I LOVE TO LOVE!!!!!

If my life could ever be summed up in a few words, it would have to be.....that I love Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and also that I truly love other people!!! SO SO MUCH!!!!! It brings me to tears, how much God just simply loves us, and He loves for us to love Him!!!! I'm in awe of Pastor Grogan's sermon on Sunday and I pray that it will never leave from me....he said God isn't after our money...He's after our life!!!!! DUDE!!!!!! I LOVE JESUS!!!! I just want to run right now and shout it in the streets!!! GOD IS SOO GOOD, and just amazing!!! looking back in my life and even now in Japan, how I got here, and how God has provided, I am overwhelmed, and in awe of God's provision!!!! I AM SO THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL FOR JESUS!!!! GOD IS EVERYTHING TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY BRAIN....It thinks WAY to much I think!!!! :) hee!!

Hey everyone!!! I hope you are all doing well!! I can't believe it's the last week of July almost!!! Where does the time go??!!! GOSH!!! I am having so much fun here in Hokkaido Japan, it has been awesome, cool, fun, and just about every amazing describing word you can think of!! :) I have truly had the best day today...Church was awesome today!!! There was a Korean guest speaker and also 3 Korean violinists, which were very AMAZING....can I just tell you the music was just so relaxing and very inspiring to listen to, you know some music you have to have words to put with it to understand it....other times acoustic music is the sweetest thing there is!!!

I believe there are life lessons God has for us to learn along our journey of life here on this earth. I felt like God was speaking to me this past week, and from the mouth of a child. Fukumori's grand-daugters are here visiting, and Kokona is just 3 years old, and so beautiful and I was getting The Noah's Ark puzzle out to make it together. She helped me dump out ALL the pieces on the floor.....(it is a pretty big puzzle...considering all those animals!! hee!) and I started to help her make the outside edges first right....it's the easiest way to make a puzzle! but she kept grabbing and taking all the pieces from me...saying in Japanese words...."It's mine!" (I think)...so I kept taking pieces from her for like a minute or two, trying to make at least one piece....and then I gave up...and I was like thinking to myself..."well there is no use for me here, I can't help you when you, when you won't give me any pieces to work with!" and I felt like God spoke right to me, as this was happening saying...."I can't help you with things in your life when you don't share them with me!!" See I battle a lot with things of SELF....I let my flesh get in the way of things....so many blessings, so many opportunities, that I miss, because I do things the way "I" want to do them!!! "But GOD!! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING IT'S MY LIFE!!!" I have thought that before....like I don't want God's help.....and God becomes like I did.....but WAIT...you know the funny thing is....God has never moved from us....WE are the ones who have moved from Him!! I need to quit being selfish and just surrender to Him, and His ways of doing things.....and how long does that take?? Probably until I perish from this earth....and see Jesus face to face with all the angels in heaven!!!! I think pastor Grogan said before in one of his sermons "Dude...Life is not about You....Life is about serving others.....We need to let go...and Let God!!!"

BAZAAR WEEKEND!!

Hey folks,

I hope you are having an AMAZING day!!! If not....just look around you, go outside, listen to the birds, see the flowers, God made this day, and EVERY day for us to enjoy!!! :) We are a blessed nation for sure!!

I just want to update everyone on how things are going here for me, and what I've been doing the last few days. Today is Sunday...A team of 5 college students came over from Sapparo, about 2 hours away, to help out with the Bazaar this weekend, and to put on a kids' camp for the church!!! and I had NO idea what was going on...or to to be happening, or how I was to help out...but it turned out better than what I even expected!! Friday afternoon these students came, and were just serving helping to clean the church, and spending time decorating and cooking food for the Bazaar....it was just so cool to see them working, and I dunno, it almost put me to shame, seeing them work so hard, and me, I had no idea what to do...I helped out a little, nothing like what they did.....this team even brought puppets, and also did a skit for the kids too!! SO COOL! so all evening they were setting up, Saturday they came to help finish getting the church ready...probably over 70 kids came from all over town, some just to get food, but they indeed got more :) (at least they heard about Jesus!!) While the students came and paid to get all kinds of good home-made Japanese food....fried bread, crepes, Japanese noodles, Tacoyaki...(fried octopus) icecream, curry w/ rice, hotcake, juices, caramel corn, and home made cotton candy!! So much food...but also skits and stories about Jesus, and we practiced and sand two songs from sister Act II Joyful Joyful and O Happy Day....It was awesome!!! I only wish I could have video of it!!! SO FUN, AND FUNNY TOO!! :) and then, we had the kids back at 7pm to go to the chapel/church on the hill, to start camp, and hear message from the students from the university....and then today the students did human video in church....SO COOL!! I will have to put up videos for everyone to see!! It was a blast this weekend, probably the coolest thing I've seen or done yet!! God is moving in Japan, just pray for strongholds in shrines to be broken!!!! God has so much in store for this country!!!! I know it!!!

