Day 9 & 10
Saturday/Sunday, July 21-22, 2007

Saturday, the 21st

Saturday we held another Purity Seminar in Kitakyushu.
See poster here.
Sunday, the 22nd
Hello everyone!

We are writing you from Hiroshima! Yesterday was Sunday the 22nd and we were split up into three different churches. So I am going to let the other girls say hello and update you a bit!

>From Hannah:

Gwen and I went to Wakamatsu Baptist Church where Sensei Noguchi is interim pastor for a year while the church searches for a new pastor. Marla went along as our interpreter so that the people could understand what we were saying, and she also narrated the rest of the service for the two of us. (Which made it a whole lot easier to pay attention.) Sensei Noguchi played in the hand bell choir that started off the service, which has a rule that you have to be over seventy-five to play in it! There were several hymns, all in Japanese, but they kindly gave us a Japanese hymnal so we could follow along! Of course, since we don't read any Japanese, it was more funny than helpful, but I suppose it's the thought that counts. We did two dances for them and Gwen and Marla shared some of their testimonies. Afterward there was a noodle lunch at the church and we got to talk to several of the people there and got very positive feedback from them, most of them saying that they had never seen worship dance before but had enjoyed it. We met back up with Naomi at Tomino Baptist Church and then drove with Shinobu (about 3hrs) up to Hiroshima, where we met Tiffany and Alyssa again. Yay!

>From Naomi:

I was able to minister at Kokura Harugaoka Baptist Church with Rocky and Takako. The church doesn't have a pastor right now, so different ministers preach each week. Rocky preaches there once a week. I got to share my testimony about trusting God even through times of pain. I danced to "Only You" and really felt God's presence. Rocky's message was on worshiping God with your entire life. He did a great job telling about CMA and our vision of using our gifts and talents for the Lord. The last hymn we sang also fit perfectly with my testimony. (I love when the Lord does that!) God is so amazing in the way He works through us. Many people thanked me for coming and said they were blessed.

>From Alyssa:

Aloha everyone! =) Well, Tiff and I had quite the adventure, let me tell you! We left the rest of the group Saturday afternoon. It was sad for us, because we were leaving early before everyone else. We had to say our good-byes to Rocky and Marla and the gang. Rocky and Marla (and Hana!) took us to the station, where they put us on a train for Minamata. Now, *drum roll* please, this adventure Tiff and I made all by ourselves! You may not be able to understand what a scary thought that was to us at first. But Rocky made us some very detailed instructions, and we were brave. We managed to make it all the way there, train changes and all! Quite amazing. God is good.

The pastor of Minamata Gospel Christ church and his wife picked us up from the train station. We hit it off with them right away. They are very sweet people. You can just see the joy and love of the Lord overflowing from their lives. They were very welcoming to us. They took us out to dinner where we had an amazing baked rice dish, which had a tasty creamy sauce on it with some vegetables and meat in it. Quite amazing...I may have to try to makes some when we get home. After dinner they took us to the church so that we could do a walk-through of the dances and a sound check. Now, one very exciting thing about this church was that it is the home church of Aika Honda (who will be coming to the U.S. to train with CMA in the fall). It was very exciting to be able to meet these people from her church, as well as her family. We got to meet her mother that night, she is a very sweet lady. For the night, we got to stay in our own little hotel room! It was quite charming, we were truly blessed to be taken care of so well.

In the morning Aika and her family picked us up to take us to the church. We did six dances, with just the two of us!! We were originally only going to do four, but the pastor told us he wanted us to do as many as possible, so we threw in a couple extra. All of them went very well. We both were also able to share our testimonies. I shared about God's faithfulness through the midst of trials we go through in our lives...how, though things around us may be changing, He is unfailing and He always has a plan. He loves us unfailingly and has our best at heart. I know all this from my personal experience, and it was a blessing to be able to share it with these people. They were very receptive...many smiling, nodding, agreeing faces. After the service, one lady came up to me and shared with me how one of the solos I did, called "I Need Thee", really touched her heart. This was a sweet reminder of how God works, because we had not originally been planning for me to do that dance. She also told me that my testimony really blessed her. She could see that I really believe what I am saying. She said she could see the way that God has touched my life and healed broken parts...that He has brought me through much and brought me faithfully to the place I am now. God is so good! It is such a blessing to be used by Him. Many of the other church members were very grateful that we came, as well. Tiff and I really enjoyed being able to work with this church. They are full of the love of God. We were truly blessed by the worship, also. There was one song that we didn't even know the words to, but we could just feel God's presence in the place. We hope to work with this church again.

For lunch, Aika's family took us out to eat at a restaurant where we stepped up into our own room, with tatami mat floor, and they shut the sliding door behind us. We sat on the floor at a low table with chairs that had backs but no legs. So fun! We had a traditional Japanese meal, without the raw horse meat they said was popular in the area! It was a wonderful time to be able to talk with her more. She had many questions about the U.S., what will be happening when she comes, what she needs to bring, what the weather is like in Colorado. We were happy to be able to answer her questions and get to know her a little better. After lunch, they took us to the train station for our next adventure. Some of the church members came to he station just to say goodbye again and see us off. Aika bought a ticket, just so she could come up to the platform and say goodbye. She is very sweet and we are looking forward to be able to train and work with her. After saying our goodbyes, Tiff and I were off to Hiroshima. Another adventure, once again, changing trains and trying to follow signs!, but we made it safe and sound. And we were quite happy to be back with our friends again. Praise God...He's as amazing as ever!!!

>Back to Tiffany!

So that brings us to Hiroshima, where we are staying now. I would like to tell you more, but it is getting really late. Even as I read back through this email, there is so much more we could say! You will just have to ask us lots of questions when we get home!

I will update you again as soon as I can!

Praising His Name,
Tiffany & the girls