tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60008379867942459692024-03-18T23:41:26.602-05:00Philip Family BlogWe love life as church planters in Japan - these are some thoughts and updates on our family.Seth Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06561922628749035745noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-84475907407371329912013-10-12T02:37:00.001-05:002013-10-12T02:37:10.288-05:00NeighborsLately I've been spending time with people in my building! It's so interesting living in a apartment building full of a variety of people - yet truth be told we don't often see each other except for in the elevator! But obviously our family stands out, so I think we are well known in the building. There are only about 30 apartments in our building, so we have become familiar with many people and families, but usually to the extent of "the family of the 9th floor" for example.<br />
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But recently through some random (or not so) situations I have become more acquainted with many of our neighbors!<br />
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One Mom and her baby have been joining the playgroup I run, and she is very kind and generous. Recently she came over to my house with another mom friend and we enjoyed chatting while our kiddos played. She is very easy to talk to and I look forward to chatting more!<br />
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Another Mom had her kids at the same hospital I used for our son. She is really nice and recently they gave us some great toys their older kids weren't playing with anymore!<br />
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Another mom on our floor has a son the same age basically as ours! Oddly enough though, we have hardly ever gotten together. So this past week we went to a large park nearby. She even let me borrow her motor-powered bicycle. Which, by the way, was totally amazing! It a bicycle that has a motor-like device under the seat, and it is powered by you pedaling. So it works on hills and anytime you are pulling weight. They are often called "Momma-bikes", because mostly Moms with a 1-2kids in the bike seats use them. They are quite expensive (starting around $1,000!) So I was really excited to try it out. A. totally loved it!<br />
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Here is our little man in the front child seat of the bike.</div>
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Another neighbor and I have randomly run into each other at the local supermarket, and she always likes to talk to Asher.<br />
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I'm so grateful for kind people living, literally, next door. I hope we are able to grow our friendship with these great people in the future.<br />
<br />Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-69683941204751647992013-09-30T20:37:00.001-05:002013-09-30T20:37:42.640-05:00Everything is different, everything's so different!Lately the worship band at our church has been singing the song "Now that you are near" <a href="http://youtu.be/2uOVLrUkno4">(Link to youtube video of english version)</a>. I've really enjoyed singing this song, because the lyrics resonate on so many levels with me.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>The chorus is:</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>And now, that you're near, </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>everything is different </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>everything's so different Lord</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I know, I'm not the same</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>my life you've changed</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>I wanna be with you, I wanna be with you</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Everything really is different.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Recently our worship band played at a Gloria Jean's Cafe in Osaka (its similar feel to Starbucks). It was an awesome set up - a great cafe with customers going in and out, free advertising for the church, the cafe manager handed out flyers to all the customers, and people walking by the cafe often stopped to listen and check us out too. I think our volunteers handed out 100 flyers that day!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">During the music at the cafe, we did this song. While I was singing it, I was brought to tears of amazement at God. Everything in my life is really different because of him. Most importantly, my life is full of hope, peace, and God's constant presence because of salvation through Jesus. But also, he has brought my family to a foreign land, we are working among one of the largest unreached people groups in the world. Everyday is full of opportunities to represent Jesus. Now, Seth and I speak a foreign language, and I thought "here I am singing about how my life is different in the middle of a city of 17 million people, in Japanese".</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Jesus has changed EVERYTHING. And its for the best.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My prayer is that he changes everything in the lives of my friends here too. And not just my friends, but the millions upon millions of people in Japan who have never heard a clear explanation of the Gospel.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Will you pray that everything will be different for them too?</div>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-50641333228093773942013-09-23T02:06:00.003-05:002013-09-24T02:13:48.064-05:00A trip down memory lane in NagoyaWe had the awesome opportunity to travel to the city Nagoya, where we previously lived this past weekend. Nagoya is where the first Mustard Seed Christian Church was planted, and we were there from the second month of that church. It's now going to be 4 years old!<br>
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When the church began it met in the most humble of beginnings- a small, dark, sports bar/ club that often had traces of the partying the previous night when we arrived Sunday morning. It was not a very "welcoming" atmosphere, but by God's grace it served its purpose for the first location for the church to gather! I remember one of Seth's tasks during set-up on Sunday mornings was to Febreeze the room to mask the smells from alcohol, cigarettes, etc.! </div>
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This weekend was our first time seeing the newest location for the Nagoya church- it's not just a Sunday morning rental location as in times past. It's a full floor of a large building that they have to decorate, change, and use 24/7. It's beautiful! The church members put in hours of hard work to make the one large room into several useable rooms. For a church that originally had a one-room church location, they now have room for over 100 people to worship PLUS kids room, nursing room, bathrooms, small kitchen, office space, and lots of storage! I was blown away.</div>
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It has been so refreshing for me to see the church's meeting place and to hear story upon story of new people and their lives being impacted by hearing about God at MSCC. I love that when I hear about the people at the church, I hardly know any names because there are so many new people. Of course its really encouraging to hear about those who became Christians when we were in Nagoya and hear of their growth in faith as well.</div>
