Travel Home!

Well, it’s our final day of the mission trip and it’s hard to believe it’s done. We have been so blessed by the Lord’s kindness and grace in bringing us safely through this trip with little trouble or delays. It’s really amazing for international travel!

Today technically got started last night with a movie night and “slumber party” at Josiah’s house. We watched a classic Japanese cartoon that Josiah recommended.

This morning we were up and ready by 9, to pack for the trip back. We then headed to Takasaki station to return the rental vehicle and did last minute shopping. This is also where Charlene was the first to split off from the group to continue her own travels to see friends. Then we headed to Tokyo station where we ate our last real Japanese meal!

Josiah and his son Shinji were there to help us make sure we got to all of our destinations. They were so helpful this whole time! We would have literally been lost without them.

The long flight from Tokyo to Dallas was just that- long! But thankfully it was on time and uneventful. From there we took the next flight to Columbus. This is where we said goodbye to Charis who was headed home from there. Then, Mark picked us up and we also dropped off Anna. It was a very tiring and full day but we made it and were very thankful for no delays or trouble!

I close with a thankful heart and love for you all. The Lord really used this trip in my life and I am so thankful for the support from you all! We all look forward to sharing with you all in a future sharing time at CBC!

Blessings,

Gretchen

Final Sunday And Happyoukai

It’s Happyokai day!

Today we gathered at Tomago Hall in a fantastic space where not only the children showed their families what they learned in English summer camp, we also worshipped our Lord. What an honor to worship God with not only our Ohio church family but our Takasaki one as well.

After worship service, Kevin shared with the gospel while Noel translated. There were many parents present that are unbelievers and this was the first time hearing the truth of God’s love for them.  A slide presentation was projected on the screen next. The children loved seeing themselves with their friends, new and old. For the team it was also sweet to see us playing, teaching and being with the children. Josiah and Alvin were always around to capture those precious moments.

The children came up on the stage next.  After the group leaders got them into place, Kevin went through what they learned in English Project. They painted sheep colors to represent creation (green), the fall (black), rescue in Christ (red) and future restoration (gold). The children would shout out the colors for each step of the gospel. The adorable little ones have been practicing to learn “Jesus, Strong and Kind” and all of the children sang that one along with the hand motions they learned. The middle aged group memorized gospel statements with hand motions. And the older group memorized scripture verses.

They all did so good. Praise God!

English Summer Camp Day #4!

Everyone’s morning looked a little different today as we spent more time with host families. My host family took me to get shaved ice (I got matcha flavor and it was very good). We also stopped some decorative gardens.

Getting back to the church was a quick turn around to the last day of summer camp. It was a bittersweet to spend the last day with the kids but it’s been so cool to see how much the kids have been learning and the relationships we’ve been able to form with them. At the end of our time, the kids practiced their English section of the Happyoukai which they will perform tomorrow, this includes memory verses and statements that go along with what they have been learning.

After the kids left at the end of the day, we had a final review meeting and then quickly worked on transforming the room into Little Light Cafe. From 6-9 Josiah, Kat, and Lele who previously worked at the Cafe worked on serving coffee and desserts to costumers while we engaged with them in English conversations. This was a great time and it was especially sweet to see some previous church members who I had not seen for two years. After an exhausting day we enjoyed some takeout sushi and are looking forward and praying for the Happyoukai tomorrow!

~Charis

English Summer Camp Day #3!

Hi all!

We’ve gotten to day 3 of VBS here and things have been going pretty smoothly.

This morning, Josiah, Kevin, Anna, and I (Alvin), went over to the old site of Little Light Coffee. The shop used to be in a trailer about 10 minutes away from where the church currently is. They are getting ready to move the trailer to a new location. We did some prep work to get the trailer ready to be moved by the end of the month. The main thing we did is move the deck/steps used to get into the shop back to church property.

Having gotten to the third day of English Summer Camp, we have gotten into a rhythm of how we do things. The kids have gotten a lot more comfortable with us. They are singing and doing the hand motions to the songs. They had fun playing with water balloons and a shepherd vs wolf freeze tag game. In craft time, they made crowns that they loved showing off to each other. Similar to our VBS, the kids have gotten to learn about Psalm 23, the story of David, and what it means that Jesus is a good shepherd.

