Baptized at Hitotsumatsu Beach in (Chiba) Japan

New Hope Tokyo baptism crew at Hitotsumatsu Beach in Japan.

Here's a short testimony I gave at Hitotsumatsu Beach in (Chiba) Japan, 13 August 2008, after I was baptized in the ocean. I spoke in English and our friend Yuka Yoshihara translated my short speech into Japanese for the group of (40+) people gathered (mostly from New Hope Tokyo) who had come for the event.

I was fortunately to have been raised in a Christian home, and I was baptized as a baby by my parents. I went to a Christian high school and college, but really didn't walk with God much at that time. I think this situation of being culturally Christian without really having a personal relationship with Christ is common in the USA now.

About eight years ago I attended an Alpha course and learned more about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Two years ago I visited friends (Daisuke and Cheryl Ikegami) living in Ichinomiya (very close to Hitotsumatsu Beach). During that trip I felt that God was giving me a passion for Japan. I started to pray a lot about how I could serve God in Japan and started to consider moving to Japan to do ministry in Chiba or Tokyo. Within a short time I met Noriko. She was not a Christian then, but God touched her heart and she became a Christian so quickly (within 3-4 months). Now she is my fiancee and we plan to get married soon and she will move to the USA.

I am so happy I could get baptized as an adult here by the same pastor (Shintaro-sensei) who baptized Noriko in the same area of Japan where I first felt God placing a desire in my heart for the people of Japan to know Christ. Thank you for letting me join the New Hope baptism event and to everyone for all your support.

After Richard's baptism at Hitotsumatsu Beach in (Chiba) Japan, 13 August 2008

UPDATE: New Hope posted a short video of the baptisms which were part of the Beach Camp last week in Chiba. Select the "Beach Camp 2008 Memorial" link on this page.

Crazy Love

Check out the several short videos (click "Videos" on the left) that talk about the concepts Pastor Frances Chan wrote about in his new book "Crazy Love". Good stuff and really thought provoking!

Boldness will be rewarded

This is a short but very powerful video testimony about one man's efforts to share the gospel. Wow! I pray that only I could be that bold!

1.2 million Japanese visit Hawaii each year

Here is a recent statistical report from Don Wright at RJC about Japanese coming to Hawaii, especially Oahu. Over 100,000 people come every month to Hawaii from Japan. They come for between five and six days. Most come for pleasure. Between 10,000 and 16,000 each month come for honeymoon, and 5,000 more come for a marriage ceremony. One hundred or more come to study.

Wow, what a concentration of opportunity to reach out to Japanese!

As Don mentioned in a recent email right after the RJC Hawaii conference...

"I hope that we will be able to make a list of Hawaii cultural experience opportunities that we can share with churches in Japan. Then when people come to Hawaii they can experience Hawaii within the context of Christian faith. About 100,000 Japanese tourists come to Hawaii every month and about 90% of them come for pleasure. How exciting it would be if more of these could attend a Christian worship, go surfing with a Christian, attend a Hawaiian lunch, or meet a group of excited students."

I love Don's passion for this ministry and I find his years of service personally inspiring.

Merii Kurisumasu!

ENGAGED: Noriko and Richard

Meet my new life (ministry) partner...Noriko Akiba.

I officially proposed to Noriko on Saturday, June 30, on the Golden Gate Bridge. I thought the bridge would be a nice spot since it represents the gateway to the West from Asia and is a symbol of connecting two different places or things. The Golden Gate Bridge has always been on the top of my mind when I thought of San Francisco. Noriko was completely surprised that I proposed to her on the bridge. This was evident by her mild shock and tears, which was followed by a very happy celebration with a few friends who came with us. I hope you enjoy the photos. :)

Grace and peace to you,

Richard and Noriko

South Africa Report Back - Part 2

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
I want to tell you about some personal things that happened to me on the South African venture. The second day I was in South Africa was May 6, and the US consultants met the South African consultants in a conference room at Feathers Lodge, which is where the USA team stayed for two weeks. Towards the end of this meeting I asked a question to everyone gathered about South Africa. I can't remember what I asked, but afterwards a man named Louis came up to me and said he thought God had spoken some words to me that he needed to share with me. Louis said...