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Some days I feel down about living apart from family or missing the blessings of life near friends in the States. But my heart is strengthened by the reminders of Gods work. To see that the first guy baptized at MSCC Nagoya is baptizing others now! To hear about a young Christian couple getting married in the new building. To hear about the friendships being built. To see kids learning God loves them from such a young age. To see a space where people can gather that is friendly, safe, comfortable, with lots of room to grow.</div>
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God loves Japan, and so do I. By his grace I have see him move in BIG ways here. I need to keep my eyes on Christ and remember his ways. He is our strength and joy!</div>
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<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/52527457?byline=0&portrait=0&badge=0" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-62336178040752383912013-01-22T05:59:00.000-06:002013-01-22T22:28:26.578-06:00Testimony #3 - YumaYuma is the first friend Seth made in Osaka. His story of becoming a Christian is truly awesome. Today Yuma has a really active role in our church, and has begun leading the worship band! God is good.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/57115067?byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="400"></iframe>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-27282472492456628322013-01-18T05:57:00.001-06:002013-01-18T05:57:07.443-06:00Haze Nakai Photography<div style="text-align: center;">
To anyone and everyone in the Osaka area, or Japan, or at least in Asia: our sweet friend is the most wonderful photographer, and I can't recommend her enough! She did not ask me to post on my blog about her business, but i just can't help myself! She speaks English and Japanese, and can take photos of your family, baby, wedding, etc. in any setting you'd like! </div>
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Check out her website: <a href="http://www.hazenakai.com/">www.hazenakai.com</a> (she is also on facebook!)</div>
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Haze took Asher's newborn photos, and recently did some for us for Asher's 6 months!</div>
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Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-25185875324438940232013-01-15T01:29:00.003-06:002013-01-15T01:29:24.654-06:00Testimony Video #2 - MegumiOne year ago today, my good friend Megumi became a Christian! She was the first person to be baptized at Mustard Seed Christian Church Osaka. You don't want to miss her story:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/57118235?byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="400"></iframe>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-29643983188552383262013-01-09T01:20:00.001-06:002013-01-09T01:20:12.278-06:00Japanese Christian Testimony #1Happy New Year! Sorry for my lack of blogging at the end of 2012! What can I say, I had a baby, and I'm still getting used to it! ha. I feel proud of myself on days when i remember to brush my teeth before noon...okay sorry tmi.<br />
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On to other things.... For the beginning of this year, I want to share the recent series we did at church - where <b>Christians from our church share their story (in 10 minutes or less) of how they became a Christian. </b>Each is so interesting and powerful - a great way to give you a picture of what we are doing in Japan. I really hope you can find a few minutes to be impacted by each of their stories!<br />
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First up is our good friend Taku. Enjoy! (Also Seth is translating in this one!)</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/52527309?byline=0&portrait=0&badge=0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="400"></iframe>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-85953862559715927422012-11-07T05:24:00.004-06:002012-11-11T22:22:14.792-06:00Favorite Mom items<div style="text-align: center;">
I wanted to share some of my favorite baby items that I use regularly which I would suggest for other moms or people buying gifts. They are in no particular order...except this first one is the BEST by far.</div>
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<b>Jesus Storybook Bible</b></div>
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This is an incredibly well done simplified-Bible. It is perfect for kids. Also, they have it in Japanese, and it is used for adult Bible studies here in Japan because of its great focus on Jesus in OT, and NT, and wonderful, simple explanation of God's work. Plus, the illustrations are amazing. I cannot recommend this enough!</div>
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<b>Music : The Rizer's - Rize up and Hidden in My Heart (A Lullaby Journey through the Scriptures)</b></div>
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Asher and I love to listen to music, sing and dance. I bought Hidden in My Heart on Itunes, and absolutely love it. I listened to it a bit during labor to relax, and also a lot when he was really little, at night, etc. It's beautiful and each song is scripture.</div>
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The Rizer's are a band out of the Mars Hill Churches in Seattle. Their 2 CD's are excellent - fast, fun music to dance and sing, with the lyrics being 100% scripture - each song is a verse. I love having them memorized now from listening to the songs, and its fun upbeat music to play and dance to.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAv_G8BUin1Mg_498ogV9nqBfMHgP3udzaZB_BDHPvuY20zR0friuekvzL1YMDMczFmKW4HEjnfilrozqIxreTGxI1SvkAyz9wFFx9B4PkVWV5MfxOjTLqKYyQgIBbVrexrCzUi9cWzd1Z/s1600/The-Risers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAv_G8BUin1Mg_498ogV9nqBfMHgP3udzaZB_BDHPvuY20zR0friuekvzL1YMDMczFmKW4HEjnfilrozqIxreTGxI1SvkAyz9wFFx9B4PkVWV5MfxOjTLqKYyQgIBbVrexrCzUi9cWzd1Z/s200/The-Risers.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Bath Cozy</b></div>
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Asher loves his bath, especially when he can stay warm. This bath cozy, which is basically a nice think washcloth made to fit nicely over baby's tummy, helps him stay warm during the bath. It really helps him stay calm!</div>
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Asher doesn't look thrilled in this photo, but all the other ones i have where he is smiling, he is also indecent! : )<br />
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<b>Ergo Baby Carrier</b></div>
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Living in the city, we use public transportation and walk every day. A stroller is great, but is impossible in many situations, so most moms here choose baby carriers of some kind. The Ergo is by far the most popular, and I agree with the masses - its the best! Comfortable, quick, easy, well made. Pricey, but worth it for our lifestyle! I use the cheapest of their carriers, and its great! (I also loved the Moby style wrap while Asher was under 4 months, and used it often. But now that he's bigger I usually choose the Ergo for convenience)</div>
