Planting the Seed

Over the past two months, I have been privileged to help lay a foundation for something that I believe God is going to use to bring many precious souls to repentance and salvation. We have not done this by preaching fire and brimstone, but by showing people that there is LIFE in Christ; God offers us a joy and fulfillment in our walk with Him that is unattainable within the reaches of this world. It has been so amazing to see the power of this message begin to work in the lives of those we have been reaching out to. And it has been a wonderful reminder of the love of our God. He is amazing and worthy of all praise! We are not meant to walk in anguish and despair as the rest of the world does, but in the peace that comes from the faithfulness and mercy of the Lord Almighty. Not because we deserve it, but by the blood of Christ, and because He loves us! Too often we forget the promises that God has given us; we cheat ourselves out of the intimacy that He so desires to have with us, and the blessings that He would bestow upon us.

For myself, I have only become more desperate to see this love and power of God not only in my own life but in the lives of countless people who do not even know that it exists! There is so much pain and hurt in the world; so much depression, fear, doubt, shame, anger... I have understood more how the heart of God aches for these precious people. They are everywhere around us; how can we ignore them? We MUST faithfully show them the LIFE that is in Christ. There is nothing more important.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him..." Philippians 3:7-9

Over the past month since I last wrote to you, The Fuse team has been faithfully planting the seed. Every week we have seen new faces, met new people. We have seen the amazing providence of God at work. Several people are on the verge of making Jesus the Lord of their lives, and we are believing for this to happen and for many more to come. This is only the beginning! I am sad to have to leave all this, but I am so thankful that I was able to help lay the foundation. The Fuse is becoming more and more dynamic and powerful every week. Not to mention tons of fun! We have brought great music, games, dance, video, powerful messages, testimonies, prayer, joy, and Christ's love together to draw people to a redeeming relationship with God. Pray for continued development as Mark and Yuiko develop new strategies and follow God's leading for the outreach.

Outside of The Fuse event, we have been going all over the place to meet people, with a special emphasis recently on visiting universities and meeting students there. The Brazilian church has also given us opportunities to reach out to young people, and The Fuse will undoubtedly be working more with them in the future. There is a long list now of people that are being prayed for, people that need Jesus! We are beginning to have regulars who attend The Fuse every week and who hang out with us during the week as well. Pray that God would touch their hearts.

I have been able to see and do so much over the past two months, I truly feel that I have had the complete Japan experience! We have been sightseeing, hiking, learning Japanese and Japanese dances, relaxing at hot springs, shopping, and just having random adventures in general! I have become very attached to my host family, and I may have the opportunity to see them again before I return to school, since they will be visiting the states. They have blessed me so much with their hospitality and kindness, and they will forever be part of my family.







I want to thank everyone so much for your prayers and support, you cannot imagine how much your help has blessed my life and many others here in Japan! I was even able to give some extra money to help with expenses for The Fuse. We serve such an awesome God! As I prepare now to head towards home and a new school year, I cannot express my joy and anticipation to see what God will continue to do here. In faith and in spirit I will be with PAZ Japan and those who continue to faithfully plant the seed...

May the peace and grace of God Almighty be with each and every one of you!

Blessings,

Brad Z.

Romans 10:14-15

Jesus, The Fuse, and Karaoke!!!

Hey there everyone! I pray that the Lord continues to shine His light through all of you wherever you may be! So I feel that I was a bit over-zealous to try and commit to posting for you every day this week, and I apologize. There is just too much to do, and I want to give you a quality report. So now I can give you an adequate summary of the last several days, every one of which has been filled with blessings from the Lord! Praise His name!

Sunday morning dawned after the live advertising and my testimony at the Brazilian church on Saturday. It was the day that we had been waiting and preparing for all this month! With much anticipation I joined the rest of our team to head over to Machida at 9:30 A.M. We were ready to go with all of our musical equipment, posters, media, name tags, free soft drink tickets, and a few other random things. Most importantly, we made sure that we went armed with the power of the Holy Spirit and the Blood of Jesus! We prayed together in the train station and also as we were preparing at the LiveHouseZ, our meeting location.

