Concerts in Seattle

It's official! Shino is coming to visit... and we're playing two concerts! For those of you in the Seattle area, this is your opportunity to meet someone who has been both a dear friend and a valuable colleague to us. We'll give you a firsthand glimpse of what our music ministry looks like. Please come, and stay to chat afterwards! 

Details:

Concert 1: Saturday, March 5, 7:30 p.m. at Newport Covenant Church, 12800 Coal Creek Parkway SE, Bellevue

Concert 2: Sunday, March 6, 5:30 p.m. at Japanese Presbyterian Church, 1801 24th Ave S, Seattle

The program will include music by Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Debussy, and more. As we usually do in our concerts in Japan, we'll intersperse stories into the concert. In this case, we will tell stories about how we have seen God at work as we engaged in music ministry in Japan.

Here is an invitation. Please come!

If you are wondering who we are and why you would want to come hear us, I have also included our profiles below.

A native of Sapporo, Japan, Shino Inoue (井上志乃) started playing piano at age five. She studied music education at Sapporo Otani University, after which she established her own piano studio. Shino is involved in music and youth ministry at Toei Church, where she has attended since childhood. 

Celia Olson grew up in Newcastle and has attended Newport Covenant Church since birth. She started cello at age 10 and then played in the Seattle Youth Symphony during high school before studying music at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Boston University. Celia’s life took an unexpected turn when she started theological studies at Regent College, leading her to become a missionary with OMF International in Sapporo, Japan.

Introduced by a mutual friend, Celia and Shino met in Sapporo in November 2009 and played together for the first time at Christmas 2009. Since then, they have presented concerts at churches all over Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

Which world do you see?

Today’s coffee: peppermint mocha from The Well. Yay! (We’re in Vancouver for Missions Fest)

Last week there was no post. I was busy writing other things… a sermon, in fact. It was a big sermon. I chose Isaiah 6 for my text, and started researching and writing back in October. It really was the culmination of everything I’ve been thinking about during those three months… so yeah, a big sermon, but somehow, surprisingly, I fit it into about 35 minutes, which is a reasonable length.

I said some crazy stuff and challenged everyone to take a leap of faith with me—to say “here I am, send me” with conviction. I’m praying that God will continue to work in the lives of those who listened, just as he worked in my life as I wrote.

One thing that went into my sermon that has continued to stick with me this week was this bit: “Which world do you see—a world full of the intoxicating nearness of God’s glory, or a dark and empty world in which everything is left to chance? Do you see God, and can you hear his voice?”

When I preach, I am preaching first of all to myself. I think most people who preach are like this. Keith certainly is. Although I wrote the part I quoted above, it continues to challenge me—especially as I was hit hard by adrenaline letdown after the sermon was over, and as I continue to struggle with not-being-in-Japan-right-now. Unfortunately, it has not been a great week…

My temptation at such times is to turn inward, like a pillbug, into a self-protective ball, but then I’m really not in a posture of listening or observing. If I’m going to thrive during these remaining four months in America, then even when I’m in my pillbug-like state, I need to be listening to God and looking for signs of his nearness. And then I need to get out of my funk and be present here and now, with the people who are part of my here and now—because God speaks to us in community.

If you’re interested, here are links to recordings of my sermon: you can listen or you can watch. (If you need any more incentive, I had the fabulous Mel McIntyre read an excerpt from The Princess and the Goblin by George McDonald… complete with rolled r’s. Awesome book, awesome reader.)