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<b>Burt's Bee's Baby Bee Diaper Ointment</b></div>
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We haven't had lots of problems with diaper rash, but whenever he gets red, i use this and it goes quickly heals! i like it a lot, and it smells nice! It seems like it will last forever too, a little goes a long way.</div>
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<b>Humble Bee's Baby Journal</b></div>
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My Mom bought this for me - its a Baby Book for the first 3 years, and it is super cute, has lots of fun ideas for things to write in, spaces for pictures etc. I really like the format, its fun to work on but not too much work either.</div>
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<b>One Line a Day - Mom's 5 Year Journal</b></div>
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I saw this on my friend <a href="http://campbell2008.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/because-im-now-an-expert/">Laura's Blog</a>, and got one for myself after her recommendation. It's a 5 year journal, where you simply write 1-2 sentences each day. I write about what Asher and I did that day, something funny he did, something he learned to do, or a precious thing i want to remember. It's so simple and fast, and I know i will enjoy looking back on the memories.</div>
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Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-55663097600311531212012-10-23T08:21:00.001-05:002012-10-23T08:21:18.821-05:00Family VisitWe had the blessing of a family visit recently! We really cherish time with family, since it is so seldom we spend time together. It had been a year since we'd seen my Dad and Stepmom, and it was there first time to meet their Grandson! We traveled a lot while they were here, which challenged and stretched my mom-skills. It was a lot of fun and quite the adventure. Asher pretty much lived in a wrap - a moby style carrier that my friend made and is lending me. I'm so glad we had this time together as family.<br />
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On the top of the Umeda Sky Building, looking out at Osaka.</div>
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Family photo!</div>
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Osaka Castle</div>
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Those blue eyes!</div>
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In a bamboo forest</div>
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Out to dinner</div>
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Dad being interviewed by school girls in Hiroshima</div>
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Hiroshima Castle</div>
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I dunno what happened here....</div>
<br />Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-48069808911637658592012-09-21T08:20:00.002-05:002012-10-02T04:23:58.644-05:00Jesus centered familyThere i certain things i take for granted now that I've been a Christian for so many years. It becomes harder and harder to remember my way of thinking and my situation before I become a Christian. Recently I've been struck by the blessing of family - both those I live with and am related to, and also the Church Family. I have taken these people and this community for granted so often, but yet when I stop and think, it is one of the biggest areas of my life in which I experience God's grace.<br />
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I've been struck lately by how powerful and changing it is to be a part of Christian community. And at the same time, what an incredible void someone has who is without it.<br />
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So many people these days live with difficult and compicated family situations. Here in Japan, as in America I believe, the family is falling apart. Marriages struggle, divorce rates grow, children grow up lacking support and safe enviorments to thrive. The more we live in an enviroment with unhealthy family relationships, the more we lose the concept and image of what a good family is - of what could be. Of what God desires for a family to be.<br />
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By God's grace, I know the love and joy of a Christian home enviroment - where communication, forgiveness, and love are priorities. I feel supported and cared for by my church friends as well.<br />
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What I feel lately is a growing desire for my japanese Christian friends to feel that as well. To experience loving, accepting, safe, joyful, forgiving relationships. To see healthy Christian marriages. To learn about how Christians parent. To know that a home with Christ as the foundation and love between one another is possible. To know that people CAN remain married to one person their entire life. To know that purity is worth protecting and God's plan brings joy and peace. To know that parents can be gentle and kind to their children, and develop good relationships with their kids.<br />
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I feel like once you catch a glimpse of what this kind of Christian family can be, it sparks hope in one's heart - hope to help keep high standards when searching for a future spouse, hope in having children, hope that helps you keep trying to love and serve your family in the hard times.<br />
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Witnessing Christ's love among husbands and wives, as well as parents and children was a huge huge huge influence on me before I became a Chrstian, as well as the early years of my Christian walk.<br />
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I want to have that kind of family, invite people to share in it, as well as see more Japanese Christians experience that kind of love in the home. I will work and pray to that end. Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-76586139084555824392012-09-13T08:09:00.000-05:002012-09-13T08:09:12.275-05:00Being Bold - Making FriendsI'm a Momma now - its quite the life change to say the least! One of the changes in my life now is the circle of people I am able to relate with and meet because I'm a Mom.<br />
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In Japan there seems to be a large number of playgroups and similar classes, etc. for Moms and kids to meet and play. I've been excited to get into some of these groups and make friends. Not only am I looking to truly make some deep friendships, but I'm excited to share about God's love with as many Moms and kiddos as I can!<br />
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However, it has been personally challenging to get into these groups. Obviously the first challenge is that everything is all in Japanese. While Seth and I are "conversationally fluent" in Japanese, there is still SO much we have yet to learn. Now that we are parents, there is this whole realm of the language that I've never heard or needed to use before. Of course there is also the challenge of walking into a room where you don't know anyone and trying to make friends!<br />
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So I'm trying to be bold in finding classes and playgroups to go to and meet as many people as I can. (By the way, "playgroups" for 3 month old babies are pretty adorable. It's more like "lay around" groups!)<br />