The LiveHouseZ is a low-lit, jazz style, casual place with a small stage, projector, and room for about 40 people (60-70 if we really packed 'em in). It is a great location for attracting young and old alike! Our focus is university students, but everyone is welcome!



God certainly had some surprises for us! As the hour approached, we were sincerely hoping to see the place packed out. We had, after all, been handing out thousands of fliers over the past several weeks. However, all in all there were about 12-15 people who showed up. Were we disappointed? Not at all. Because of the smaller numbers, we were able to make real connections with everyone there. It also took the pressure off of our band who were performing for the first time. The atmosphere was relaxing and fun, with a great message given by Mark about life with Jesus to give people some food for thought.

Everyone hung around after the meeting was over and we chatted with all our guests for a while before inviting everyone out to lunch! Through that connection and the time spent with people we were really able to begin building some solid relationships that will hopefully lead to these precious souls to Jesus! Please continue to pray for us, that The Fuse will attract more people and that we can connect with all of them! We are really beginning to understand the importance of relationship building for evangelism here in Japan. The Japanese like to know what they are getting into before they take the plunge!

After lunch we said goodbye to most people except for two high school girls who decided that they wanted to come along to church with us too! So we headed back to Noborito for the 5 P.M. service, and after worship I once again had the opportunity to share my testimony briefly. The service was great, and afterward I spoke with a Korean man named Kim who was visiting for the first time. He said that he had been moved by my testimony and he wanted to know more about God. I was able to share the Gospel with him and answer some of his questions about Jesus. I got his contact information and I am hoping to spend more time with him soon. Please pray that God would truly touch Kim's heart!

That about wraps up Sunday, except that later that night some of us headed out to Pastor Marcelo's home to spend the night and watch the Brazil/USA final of the Confederations Cup! We stayed up most of the night to watch the game live at 3:30 A.M., and it was totally worth it! Brazil won of course, to my delight (sorry, I always root for Brazil when it comes to soccer). We had a great time with Marcelo and his family.

Tuesday we met at Tim and Christine's for breakfast and our weekly meeting, which lasted from 8 A.M. to 1 P.M.! We prayed together and went over everything that happened on Sunday and planned out the next Fuse gathering for this weekend. We are planning on making a funny video starring Darth Vader VS. The Pink Bunny! It should be a production of epic proportions :)

The final highlight of this update is none other than karaoke! Tuesday night we headed out to a karaoke joint with several of the friends that we just made at The Fuse on Sunday! Japanese Karaoke is the real deal and is very, very popular here as a way to spend time with friends and relax. We got our own private room and spent two hours straining our vocal chords and having a blast with our new friends! It was awesome!






So there you have it! God continues to open up doors into people's lives, and even though I only have 4 weeks left, I know that what we are doing right now is fundamental for the beginning for this new ministry and essential for the Kingdom of God in Japan and Tokyo! Please pray for me as God continues to bring many people, especially young men, across my path. He has been giving me opportunities to share His love, hope, joy and truth with many different individuals. Pray that His grace would work in each of their lives!

May the Lord be with you all as you seek to abide in His love!

Brad Zimmerman

Romans 10:14-15

Darth Vader was Lending Jesus a Hand Today! Say Amen!!!

Wow! What a day! I had wanted to begin writing a daily entry for this week starting yesterday, but we have been pretty busy around here! Today was no exception. God is so amazing, and I am so exhausted! Praise the name of Jesus!

I woke up this morning, took a shower, got some laundry done, and proceeded to prepare an outline for my testimony, which I gave at the Brazilian church in Zama this evening. I was especially asking for God's guidance and that my testimony would not speak about me, but that it would speak about what God has done in my life! He guided me towards John 3:16, Psalm 30:1-5, and Philippians 3:7-14.

Having prepared for the service that evening, I left my homestay (my Japanese host family's house) at about noon to go meet the rest of THE FUSE team for our live music advertising. I picked up some costumes at the Noborito church along the way that we planned on using to attract attention. And use them we did! :D





We took the train and played live music at three different places, usually close to the train stations, from 1-6 p.m. It was definitely a long but very rewarding afternoon. Kengo was on the guitar, Joe and Becky both helped with percussion, and Yuiko took care of the vocals. Matt, Amy, Hannah, Debbie, Nozomi, Tim and Christine, and I were handing out fliers and drawing people's attention.

