Hatanodai #2 Post 2!!

Hatanodai Station is at the heart of Hatanodai and has  two different train lines crossing there, the Tokyu Ikegami Line and the Tokyu Oimachi Line.  Tokyu is the company that operates both train lines;  they also have a chain of supermarkets called Tokyu Stores.  You can usually find one at every station on the lines they operate.

This photo was taken from inside the coffee shop where we ended our prayer walk for number 2 chome.  - picture coming later……

Shopping arcades are for me a wonderful part of Japan.  Colourful streets are lined with all kinds of shops on both sides with lots of bright lights at night.  This particular arcade is called Showa University Road and  connects the Hospital with Hatanodai Station.

Now we get to the real stuff.  Here is Mos Burger – Japan’s answer to McDonalds and Sarah’s favourite Hamburger chain in Tokyo.  It is situated right at the end of the shopping arcade and across the street from the Hospital.

Look closer and you will see what is probably the only Post Office in Hatanodai.  It is not our closest Post Office but this is what they look like over here.  If you see any store displaying the red part of the sign above the Post Office it lets you know that you can buy stamps at that store for snail mail.  The Post Office is on Nakahara Kaido, a big major road that runs right through Hatanodai.

This little row of  houses was tucked away in a cul-de-sac and kind of reminded me of Switzerland.  It also represented what I had expected Japan to look like – lots of houses exactly the same.  However it is often difficult to find two houses side by side that are even similar, so this too added to the unusualness of these particular houses.

Philippine Outreach

Greetings,

Our family joined the Tokyo Baptist Youth Mission Trip to the Philippines from the 15th of August to the 22nd of August. The picture on the right shows the team before going to the airport. We had members from America, Canada, England, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, & Taiwan.

It was an exciting time. Local pastors and our TBC missions pastor had arranged for local Doctors to attend the people. There were always lots of friendly kids who loved to shake hands and have their photo taken. Although only one of the kids is smiling in this picture, I have lots of memories of many many smiling faces.

The people had no money for medicine so part of the outreach was the purchase by TBC of medicine to be prescribed freely. After receiving their check up and prescription the patients were given a “spiritual check up” by our team members with the help of local translators from the church we were working with. Here are Rhonda and Leslie, a local young Christian, sharing with a grandma.

For many of the youth on the outreach this was their first time of talking to others about their spiritual condition but to their surprise this became their favorite part of the outreach. On top you can see David and Jonathan taking part in the check ups. This was a five minute presentation of the gospel or prayer for Christians. David was assisted by Pastor Chris, senior pastor of our host church. Jonathan is assisted by Leslie. Our TBC youth Pastor (also Chris!) and I spent the first hour at this outdoor location sweeping water off the floor, though you can still see some in the background!

Sarah and fellow youth member Matthew from Singapore had the privilege of being assisted by TBC missions’ pastor Joel who is originally from that particular area of the Philippines. (The blue pack on Sarah’s back contains the team’s first aid kit as she was the first aid lady!) Mary also counselled, but here is surrounded by children who shared her love of collecting bugs!

October 2003

Dear friends,

September is well over now and with it the beginning of a new school year. David began his second to last year of high school and Jonny follows in the next year. Sarah entered fifth grade and Mary third grade. Autumn is in full swing, the weather is much cooler and the rainy season has begun.

The first week of this month was a highlight for our family with the visit of a cousin from New Zealand on her way to visit relatives in UK. Zoe spent her first day at church with the family and the next with us on an intermission prayer walk around the Emperor’s palace and a Tokyo river cruise. She became the resident home school expert student to encourage and spur on her younger cousins. The farewells at the airport were rather tearful but life must go on.

A lot of time and energy has been given to phoning Hiro and his mother and many have joined us in praying for him. (Hiro, son of a Buddhist priest, came to know the Lord last year.) He did come to Tokyo this week and also came to church and visited with us on both Monday and Tuesday. Our hope is that he will stay in Tokyo and grow in the loving relationships he has established at Tokyo Baptist Church.

Our local Pastors’ group continues to pray for and encourage one another.We have begun an English Bible Study on Tuesday nights for Pastor Noh in his church in Adachi and look forward to opening the opportunity to the other churches at our next meeting in November. Currently about ten people attend each week with six of them all being children. We spend the first half hour together in a large group then David takes the children and I teach the adults and we all get together at the end for snacks and an opportunity to further converse in English.

