Nov 1, 2007

Day of surprises! Some good and others less than good. Started out with the monthly early morning doctor's appointment. The hallway and waiting area is very narrow and crowded so I sat out in the main hallway where I could still hear when my name was called. After a few minutes I saw a familiar elderly couple coming. The wife is tiny and confined to a wheelchair. Her husband is one of the most kind and  patient men I have encountered. He is so caring and gentle with her. She is a talkative and friendly lady. As they saw me they both smiled and greeted me. Then as she passed by she stuck out her hand and shocked me by giving me a "high five". I have never seen that done before in Japan by an elderly woman.

A few minutes later a gentleman stopped in front of me inquiring where the Internal Medicine Dept was located. I told him thinking he would move on. Instead he politely stated that he had never shook hands with a foreigner. I gladly took his hand and he smiled and thanked me heading off in the opposite direction of the dept he asked about.

Later in the day we headed for Shingu to discuss the recent changes in opening a new outreach center in Iizuka where we live. That got into a rather complicated discussion. Changes are really painful and difficult at times. This is a challenging time and I would like to request your prayer backup for us at this critical time.

God knows what we need and He has never failed us.

God bless you!

djc

Nov 2, 2007

Psalms 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! KJV

I don't know what this verse means to you. It has special meaning to me especially today. You might have detected that the last few days we have been going through some difficult times of evaluation and decision making around here. Today a couple friends from far away touched and encouraged us. One phone call came literally just in time. Another was an email with very good news and more encouragement. Finally today I made an appointment to meet with Jonathan to discuss future plans for outreach. Sharon and I went together and we had such a wonderful time of open sharing and discussion. Then Jonathan offered some incredible insight and words of encouragement. It was beautiful to "dwell together in unity".

It is amazing yet sad how Christian people can work together in church settings and not be aware of what someone very close by is going through. There have been times when I probably judged those people saying that they just did not care. The truth is that they do care but were totally oblivious to what other family members, friends or church members were suffering right under their noses. Nothing was done to give words of exhortation or comfort. Then the pain just adds up.

Anyhow God is Good and He is Faithful. As I spoke to someone from far away who called us I mentioned to him about the scripture that states Jesus is our High Priest who can be "touched" by the feelings of our sufferings or infirmities. He does not just methodically go about ministering to us. Jesus does feel our suffering and He understands. I have ministered to people many times following the proper procedure but, did not understand or feel what they were going through. I think that God needed to teach me a valuable practical lesson about love and intercession.

Please keep an eye out for those who may be suffering very close to you. We get very good and covering up our feelings and especially our pain. It becomes easy to walk on past those who silently are crying out for help. God help me to be more sensitive to the pain and feelings of those around me.

God bless you!

djc