Love Came Down at Christmas

To answer my question from the previous post, "What does any of this have to do with the birth of Christ?", I'll quote Christina Rossetti (19th century poet).

"Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign."

Without Jesus, we are incapable of truly loving anything. But with Jesus, we can love our families and all the other wonderful things about this time of year.

Jesus IS the reason for the season! Merry Christmas!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I love that old Christmas song. Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year! I've always loved Christmas. All the sounds, smells, decorations, traditions. Everything! I love trying to find "the perfect gift" for my loved ones, I love going caroling with our church, I love all the delicious treats everyone makes this time of year, I love spending time with family and I even love the cold weather (for a little while anyways:-). I LOVE Christmas!

But what does any of this have to do with the birth of Christ?

Jesus came to this earth as a baby, lived a sinless life, died and was resurrected so we can be reconciled with our Heavenly Father.

If you have never accepted God's perfect gift, Jesus Christ, now is the perfect time! New life in Christ is the best gift you can ever receive, no matter what time of the year!

Author Interview: 'Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dre...

The Grace of God in our Circumstances: Why you weren't Born as an Impoverished Child in an Unreached Nation

The Grace of God in our Circumstances: Why you weren't Born as an Impoverished Child in an Unreached Nation: "The Grace of God in our Circumstances: Why you weren't Born as an Impoverished Child in an Unreached Nation from the Desiring God blog."

Things I Am Thankful For

I am thankful for Jesus first and foremost.

I am thankful for my husband, my kids, my parents, my brother and his family, my in-laws and their families, all my family and friends, my church family and all my wonderful brothers and sisters-in-Christ scattered all over the world (from PNG, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Colombia, Canada, Korea, Mexico and probably some others that I'm forgetting:-).

I am thankful for my country, my freedom and safety, and the brave men and women who defend it, the freedom to worship as I please and all the things that I have taken for granted.

I am thankful for the Word of God in my own language and the ability to read it, food on my table, a roof over my head, my health and my families health, God's protection and provision.

Thank you God for all these things and so much more.

Japan - Journey to Islam and Hajj - PT 1

Japan - Journey to Islam and Hajj - PT2

PNG Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Global Mission's Conference in Chattanooga, TN

This weekend we had the pleasure of attending our denomination's Global Mission's Conference in Chattanooga. We were blessed with the opportunity of spending some time with the three other couples who are also currently raising support for Nagoya, the Gees, the Carters and the Sinks. Our future team mates! Also attending were our team leaders, Wayne & Amy Newsome; the couple who started the team 20+ years ago, Bruce & Susan Young; and a young man who just returned from spending a summer internship with the Nagoya team, Richard Ketcham. (Pictured from left to right; Gees, Newsomes, Youngs, Carters, Cravens, Sinks, Richard)


We had many opportunities to speak with others interested in the ministry opportunities available in Japan while taking our turn working at the Japan Partnership booth. We were also greatly encouraged and challenged by the wonderful speakers who spoke to the crowd of 2100+ at the Chattanooga Convention Center.




It was an absolutely beautiful time to travel through the mountains! Enjoying the beauty of God's creation.


"Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth." Psalm 96:11-13

October 31st, Reformation Day

October 31, 1517, is the best-known date in Protestant history-- the day Martin Luther nailed his convictions to the Wittenburg door. But an incident that happened sixteen years before helps us understand Luther's boldness. Rodrigo Borgia was named a cardinal in 1456, and "no sooner had he donned his red hat than he removed it, together with the rest of his raiment, for a marathon romp with a succession of women whose identity is unknown to us and may well have been unknown to him." His immorality only increased when in 1492, he became Pope Alexander VI.

On October 30, 1501, Pope Alexander presided over the infamous Ballet of the Chestnuts. Guests approaching the papal palace saw living statutes of naked, gilded young people in erotic poses. Inside, after the dishes were cleared from the banquet hall, the city's most beautiful prostitutes danced with the guests, shedding their clothes a bit at a time. Eventually the pope and his sons became judges of a contest in which guests stripped and performed with one another. Alexander awarded prizes to the men.

