Okinawa, Japan: Updates
Photo gallery now online: http://picasaweb.google.com/eturnerphoto/Okinawa2008
Friday April 11, 2008
Sunday morning our team of nineteen went to church at the chapel here at Camp Schwab. I looked around and saw the white walls and the simple pews that lined the plain room realizing it looks nothing like Ponderosa Chapel. How would we do camp here?
A few hours later the white walls were the perfect backdrop for the ISOLA team banners and the simple pews were lined with energetic campers.
Tonight, Friday night, I can’t help but laugh as I think about how simple the answer was: WE don’t, GOD does. The building may have looked different, but the ministry the Lord had brought Hume to do here was the same.
It seemed as if God leaned down with a smile on his face and handed me a mustard seed asking, “Shannon, can you have this much faith?” I was grateful for the reminder.
- Shannon Byrne, Hume Lake
I came into this trip with a restless heart, questioning where God has me and what He has me doing. This is the first ministry trip that I've been on that I have been more worried about the work I was leaving behind than the work that I was going to do. I rode the rollercoaster of stress today as the rest of the team ran Rec, chapels, afternoon tournaments, and Victory Circle.
This afternoon I had the privilege of recording interviews for the wrap-up video. And, it really was a privilege. The setting couldn't have been better: I was on the beach, right on the edge of the water, with beautiful rocks, green cliffs, and tropical ocean in the background. But more importantly, the stories students told made my day. I know that making videos can become routine; just as listening to campers testify during Victory Circle can seem the same week after week after week.
But this week, was different. God used their stories and words to encourage me and remind me that He is the One who has been with the students. He knows them, knows their histories and He is the One who is working here. I am learning I must trust in that and simply believe God.
- Nathan Pearsey, Hume Lake
Thursday April 10, 2008
So I’m walking to the Library this morning to post this update and it’s a sweet sight. There’s a squad of Marines practicing hand to hand, another has just run by chanting while they run, a third squad is walking slowly as they carry a log that weighs between 400-500 pounds. The coolest thing is that a fourth squad is… playing kickball. I fear we may be corrupting the Corp. once they catch a glimpse of Kajabe, it’s all over.
Three young Marines sat in on chapel last night. Pray for these guys as they are often ridiculed for their faith. Marine Recon is not a place for the faint of heart or lukewarm followers of Christ. One of the men deploys to Iraq early next week.
I wanted to post a few more pictures today only to discover that most of us have been too busy with students we forget to use our cameras. We’ll have a staff meeting in shortly and I’ll see what I can find. Maybe I’ll just ask some of the campers. Hmmm…
Here is what some of our team is experiencing:
This week started out very slow, but as the days progressed it seems we are on a roller coaster ride that is almost over. My expectations for the trip were simple; I wanted to see the Lord work in the students’ lives and for us as a team to be faithful to the talents the Lord has entrusted to our stewardship. Both of these have been surpassed. The students have responded well to the Word, and lives have been changed.
Today was one of the best days, both in recreation and through chapel worship. I couldn’t stop laughing at how many different ways people can trip over their own feet. I have really appreciated all the hard work that Jeff, Justin, the band, and PJ have put in to leading a good chapel time for the students. I have learned some things myself through the Word that has been taught this week.
This trip has been such a blessing. As the students leave for different military bases across the world, I can only pray that their changed lives this week will impact many other students in various different countries! That’s my two cents.
- Sean Haggart, Grace Baptist, Santa Clarita
Today we had DTG’s (Ditch the guys/girls). As ‘Girls Staff’ we decided to talk about jealousy. As we have been preparing for this, all of us (Shannon, Sarah, Brittney, Jenna, Maggie, Diana, and I) were being tested with the very things we were to talk about. However, God has been working in amazing ways, bringing it all together.
As we gathered the girls together, and we began to discuss jealousy, the Holy Spirit began to speak through us. We discussed the roots of jealousy (insecurities and pride) and ways that we are jealous. Because we were vulnerable, the girls were able to connect with us. Throughout the day we were able to have some amazing conversations as female campers stopped to chat.
