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
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