fire burning. Keep living out and unveiling your true self in Him. GBY.

www.noahsark.jp shioandlight.blogspot.com youtube/godisinlovewithyou