Mingo Valley Class 2006

graduating from college makes a person begin to reflect on where they have been and where they are going. as i think back to four years ago, i was sitting in a royal blue cap and gown. a proud graduate of the 2006 class of mingo valley christian school.

i've traveled a long way since then: to india and back. four years living in chicago. to japan and back. earned my bachelors. making plans to move to another country.

so where is everyone else? how have the other proud graduates of my 2006 class fared? here's what i've found out...
10 are married.
4 have at least one child.
11 have acquired at least some higher education.
4 have graduated from college.3 own their own business.
9 are listed as "single" on facebook.
1 is a registered nurse.
1 has joined the military.

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.
-Albert Einstein

Yesterday was my 22nd "First Day" of school. It also happened to be my last (barring a rash decision at some point to further my education through grad school). So, it was my last time to awkwardly enter a classroom desperately praying I knew SOMEONE in there. It was my last time to be completely overwhelemed in one 50 minute period by the mass amount of work that I would be accomplishin over the next few months. It was my last time to wander through the building attempting to find a room number....since Sweeting is so confusing.

I liked the illustration that O'Neal gave about senior's last semester. He said that it is a lot like firing a shotgun, and being from Oklahoma, I liked that expression. When you first fire a shotgun, it bangs around a lot in the barrel as it projects forward.....this is kinda like your freshman year where you have a lot of quacky ideas and need to be aligned. By the time you are a senior, and as the bullet exits the shot gun, it is already shooting straight towards the mark, and the last few inches of the barrel, and the last semester, provides just a bit of guidance to an already straight shot. In words I can understand even better, it's the finishing touches to a painting. :) So, I'm ready profs, paint away.

Real Freedom: 1 Corinthians 9:1-12

I heard a quote this last week in a great sermon: Real freedom is being free enough to give up our freedom for the good of others.

How does a participating mature brother not flaunt his freedom to a susceptible weaker brother?

Its so easy to be enslaved to our freedom in Christ.

We need to mature our conscience, and be free enough not to do it to encourage the weaker brother.

There are four types of Christians in relation to this issue of freedom:
Professional Weaker Brother (You're not a good Christian if you participate in ___)
Susceptible Weaker Brother (I am not a good Christian if I participate in ___)
Non-participating Mature Brother (Godly Christians can participate in ___, but I choose not to).
Participating Mature Brother (Christians are free to participate in ___, and I do).

Few thoughts:

Is God's revealed will firmly in my mind so that my conscience can shape its application?
How has my culture and background shaped my conscience?
Do I have this issue in its proper place? Romans 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

vs 12. "Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure (cover, hide) anything rather than put an obstacle (hinder, restrain) in the way of the GOSPEL.

Get your priorities right: Passion for Christ and the Gospel.

Last Day in Japan

It's been way too long since I posted anything. Here is my end of the year report:


As I begin my final semester at Moody Bible Institute, I have been reflecting on the grace and provision of God in my life. As I began the journey towards Japan this summer I had many fears and apprehensions. I was uncertain of how I would raise my support in a faltering economy. I was fearful that I would be a complete failure as an English teacher. I was afraid that I would not connect with my students in a meaningful way. I was worried about being a true blessing and encouragement to the church I was ministering in. I was unsure as to how I would pay for my fall semester after not working for an entire summer. But, I gave all of these fears to the Lord, I prayed that the Creator of the Universe, who knew me better then I knew myself, knew the people I would be ministering to, and owned the cattle on a thousand hills, would provide for me in a wonderful and miraculous way. And He truly did this summer. My support came from the most unexpected sources. The skills that I have learned at Moody in the art of teaching English proved to be quite good! I connected with my students on a level that far exceeded my expectations! The pastor seemed truly encouraged by our presence! And finally, an anonymous donor paid the remainder of my school bill for the fall. God took every fear and uncertainty and swept them away, making room for His name to be glorified through the ministry this summer. Nothing good that happened this summer was a result of me, it was a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Let’s praise God together for what He has done!

“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.”
Psalm 18:49

Arigato, thank you, for being a part of the work God has done this summer.

Sorry for such a long time since the last update!!! Where were we?

Our Saturday Night Theme Night this week was 4th of July and quite thecultural experience! We had hot dogs, a three-legged race, a waterballoon toss that turned into a water balloon fight and me gettingsoaked, and fireworks! The fireworks were the cultural experience. Thepastor told us to take to the kids to the river to shoot them off. Sowe took almost 20 kids, as well as an assortment of highschool,college students and adults through the pitch dark to the PITCH DARKriver front. The kids were running wild and knocking on doors alongthe way to invite even more friends. Once we got to the river theyjust ran crazily through the dark. Then sparklers were passed out andall the kids were running around with them, bumping into each other.Melissa almost had a heart attack. Then to top it off a highschoolstudent started setting off the big stuff. As we left I just prayedthat we had the same number of children as we arrived with and we bothwere relieved when it was over. The pastor was quite pleased and saidit was a success....we were blown away by how chaotic it had been!Apparently that is perfectly normal!

One good part of the evening was that we were able to connect with two girls, Chisaki and Akie. Chisaki is 17 and comes to my t/r nightclass, and Akie is 20 and comes to my Saturday afternoon class. Afterwe prayed for the hotdogs, Akie leaned over and told me that was thefirst time she had ever heard someone pray! We have invited them todinner but haven:t been able to set a date. Please pray that we willbe able to have time to spend with them in the next few weeks and thatwe will be able to have good conversations with them.

Melissa and I also shared a short message in church on Sunday. We shared on Luke 17 and the ten lepers. We got a lot of positivefeedback and will be doing another "devotional" in two weeks. Nextweek we will be giving our testimonies. Neither of our normaltranslators will be in there on Sunday, so a guy from Yamagata City iscoming to translate. His English is not great...I was able to meet himon Monday, so pray that our testimonies are presented clearly and arean encouragement.

Kids classes are great...but many of the kids have been sick! So prayfor that. We are learning about family this week. They all drew greatfamily pics and are learning mom, dad, brother, sister, grandpa,grandma and dog (at their reques). Little Ren who I told you aboutlast week had a difficult time. He drew himself in the middle of thepage by himself. We encouraged him to draw other people that wereimportant to him, like his grandma and aunt who take care of him. Heis a very hurt and confused little boy. Pray that seeds will continueto be planted in his heart as he hears the truth daily through songsand Bible stories.

Language wise, we finally figured out how to use the proper titleswith names! It was quite a breakthrough!

We:ve also started learning how small Kaminoyama is! We run intopeople all the time who come up and try to talk to us, because theirchild, or grandchild, or sibling is in one of our classes.

This week please pray for*

Chisaki - She is the 17 year old I was telling you about. She isextremely smart and would like to study in the US eventually. Praythat we will really connect and that our conversation will

movetowards spiritual things. Pray that I will be able to plant some seedsin her life this summer.

Akie- that we will be able to have that conversation about prayer! Andthat she will gain a basic understanding of who God is.

Toru- I asked for prayer for him last time. He is still coming toclass but has stopped coming to Saturday nights. Pray that he willreturn and the pastor will be able to interact with him more.

Taiga- He is five years old and I teach him 8 hours a week! He comesto every morning class and three afternoon classes a week! He is ADDand can be quite disruptive during the BIble lesson.

Pray that he willbe able to sit quietly during that time so as not to distract others,and also so that he can hear the truth!!

Thank you so much for your prayers!! Melissa and I appreciate them somuch, and they are truly what gets us through the day! Thank you also for all your encouraging emails - keep them coming!

Co-laboring with you,
Anna Martin