Finally, for those of you who like books and such, here are some resources that have shaped my thinking over the past several months as I have been working on this sermon:

• I Once Was Lost: excellent book on evangelism to people of my generation. It’s not a method or anything like that, but rather gives a roadmap for how many postmodern people come to Christ… with lots of helpful suggestions for those who are walking with them. I wrote a lot about this one here. 
• The Listening Life: about listening, mostly listening to God through the many ways in which he reveals himself. More about this one later, I think, since I’m still reading it. 
• Introverts in the Church: I wrote about this one a lot in my last blog post. This book has been very helpful as I make sense of what I should and should not expect of myself and why. I also took the suggestion that I “lead as myself” when thinking about how I would put the sermon together. 
• The Message Solo: This is a devotional book I’ve been using in order to learn Lectio Divina—an ancient discipline of praying and listening through the scriptures. 
• The Princess and the Goblin: One of my favorite children’s books. It deals with the concept of faith in a way that was very helpful in illustrating what was happening in Isaiah 6. And it’s just a great story. And you can get it free for kindle! 

April Newsletter

Seasons
Newsletter #11
April 16, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

With the events of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the loss of Celia’s grandmother weighing on our hearts, it’s hard to believe it’s been a month and a half since our last newsletter. In the midst of this grief, we are looking forward to celebrate with Celia’s brother, Colin, at his wedding with his fiancée, Jiayun in May! So much is happening that we feel like we’re running to keep up with the incredible pace of life. Still, we are pressing on to our May 9 deadline for financial and medical clearance with hopes that we’ll be back in Japan in July!


Deep Waters
I (Celia) struggle to find words to respond to the present situation in Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Even a month later, I still can’t get my mind around what has happened or even imagine the implications not only for the Tōhoku region, but the whole of Japan. On that day, all I could do was pace around the house, crying and looking out the window. The only prayer I could put into words was “Lord, have mercy,” but I know that the Holy Spirit was interpreting my tears and my silence.

We are glad to report that all of our friends and colleagues in Japan are safe. Praise God! In Sapporo, where we had been working and where we will return, there was little damage. However, even several hundred miles from the epicentre, the earthquake was the largest in living memory.

We’ve been learning a lot about grief in the last year—first as we left behind our friends, colleagues, and work in Japan, then as God closed the door regarding our return to Vancouver. In November at a conference on interpersonal skills, we were finally able to figure out that we weren’t experiencing reverse culture shock so much as grief. Then, the earthquake and tsunami happened in Japan, and within the next week, my grandmother died. At this point I felt the grief of others even more as I struggled with my own personal grief.

Celia, age 1, with Grandmother

We’ve often talked in our presentations at churches about feelings of helplessness. While we were in Japan, these feelings related primarily to our minimal language skills. Now we feel helpless to do anything to help people in Japan who have lost friends, family, homes, and possessions—not to mention people who were not directly affected, but who face the future with fear. But we have learned to pray, and we have seen how powerful that is in communicating love to grieving people. Our God’s grace is sufficient for us, and his power is made perfect in weakness. Even in the midst of our grief, we have the joy of God’s comfort.

Through all of this, I am filled with thankfulness. Many people have prayed for and cared for my family. Many people are praying for Japan. I am thankful for our grandparents, for their love for Keith and me and for the rest of the family. I am thankful for the 69 years of Grandmother and Granddad’s marriage—what a great example! I am thankful for many other people who continue to be like grandparents to Keith and me. I am thankful for people who pray for us and encourage us. God has graciously provided for us in every way.

May God redeem this tragedy in Japan for his glory! Already many Japanese have found comfort in him. May God redeem our own grief also, so that we may weep with those who weep and offer God’s comfort just as we have already received it.

As a special extra for those of you who are reading on the blog, here are some links related to this article:

• Celia's reflections on the earthquake and the loss of her grandmother
• Keith's reflections on the earthquake
• Our colleague, Bryan Thompson's blog about earthquake and tsunami relief
• OMF Japan's page of resources about the earthquake and tsunami (we especially recommend the "Fukushima First Baptist Church – an evacuated pastor’s diary" articles)
• If you would like to donate for relief work, we recommend that you do so through OMF International (enter project number L60500 into the "specific project" box) or CRASH Japan.