How was I drawing people's attention? By donning a full-blown Darth Vader costume, that's how! I danced to the music in it, took a lot of pictures with people (especially little kids) and really put a few smiles on people's faces, which made it easier to tell them about THE FUSE and invite them to come. Becky was also wearing a Spider-man suit, and Hannah was in a pink bunny costume! We were on a roll! On the downside, it was very hot today and I sweat A LOT, but it was worth it! we handed out the vast majority of the fliers that we brought and we were able to talk to many new people!









Earlier in the afternoon we also finished filming a short video for the announcements portion of THE FUSE, and I have just been informed that it has been edited and is ready to go!!! As soon as I have it I will link it on the blog.

When we finished our live advertising some of us grabbed a quick "dinner" at McDonald's of all places! Not my preferred choice of dining, but hey it did the trick! They have something called "shaka shaka chicken" on the dollar menu that was really good. Why don't we have "shaka shaka chicken" in the States?



We then headed out to the Brazilian church in Zama to attend their Saturday service, and after worship and prayer Pastor Marcelo gave me the message which consisted of my testimony. I spoke for about half an hour (in Portuguese of course) about everything that God has done in my life and the way that He has been restoring me since mom's death. Only by the grace of God can I do these things! He has blessed me far more than I deserve...

So now I am headed to bed, tomorrow is our first meeting and I can't wait to tell you all about it!!!

May the Lord Almighty be with you!

Brad Zimmerman

Romans 10:14-15

Jesus is in Japan!!!

Praise the holy name of Jesus! There is no worthier cause than the cause of Christ and a life spent loving and serving Almighty God! It does not matter where we live or what our circumstances are; every day we have the ability to wake up in the morning and dedicate our lives anew and commit ourselves in faith to the only thing that gives our lives meaning. I was reminded recently of our complete dependence on the grace of God in our lives. "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for He grants sleep to those He loves." (Psalm 127:1-2) Separate from God, not only does life lack purpose, it lacks all possibility of accomplishment.



How much more so when we are working to establish a new ministry and a new church! Our hearts must be humble enough to understand that God has to be at the forefront of everything that we are doing. Every step must be accompanied by repentance, prayer, and worship! Yet we also understand that we can be bold, confident, and joyful in Christ. "If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32)

These are the things that have been on my heart and mind since I last gave you an update. So much has happened in the last couple of weeks since I arrived here! I'm not sure where to begin. But I know this: God is in Japan!!!

The first week was all about getting established and familiar with daily life and being introduced to the vision for the new church in Machida. I learned how to navigate my way to all the essential places, like the Y$100 convenience stores for example. I can find just about everything I need in those places, from seaweed-wrapped, triangle shaped rice paddies to notebook paper! We (Becky, Hannah, Amy, Matt, and I) have started Japanese lessons three times a week and that is really helping my ability to communicate, even if I only know a few things at this point. I now have a bicycle and I am having a blast weaving my way through all kinds of traffic to get where I need to go. When I have to go somewhere further away though, I take the trains! They are definitely part of the Japan experience. They can get so full during rush hour that station workers literally have to "pack them in!" Check out the video link titled "train pushers" to see what I mean!



Every Tuesday we have a team meeting for the Machida church. We eat breakfast, pray for each other and for the church, and talk about everything that we will be doing during that week. This has been a great time to share and grow together. God is with us and we have felt His presence in our midst! We have been to Machida a few times already to pray over the location that we are renting for the church which will be called The Fuse. We have also been handing out hundreds of fliers to young people and just trying to meet people in Machida and invite them to the event. Everything here is about building relationships and showing people that we, and in turn Christ, really care about them.



Our first meeting will be on the 28th of June, about two weeks from now. We are having band practice a couple of times a week. Joe, a PAZ Japan Intern, plays the drums, Becky plays the base, Hannah plays the keyboard, Kengo plays guitar, and Yuiko and Amy (and possibly me) are the vocals. We will be playing a lot of Hillsong music to start off and trying to reach out to college-age youth especially. Please pray for us, that God will bless our preparations and will anoint our every word and action!