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Here is Asher at his very first group we went to. I made a few good connections with girls at this one, and am trying to keep in touch.<br />
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Also, in a total blessing from God, our neighbors on both the left and right are new parents! One family has a 5 month old, and i recently went over there with a gift for them and we really hit it off! I'm hoping we can hang out often. The other family is still pregnant, and I'm hoping I can help them somehow when the baby comes!<br />
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My other ideas for making friends and meeting people include starting a playgroup at our house (maybe after Asher is a bit bigger) and also joining classes like swimming classes!<br />
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Wouldn't you want to be his friend?!</div>
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Please be praying that I can be BOLD for Christ in sharing about him with my new friends. Also that I can make good friends for Asher's sake as well.Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-3512608080919309842012-09-11T07:36:00.004-05:002012-09-11T07:36:57.434-05:00One Year in Osaka!On September 1, Seth and I (and Asher too!) celebrated one year of life in Osaka! What a year it has been!<br />
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<b><u>One Year Ago:</u></b><br />
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<ul>
<li>We had ZERO friends in Osaka</li>
<li>We didn't have an office or Sunday service location</li>
<li>We didn't speak the local dialect, famous for it's uniqueness in Japan</li>
<li>We didn't have anyone to come to church, let alone a church gathering for them to come to!</li>
<li>We didn't have a child</li>
<li>We moved in to a naked apartment - no appliances, no furniture, nothing!</li>
<li>We didn't know this city at all!</li>
<li>We didn't know what God would do to help His church started!</li>
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<b><u>Now:</u></b></div>
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<ul>
<li>We have learned the basics of this city of 17 million (including the nearest Starbucks of course!)</li>
<li>We have a great church office, and a Sunday Service location in the heart of the city</li>
<li>We have met TONS of people - and many of them became friends, and some of them are becoming very close friends</li>
<li>We have a hang of this crazy dialect, although it continues to make us laugh with its difference from regular Japanese sometimes</li>
<li>We have a son! (That's enough change right there if you ask me)</li>
<li>We are all settled into our place, and really feel at home</li>
<li>We have a CHURCH that God planted and is growing by his grace, with 6 new Christians, and many people gathering each week.</li>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">All I can say is Thank You Lord Jesus </span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">for the Grace you have shown us!</span></i></b></div>
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<br />Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-87654010582114976112012-09-06T21:06:00.003-05:002012-09-06T21:06:59.016-05:00Being Bold - On the StreetsGod has been teaching me and Seth a lot recently about <b>being more bold for Him</b>. Sometimes I lose sight of that need to be a bold witness, even though I live amongst the largest unreached people group in the world. I think just like in any other situation, we all find ourselves settling into comfort zones, being distracted by things of this world, and if we are not careful we can forget the urgency of sharing the Good News! It really is <i>GOOD</i> news after all.<br />
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So in several aspects of life we have been trying to think of new ways to get the word out about Jesus to this city. I will be writing about a few different ways in the next few posts.<br />
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Seth oversees all the Outreach that we do at church, so he is constantly racking his mind to think of creative new ways to share the message of God's forgiveness through Jesus to as many people as possible.<br />
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One new experiment is doing <b>on-the-street surveys.</b> Seth and Ryan head out to a very busy area of the city where hundreds of people are out walking around at all times. They simply stop people on the street and explain they are doing a survey. (This actually is quite common) They are able to ask people all kinds of questions like<br />
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<li>Do you believe in God? - many say "maybe" </li>
<li>What do you think happens when you die? - "I don't know" or "we are reincarnated"</li>
<li>Have you ever been to church? - usually "no"</li>
<li>Do you know a Christian - mostly "no"</li>
<li>Have you ever heard the main idea of Christianity - most all say "no"</li>
<li> Then Seth asks if they would like to hear the main idea simply stated, many people (over half or more) say "sure why not", and in 3 sentences or so Seth shares about sin, forgiveness in Jesus' death, and live everlasting with God through faith in Christ. </li>
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Then they get a church invite and head on their way. This is a win-win because Seth and Ryan are able to learn about people's ideas and experiences with faith and Christianity, while also sharing a brief gospel message with anyone who wants to hear it. <b><u>Think about how for most of those people, its the first time hearing the main idea of Christianity! WOW!!</u></b> In just a few hours they can talk with 30 people or so - thats some good productivity for the gospel if you ask me!<br />
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Please be praying that we would see people come to church from these interviews and that it would be an effective way of spreading the Awesome News in Osaka.<br />
Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-44398334527771640622012-08-30T23:17:00.001-05:002012-08-30T23:17:09.267-05:00Seth's New BlogSeth started a new bilingual blog. We hope people find it and enjoy reading it. <br />
http://sethphilip.wordpress.com/Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-25791295538574993232012-08-29T07:08:00.004-05:002012-08-29T07:08:51.510-05:00I'm Back!Well it's been a 3 month break from blogging, but what can I say, we had a baby! Once you look at his cute little pictures, you'll forgive me.<br />
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Me on my due date - Asher was born 3 days later!</div>
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Life is completely and wonderfully different than before. I'm a stay at home Mom now! It's weird not being a part of staff meetings and event planning anymore, but I'm so thankful to have the opportunity and ability to focus 100% on Asher. He takes all the energy I can give!<br />