Every Friday night they have worship practice at the church. Miguel and the team run through the songs that they are going to sing on Sunday. All of the songs they had were in Japanese, and mostly originally written in Japanese. This Sunday’s service will be a combination of the normal worship service and the summer camp happyoukai (presentation). We discussed details today on what that’s going to look like. The service is going to be held in a different location that has the capacity to handle all the parents of the VBS kids.

Following worship practice, Josiah and Noel host a gathering at their home (next door). Every Friday, they have an open invite to the whole church to come over to their home and fellowship. This time a missionary named Ken made the meal for everyone. Miguel, one of the deacons and an elder in training, had a surprise birthday party. The church shared many memories they had with him. We arrived in Takasaki last Friday night and were here the last time they had this fellowship. It’s sweet to see how our relationships with the church have deepened jut over this week. Some in the church are stronger in English and some are stronger in Japanese, but it has been cool to see this church thrive even with the language barrier.

Thank you all for your continued prayers.

-Alvin

English Summer Camp Day #2!

Hello everyone! It’s Kevin.

Things in Japan continue to go very smoothly. We are very thankful for this.

As I write this blog post it’s 9:15 PM Japan time on Thursday 8/6. I’m sitting in a chair in the Henderson’s home which is right across a small courtyard from the building which they use for church (Josiah’s “commute to church” puts even mine to shame!) This property is a huge blessing, both to the Hendersons, and to Little Light Church.

Today was the second day of English Summer Camp. We made some small adjustments based on our experience with day one (utilize the time better, certain supplies we realized would be advantageous, etc.) We have had about 25 students each day, which is wonderful.

It is great seeing everything come together and seeing everybody using their gifts to serve.

We’re beginning to get towards the end of the trip - more of it is behind us than ahead of us - and while we are enjoying our time here, I know that I personally am also beginning to look forward to being reunited with my wife and children. I am very thankful for everything that Alyssa has done to enable me to be here right now, and I greatly appreciate the ways that so many of you have been an encouragement and blessing to her while I have been gone.

Looking forward to being back with each of you…

-Kevin

English Summer Camp Day #1!

Hello everyone, Grace here.

This is our first day for the English Summer Camp! We have been waiting for this day for the whole trip, and it’s finally here.

We started our day together with one of our devos, and we are going through “The Gospel Primer”. This has been such an encouraging book, and I have been personally enjoying talking through this book with my team.

The summer camp started in the afternoon, so we had the rest of the morning to get all the preparations finished. Alvin and Kevin set up a tarp (hung between the church building and the Henderson’s house), so the kids wouldn’t overheat during game time.
We had a quick “Japanese fast food” dish for lunch called Gyudon.

Right before the kids came, all the volunteers for the summer camp went through the list of kids who were coming to the camp, and we prayed for each individual kid. We prayed for their hearts to be open to hearing the Gospel. We also prayed for us workers, specifically for us to be able to share God’s truth to the kids in a way that they can understand. We trust that the Lord will use this camp for His good and His glory. After praying for the camp week and for the kids, we welcomed the kids in as they arrived at the church!

We started the English summer camp with songs in English. The kids picked up on the hand gestures for the songs very quickly, so that was fun to see that come together!

Our itinerary for the three groups (kids from ages 2-11) included crafts, English project time, snacks, games, and Bible lesson.

Today in the English project section, Mr. Kevin talked about creation and how God created all that we see from nothing but His infinite power. In the Bible lesson, we went through a long explanation of the Gospel to the kids. If all who are reading this blog could pray for the kids to hear the Gospel and believe in Christ as their Lord and Savior, I would personally be very thankful and grateful for you!

After the kids left for the day, we got the church ready for the evening English Cafe, which was from 7pm-8:30pm. The English speakers for the night were Charis, Gretchen, Audrey, Kevin, and Charlene.

Thank you for your prayers, and we will see you all soon (Lord-willing)!

Tuesday Prep Day

One more day of prep before the start of VBS! 