This past week has been even busier! As we meet new people and make new friends, we are finding more and more things to do! God has been throwing divine encounters our way left and right! The best example occurred last week when we (the short-termers and I) were getting something to eat in Machida. Two girls were sitting next to us. We didn't say anything to them during our meal, but just a little bit later as we were heading home we ran into them again on the train! We immediately began talking with them and struck up a friendship! Praise God! Pray that we can reach out to them and that the can come to know Jesus! Also pray that God will continue to give us such perfect opportunities to meet people!

God is so good! He is at work here in Japan, even though there are so few Christians. The Japanese are not necessarily opposed to Christianity; they just don't know anything about it! They desperately need something more real in their lives than the material prosperity and the overwhelming pressure to be "successful" that Japanese culture offers them. Only Christ can give them the joy and fulfillment that they seek in life.

On a different note, I have a new home! I am now blessed to be staying with a Japanese family, and it is definitely enhancing my experience with the culture and lifestyle of Japanese people. Eigi and Kaori Yamada and their two little boys Daichi and Kojiro have been wonderful hosts. I have been trying all kinds of Japanese cuisine like sushi, yakisoba, ramen, and many other mouth watering dishes.



So keep on praying and keep on believing with me for great things in Japan!!! I appreciate so much all of your prayers and support. I am still in need of funds to cover my expenses for the trip, so if you feel led to partner with me in this mission, you can send checks to:

Project AmaZon
P.O. Box 3253
Peoria, IL 61612

Please make checks out to PAZ and include a separate note or indication that it is for Brad Zimmerman, Japan Youth Outreach. A tax deductible receipt will be mailed to you. Again I thank everyone for their help and prayers, God is so good!!!

Be Blessed!!!

Brad Zimmerman

Romans 10:14-15

I made it!

Hey everyone! I made it! After a two hour flight to Houston and and a thirteen hour flight to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, I set foot for the first time in the Japan, and I still cannot quite believe that I am here! On the first day I have already begun to do what I believe God has set before me, and I am so excited to see all that He will accomplish while I am here. Praise the name of Jesus!!!

My first impression of Japan was one of modernity. Except for the obvious differences in language and Japanese people everywhere, for the first couple of hours I almost felt like I was still in the United States. Everything went smoothly and was well organized at the airport; I had no problems with immigration or customs and I got my baggage very quickly. One funny thing (at least from my perspective) was the Japanese concern with the current H1N1 flu or Swine flu. Upon arrival in Tokyo, no one could leave the plane until health officials performed a cursory check of passengers, which consisted of filling out a form and asking passengers to raise their hands if they had any symptoms. I'm not sure I want to imagine what would have happened to someone if they would have; more than likely immediate quarantine and a whole lot of hassle. I made sure to avoid any suspicious activity like coughing while the health workers were passing by!



I met Mark Blakely at the airport, one of my team leaders and a PAZ Japan Missionary, and also my fellow short termers Amy, Hannah, and Becky who arrived at almost the same time as me. We proceeded to exchange some money, in my case US$260 for $24,000 Yen! I felt like a rich man until I paid $350 Yen for a small cup of juice! Mark reassured me that this was only because airport prices were expensive; I should have known right?



The drive from the airport across Tokyo took almost two hours, and I saw everything from rice paddies to skyscrapers. There was no lack of good looking vehicles on the road, but traffic was no where nearly as bad as it would have been in an American city of comparable size (even though there are none). Tokyo is currently the largest city in the world with some thirty million people. One thing that immediately struck me was how packed in the city was. Apartment buildings rose above the highway side by side for much of the drive. The Japanese are very good at utilizing small spaces, as I am coming to find out. Tokyo is quite a site to see, but I am eager to be able to get outside of the city to see what Japan really looks like!