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Asher Steven Philip was born on Thursday June 7 at 6:25pm. It was a 15 hour labor, (they don't call it labor for nothing!) but by the grace of God I made it through and Asher came into the world healthy! The experience overall was great - the hospital was incredible, and I'm SO thankful that we chose the hospital that we did. Labor was much harder than I'd even imagined, but I'm so thankful for Seth's help as well as the incredible midwives and nurses who encouraged, massages, and supported me till the end. There are so many crazy, and quite hilarious moments from my labor story, but I won't be posting them here....I'll tell you in person sometime if you ask! : )<br />
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After 3 weeks of having Asher, my Mom arrived in Japan! It was so wonderful to have her here. She was an incredible support and I'm also so thankful that Asher had that special time with his Nana. We look forward to everyone in our family meeting Asher. (By the way, we are in the midst of planning our next trip to America, and it will likely be sometime Jan-Feb 2013. Hope to see many of you then!). So most of our family will meet Asher for the first time early next year when we head back to America. We are lucky though to be having my Dad and Stepmom heading here next month for their first visit to Japan! Can't wait.<br />
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Family life is truly wonderful. Of course there are lots of challenges, but when I call them "adventures" instead, it helps me stay positive and realize how truly blessed we are each day and all that God has done for us.<br />
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Lots of changes have happened in the past months at Mustard Seed Christian Church. Our amazing interns headed back to America, and we were quite sad to see them go. Also, I stepped out of being full-time staff member, so there was lots of work for others to take on. However, we gained another staff member in Osaka - Ryan Fletcher finished language school and moved to here and is now a part of the staff. Ryan is a good friend of ours as well, so its a real joy to have him here.<br />
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We also began small groups in the church recently. Previously the church had one Bible Study, but we had too many Christians whose schedules and homes were so different, that small groups became a great solution for everyone to grow and be able to meet when they were free. Jay, Seth, and Caitlin, and my friend Junko each lead a small group. I am in Junko's small group and there are four of us, each different ages and very different seasons of life. We are studying Ephesians, using a study that Jay wrote and had published into a bilingual book!<br />
After my first night at small group, I was on the train home with Asher, and I realized, "this is the first time in over 2.5 years that I've been in a church small group!" It was so exciting to realize, and I am very glad that our church is growing and everyone can now have this opportunity for community and support. That kind of time with other Christians is so rare to me now, I'm really thankful.<br />
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Well, that's all for now. I promise to work harder at keeping up with the blog! Don't give up on me yet. I'll keep you coming back by promising to post photos of our adorable lil guy.<br />
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<br />Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-70638021365943296652012-05-14T02:20:00.004-05:002012-05-14T02:20:43.294-05:00Joy in 3 baptisms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Three wonderful reasons to rejoice happened in the last few weeks.</div>
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Three young men from our church decided to become Christians! Each has an amazing story of how God brought them from being someone who had never heard, to one who had heard and accepted the truth. </div>
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One young man only came to our church for 3 weeks before deciding God was what was missing in his life and deciding to follow Jesus. He was completely unexposed to the teachings of the Bible previous to meeting Seth. Another young man was the first friend Seth made upon our move to Osaka. He is a very critical thinker, and his journey toward Jesus took time and much thinking. The third is another of Seth's original friends from when we first moved to Osaka. He has a great heart and needed time to decide for himself if Christianity was right for him.</div>
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None of these young men knew details about Jesus or what Christians believe before God brought them into friendships with people from our church - that is when they learned from the Bible for the first time.</div>
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Thank you to those of you who pray for our church here. Thank you to those of you who financially support our staff and ministry. </div>
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Most of all, thank you Lord Almighty for your plan of salvation and that we have hope in Jesus! Please help us to share this message with everyone we meet. I truly feel the opportunities are endless. 95% of the people I meet here don't know anything about Jesus, and I pray for boldness to tell each one I can!</div>
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<br />Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-65031252156814006582012-05-01T08:20:00.003-05:002012-05-01T08:20:48.472-05:00Osaka Time-lapse Video<div style="text-align: center;">
I just saw this and have to share - its only 3 minutes, so check it out!</div>
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You can get a feel a for our city a little bit. Seth and I recognized most of the locations in the video. Props to Holger Mette for his camera and editing work!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(There is some interesting German music in the background, that's not something that relates to life here just so you know!)</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/40059374?title=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></div>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-78305247317807328162012-04-27T04:05:00.002-05:002012-04-27T04:05:06.488-05:003 months in 3 minutes<div style="text-align: center;">
How can I make up for not blogging for 3 MONTHS?! Yikes, I cringe. I miss blogging and hope to update more like once a week-ish from here on it. (of course that will likely go out the window for a bit when the little guy is born!) </div>
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So in an attempt to record various happenings, i will summarize the past 3 months as best possible. </div>
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<b>"Street Live"</b> - when people from our church band jam on the streets of Osaka and we invite people to church. We've had people come to church from each of the last several. Plus, there is something really powerful about just proclaiming God's love and holiness in the city - a city that is so far from Him.</div>
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Here is Cassidy handing out the flyer for church - it has candy in it! Who wouldn't want that flyer!<br />
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Our crew for one Street Live. Praise God for teammates.</div>