"I felt that the Holy Spirit was saying that while you are here in Cape Town, He will put the buidling blocks together and He will add to your understanding the revelation to solve and tackle some of the work challenges that you had at work. In fact, before you leave this place, He will let you get on the plane with the basics of the answers (I thought that I saw 3 problems/challenges). The Lord will do this for you as you invest in the life of your client."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I did have three big projects at work that were a bit of a headache. Within the first 30 minutes of my first day back at work on May 29, my manager told me I was being reassigned to a new project and the three projects I had before would be passed onto another team!

The last day of venture when the clients gave their presentations (May 18), I was talking to Louis about a new potential job opportunity at Pay Pay for a mobile designer (similar to Hannes's South African company, which offers mobile banking solutions via mobile phones). Here are some things Louis said that I've taken to heart...

"Pray unlimited prayers"
"Pray for God to open up my career ceiling"
"Pray for me not to worry about finances (money)"
"Pray for wisdom in what you pray for and then adjust your prayers"
"Pray big prayers"

On May 19, Louis wrote these words in my notebook while we had a rēp team meeting (venture debriefing)...

"In order to grow into a greater understanding of what the calling and ministry in Japan could hold for the two of you (Richard and Noriko), visit http://www.plumblineministries.com/home to understand more about the "Redemtive Gifts" of cities, nations, and countries -- then, when you know what God has called that nation to be, then you will understand your assignment."

On Sunday, May 20 I had the opportunity to visit a small church in the African township of Atlantis with my co-consultant Johan. This was truly one of the highlights of the trip for me. This group of people was so on fire for the Lord that it really pushed my views of what a church could and should be. They were so gracious and loving to me and after I shared with the congregation about the purpose of my trip they asked if they could pray for me. Of course I said "Yes." A group of people gathered around me and laid hands on me. I bowed my head and closed my eyes and could hear people praying in English, some sort of African language, and in tongues! The a few minutes into the prayer I felt a hand on my stomach. It was sort of moving up and down a bit and I sensed this feeling of energy or movement separate from the hand moving. It's really hard to describe what I felt, since it was so new, almost like a flow of energy. Then after everyone stopped praying and they moved back to the chairs and the service ended a women came up to me and said...

"I felt your burden when I was praying for you and laid my hand on your stomach. You are free from it now."

Then she said she had some words from God for me...

"You fill the gap. You are in the middle."

This didn't make sense to me at the time. I asked Johan to explain this to me. He said he believes it means that God will use me to fill the gap between people and Him. I had been praying since I was in Africa for God to reveal to me my purpose in His plan for restoring the world. I've always enjoyed bringing people together and next working. I think I get this from my dad. :) Anyways, this made perfect sense to me, since I often see myself as a connector of people. Perhaps this means I have the gift of evangelism. Lord knows I've brought many people over to the Macintosh from the darkside (Windoz)... ;) In all seriousness, I am praying about having more clarity about this revelation and to find ways to build on top of this potential gift.

I also want to mention that my mom suffered from pneumonia the whole time I was in South Africa, and her sickness began right before I left the USA and she was healed as I returned. We prayed daily for her recovery during the venture, as we did for many other concerns. It's not uncommon for people on ventures to get really sick during the venture or someone in there circle of family or friends to suffer. One of the consultants on the India trip this spring developed Bells Palsy during the trip! Thankfully he recovered within a month, which was another miracle!

Speaking of thanks, I want to thank the staff of Feathers Lodge for being so gracious to us. If you're ever in the Cape Town area, I would highly recommend this Christian owned and run establishment. They are truly a first class operation!

This was one of my favorite quotes from the venture:
"God really does care about the little things!"

This trip was truly LIFE CHANGING for me, on a completely new level. I really felt God speaking to me during my trip to Japan last September, and I felt like God really showed me a whole new set of things on this trip to South Africa. WOW! I can't wait until my next (ad)venture! I will be posting more on this in the months to come. :) Stay tuned...