- Kellie Neill, Church at Rocky Peak
Wednesday April 9, 2008
It’s only the second full day of Shore Break at Camp Schwab and we’ve already witnessed God impacting and calling these students to Him. I had the pleasure of speaking and praying with a young man named Kevin who simply stated that god had been urging him to “jump off the ledge…” into a relationship with Christ and “trust Him completely.”
Although we encounter some difficulty with organization – for instance, when and where to do our laundry – we’re all working together to get things done. I thank God for the availability of the counselors and staff and their willingness to be flexible!
To all my family and friends, I love you. Please continue to pray that the Lord would be glorified by our efforts.
- Justin Colby
Today has been a good day for evaluating our impact here in Okinawa. It’s been interesting to compare our perceptions of military kids with our current experiences. Because of their “nomadic” lifestyle (moving every three years), we anticipated a certain level of stand-offishness. Instead, we found the students to be excited and ready to engage in camp. As we sit here and talk about our chats with them, we have all been caught off guard by how honest they are concerning their standing with God.
Conversations with Malachi staff and the base chaplain have given us a better understanding of the students’ mindset. Because they move so often, most are aware they only have three years to develop friendships. They know they don’t have time to waste and jump right in to solid friendships. Another common trait is deep seated fear. Many of these students have parents who are being deployed to dangerous parts of the world. “Will Mom or Dad make it back alive?” is a question they are forced to ask but avoid answering. Good-byes are particularly hard for them. Perhaps that is why they are so quick to discuss spiritual things yet so hesitant to trust God completely.
One last fun fact, as a testimony to the depth of friendships here… we have learned that one student has flown here from the States to attend this camp. Her parents were transferred to Vandenberg a few months back. She wanted to spend this time with friends and sacrificed a week of summer camp to do so. Her parents couldn’t afford both. I would love to see this young lady get into summer camp as well.
Tuesday April 8, 2008
Dear Family and Friends, I have the honor of sending you this update. First of all the week has been amazing and I cannot explain to you with words how awesome these kids are!!! God is working in and thru them. Ok, well today was fun, we started with a good breakfast, on to chapel and the next chapter of our ISOLA film, some good worship and preaching, then the seminars. There were 5 seminars the kids could choose from 3 of which were led by our staff: Jeff, Justin and Maggie did a fantastic job.
Next at recreation the kids went CRAZY, being the second day and feeling comfortable and knowing what to expect they responded with all the energy they had. Tonight after dinner was the belly flop competition, which was kicked off by Dallas; followed by duel Flops from Derek and then the students called PK out from retirement. His last flop of glory was in ’98. You never would have guessed that by the awesome graceful flop that scored tens across the board.
Tonight was our decision night. Without watering down the Scriptures PJ preached, and these students heard the message loud and clear. His challenged them to do more than pray a prayer for salvation. He challenged them trust God completely with their lives, for eternity and today. At the end of the meeting many stayed back to pray with someone. I had the honor of praying with a young man and I love to be able to say that he was truly broken and had a desire for God in his life. God is wrapping these kids in his arms tight, holding them close and answering all our prayers! And I am not sure if I told you this, but these kids are SO STINKING AMAZING!!!
- Eric Turner
Monday April 7, 2008
God is always good, but today that is easier to say because we’ve had hazy sunshine since camp started. Thanks, Lord, for holding back the rain. Below are updates from two of the team. Also, check the Picasa site for new photos.
Wow! I think that’s the one word that sums up today. It’s been a busy day from start to finish. I had to miss morning chapel so I can’t really say what happened there. During that time, several team members and I helped set up recreation and prepared to get kids pumped up and ready to go crazy. And let me tell you, it was CRAZY!!! It was a great experience for everyone. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect, but it was fantastic. Tomorrow will be even better.
After recreation we all went to the Mess Hall for lunch and it was delicious. Free time followed. Several dozen students went to play in a dodge ball tournament. Others went to the pool or skate park or just hung out with friends. I went to the beach where students were playing volleyball, rode banana boats and kayaks and swam. The best part of the day was the enjoyment and satisfaction of getting to know so many students from here. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
- Ben Guido, Agoura Bible Fellowship
Wow, what amazing day! We’re almost through our first full day of camp in Okinawa. We’ve been so blessed and amazed at the energy, excitement and response of the kids! They are SO pumped up! The chapels have gone great, PJ did a great job of kicking off the week last night by challenging these kids that “Although it may seem that the US Military brought each of you to Japan, really, God has brought each of you to Japan, so what are you going to do with that?” Derek also did a wonderful job of introducing the story of Daniel this morning!