Today, part of the team had the opportunity to support a Bible camp up in the mountains of Gunma while the rest stayed at Little Light to clean up the grounds in anticipation of VBS. Charlene, Josiah, Grace, Audrey and I left Takasaki to go help Akagi Bible Camp (ABC) for part of the day by moving bedding and prepping food for their Japanese barbecue lunch.

The drive up to ABC was so beautiful! Seeing the foggy mountainside and the dark forests were a great reminder of how awesome our Creator is!

ABC requested that we buy corn for the barbecue, and since we forgot to bring some from Ohio, we stopped by a little shop along the way.

When we got there, we helped the camp by moving bedding, shucking corn, cooking noodles, prepping the barbecue, and making bread dough (you’ll be surprised by how we cooked the dough)! It was such a sweet time meeting other believers in Japan and seeing how God was using them to spread the Gospel. It was also so good to see how even though we didn’t all speak the same language, we had the most important thing in common.

Back to that bread dough… when we were all finished eating lunch, the ABC staff taught the campers how to cook the dough over the remaining charcoal from the barbecue. Everyone took a ball of dough, stuck it to the end of a bamboo stick, cooked it over the charcoal, and then filled it with cinnamon sugar! I would love to try this at home sometime!

Going up to help ABC was such a unique experience. While we were sitting down eating lunch, Charlene asked something like, “Did you ever think you would be right here today, in the mountains, eating Japanese barbecue?” I never would have considered it a year ago! My favorite part was trying to converse with some of the staff despite the language barrier. There was a lot of smiling, nodding, and hand motions, but we made it work! I think Grace even made a new friend.

Back in Takasaki, the rest of the team worked on cleaning up the grounds and finishing prep for VBS. They didn’t get Japanese barbecue for lunch, but I think they may have eaten the rest of that delicious Costco pizza.

Our team rejoined at Ikaho, a town famous for its natural hot springs. We spent the rest of the daylight hours climbing the 365 stone steps and exploring the area. The pictures really don’t do this place justice. It was so beautiful to see how the unnatural, man-made buildings complemented the intensely green and lush environment God created.

Tomorrow, we will start VBS! We are praying that God softens the hearts of the children who come so that they may know Him and be saved. We pray that we are faithful to spread the seed of the Gospel as we wait to see God cause the growth.

~ Anna

Monday Prep Day

Hello everyone! Audrey here!

Day one of week 2! We woke up and ate breakfast with our host families. Today was the rainiest day so far, but it was cozy to just stay inside and work on VBS stuff. We had group devotionals where we talked about the gospel and how it relates to loving your brothers and sisters in Christ. We then worked on VBS prep. Charis cut out craft supplies, Anna made rice crispie sheep snacks, my mom and I practiced the songs and the play with Kevin and Grace. We made our own music videos for VBS and I printed out papers for everyone’s respective stations. Kevin and Alvin moved the swing to start making ready the yard for the childrens. We ironed more t-shirts, and we shopped at the local Deiso (a nicer dollar tree) for VBS supplies. I got a few souvenirs too.

Then we went out to lunch at a sushi go round place. It was a really fun environment. I tried sushi for the first time, and loved it! Everyone got something tasty (oishi). Some of us even tried such exotic foods as oysters and eel. We would order it at a big tv at our booth and it would come minutes later on a conveyor belt straight to your little booth window. Then we went home and worked  some more. We still have lots to do before we are ready for VBS, but overall it was a pretty good and productive day.

We went to Costco for dinner and supplies. First American meal in Japan. Their Hawaiian pizza was very good. Then we left for our homes to get a good night’s sleep before a busy day tomorrow. God bless!

~Audrey

First Sunday!

Today was worship Sunday in Japan!  Despite the fact that the schedule is different, where instead of morning worship, they meet in the afternoon, the “Sunday feeling” is the same. It’s hard to put into words so I’ll just say, the worship service was amazing.  It felt like a taste of heaven to be with our Japanese brothers and sisters in Christ!  You’ll see in these pictures:

Audrey and I with our host at Japanese IKEA, Gelato at a local dairy farm (so yummy!) and a few photos of our church service.  We had the privilege of taking the Lord’s Supper with this body of believers and remembering together we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  After this we had a time of planning for the coming week and the Bible camp which will begin on Wednesday. 

