Harvester's Scholarship Foundation

I have great news to share with you. I (Kevin) received notice that I am the recipient of a generous scholarship award. I have been wanting to finish the MDiv program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, but challenged by the financial end of paying for the tuition costs on a missionary salary. This is of great encouragement and enablement to us in finishing the last part of the program. We are very grateful for the foundation's generosity to us. Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Harvester's Scholarship Foundation!

Harvester's Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization that is particularly interested in assisting missionaries with their ongoing training and education. If you are interested in examining the qualifications for yourself or a possible candidate you know of, or contributing to the foundation, more information is available at www.harvestersscholarship.com

New School is Cool!

There's nothing quite as intimidating as the first day at a new school when you're 12 years old. What a week of adjusting it's been for Justen.

Justen's old church school closed its doors this past summer after 6 years because of personnel and financial struggles. Now Justen is attending "Fountain of Life International School." It is a tiny church-based school (all church-based schools are tiny in Japan) of 10 students ranging from 1st grade to high school. Each student receives a lot of individual attention, tutoring and help. Subjects are taught in English as well as Japanese. And that is "cool" with our bilingual Justen.

The new school is actually a bit closer than the last one, but still requires 3 trains to get to. This time he heads into (instead of away from) Tokyo on the train at the height of the morning rush hour. Or should we say "crush hour." It's a good thing he's still small because It is indeed a very tight squeeze for a good part of the way. Sometime next year a new train line to open near our home should help alleviate part of that congestion, for a while at least.

You can write Justen a note of encouragement at justenmama@mac.com. Thanks for praying for his quick adjustment to his new surroundings.

Why I Needed to be Back in Japan in August

I needed to be back in time to remember how God works. And why our being missionaries is worth the sacrifice. This past week was a reminder. Let me rewind the clock to set this up.

Last Sunday as Mr. Ubukata entered church, I asked how his father's (Kenzo) surgery went. Cancer had forced the doctors to remove a portion of Kenzo's colon. Mr. U replied that things went very well, thanked me for my prayer, and added that there was just his recovery and "he'll be home soon." That Tuesday, however, things took a dramatic turn for the worse: Kenzo fell into a coma. On Wednesday afternoon he died peacefully in his sleep.

This might have been sad and tragic u-turn for the family, except for one very important lifechanging event: Kenzo had placed his faith in Christ as his Savior a few years earlier. He had the hope of eternity. He was home now. He was walking the streets of gold with his Savior. His 88 years of hurts and pains and sadness fell away in an instant as he discovered incomparable joy and life in heaven.

As we sang songs of rejoicing at the funeral, I was reminded of the chain of people God used to bring Kenzo home. We came to Japan. Mr. U and his wife were friends of our core family in the church plant. So they began attending our tiny Sunday gathering. They placed their faith in Christ. Then Mr. U brought his mother to church. The first Sunday tears flowed down her cheeks as she sang hymns. A few months later she placed her faith in Christ. Then she brought the good news back to her other son. He was saved. At his baptism, Kenzo (the father), decided that this is what he wanted for himself as well. He placed his faith in Christ and was baptized soon after. The eldest Christian in his family, his funeral was of great testimony to his relatives.

Now, a new current of faith in flowing in the Ubukata family. Six of them are believers. What if we had not come to Japan? Where would Kenzo and his family be? God is strong enough to save in some other way, I know. But I am thrilled that in his grace He allowed us to be a part of this family's new heritage, to serve as a link in the chain to bring Japanese to Jesus, just like Kenzo. Thank you, Lord, for bringing me back to Japan in time to see and be reminded of this.

In his baptism testimony three years ago Kenzo wrote: "Many things have happened in the 85 years I've lived, but nothing compares to the great joy of knowing Jesus and walking with him everyday."

Readjustment

We've grown to expect and understand the adjustments and readjustments needed when traveling between countries and cultures, but that only makes the process slightly easier. We are a week into our readjustment to life and ministry in Kawasaki, Japan. What a week it has been!

1) The jetlag (14 hrs. difference from Chicago time) is one of the first and largest obstacles. For the first several days no matter how hard we tried, we were wide awake at 3 and 4am. And dead tired by dinnertime. They say it takes one day to adjust your body for every hour of difference. That would mean it will take another week yet. I'll have to say, though, I've never gotten so much done before breakfast before in my life.

2) The climate here is another adjustment. It is insufferably hot and humid right now in Japan. It saps your energy and makes you wish for a midday nap, which would no doubt only complicate number 1 above. Today, a mild earthquake hit the area. We thought at first that it was the heavy equipment at the construction site adjacent to our house. A large steel structure is going up (skeleton for new 4-story apartment). The noise would stop us from napping anyhow.

3) Then, of course, there are the many language and cultural adjustments. It seems the new and trendy words I've learned while in the States have displaced in my head an equal number of important and common words in Japanese (I might need a RAM upgrade soon).

On top of this is the work of reconnecting with things in a myriad of small ways that are necessary for everyday life (important stuff like restocking the fridge with my favorite ice cream, for example). And unpacking, cleaning the house, etc. etc. All that needs to be done in the middle of an already busy schedule for us. We've hit the ground running in several ways that make 1, 2 & 3 above a bit more challenging. Tomorrow we leave with some teens for a 3-day camp near Mt. Fuji. It will, at least, be cooler in that area.

Keep up your prayers for the Lavermans as we work through these adjustments over the next few weeks!

Laverman Atlantic Adventure

Sounds like a movie title or a waterpark ride, but it is just the three Lavermans in the Atlantic ocean near Ocean City, NJ. We've swam in the Pacific (hard not to if you live on an island in the middle of that ocean like ourselves), but the Atlantic was a first experience for all of us. Impressions: saltier than expected, big and powerful wave action, clean beach but foot-scalding hot sand, many too many clams. And, wow, have I mentioned those powerful waves.

In some ways we were foreigners to a new land, definitely out of place with our lawn chairs and "beach umbrella" (a large doorman's umbrella), and pretty clueless in a lot of other ways. We saw no point to investing in those things for a single visit to the beach. We did, however, get a boogie board for Justen (Hey, it was his 12th birthday!) Kevin managed to monopolize the time on it.

Another use for the beach, we discovered, was as a great big baptismal for new Christians. One of the churches we visited on a Wednesday night along the shore line, baptized a couple families in the ocean! An approaching storm made for some cold temperatures and big waves. Planting a Baptist church in Japan, we've had our own unique baptism sites, but ironically the ocean is one place we have yet to visit. A new one for my idea list.

How's it Growing?

I had heard about these. The famous square melons of Japan. But I laughed off the idea as nothing more than a funny rumor. Until I saw them myself, that is. Yes, Virginia, there is a square melon! And they are very expensive (around $100 each). Japanese farmers form these by placing them in glass cases while the melon is still young on the vine. Click the picture for a bigger view.

But other than being an interesting piece of cultural trivia, of what practical use is this square melon? As it turns out, it is a perfect solution for the space-conscious urban Japanese. A round melon requires a lot of room in one's refrigerator. But these square melons are grown to the exact size of typical shelving in a Japanese refrigerators. Talk about "cornering" the market!

We're reminded in Scripture of something else that grows to the shape of its surroundings unless we're careful: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Rom. 12:2 Our minds, like melons, need to break out of the conforming pattern of this world. How? "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Phil 4:8. That's how we grow the way we were designed to be! So how's it growing with you?