The corruption of the papacy continued under Alexander's successor, Julius II, and when Luther visited Rome in 1510, he was shocked to find the papal court served by "twelve naked girls." Down to his old age Luther remembered seeing and hearing of sexual abominations taking place in the name of Christ by those who were thought to be spiritual leaders. He later wrote, "I would not have missed seeing Rome for a hundred thousand florins. If I did I should ever had been uneasy lest I might have done injustice to the pope."

It was the demoralized nature of the papacy as much as its doctrinal failure that convinced Luther to risk prosecution and excommunication with fortitude. Holy living--personal purity--Luther knew, is married to pure doctrine, and the union is inseparable...for "the just shall live by faith."

"You are God's people, so don't let it be said that any of you are immoral or indecent or greedy. Don't use dirty or foolish or filthy words. Instead, say how thankful you are. Being greedy, indecent, or immoral is just another way of worshiping idols." Ephesians 5:3-5

(Taken from On This Day In Christian History by Robert J. Morgan)

News from the Newsomes (team leaders in Nagoya, Japan)

A Church Planting Journey in Japan: For me to live is Christ, to die is gain: "Michiyo Sakai is a precious sister in Christ. We've been friends a long time. We've seen her come to Christ, raised our children together,..."

Japan - How to #11 - Don't do this!!!

Japan - How To #6 - Bathroom

Japan - How To #5 - Electric Toilets!

Economy woes drive up Japan suicides - 28 Apr 09

Looking into Japan's High Suicide Rate

Suicides in Japan rise with crisis

Global Economic Crisis: Suicides Rise in Japan

First Stanley Mission's Conference

We had the privilege of speaking to two Sunday School classes at First Presbyterian Church of Stanley this morning and being a part of their mission's conference over the past few days. It's always a huge blessing to have the opportunity to share about what God has called us to be a part of in Japan. Triston shared with an adult class and I shared with a preschool class. Kristi and Kenzie helped me with a puppet show and Kristi played her guitar! What a blessing that we can work together as a family! We didn't get a picture of the puppet show though:-( Maybe next time!

I want a Christian funeral as well

"A Christian woman who attended the Nisshin church plant in Nagoya, Japan recently passed away. She was the only Christian in her family of devout Buddhists. In fact, there were two Buddhist priests in her family who attended her funeral. She was given a Christian funeral where her life in Christ and her new life with Christ were celebrated. After the funeral was over, the Buddhist priests came up to the pastor and were amazed that even in death there was great joy. They were so amazed that one said that when he died he wanted a Christian funeral as well. While they did not come to faith that day, the Buddhist priests recognized that even in death, there is life, hope, and joy found in Christ. This is the message we bring to the Japanese who are largely unreached by the gospel and base their hope and joy in material possessions and success."

I recently read this story, but it happened a couple of years ago. I have also heard that many Japanese are choosing "Christian" weddings as well, even though they are not Christians. Pray that the seeds planted at these funerals and weddings will take root.

Please Pray!

We have entered into a very busy time and would really appreciate your prayers! Over the next few weeks we will be involved with three mission's conferences, our community group picnic, a home meeting and MTW's Global Mission's Conference in Chattanooga.

Please pray for our family, our marriage and that we will keep our focus on Jesus. Please pray that we will be faithful to share what God has called us to share and that we will trust Him to bring the financial partners we need to be able to answer His call to the people of Japan.

Japan is a very expensive place to live and minister, but God is not limited by finances. If it is His will for us to go to Japan, then He will provide! Please pray that we will trust His timing and that we won't become discouraged because things aren't moving along as quickly as we would like them to.

Thank you so much for faithfully praying for our family!