On Sunday I attended morning and evening services at the PAZ Naborito Church, which is headed up by Tim Huber. The evening service worship was done in both English and Japanese. Abe Huber, who is Tim's brother and who used to be my pastor in Brazil, is in Japan briefly and he gave the message. I was so blessed to see him again and listen to him speak. After the evening service I was introduced to some young men, two of whom do not yet know the Lord. We had a long and entertaining conversation, and I hope to be spending a lot more time with them in the weeks to come! I am still having trouble remembering names because they are so different, so please pray for me in that regard. I am here to work with young people, and I want them to know that I care about them and that Jesus does too!



The Lord is so good! I am staying at the TAMA Christian center, where they teach English and spread the gospel at the same time. Joe, another PAZ worker, is here with me and is pushing me to learn as much Japanese as I can. My current accommodations are rather small, but that doesn't bother me. I am almost completely over jet lag, and I can't wait to get into gear and begin working on the Machida church plant. I am praying that the Lord will draw me closer to Him during this time and give me confidence and direction to keep my focus and glorify His name!

I will have another update for you next week, but until then, keep on praying for me, that the spirit of the Lord and the love of Jesus would go with me in all that I do.

Be Blessed!!!

Brad Zimmerman

Romans 10:14-15

Preparation and Prayer

Greetings everyone! To my family, friends, and supporters I give a special thanks for all of your love and prayers, which I need on a daily basis. I am growing more and more excited as the time approaches for my departure to Tokyo! If you do not have information regarding what I will be doing this summer, check out the PAZ Japan video that I have linked to the blog.

PAZ Japan is a part of Project AmaZon, the church-planting mission that I grew up with in Brazil. You can learn more about them at www.pazjapan.org. Part of their ministry has been to a large population of Portuguese speaking Japanese, and that will ease the language barrier for me a little bit as I am already fluent in that language. I will be aiding PAZ Japan along with various other short-term missionaries to begin a youth focused ministry in Machida. The most effective way to share the gospel in Japan is through friendship evangelism. This means that one has to show the true character of Christ to the Japanese by building strong relationships based on trust, love, and truth. I will be involved in all aspects of this relationship based ministry while I am there.

The Japanese need to hear about Jesus! God has been so good in allowing me to serve Him there this summer. While I am no stranger to international travel and cultural changes, it has been quite a while since I have encountered an environment that is completely foreign to me. But that is what I love, and I am looking forward to learning everything I can while I am there. Still, I need your prayers that this transition will go smoothly and quickly for me. I want to be as useful and effective as I can be during the relatively short time that I am there. Pray that the Lord will work in me and through me as He sees fit. I can do nothing without His favor!

I leave for Tokyo on the 29th of May. That is ten days from now! I have been at home for the past week or so, and it has been a good time with family and an excellent opportunity for preparation and prayer for the upcoming trip. I have been studying the Japanese language, and it is definitely unlike anything that I have encountered before, but I love language and I am trying to learn as much as I can; I need prayer in this regard as well. Providentially I do not need to worry about anything visa related, since Americans staying in Japan under three months automatically receive a tourist visa upon arrival in the country. My little sister, Kristin, will be graduating from high school this Saturday, and I am so proud of her! There will be something of a family get-together for this event, and its going to be great.

Other than that, I continue to simply prepare and pray for this trip and for the Lord's leading in my own life. Living each and every day for Christ has constantly been at the forefront of my thoughts. There is nothing better in this life than to love God with all that we are, and I find this truth to be seeping into my life more and more. What is there to live for without Christ? Yet there are so many that have never known this love and this relationship with Him...

Again, I thank you all so much for your prayers. I still need to finish raising all of my financial support for my expenses while I am there, and I humbly request that you prayfully consider helping me in this regard. All contributions towards this time of service can be sent to:

Project AmaZon
P.O. Box 3253
Peoria, IL 61612

Please make checks out to PAZ and include a separate note or indication that it is for Brad Zimmerman, Japan Youth Outreach. A tax deductible receipt will be mailed to you. May the Lord be with you all as you seek Him, and I will continue to post and communicate throughout the summer, so check in to see what's going on! BE BLESSED!

Rockin' the world for Jesus!

Brad Zimmerman

Romans 10:14-15