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MSCC Nagoya had 2 young guys become Christians recently. I remember the night the guy in the above photo came to a house party via social media, and we all met him for the first time. 2 years later here he is. He is also a professional muscian, and crazy talented. He helps with the worship in Nagoya, and I'm hoping he writes some Japanese worship songs!</div>
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The other baptism in Nagoya - this young man only came to church for a few months before he decided to trust in Jesus. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJFVR1MMudejCJmO30ivCXlaHNpAfM00QxaFjePzyfODdKY-tedN8Mp3wDBYPlwLUVg3FshCHtYshyphenhyphen0UinaoHx8BIK1YHnFi8sGQ9S-YULSC_W1-bU0xNmujV37rQYQjAGHaIZKEZwJrE/s1600/IMG_2009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJFVR1MMudejCJmO30ivCXlaHNpAfM00QxaFjePzyfODdKY-tedN8Mp3wDBYPlwLUVg3FshCHtYshyphenhyphen0UinaoHx8BIK1YHnFi8sGQ9S-YULSC_W1-bU0xNmujV37rQYQjAGHaIZKEZwJrE/s400/IMG_2009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Group pic of some of the church in Nagoya after the baptisms. Pretty awesome and encouraging for us even though we aren't there anymore.</div>
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I had a "Girl's Party" at my house - we are always meeting new people and its really a lot of fun. It occurred to me that 95% of the people I know in Japan are not Christian and far from God. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to spend time with them and speak truth in their lives!</div>
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<b>Easter 2012- </b>we had 49 people attend our Easter Service and Party. I think 15 of them were first-time attenders. Pretty much everyone i talked to said it was their first time learning about Easter. Also, with a lot of help from Seth, I prepared all the food ( we estimated 75 people, so we had a little leftover, but it was awesome!) Our teammate ended up having to stay in the hospital with her sick son, so she couldn't lead worship - it was a crazy Sunday. So I joined the band for that day. It was a great day!</div>
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Easter 2012 - do you like our puff decorations! : )</div>
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After the service, a young guy who started coming in November was baptized! We had a big group join us for the baptism. A local church let us use their building and baptistery. It was a lot of fun, and amazing that he is now a Christian. He's also in the worship and plays drums!</div>
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Woot!</div>
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We have had lots of visitors this spring - here are Les and Sarah Evans who just signed on with MSGF and are currently support raising and preparing to move to Japan!</div>
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Baby Philip is growing healthy and doing great! We are praising God each day for his little life and growth. I'm also getting quite big myself! Only 6 weeks left....<br />
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Seth has been making awesome animals out of foam board for us to put up on the walls in the Baby room. I'll show you the final results when we are done!</div>
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Monkey for the baby room</div>
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Seth's home church held a Skype baby shower for us!! His parents and Grandma opened the presents in front of a camera. Later when one of the ministers from Seth's church came to visit, he brought all the gifts. I can't begin to say how overwhelmed we've been with their generosity and kindness.</div>
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Seth and I love hanging out in the park during the beautiful plum and cherry blossom seasons!</div>
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In other news, my Grandfather Wulf passed away a little more than a month ago now. He was a brilliant and wise man who told fun jokes and cared a lot for his family. He is missed!</div>
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More updates to come, and much more often I hope!</div>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-65268654959322235252012-01-20T20:58:00.001-06:002012-01-20T20:58:37.038-06:00Birthday, baptism, baby, and more!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Pictures of all the happenings so far in 2012:</b></div>
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Once a week I drive about 50 minutes north to Costco, were we buy snacks for church. I love the drive, seeing various views of the city.</div>
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Getting everything unloaded and ready to carry down into the dance studio when that garage door opens at 9am!</div>
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We had friends over after church and a riveting game of Settlers of Catan ensued. I choose to drink tea and laugh rather than participate - its much more entertaining! I love Seth's face of "dang, i'm loosing" in this picture!</div>
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We had another baby appointment on Jan. 11 - it was great! Everything is going well, and we are praising God. By Feb 1, our next appointment, we should have the gender confirmed and I'll let you know!</div>
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My 25th Birthday was January 13 - My Dad and Stepmom sent this silly picture of me in a birthday email. I found it quite entertaining!</div>
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I went to Bible and Coffee the morning of my birthday, and the girls who attended brought me a gift! They are so sweet - its the bear in my hands. It opens up and has a blanket inside! So cute, so Japan.</div>
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Seth and I had a fantastic date for my b-day: Outback!! and a movie at the theater!</div>
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Surprisingly, there was practically no one in the huge theater, I was surprised! Its about $15 per ticket for the "cheap show" in case you are wondering. More like $22 for the regular time.</div>
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Kids church continues to be a blast and a blessing. Last week we learned about Jesus blessing the disciples' fishing net with all the fish! (Luke 5) We played a "pin the tail on the donkey" type game, trying to put the fish in the net with blindfolds. The kids are so fun!</div>
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Sunday night the staff from the Nagoya church came for a visit!!! We went out to try a BURRITO place I found online. Yes, I said burrito. As in Mexican food. As in the one kind of food that is super rare and freaky expensive here. This place was both delicious and average priced! It's the little things : )</div>
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Then we walked to Shinsaibashi- a happening night time area in the city, and took our picture with the Glico Man - that guy running in the background. It's become a symbol of the city. So we are running with him - can't you tell?</div>
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I love these girls! They are a blessing, and such an encouragement.</div>
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I hope we can all hangout again soon!</div>