Japanese Christian Talks About Revival

JESUS,Lover of my soul (it's all about You)

God Of This City (Japanese)

Living In Grace

We just spent the last six days soaking up the beauty of the North Carolina mountains and learning more about how to live a grace filled life! Dr. Paul Kooistra was our teacher and gave 10 lectures on "Living in Grace". These lectures were rich in content and powerful in truth. The reality of it all is that we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. The Gospel imparts to us all we do and feel. Thus how important are the ongoing implications of the Gospel! Dr. Kooistra talked about how the Gospel is the message of grace. He said, "Living in grace is, in fact, the outworking of God in our life. Christ must be first in our lives and the beauty of grace is that it is the presence of God".

Man invents machine to convert plastic into oil

Interesting Facts About Japan

(Copied from www.facts-about-japan.com)

1. Raw horse meat is a popular food in Japan.

2. Sometimes the trains are so crowded railway staff are employed to cram passengers inside.

3. Japanese celebrate Christmas, but it is more like Valentine's Day in the western world.

4. Poorly written English can be found everywhere, including T-shirts and other fashion items.

5. More than 70% of Japan consists of mountains, including more than 200 volcanoes.

6. Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, is an active volcano.

7. Many Japanese do not know the difference between Shintoism and Buddhism.

8. A nice musk melon, similar to a cantaloupe, may sell for over $300US.

9. There are four different writing systems in Japan, romaji, katakana, hiragana, and kanji.

10. Coffee is very popular and Japan imports approximately 85% of Jamaica's annual coffee production.

11. Japan's literacy rate is almost 100%.

12. Sumo is Japan's national sport, although baseball is also very popular.

13. Sumo wrestlers eat a stew called Chankonabe to fatten up. Many restaurants in the Ryogoku district of Tokyo serve this nabe (Japanese word for stew).

14. Many toilets in Japan have a built-in bidet system for spraying your backside.

15. When you use the restroom in some one's home, you should put on special bathroom slippers so as not to contaminate the rest of the home.

16. Noodles, especially soba (buckwheat), are slurped very loudly when eaten. It is often said slurping symbolizes the food is delicious, but the slurping also serves to cool down the hot noodles for eating.

17. Japan is the world’s largest consumer of Amazon rain forest timber.

18. Vending machines in Japan sell beer, hot and cold canned coffee, cigarettes, and other items.

19. When moving into an apartment it is often required to give the landlord a "gift" of money equal to two months' rent.

20. There are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan.

21. It is not uncommon to eat rice at every meal, including breakfast.

22. Average life expectancy in Japan is one of the highest in the world. Japanese people live an average of 4 years longer than Americans.

23. Japan is the largest automobile producer in the world.

24. The Japanese language has thousands of foreign loan words, known as gairaigo. These words are often truncated, e.g. personal computer = paso kon. The number of foreign loan words is steadily increasing.

25. Tsukiji market in Tokyo is the world's largest fish market.

26. Although whaling is banned by the IWC, Japan still hunts whales under the premise of "research". The harvested whale meat ends up in restaurants and supermarkets.

27. Some men in Japan shave their heads to apologize.

28. Some women in Japan cut their hair after breaking up with a boyfriend.

29. Tokyo has had 24 recorded instances of people either killed or receiving serious skull fractures while bowing to each other with the traditional Japanese greeting.

30. The first novel, The Tale of Genji, was written in 1007 by a Japanese noble woman, Murasaki Shikibu.

31. The term karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.

32. In a Sumo training "stable" the junior rikishi Sumo wrestlers must wash and bathe their senior sumo wrestlers and make sure their hard to reach places are clean.

33. Contrary to popular belief, whale meat is not a delicacy in Japan. Many Japanese dislike the taste and older Japanese are reminded of the post-World War II period when whale meat was one of the few economical sources of protein.

34. In their effort to make things cute and cuddly rampant inbreeding of dogs has resulted in one of the highest rate of genetic defects in the world for canines.