Please be in prayer for us and for the volunteers at Little Light Church as we prepare and for the children and their families who will attend.  Until tomorrow,

Love,

~Gretchen

To Takasaki We Go!

Ojamashimasu, translated as “excuse me for bothering you”. This is usually said when you enter someone’s house or when you come near someone’s personal space. And like most spoken Japanese , it is said in a singsong voice. Say it with me: O ja ma shi ma su. The Japanese are very serious when it comes to politeness! So, as I enter into your personal cyber space, in my singsong voice, Ojamashimasu.

While some stayed and visited with their host families and few of the team members went on an adventure early in the morning to see a 41.8 meter tall stark white statue that is said to be the guardian of Takasaki since its completion in 1936. Byakue Dai-Kannon can be seen from all around. I can only imagine God’s glory proclaimed when the surrounding 3,000 cherry trees blossom in the spring!

Lunch was at a traditional soba restaurant and we had a room to ourselves and sat at a chabudai, a traditional Japanese table with pillows for seating on tatami flooring. For most, it was doable. For others, not so much (me raising my hand here). But for the feast we enjoyed surrounded by our church team and our Little Light Church family, it was well worth it.

With our bellies full of delicious noodles and our spirits revived with fellowship, we went back to the Henderson’s home.

Our team has been going through Milton Vincent’s gospel primer for our team devotional time. With the extra books that we brought, we sat around the Henderson’s living room with a few of the LLC members. What a precious time it was to reflect on God’s word with our church family on the other side of the world. The ones that shared their thoughts on how God is working through them was so encouraging.

Let the work begin! After devotions, we unloaded all the huge suitcases that were packed with all of our supplies. Making sure nothing was damaged, we got started. T-shirt’s were wrinkled, so Audrey put her ironing skills to work. Counted all the sheep that will be used in the English Project that Kevin is teaching. Charis, with scissors at the ready, began cutting out materials for the crafts. And the rest of us started making our lists of what more is needed. Therefore a shopping trip to a 100 yen store will be in our immediate future, yay!

Not only did we discuss and plan for “summer camp” (VBS), Josiah wanted to plan and discuss for tomorrow’s English Cafe. A couple of hours before worship service, LLC holds an English Cafe. This is a great opportunity for the local community to come and enjoy some awesome coffee and delicious treats while learning conversational English. Summer was decided as the topic. We came up with some discussion questions and brainstormed ideas on how to bring the conversation back to the most important topic…the gospel. Coffee and conversation that God willing will lead to conversion. Afterwards the participants are invited to worship service that follows. Josiah says not many stay but seeds are planted and the Holy Spirit will do His work in His timing.

So, what did we do after that you ask? We ate! Tonkastu was for dinner and again there were chabudai tables with pillows for seating on tatami mats. Praise the Lord there were western style tables there as well. Lele, a sweet young lady and member of LLC, sat with me along with Audrey. Our fellowship was ever so sweet. Please pray for Lele, her leg gives her trouble and the doctors aren’t able to give her answers as to why.

After dinner, we all went to our host family homes and got some much needed rest. All of us appreciate your prayers and encouraging texts. Until next time…

~Charlene

Tokyo!

While the Henderson’s took care of some personal business in Tokyo, the rest of the team started off the day by going to Tsukiji fish market, which before 2018 was the largest fish market in the world! We spent some time here searching for breakfast items (or matcha), and got to see the multiple street vendors selling an assortment of seafood sushi and other snacks!

After the fish market we headed back to the Airbnb to pick up our backpacks and check out before we headed over to Skytree. The Airbnb turned out to be a huge blessing for the team in a great location and for a great price which we are very thankful for!

Once checked out, we navigated our way to Skytree, the tallest tower in Japan where we were able to have a breathtaking view of Tokyo inhabiting roughly 37 million.

In the lower floors of Skytree are multiple shops and food courts where we ate lunch and did a little window shopping. Afterwards, we went to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery to meet back up with the Hendersons. This Roastery is one of only 6 in the world. It is 4 stories high and serves delicacies of coffee, pastries, and other drinks. Here we were also able to spend time in our devotional which had been missed yesterday due to time.