Recreation was awesome; everyone was engaged, and eager to jump in! Buddy (our Malachi host) mentioned that this is the most successful recreation at camp they’ve ever had! We’re having a blast.
Pray for continued unity for our team as we work together to share the love of Jesus with these kids. Tomorrow night (Tuesday) we’ll have an opportunity in chapel for students to make a first time commitment to follow Jesus. Pray for PJ as he communicates God’s Word and the counselors as they hopefully have the opportunity to dialogue with their students later that night. Thank you all for your continued support, encouragement and prayer!
- Jeff Urke, BIOLA University
Saturday April 5, 2008
It is now Saturday morning. We are anxious for students to arrive. It feels like all we have done is travel. Not site-seeing, but traveling... and waiting… and traveling. After our flight from LAX was delayed and our connection to Okinawa cancelled, we spent the night in Tokyo. That sounds great, except that the hotel was an hour’s bus ride from the airport and arrived at 10:45 pm local time. We finished dinner after midnight (as Jenna wrote) and left the hotel at 8:00 am for a 30 minute drive to another airport.
Only the sovereignty of God can explain how that of the 10 of us in group 1 who checked in 20 minutes before group 2 (who had stayed in a different hotel and gave us the feeling that we were in some type of Amazing Race competition) 7 were bumped to a later flight while all of group 2 arrived at the gate 5 minutes before boarding. We thought that all of them would be bumped as well. In any event, it just meant that we had to kill several hours waiting for a second flight.
So, here we are. Ready to go. Last night we had dinner at the Food Court. It was somewhat sad for us to see some service men sitting alone while all of us were enjoying each other’s company. We were reminded that our ministry is to all God brings our way, not just the students who are arriving on Sunday. We look forward to practicing rec games and fine tuning the program today, anxious to be good stewards of the opportunity God has granted us.
We will try to post some pictures of the facility. Since this is a Marine Special Forces base, we may not be permitted due to security concerns. We’ll let you know. But, it reminds Brittney Carli of Point Loma as half the dorms have an ocean view. In fact, as I look over my shoulder, the sun is rising over the Pacific. That’s a strange thought, isn’t it?
Friday April 4, 2008
The trip so far has been adventurous and fun. The plane ride was very long, but I think we all got at least a few hours of sleep. Our flight from LA to Tokyo was delayed. After we landed, PK and Derek went off and talked to some people about hotel rooms while the rest of us were trying to figure out which bags were ours. We ended up being the last people left in baggage claim, but we finally got a place to stay for the night. So it was off to figure out where that was. We were put in two separate hotels. The bus ride was about an hour. We got there and put all the stuff in our rooms then went down to dinner. The food looked just like the pictures, I was amazed. We finished dinner a little after midnight.
This morning breakfast was really good. They served it buffet style, Diana, Austin, and I, the teen agers of the group, all loved that and ate way too much. They served eggs, waffles, all kinds of fruit, and some fish on a plate that just sat there and stared at you. It all smelled so good. The juice was great and we all agreed that it was much better than back home (sorry, Mom). After breakfast we walked to find our bus to the airport.
Jenna
Wed April 2, 2008
And now the fun has begun.
I’m sitting here by the ticket counter waiting for Derek and others to arrive from the hotel. There were supposed to be three shuttles and they sent two. The first was to head right back and pick up the third… check that… Derek just called and is waiting for us at the gate wondering where the rest of us are. Lesson #1 - Communication.
Lesson #2 - Check your fire extinguishers. Our flight has been delayed two hours because United did not complete mandatory checks on their 777s. As such, we may miss our connecting flight to Okinawa. We won’t know until we get there.
As for the team itself, we’ve broken ourselves into four groups: the Explorers led by Nate Pearsey are looking for connecting tunnels throughout the various terminals; the Twenty-Somethings are photographing themselves as they play cards; the High Schoolers are getting schooled by PJ Lewis; and the Marrieds - semi-depressed because we are leaving our wives (and newborn son).
We hope to have photos by the next update.