***

Japanese Culture Night

On April 2, we held a Japanese culture night at Newport Covenant Church. Over 20 volunteers helped prepare the food, set up the room, and clean up for the over 100 people who came to hear about Japan and about our ministry. We were especially touched during the prayer time to hear so many of the people we love praying for Japan together. The event raised $2,800 for Covenant World Relief tsunami relief efforts. These numbers astound us, especially since we were initially planning for only 40-50 people. God is good. Thank you to everyone who helped out!

The meal: homemade bentos!

Celia accompanied Keith and Dan on some of her hymn arrangements. Keith sang in Japanese.

If you'd like, you can read more about Japanese Culture night on a previous blog post. Also, you can read the results of the haiku competition... and see the silly picture Keith made to advertise the event.
***

Beginnings and Endings    
March and April have been a time of transition—many of our ministry commitments are coming to a close as we are shifting our focus to our work of finding partners for our future ministry in Japan. We have finished the Alpha Course at Westminster Chapel—it has been such a blessing to meet the guests at our table and to learn from people who have a lot of experience in facilitating the Alpha Course! We wish it were possible to continue on. Our community group training has come to a close along with our community group. It is our hope that many of the group members will go on to start their own groups. We pray that these experiences will be helpful as we learn to be effective workers in Japan.

Our Community Group

On March 13, we “officially” said goodbye to Vancouver First Christian Reformed Church as we became members at Newport Covenant Church, where Celia was raised. Then in April, Celia celebrated her 30th birthday with a tea party!

Celia's childhood friend, Andrea and her daughter, Leila attended the tea party.

We are looking forward with anticipation to our financial and medical clearance deadline on May 9. We have been counting down the days through prayer, sending out daily prayer requests by email; please let us know if you would like to join us, and we will add you to our list. Yesterday we talked with our supervisor; we were encouraged to hear that our medical clearance process is going well. Our current financial support level is 55%; we are eager to see how God will provide the remaining 45%!

Provided we make our clearance deadline, we will head to Singapore for orientation course at the beginning of July, and we will arrive in Japan towards the end of the month. We are considering possibilities to be involved in relief work at some point, whether or not we make our deadline.
***

Prayer Points

• May 9, 2011 is our deadline for raising all finances (100% pledged monthly support) and getting clearance to go to Japan in July 2011. Please pray that God will provide prayer partners, pledges towards our monthly support, the diligence to do what we can, and peace as we trust in him.
• Please continue to pray for Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, for all the families that lost loved ones and homes, and for many opportunities for Christians to reach out in love to their grieving neighbors. May God's peace be made greater than any disaster in Japan.
• We thank God for all our mentors and the ministries in which we’ve been involved, especially the Alpha course and our community group.
• Celia’s grandmother passed away on March 16. Please pray for Celia and her family as they grieve her loss.
• We are thankful for the 100 people who came to hear about our ministry on April 2 at our Japanese Culture Night, and for the 20+ volunteers who helped out.
• During our time of visiting churches and friends, please pray that we take sufficient time to rest and spend time together.
• Please pray for Celia’s brother, Colin and his fiancée, Jiayun as they prepare for their May 21 wedding and their marriage.

***


Money Jar: We have 55%!

We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan—for a July departure, our deadline is May 9. Please keep praying with us that God will provide for our financial needs!

If you would like to support us financially, you can get information here, and follow this link to make a pledge via OMF's website.
***

Thank you for praying with us in this time of many transitions, much grief, and much joy!

Love, Keith and Celia

Japanese Culture Night Recap

Here's a summary of what we did at our Japanese Culture Night on Saturday...

Preparations

To make Tonjiru, we had to chop a lot of daikon. (Celia helped in the kitchen on Friday, before she was banned because of illness...)

This is Janet, our head chef, preparing tsukemono (pickles).

Sarah prepares edible decorations for the bento while Maya prepares a mochi dessert.

Maiko assembles the bento boxes.

Akemi also helped with assembling bento boxes.

Granddad folded programs.

Mary Lu arranged the flowers and coordinated the decorations. Gorgeous!!

