Japan Mission Trip: Departure of Hope

One of the last few activities we did as a team in Japan included the Kids Program. What we did was basically play with the kids and fellowship with their mothers. Among the items lined up that day was games, skit, hands-on activity, teabreak and playground time.

These bunch of active kids took a fancy to DW and the subsequent images after this include a lot of eh....action. XD

We started off with games and that kicked off well. They seemed to pick up the musical chair...eh floor pillows concept pretty quickly and very soon, we had everyone fighting to claim their pillows when the music stopped. LOL Those who lost their pillow would come to the center to name an alphabet.

If they got the alphabet right, they would get a prize. Not a bad deal, huh? XD

Another game they picked up pretty quickly was the London Bridge game. You all know this game..."London Bridge is falling down, falling down...." Everyone forms a line and run through a line of people holding hands to form the "bridge.' When the song is over, we wrap our arms over the ones caught as the bridge 'falls.' Very soon, we had kids who would braked before the bridge as the song almost ends. Unfortunately, peers behind would push them in. HAHAHA.

"Kyaaahhh I'm not going in! The song is almost over."

After the games, we sang some songs and performed a skit. Well, I wasn't involved in the acting (who do you think was taking these photos?). Let me share a little on the planning of this skit: Months before the trip, we got really stuck. How are we to teach these little kids the lesson that "Love is not boastful?" We needed something that would speak to the kids effectively and yet be entertaining.

We struggled for weeks....no ideas came to us. We even asked our prayer team to pray that we may get inspiration. Roughly 1-2 weeks before the trip, we were talking about animals and we talked about elephants and a mouse...and suddenly "BAM!"

The Lion & Mouse story!
One day, a mouse stumbled into a sleeping lion. "Who dares to disturb the King of the Jungle?!" the lion storms. The mouse pleas for mercy and the lion lets it go out of mercy. The mouse said it'll help the lion one day and the lion laughs, "You're so small, how can you help me? Away with you!"

But one day, a hunter caught the lion by trapping it in his net. The lion tried to tear the net but no matter what he did, he couldn't get free. The lion was about to give up but the mouse saved him by chewing on the net. The End.

Praise God! The skit was considered a success since the kids enjoyed it and it was easy to execute. XD

Next, we had an activity where the kids could color the lion/mouse images and turn them into masks.

After that, we had a bunch of things to eat and then, we were off to the playground. It was a lot of fun...but tiring! XD

The experience with kids was interesting. Kids scare me a little. I sometimes don't know what to do with them. I know some of our team members got a little attached to some kids. Awwww......but it's pretty sobering to look at these kids and wonder what their future is like. Will they grow up to lead happy lives? Will they go through much sufferings? How long will some of them live?

This is my fav picture out of the whole kids program. The kids seemed fond of WT and this image of them walking together really makes me go "Awww..."

Final Experience: Onsen & Sushi

What can I say except that this was probably my biggest step out of the comfort zone. The onsen is basically a public bathhouse, where everyone strips. Everyone is nekkid. Everyone.

Dang.

Everyone made lame 'cultural immersion' jokes as they dipped themselves into the various hot and cold baths. Man, it was a shock for my poor body alone! Not only did my poor body endure exposure to the relatively public eye, it wasn't used to being in a 40C water and then, a 12C environment, 10 minutes later! Then, there was this hot sauna we sat in. After that sauna experience, I know exactly how a chicken roasting in a convection oven feels.

This was a very interesting experience and I'm glad I did it. Will I do it again....maybe. Guess it depends on who's the crowd. XD

Here's a pic of the onsen. There are no further photos here, for obvious reasons. =P

This is where we had sushi though. Everyone was stuffed. My team member exaggerates it by showing off her eh...pregnant belly. XD;;

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It took me almost 4 months to complete my journal on the mission trip! Goodness. Nonetheless, I am very happy to share that the mission is far from being over. We had a Japanese acquaintance who came over to Singapore for a month's visit and I had the opportunity to talk about the Christian faith to him!

Truly, I feel God teaching and equipping me in making disciples of Christ. A year ago, I wouldn't have dared to open my mouth. But praise God, I've had more training and practicing ground ever since and I now have more confidence to share the Gospel.

I thank everyone who supported me in this trip in every special way. Thanks so much! I look forward to more opportunities to share God's Love to others and improve myself in evangelism! <3 <3 <3 Gambatte ne!