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Baby Philip continues to make his/her presence known. And people continue to touch my belly and say "you're getting big!" Ha! I don't mind. Though the touching is weird because people don't really touch here...</div>
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Seth got me something I've been talking about for months for my B-day - a blender! Now I can make smoothies I've been craving! And someday, baby food too.</div>
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WE HAD A BAPTISM! A woman from our church decided to become a Christian this past week. It was super awesome and we are praising God. She is a single mom of 2 kids, and found our church from a Facebook Ad. Please be praying for her and for more people to join her in this decision!</div>
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Wow, and all that was just the first weeks of January. 2012 is going to rock!!</div>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-24948394334691896272012-01-04T03:21:00.003-06:002012-01-04T03:21:43.058-06:00Quick Look at 2011<div style="text-align: center;">
2011 was truly the most eventful year of our life/marriage so far. Here are some of the big points:</div>
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<b>January - March</b> - Studied Japanese like crazy<br />
<b>March 11</b> - Japan hit by massive Earthquake and Tsunami, killing 23,000 people<br />
<b>March</b> - Seth, and several men from our church took a relief trip North<br />
<b>June</b> - Graduated Japanese Language School - after 1.5 years!<br />
<b>June</b> - Packed up our home - the place we'd lived the longest in our marriage<br />
<b>July</b> - Took a trip to America - visited friends and family, and churches we hadn't seen in 1.5 years.<br />
<b>August</b> - move in temporarily with the Henkes while transitioning to move to Osaka<br />
<b>September</b> - move to a new city, Osaka - to start full time ministry, and start a new church!<br />
<b>September</b> - find out we are pregnant!!!<br />
<b>October</b> - have giant event with professional baseball player Matt Murton, with about 300 people!<br />
<b>October</b> - Mustard Seed Christian Church Osaka begins! So does full-time ministry<br />
<b>November</b> - Megan's Grandma passed away - short trip to America for the funeral and family time<br />
<b>December</b> - 3 new team members move to Osaka<br />
<b>December</b> - Giant Christmas event with 54 attenders!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What is next in 2012? I'm excited to find out!!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I'm thankful for God's provision in allowing us to work in Japan. Thanks also to all of you who help us live here through prayer, financial support, and encouragement!</i></span></div>
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<br />Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-56004894487188189582011-12-28T05:47:00.001-06:002011-12-31T05:22:19.907-06:00It's been awhile! (3 months! yikes!)<div style="text-align: center;">
I feel the need to apologize for not updating our blog since...October - yikes, its painful to admit! Although at the same time, that implies that I have readers somewhere out there anticipating my every post - ha! Either way, here is the latest. We moved to Osaka at the beginning of September. So much has happened since then, I can't believe it was only 3 months ago! Here is what went down:</div>
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<b>Matt Murton Baseball Event:</b></div>
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At the end of October we had a huge event with famous Osaka Pro Baseball player, an American Matt Murton. Almost 300 people came to the event, Matt shared about his love for Jesus, and encouraged people to get involved in a local church. Along with MSCC Osaka, we invited 3 other local churches and we all made friends and invited people to our respective churches. The next sunday a girl who attended this event went to one of those churches for the first time and became a Christian!! This event took lots of prep, but all the glory goes to God for pulling it off and bringing that many people!</div>
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Matt signed various merchandise which we gave away at the event.</div>
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People excited to get signed baseballs, t-shirts, etc. from Matt</div>
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Matt giving his speech, with translator Joel Kaylor, a good pastor friend who works at an awesome church in Osaka called Life Church. We have learned so much from Joel and his church.</div>
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Matt made it a point to sign an autograph for everyone there! </div>
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He was so kind and people really enjoyed it!</div>
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<b>Mustard Seed Christian Church Osaka Begins!</b></div>
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The Sunday following the Matt Murton event, we started MSCC Osaka. It was crazy that first morning having NO idea if 5, 50, 100, or no people would come! </div>
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We rent a dance studio in a very busy part of Osaka. It's a perfect space for us!</div>
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One snapshot of the room - its one big room, with the kids class in the entrance.</div>
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We had 24 people come our first Sunday! ( i think this is a picture from a different day though, sorry!)</div>
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We have bilingual worship, sermon (using a translator) and kids class.</div>
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Most people coming to church right now are Japanese, and also most are non-Christian. It's a comfortable enviroment for people seeking to learn about Christianity, and a place where lots of friendship and community is being built. I love our church!</div>
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<b>Weekday work</b></div>
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This is the outside of the MSCC Office - its a tiny office space 3 minute walk from our house. We use it for storage of church equipment, office space, bible study, language exchange events, etc.</div>
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Here is most of our eqiupment for church in the large closet in the office. It fits in 2 cars for </div>
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One of our language exchange events - 2 hours, half English, and half Japanese. It's been a fun way to make new friends and help people with their English - and me with my Japanese!</div>
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<b>Thanksgiving</b></div>
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We had a big Thanksgiving party with lots of friends. Favorite foods among our Japanese friends were deviled eggs and mashed potatoes and gravy!</div>
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<b>Short trip to America</b></div>