Preparing for Tea Ceremony! (Celia is keeping her germs to herself.)

The Menu
I included links to some of the recipes, since many are on the internet.

Bento boxes: tempura, tea eggs, tamagoyaki, zarusoba, spicy miso-kochujang potatoes, daikon tsukemono (pickles), rice shapes (not pictured), pretty vegetables, kinpira gobou.
Tonjiru: I received the recipe from Ronna Husby, modified it slightly, and wrote it up as a guest post for my friend's food blog.

Dessert: fruit salad with almond jelly, cheesecake, and mochi

The program

Activities for the kids--spinning tops and origami

There was also a chance to try Japanese calligraphy!

Yukino demonstrated Japanese tea ceremony.

She was assisted by several volunteers from the audience.

Celia played several of her hymn arrangements, and Dad and Keith sang with her... Celia had no voice because of her cold!

In addition to having a fun time learning about Japanese culture and our ministry, the guests donated over $2000 for tsunami relief! Praise God!

Thanks to each one of you who helped! We certainly couldn't have done this alone.

Haiku Competition

As part of our Japanese Culture Night, we had a not-so-Japanese haiku competition--kind of an icebreaker game. We gave each table an envelope full of words and instructions to make 3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. We had 13 entries in English and 1 in Japanese. Here's what they came up with:

The winning entry:

Despondent rain goes

Replaced by sun and gladness

Celebrate the spring

   -Janet's table

Honorable mention:
シアトルの祈りよ届け東北へ
(Translation: May Seattle's prayer reach Touhoku)
   -Team Takahashi

So why Seattle
Journey spring beach together
Go vacation with
   -Team Faith

Sunshine spring blossom
Seattle young bird and duck
River through valley.
   -"Loving" table, June and Donna

Wet storm cloud unfold
With sunrise in Seattle
Spring blossoms float through
   -anon.

Sun cloud warm air fade
Dream of blossom without much
Spring green every day
   -Thankful

Springtime days are long
Dance and sun over mountains
So why sleep, green world?
   -anon.

Seattle spring is
A rainbow water journey
A blossom without sun.
   -anon.

Without Sunday I
Cat and water of much tea.
Evil evening now
   -anon.

Seattle spring sun
So come forward special tree
To glory of day
   -anon.

Waves of pink blossoms
Float in the wind like a cloud.
Spring's special love song.
   -"Kindness" table

Spring blossoms shape day
Seattle sun through the clouds
Jesus is glory!
   -Meghan, Ernest, and Jeanie

Spring sunshine blossom
I celebrate and dance dream of vacation
Through fall wind whistle condolence
   -anon.

Humankind evil
How wise is sakura love
At haiku sunrise
   -Evil among us

February Newsletter

Seasons

Newsletter #10

February 24, 2011

 

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s been a while since our last newsletter. We have been very busy, but sometimes it’s hard to explain our current stage in life—living with Celia’s parents and engaged in deputation work and various ministries, but no “real” job. We often have conversations that go something like this:

Well-meaning friend: What exactly are you doing now, anyway?
Keith and Celia: Name a day, and we’ll tell you what we do…

That’s what we’re going to do this month: we will briefly describe each ministry and activity we’re involved in.


What exactly are you doing now, anyway?
Alpha and Talk Time at Westminster Chapel: On Sunday evenings we are table hosts for ESOL Alpha (a basic course on Christianity geared towards people who are learning English), and we are hosts for Talk Time (an opportunity for English learners to practice their conversation skills) on Thursday nights. Both start with informal conversation over a meal. Alpha includes a short talk on some element of the Christian faith, with plenty of time for questions and discussions, while Talk Time allows for conversation on a wide range of topics. We started out as Talk Time hosts, and then Sylvia, our mentor at Westminster, invited us to host at Alpha as well. Alpha in particular has become an uplifting experience, as we seek God together with people who are learning about him for the first time—and we are blessed by the friendships that have been forming. (We love talking to Japanese people… so we are thrilled that the majority of ESOL Alpha and Talk Time guests are Japanese!)