I probably have learned over 10 lessons about life and ministry in this weekend alone....to see ministry done by another Japanese church/college ministry was just amazing to watch, and see how they reach their own people....we Americans think we have it all figured out about how to evangelize people....when sometimes we forget to hear from God on how HE wants to use us to spread His Word to people of all nations throughout the world. I learned the importance of prayer....Prayer, really is like shield....like forgetting to take your umbrella with you in the midst or a huge down poor...or forgetting to put on sandals, when there is a blizzard going on outside....We have to be prepared, for whatever the day ahead faces...and can I just tell you, without prayer, you can easily get knocked in the face!!

All I know, is that after watching this family for over a month, I have watched them pray, for just about everything, before EVERY meal....(um, and yes sometimes they even sing a song before they pray too) and even before they put the key in the ignition of their car, they pray for safety, and the pastor gets up EARLY every morning to pray....they are a praying family.....and God sees and hears our prayers....and surely answers us, in one way or another.....What if your prayers really did change your life, and every people around the world?? Would that change the way you pray or how your pray or what you pray for??!!! The bible says we have not, because we ask not. Have you asked....or prayed or talked to God today?!

God will answer you if you but ask....Matth 6:33 Seek first The Kingdom of God and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

BIRTHDAYS AND RANDOMNESS!!!

HEY!!! Everyone!! I am in AWE of how many people have wished me a Happy Birthday!!! I just want to personally thank each and everyone one, for all the birthday wishes!! It truly means so incredibly much, especially being in another country!! AND thank you mallory for telling me skype with choir people!! I miss them so much! You the saying goes, you never know what you have, until it's gone.....for me that is people!!! People are so precious!! a person can never be replaced!! Things, are easily replaceable, but people, even people who have gone before us will never be forgotten, especially by God Almighty!! Who knows our Name, who knows our every thought, knows each tear that falls, and hears us when we call....(good song btw) God made each of us so unique so different!! What a great big mighty God we serve that he never gets to old, or lacks creativity, in that there is over 6,800,000,000 or 6.8 billion people on the earth right now!!! according to google stats!! haha!! AND...in all those people alive today, EACH and EVERY person is uniquely made and formed into the image of God!!!

This tells me we have a job to do.....to love and tell others they are created and loved so much by the God of the universe who holds the world in his hands!!! He made every person by his breath, and created us so perfectly and unique in fact, God took his own hands to form us, carefully sculpting everything about us, both inwardly and outwardly, humorous and funny, as well as nerdy and smart, and beautiful, and precious in His sight!!! We need to be who God made us to be, and then be BOLD enough to WALK in it!!! and not shy away from His calling!!! We need to get off the fence and use what we have to get in the game to win people to Christ!!! We cannot wait another day....we never know when our last day will be...We are blessed to be a blessing, Will we be that blessing to other people, to someone who needs a fresh word, or touch today?? Or will we stop and keep the blessing for ourselves??!! I have to get in the game folks!! No more sitting on the side lines, no more being a luke warm Christian....I've heard it said many a time before....You are only as close to God as you want Him to be!! AND yes this is so true!!! How close are we??!!! How close to you want to be??!!! I want to be so close to God as to smell the breath and hear His heartbeat!!!! But, that does come overnight, or instantly, it takes time to hear a heart, and to know a person and to feel their breath upon you!!! It takes diligence, patience, a stillness....but it is SO WORTH IT!!!! I wouldn't trade anything for the God we serve!!! God I need a fresh touch, I need a fresh Word today!!!! Help me to quite myself as to hear Your heartbeat and feel Your breath as I live out my day today!!!!!

SO AMAZING!!!!

Hey folks!!! I hope you having an awesome week!! as always it seems like the week just simply flies by!!! But just wanted to share a few things with you about what's been happening this week:

I've taught about 20 students English classes this week: I've been able to ride my bike around town, and also help out and sing some songs in English in church on Sunday, I get to sit in on the pastor's bible study which is pretty sweet!! and I get to eat some really good Japanese food!!! but besides all that, God is doing amazing things, not only in the church, and in people's lives in the community here, but in my life as well. I can't help but think how much God loves these people!! and he's sent me....over 6,300 miles to love these people and tell them about Jesus!! DUDE!! It's soo AMAZING!! Keep praying that lives would be changed because religion, both Shinto and Buddhism have such a stronghold in people's lives, even in the government!

BUT.....GOD IS SOO COOL!! There is an older lady in one of the English classes, her name is Yuko, she is so sweet!! she has three children all college age and older...and one of her daughters is handicapped. Well in Japan if your children are handicapped, it creates a bad stigma, and people don't want anything to do with it, and it makes it very hard on the parents. So Yuko every week meets with parents of children who are handicapped like hers and talks with them, like a support group. So, she found out that I teach Special Education in America, and wants me to speak at the next meeting they have on Thursday at 1pm!! What a SUPER COOL Opportunity to tell them about Jesus and his unfailing, all powerful, never-ending love for every person in the entire world!!! Pray that God would give me the words to say to them!!!! and I would know how to present the gospel, simply, clearly. I love you all so very very much!!! May God get all the glory both now, and forever!!! MISS YOU ALL!!!!

In His Steps,

Crystal CH :)

Saturday nite...YES I KNOW THE DAY TODAY!!! PTL!!!