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Just after Thanksgiving, my Grandma Helen Culkin, who was 96 passed away. It was truly a sad time for our family, although Grandma had been very sick for a long time and lived in the nursing home for 9 years. I know she has peace and joy indescribable now with Jesus. I was blessed to be able to return to America for 1 week to attend the funeral, be with my Mom and family during that time. Also, my brother came to Illinois for the occasion as well, and i hadn't seen him since we moved to Japan! He was in Alaska when we visited the States this past summer. So grateful for the time with family!</div>
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<b>Christmas Event</b></div>
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We did a TON of prep and inviting for our Christmas service. We passed out around 500 invitations to people in Osaka, and encouraged everyone coming to church to bring friends or family. Christmas is a time where people feel a heightened interest in Christianity, and a ease in going to church when they might not normally consider it. We prayed hard for 50 people to come to our service. The most we had had before that was around 25 people.</div>
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The band warming up on Christmas day</div>
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We had a huge spread of yummy food, and people really enjoyed eating adn talking before and after the service.</div>
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<b><u>We had 54 people come! Praise God!</u></b></div>
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With good friends who came for the first time</div>
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More snapshots with friends. So glad they came!</div>
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<b>Baby Philip</b></div>
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As if I didn't have enough good news in this blog post, we have another BIG change in our lives right now. We are pregnant! We found out not too long after moving to Osaka. I was worried about finding a good clinic, since we didn't have any friends in Osaka to ask for suggestions, but God provided an incredible clinic! I go there for all my appointments and will have the baby there as well.</div>
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My "I'm pregnant" keychain from the government - people see and then give me their seat on the train and subway! It's so nice! I'm sure i'll appreciate it even more as i get bigger and bigger!</div>
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This is me at 17 weeks.</div>
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The due date is June 5! We don't know if its a boy or girl yet, but hope to find out soon! Praising God for this amazing blessing in our life.</div>Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-70619460530627070492011-10-22T19:57:00.002-05:002011-10-22T19:57:38.373-05:00Watch this!<div>
Check out this short video of our lead Pastor Jay Greer explaining God's hand in our outreach event this week and the prep as we launch the church a week from today!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/30358945" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><a href="http://vimeo.com/30358945">Osaka Outreach Event</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1146650">Mustard Seed</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-68634401800028996142011-10-16T01:18:00.000-05:002011-10-16T01:18:11.553-05:002 BIG events!!The next two weeks are going to be some of the craziest and most exciting of our time in Japan. Here is what is happening:<br />
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<u><b>1. Outreach Event with Baseball Start Matt Murton</b></u><br />
Through a random and incredible act of God's leading, our lead pastor Jay bumped into Matt Murton - one of the star players for Osaka's pro baseball team the Hanshin Tigers. Matt is a American who has played for Osaka since 2009 (previously played for the Cubs). He is a strong Christian. We asked him to consider helping us with promoting our new church as well as preaching the Gospel to people of Osaka. And he is going to do it!<br />
On Wednesday October 26, we are renting a venue that can easily fit between 700-1000 people. Matt will be sharing about his love for not just baseball, but Jesus Christ, and Jay Greer will also give a short explanation of the Gospel. Matt will sign autographs, the Nagoya church praise band will play, local churches will have booths, and we will try to meet as many people as possible! We have invited local churches to partner with us in this event, hoping to promote and unite local churches, as well as preach the Gospel. This is a HUGE opportunity- please pray that God does miracles! In the mean time we are working like crazy to promote the event, hand out fliers, etc.<br />
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<a href="http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=7730">click here to watch a video about Matt when he did an event with Franklin Graham crusade in 2009</a><br />
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Please feel free to like the Murton Event on facebook, twitter, or go to our webpage - all of which help people find it faster when searching! Thanks!<br />
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<b><u>2. Mustard Seed Christian Church Osaka - Launch!</u></b><br />
The first Sunday for MSCC will be Sunday October 30! We want it to follow the Murton outreach event, so that people can get connected quickly. We will be rented a venue that is a dance studio/bar. It's in a great location in the heart of the city. We are praying for 100 people on our first day, please pray with us! Jay will preach, Caitlin will do worship, Seth will take care of all things technical, and I will be in charge of the kids program. That's our whole staff! : ) We are praying for God to bring Christians who haven't found a church yet, who are willing to get involved soon, since we have such a small staff it would be a great help!<br />
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Please be praying for these 2 events. Not to mention Praising God that they are happening!! YAY!Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000837986794245969.post-68312721522022347662011-09-30T01:03:00.002-05:002011-09-30T01:03:17.751-05:00Can you do me a favor? Just click!Hey there wonderful blog readers!<br />
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I have a favor to ask:<br />
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Every time you click the following link for the Mustard Seed Christian Church Osaka homepage, it will make the page easier to find when someone searches for it on google. Could you please consider clicking it? If you really want to go crazy, click it several times, or make it your homepage for awhile!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.mustardseedosaka.com/">Mustard Seed Christian Church Osaka Homepage</a></span></div>
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Thanks so much!</div>
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Also, please consider joining the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mustard-Seed-%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E6%95%99%E4%BC%9A%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA/186934238041089?sk=info">Church's Facebook page</a>, or following the <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/MSCC_Osaka">Church's Twitter.</a><br />
The more the merrier!!Megan Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00348872837547149561noreply@blogger.com0