Our Alpha table

Fun outside of Alpha with Maiko-san: Japanese-style Valentine's chocolates!

Community Group and involvement at Newport Covenant Church: We receive training for community group leadership on Monday nights and try to implement what we learn during our community group gatherings on Friday nights. When Celia and I first approached Newport Covenant asking where we could serve, I must admit we had doubts about community groups: would this really be a good use of our skills and time? Now that we are a few weeks into the group that we started with our mentors, Mel and Janet McIntyre, I can see why God has led us in this direction. When we first arrived at Newport in May 2010, we struggled to find our place. The community group has become an important opportunity for us to connect with others on a deeper level and uphold each other in prayer, as well as a place to learn and serve. We have also had the opportunity to preach, occasionally play with the worship band, and join in weekly prayer meetings and social groups at Newport.

Japanese Church and Language Study: In order to retain some of our language skills, we both have conversation partners. Once a week, we subject ourselves to speaking like infants (I'm probably around the level of a 3 year old, and Celia is like a 5 year old). This is a humbling and constant reminder that God is going to be the one who changes a person’s heart, not an eloquent speech by one of us. We continue to enjoy worshiping with Hosanna Church, a Japanese church which conveniently meets at Newport on Sunday afternoons after our English service and before Alpha, and also gives us opportunity to struggle on with our language skills. Religious language is often difficult to understand even for native Japanese speakers, much like “Christianese” is difficult for many English speakers, so we try to practice whenever we can.

Tea and conversation with Okubo-san

Ramen and conversation with Mari-san

OMF Prayer Meeting: On the second Monday night of the month (when we are not going to community group leaders’ training), we go to a local prayer group for OMF missionaries. This group, which consists of a number of retired missionaries and Celia’s brother and his fiancée (did we mention Colin and Jiayun are getting married?!), prayed for us while we were in Japan and they continue to pray for us now. (Anyone is welcome to join in—let us know if you want to come!) Part of the reason we are becoming OMF missionaries rather than going with another organization is that we love our colleagues in OMF, so it’s a privilege to pray with and for them!

Special Events: On January 7, we invited our friends to celebrate Japanese New Year with a Mochitsuki (rice pounding) party. Celia’s brother and dad surprised us for Christmas with the proper equipment (a gigantic wooden mortar and pestle made from a tree in our yard). We therefore invited our friends over for an opportunity to bash rice with a big hammer. The party was a lot of fun, but since we were busy hosting, we didn’t get to sit and talk with anyone! We had a second party with Hosanna Church the following Sunday.

On January 29, we attended Vancouver Missions Fest, where we met up with old friends, made new friends, and represented both OMF and Regent College at the exhibition. Our picture and story were featured in the Missions Fest magazine, since we had met our short term mission mentors (Tony and Pat Schmidt) there in 2008.

Representing Regent at Missions Fest

Finally, since last Fall, we have been on the planning committee for the RJC (Reaching Japanese for Christ) International Conference, which took place last weekend. We helped to present a seminar on using Anime for evangelism, and Celia played a mini-concert. If we only take one insight away from the conference, let it be our excitement at what God is doing among the Japanese—especially as we are reminded that not only do Japanese need Jesus, but many also want Jesus. We are expecting that God will continue to do great things!

The Daily Grind: This is what we do in all the time that’s left over after the previously mentioned activities. We practice our instruments, work on big projects like sorting through boxes of stuff to decide what to keep and what to get rid of, write thank-you notes and prayer letters, post to our blog, pray, read the Bible, meet up with friends and family, cook, eat, and clean up around the house. And Wednesday is our day off. Ahhhhh…
***