Hey everyone this blog probably won't be that long because I had typed a whole thing out, and the firefox internet I was using just crashed and I didn't have time to save anything!! ARGH!! I apologize but hope you will understand!! But here are a few thoughts/experiences I have had about today....hope you will enjoy!!


Today was an awesome day, well this whole week has been a good week, but a week of transition, transition from busy-busy city Tokyo live, to Asahikawa, where there are more trees than people....I jokingly say that though because everything here is MUCH MUCH more spread out than in Tokyo/subarb area and the houses AND streets look much more like they do back home in America....but this week I had Fukumori sensei's son come and help with translation, and get me around places in town here...and BOY did I need the help....please pray for me, as next week I will not have any to interpret, but will have to work harder to understand Fukumori sensei and his wife and what they want me to do....I only know about 10 words that I can pronounce and use correctly....I also realize it is important to make sure Fukumori sensei's wife is well taken care of...and realized this week that she makes a lot of the decisions around the house, and always keeps track of the checkbook, and it's interesting to me because the Fukumori family does not go out to eat....I have not been out to eat since I came here seven days ago...which is fine by me, because let me just tell you Fukumori sensei's wife cooks HUGE meals....FOR EVERY MEAL!!!! and the bad thing is, is that almost all the food is really good...except for the soy products......so I will not go hungry by ANY means....Mrs. Fukumori cooks almost a 5 course meal, for every meal!! and I am the permanent professional dishwarsher....for every lunch and every dinner, everyday of the week until I leave!!

So today was interesting because I was able to go to a Bakery store, that was in a person's house...and all the bread was homemade...the onion cheese bread was SO AMAZING and SO FRESH!!!! I didn't realize how much I missed bread!! Then we went to a cake store....where there pretty amazing cakes, chocolate, mouses, pies, and even cheesecake!!! YUM!! Also today I taught an English class, and also had a kids class, I didn't realize how much little tyke's LOVE balloons!! :) I also realize the people here LOVE to look at pictures!! :)

The Fukumori family I am staying with is pretty AMAZING!!! Fukumori sensei has 5 children that are older....either in college or married....and it is pretty cool that their 2 daughters travel home every single weekend with gas being over 6 US dollars/gallon to go to church and help out with worship, and with the children's church!!! A lot of Americans to go church when they are young, but once they get to college they quit going all together...more Americans need to be dedicated to a local church like their family!!!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers if you read this....That by far is the most coolest thing anyone could do for me!!! I truly am having a fun time here....but realize there are people hurting and dying and need to know who Jesus is, and how much He loves each and every one of us!! Also pray that I continue to be disciplined in reading my bible and praying everyday....it was really cool to vacuum the other day downstairs, where the old church used to be....and I had heard earlier people getting up and moving things outside...but didn't realize til I went downstairs that the pastor and his wife were getting up early to pray....and I went downstairs to vacuum, and found the little pillows they had used to sit on while they prayed!!! Pretty cool!!! I just want the church here to grow...I want seeds to be planted, and lives to be changed, but all for GOD'S GLORY!!! Jesus give me strength!!!

WOW...What day is it again???!!!

Hey everyone!! Hope your day is going well!!! Mine is...or still is, since is like 11:30 and I should be sleeping now, but I really can't!!! I dunno I just feel like I need to write. Lots of thoughts in my head are floating around!!! AAAHHH!! DANGER DANGER....well ok just kidding....

but as I was going to bed, which I usually do pray before I go to bed, and talk with Jesus ya know...it helps me sleep....I felt His presence...and just was talking with God and just realizing how many people in this town of 200,000 people or more do not know Jesus.....I realized my heart breaks for those people. Because they are really missing out, PLUS they are headed to Hell if they don't know Jesus. We have to do something....we have to open our mouths....Jesus said in Mathew 28:19 and 20. NLT version....

"Therefore go, and make disciples of ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you, and be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age"....

There are so many people all over the world, all over our town, that need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ!!! and I heard Jesus say to me in my bed tonite that I am to Tell others about Jesus, wherever I go, whatever I do.....I feel that is my calling, THAT is what I want to do with my life, everyday that I life!! That's me!!! Lord USE ME!!! COMPLETELY!!!

The Lord has kind of confirmed a lot of things for me that past few years.....I asked God if I was to go to Japan this summer....He would have to provide!! and not only He did....but I have hundreds of dollars more than I asked for......Everything in my life, pails in comparison to what Jesus has and who he is in my life!! With Jesus I have all that I need.....even though when I get back to Urbana I do not have a job, and do not know what I will be doing, or where I will be living for sure yet....but I know there is a God who will supply for ALL of my needs!! AMEN!!! I KNOW THIS.....according to his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus!!! Phillippeans 4:19 DUDE....can I just tell everyone how COOL and AWESOME GOD IS!!! I love me some JESUS 4-SHO!!! JESUS IS MY HOME DAWG.....and nothing can beat it!!!! PRAISE THE LORD, O MY SOUL PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!

ok I have to sleep now....I still am confused on my days of the week it is here in Japan too!!! JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!!!! OH YEAH.....and get this....I got to eat macaroni today!!! SO AWESOME!!!! :) I love the Fukomori family!!!!!!!