Hallelujah church continues to meet every Monday night and last month we were all able to attend. It was good to be all together again and to see the life of the gospel continuing to shine in the hearts of the members.

Rhonda continues to teach English at Mary’s school with gospel content through giving the Christian background of monthly holidays such as Easter and Christmas.Since beginning last year more and more children from all grades greet her in English in the neighbourhood. We finally have a simple way t o offer the full gospel to these children. Although the local community centre cannot host religious meetings of any kind, it is all right to explain the gospel background of Western Christian cultural events such as Easter, Christmas, etc. Although Halloween is a controversial event for the church in the West, it is a door of opportunity for us here to share the truths regarding ghosts and death: that there is eternal life available for all those who believe in the Lord Jesus. Please pray that the children can have fun and the Holy Spirit be able to work through our explanations for the children’s salvation. (We will do the same next month for American Thanksgiving and Christmas in December.)

Also please pray for the weekly women’s and children’s Bible English classes. These are made up of friends made through kindergarten and school. As well, please pray for Akemi who lives upstairs and still needs to have her first Bible study. You may remember the Kimura family who became family friends. The father died of brain cancer although we believe that he received the Lord. Rhonda and Sarah will attend Mrs. Kimura’s first stage production. Please pray that she will in return come to Tokyo Baptist Church for the Christmas Tree Christmas concert and hear the gospel.

July 2003

Today was the bi-monthly meeting of the Adachi Pastors at one of the pastor’s churches. Please pray as we discussed the idea of starting an International Worship Service sponsored by the Adachi Pastors group. Last month’s outreach with the choir from Korea was tremendous, especially in seeing the pastors working together once more. We also had our assigned responsibilities – David taking video, myself still pictures and Sarah and Mary giving flowers to the conductor at the end.

Last week David turned 16. We had a great time at an all you can eat restaurant except I had stomach cramp and couldn’t eat. David is almost as tall as I am now as is Jonathan. Both of them have a larger shoe size, which means they are no longer wearing my shoes out for me.

At the end of this month Tokyo Baptist Church will be having a weeklong children’s music camp/Daily Vacation Bible School. Sarah & Mary will attend and David, Jonathan, and Rhonda will be volunteers.Please pray for the non-Christian students. I expect to stay home and get caught up on mission related and family paper work.

David still keeps us moving forward technologically. We now have our own domain at www.somers-harris.com We haven’t made our first million yet but who knows. It was obtained from a Christian service in the USA, which enables us to have a Bible verse on our front page. (Editor’s note: this is not true. This feature can be put on any page).We will each have a new e.mail address that will consist of our first name at www.somers-harris.com. For example I will be john@somers-harris.com. I for one am looking forward to doing e.mail without the advertising and 20+ daily hotmail junk mails. Access our web page at www.somers-harris.com. With photos of the outreach!

Please pray for Miss Arai living upstairs who studies English with Rhonda weekly and soon begins monthly Bible study with our longtime friend and now pastor Hisami Matsuzaki. Also please pray for four moms who study English/Bible weekly. Masako recently commented that she realized the Lord is offering to be our guide! Finally, please pray for Tamaki and Rhonda as they meet next month to finalize the English curriculum for the rest of the year at Mary’s school – including explaining the Christian background of traditional holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

Thank you always for your prayers. We love and appreciate you!

September 2002 Newsletter

50 Years and Counting! This year I celebrated my 50^th birthday. As one of my birthday cards said, the good thing about being over the hill is that everything is downhill from here. The local city office has notified me of a while battery of medical tests to make sure all is in good running order. I am also implementing a change to adjust to my new status in life – joining David at the gym for regular workouts!

Local Outreach The elementary school from which David and Jonathan graduated and now Mary and Sarah attend is also celebrating its 50^th anniversary. This is a major area event as many parents and even some grandparents of present students are former students. Another reason for community involvement is its position as one of a number of schools chosen nationally to be model schools. A key feature in the model school programme is the involvement of the community in the school. We see God’s hand in His timing as well as choice of location of our move from Noda as there is a place for us in the community through this open door school policy.

Being involved in the school has given us a place in the neighbourhood we would not otherwise have had. The basketball team, which David started in 1998, still continues with our YWAM team leader as coach and David, Jonathan, other team members and myself as assistant coaches. Rhonda has been asked to coordinate the school’s first ever English programme for the entire student body. Although there can be no Bible content we hope some will join Rhonda’s present Bible English classes or come to our evangelistic Christmas party. Please pray that we know the Lord’s will in how to build on the influence we have through basketball and English to begin other programmes to reach many for him.