Prayer Points

• Our #1 prayer request is for opportunities to share our vision, experiences, and needs with churches, small groups, and individuals. Please pray that we would know whom to ask, which opportunities to pursue, and that others would invite us to share.
• May 9, 2011 is our deadline for raising all finances (100% pledged monthly support) and getting clearance to go to Japan in July 2011. We have prayed about this date, and we trust God in this waiting time while we work towards this goal. Please pray that God will provide prayer partners, pledges towards our monthly support, diligence to do what we can, and peace as we trust in him.
• We are thankful for the chance to host a table for ESOL Alpha, especially for the development of friendships with other table hosts and guests. Please pray that we will learn about effectively using the Alpha course, and for those attending the course (including us!) to grow closer to God. Please especially pray for the Alpha weekend on Feb. 25-27, which we will spend in Bellingham with our guests.
• We attended the 10th International RJC (Reaching Japanese for Christ) conference, where we were encouraged to hear many testimonies of God’s work among the Japanese. Please pray that we would have ears which are attentive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and boldness to proclaim the Gospel to those who are waiting to hear.

***

Picture Notes: New Banner
Keith made a new banner this month for our print newsletter! We chose pictures which reflect our current location and activities. So, starting from the left…

…we begin with Mt. Rainier, which is probably the most famous landmark in Washington State. We celebrated our 5th anniversary there last July. Second is Celia’s Christmas Eve concert in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Celia is continuing her project of hymn arrangements for viol and voice; she recently added 3 hymns in Japanese to her repertoire. Third is a picture from a picnic last summer… at which we crashed an outdoor wedding! Last is a picture of takuanzuke (daikon radish pickles) in progress. Celia’s most recent hobby is making Japanese pickles. The first try at this particular pickle turned out a little too salty, but delicious in Okayu (Japanese rice porridge).
***

Money Jar: We have 14.5%!

We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan—for a July departure, our deadline is May 9. Please keep praying with us that God will provide for our financial needs!
***

Blessings on your “daily grind”—may you see God’s love in the details of everyday life!

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Christmas Luncheon

This year, my family was invited to provide music for the program of the annual women's Christmas luncheon at our church. We sang carols and antiphons and O Holy Night--complete with a verse in Japanese (sung by me, of course). We finished the concert with Jesus Christ the Apple Tree which you can download and listen to if you want.

Photo credit: Pat McGiffert. Thanks a lot!

This was also a special event for me, since not only was it my first time to attend, but it was also my first time to host a table! I love hospitality and pretty things on the table, so I went all out. I dug through all the boxes in my storage closet and pulled out all the beautiful things I received from my grandmothers.

At the luncheon, I sat with Andrea, my childhood friend, my mom, and the ladies from our Japanese church. My dad was one of the waiters.

The food was amazing... everything was made from scratch by a team of cooks from our church. What a talented bunch! Of course, the head chef did win our chili cookoff this year...

On a side note, I'm happy to report that my teacups and other such things finally have a home which is not a box in the closet under the stairs! This beautiful piece of furniture was built by my grandfather. :)

My sermon is online!

In case you missed our November newsletter (previous post), I preached at Newport Covenant Church (my home church) last Sunday on Psalm 145 for our Thanksgiving service. I never would have thought I'd do that when I left for college 11 years ago... but now I have. Then again, I never thought I would become a missionary.

Well, it's over... I think it went pretty well. (This was my third time preaching, but I got a lot of public speaking experience in Japan, since I gave my testimony a whole bunch of times.) What was really great was the open mic time afterwards. Many people had the opportunity to publicly thank God for his goodness in their lives for the encouragement of the congregation. I was encouraged. :) Oh, I also got to lead communion for the first time in the second service. I remembered the words of institution, but forgot the prayer. Oops.

On Monday I wandered around wondering what to do with all my free time... and quickly filled it with other things I had neglected to do last week while writing the sermon. Oh well. On to the next big thing: on Saturday my parents and Keith and I will be providing music for the Newport Covenant Church Christmas luncheon. I'm also hosting a table. What fun!

The sermon, as the title says, is online--you can download it here or listen from the church's website.

Happy Thanksgiving!