On a bit of a time crunch we navigated a series of buses, subways, delays and missed trains until we finally made it onboard the bullet train headed for Takasaki, making it there around 6:30 pm, just in time to get the rental car before they closed at 7. Although we were a bit late and pretty exhausted we spent some wonderful time in fellowship with church members at the Hendersons house which sits right next to their new church building. These two buildings are a huge answer to prayer since the church had been building-less for some time and the Hendersons were in need of a new house.

After a meal together, our team split up and headed to stay with their respective host families.

Tomorrow we plan to make headway on VBS prep and also spend time getting to know our host families!

-Charis

First full day in Japan!

Hello all!

We had our first full day in Japan! We have two nights in Tokyo and we leave Friday to head to Takasaki. After a long day (or two?) of travel, it was nice to have a place to sleep.

The sun rises here at 4:45am. We didn’t get up quite that early, but after a quick breakfast we made our way to Mt. Fuji, an active volcano a couple hours away from us. We didn’t decide until the night before to see Japan’s highest peak as visibility conditions can be volatile. Though it’s one of the country’s most iconic landmarks, the Hendersons had never been there. We (8 CBC + 5 Hendersons) used all sorts of transportation to get there and back including various trains and busses. We’ve learned a lot about how to get around. As it turns out, Pastor Kevin is an expert at driving on the left side of the road. We got to see a cool ice cave near the mountain and some of us checked out a famous pagoda view point after walking up 398 steps. We’re looking forward to getting to see more of Japan. The more we have gotten to know this beautiful country, the more we have gotten to appreciate the country and it’s people.

All the travel has meant time to talk with one another. Most of the time we had spent as a group thus far had been planning and talking logistics. But through out all the travel, it was nice spending time with each other as we get to serve with one another.

The Hendersons have been a joy to spend time with. In conversations with Josiah and Noel, we’ve gotten to hear more of their story and their heart. Their three children were radiating energy even when the rest of us were wiped. We’re looking forward to spending more time with them and the their church as the trip continues.

-Alvin

Thursday, July 30 AM

Hello everyone!

The Japan team is officially in Japan!

God was exceedingly good to us during our travels yesterday (or was it the day before? time is a little elusive at this moment). We met at CBC at 3:15am Tuesday morning, and were on the road by right around 3:30am. Big thanks to Mark Groman for being our chauffeur! We made it through the airport with no problems and none of our flights were delayed. We enjoyed our first devotional together at the gate in DFW - we will be using Milton Vincent’s gospel primer as the material for our times together.

After nearly 24h of travel time, we made it to our Airbnb in Tokyo around dinner time on Wednesday evening. Our first experience with the Japanese train system was thankfully pretty straight forward!

The Henderson family (all five of them :-) joined us last night at the Airbnb and will be with us from here forward for the most part. We are glad to have them with us. The Airbnb is setup great for kids (we got a great deal on it, too) so that is a lot of fun.

Today has uncharacteristically good odds of being able to see Mt. Fuji (https://fuji-san.info/en/index.html) and so instead of exploring Tokyo for the day we are going to make a trip over there and explore that area. We will still have tomorrow morning to explore Tokyo before we make our way over to Takasaki around dinner time.

Well, I know there are things I am leaving out, but that’s how it goes. More to come later on! I will include some pictures below. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers for this trip - I am confident that your prayers have been answered, and knowing our God, that they WILL BE answered!

In Christ, your brother,

-Kevin

Less than a week to go!

In less than one week, the 2026 CBC Japan team will be departing for our trip! Going on the trip this year is myself, Alvin, Gretchen, Audrey, Charlene, Charis, Grace, and Anna!

We will be trying to keep this blog updated with our adventures (and some pictures!) as our trip progresses, so please be sure to check back here between July 28 when we leave, and August 10 when we return. Your prayers are, and will be, greatly appreciated!

Thankfully, our preparations are essentially completed. There is a stack of various supplies accumulating in my office, and I’ve exchanged some USD into JPY so that we have that available when we get into Japan. Our teammates in Japan are busily translating the various teaching materials which we have shared :-)

To be continued!

-Kevin