In September we will be starting a home group meeting with bible study in our area. Our hope is to see many of the friends we have may begin to attend this time. Please Pray for the right choice of day, time, and location. We had hoped to begin in early 2001 after distributing to the area evangelistic materials commemorative of the beginning of a new millennium dated from Christ’s birth. Mission and family circumstances have kept us very busy since then but we sense the Lord’s leading us to move forward at this time.

YWAM Japan Mission Work I continue to work in coordinating with the national leadership the development of the mission’s financial programme necessitated by the changes in the religious law. Although mission staff have been responsible for their own health insurance arrangements and tax payments through the years we must now coordinate these through our central office. This means that all staff income has had to be run through and recorded in a central account before then being distributed back to staff after tax and insurance payments are deduced. It has been quite a process for members to move from having handled these things themselves in relationship with their local government. TO help this transition I’ve been travelling to each of our 12 locations within the nation with a national leadership team member. Please pray that this continue smoothly.

Networking I continue to represent YWAM at many networking events. One very exciting meeting initiated by the Southern Baptist mission gathers mission representatives to brainstorm new strategies for reaching Japan. Please pray those who gather have the mid of Christ together.

I also continue to meet with the area pastors・group and have been able to introduce them to interdenominational ministries such as Returnees Network and the recent World Cup Soccer outreaches. Two pastors families have begun home schooling this last year, which has been a brave step for them in a culture which values sameness.

World Cup Soccer Outreach YWAM Japan under on of our national leaders coordinated with Campus Crusade, Japan Baptist Mission and others to bring in to Japan almost 500 volunteers who worked with over 50 local churches. About 150 decisions were made for the Lord. Specially prepare world cup theme gospel videos, cassettes, tracts, Bible portions, etc were handed out in the tens and hundreds of thousands. Please pray for the follow-up of those new babes in Christ. (website for more info)

Hallelujah Church Under Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Yamazaki this fellowship continues to meet regularly. We were able to worship with them as a family in August. Mr. Yamazaki has retired from his company, trained as a masseur, and always prays out loud for his clients often with a noticeable result. Please pray for Mrs. Suzuki who recently has severe pain in her neck and arms.

Family News At the end of February I received a call from England to say that Dad had only weeks to live. It was my parents・request that we five children be together which was made easier by my sister from New Zealand already being with them. We had a wonderful but bittersweet time together with Dad who passed away one week after my return. Through the gift of a friend I was able to not only attend Dad’s funeral but help Mum transition into her new life in a Christian nursing home. Pleas pray for her continues adjustment in this first year of grieving.

A few weeks after returning from England we travelled mid-April as previously planned to Canada after a 4 1/2 year absence. We met Rhonda’s extended family at her father’s family reunion, worshipped at Burnaby Christian Fellowship and had an extended fishing trip with Rhonda’s dad and four brothers and their families. Another highlight was touring Trinity Western University which David is considering attending in Fall 2005. The tour was a culmination of two years of research and prayer regarding wither to pursue British or North American system of higher education. The turning point in that decision was through my meeting Dr. Saffold, Executive Vice President of TWU, last year in Japan at the annual Church Planting Institute and discussing TWU with him. Pleas pray with us as we continue to prepare for this financially as well as academically.

We have been attending Tokyo Baptist Church since last year. The boys are blessed by the youth activities and the girls love the Sunday School, Children’s Choir, and recent Music Camp. Rhonda is enjoying the choir and teaching the high school Sunday School class. David recently began playing drums morning worship and weekend conferences. It has been good to see the children encourage in their giftings.

Jonathan will have an eye operation of Friday, October 25 to shorten the muscle of his left eye to straighten the eye to work better with the right one. We were blessed during out time in Canada by Dr. Ross Kennedy’s endorsement of this operation at this time. Please pray for this to go smoothly.

Finally, please pray that we be accepted as permanent residents in Japan that we may procure the loan necessary to but a house which would be for ourselves now and later for the mission’s use. We applied last year and should have received it by now. Our 3LK flat (apartment) is too small for us and it is not easy to think of how much money we have spent on rent for the last 17 years.

Thank you always for you love and support.

John & Rhonda Somers-Harris, David (15) Jonathan (14) Sarah (9 1/2) Mary (7)

Email: johnrhonda@hotmail.com