Arriving in Tokyo

On 9:15 am Monday morning, members of the Tyndale staff and student body sent off the Japan mission team with a time of prayer and goodbyes. It was a great way to start for us as Barb Haycraft, the Dean of Students, “commissioned” us through her warm words and blessings.
With much enthusiasm, the six of us traveled to Toronto Pearson airport, where we boarded one of Air Canada’s newest jets to begin our direct flight to Tokyo, Japan. The trip was approximately 13 hours and we took the time to rest, practice our Japanese, read, and relax with some on-board movies. We arrived just after 3:00 pm local time in Japan to a balmy and humid afternoon. OMF representatives Kenton and Steve were on hand to greet us, help us with changing our currency, get our train tickets and rail passes, and take us to the OMF’s head office.

Japan Team at Toronto Pearson airport

Jono, Jess, Joanna, and Colin on the train

Jon, Abby, and Kenton on the train

OMF International Headquarters

Actually, the city in which the OMF Headquarters is located is called Ichikawa, which is adjacent to Tokyo itself. Since arriving, we’ve had many first-hand opportunities to be exposed to Japanese culture and learn from the orientation seminars taught by Steve, Kenton, and other missionaries. During our time here so far, we have had sessions on cultural etiquette, local greetings and communication, team building, and planning for our time for the rest of the trip. One of the OMF staff gave us a taste of the awesome time we would have in ministering at their annual Eastern conference to the missionaries and their families. It was also encouraging to pray together, have time to spend with the Lord and His Word, and hear the personal stories of how God has individually led us to this particular mission trip. To end off the day and help us get around by ourselves, we were sent out in pairs on a scavenger hunt to observe Japanese daily life and customs, finding a number of very interesting items along the way.
We have one more full day of orientation left and then off to the Tsugaru church in Aomori on Friday morning. Though we are all still trying to get over jet lag and our bodies are exhausted from a whole day’s worth of activities, we are all still very excited to be here and wait in great anticipation and hope for everything that God has been preparing for us to see, do, and His movement in our lives.

Prayer Requests:
-focus on present ministry in Japan
-the Japanese people (the nation and those who will be ministering to)
-protection against any form of spiritual attacks
-discernment, wisdom, and awareness of the things of God and what He is doing
-good rest and general health
-continual team unity

Sayonara,
Jon