35. Raised floors help indicate when to take off shoes or slippers. At the entrance to a home in Japan, the floor will usually be raised about 6 inches indicating you should take off your shoes and put on slippers. If the house has a tatami mat room its floor may be rasied 1-2 inches indicating you should to take off your slippers.

36. Ramen noodles are a popular food in Japan and it is widely believed extensive training is required to make a delicious soup broth. This is the subject of the movies Tampopo (1985) and The Ramen Girl (2008).

37. On average, it takes about 7-10 years of intensive training to become a fugu (blowfish) chef. This training may not be needed in the future as some fish farms in Japan are producing non-poisonous fugu.

38. Ovens are not very common in Japanese kitchens, but most households own a rice cooker.

39. Geisha means "person of the arts" and the first geisha were actually men.

40. It was customary in ancient Japan for women to blacken their teeth with dye as white teeth were considered ugly. This practice persisted until the late 1800's.

41. In ancient Japan, small eyes, a round puffy face, and plump body were considered attractive features.

42. Some traditional Japanese companies conduct a morning exercise session for the workers to prepare them for the day's work.

Is August really almost over??

WOW, this summer has FLOWN by! After returning home to NC from our training in New York City (where we also helped with a VBS in Queens), VBS at our home church began. After VBS we started packing up our belongings to move about 5 miles down the road, but we had to take a little break to have a birthday party for Corrie! Our home church is allowing us to live in the recently vacated manse on the church's property for the time being. Triston also had the opportunity last month to speak at Presbytery, a meeting of several pastors/elders in our denomination and a very good opportunity to meet people who might be interested in learning more about our ministry. A few days after moving into our "new temporary home" we headed north again, but a little west this time! We had a wonderful time visiting family and friends in Indiana and meeting new friends as well. I had the opportunity to spend time with my aunt Carolyn, whose husband (my uncle Albert) just passed away in July, and two of her daughters (my cousins Danielle & Sarah). My mom's other sister (my aunt Diana) was also visiting from Texas and another one of my cousins was visiting from California whom I hadn't seen for over 17 years!! Triston spoke at one of our supporting churches in Indiana, we did a children's presentation at another church, met with another pastor in the Indianapolis area, had a very nice home meeting with a few couples and then spoke at our former pastor's church in Waynesville, NC on the way home from Indiana and had a nice visit with him and his family. Corrie had her 1st day of 1st grade at Carolina Christian School a few days after we returned and I just about have everything ready for home schooling Katie, Kristi and Mackenzie! It's been a very busy couple of months and we really appreciate your prayers as we start a new school year and trust the Lord for his provision and His timing as we prepare for Japan.

65th Anniversary of bombing of Hiroshima

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/06/nuclear-powers-join-hiroshima-memorial-time-th-anniversary/

VBS in Locust, NC!

I thought VBS in New York flew by fast! I can't believe it's already Thursday and there is only one day left of VBS here at our home church in Locust, NC! I (Kim) have been helping teach the 4th graders (Mackenzie's class), Triston has been a floater (helping where needed, when he can), Katie has been helping in the 1st grade class and Kristi has been helping in the Nursery. Corrie is having tons of fun with all her friends in the largest class, the Kindergartners, about 34 of them I think! Our theme this week has been "The King is Coming"! The kids have been learning about what it means to be a part of God's Kingdom, how to become part of God's Kingdom and what a wonderful privilege it is to be a part of God's Kingdom!!

Vacation Bible School in Queens, NY

Wow, last week blew through like a tornado! Monday morning the kids arrived, some happy to be there and some not so happy, but most of them ended up liking us:-) We had 12 adorable three year olds and two of them were new to the country and only spoke Japanese! So we learned a few more Japanese words and were able to try out the Japanese we've been trying to learn. Along with our MTW team there were also two church teams who came to New York to help with VBS. One team from Indianapolis and the other from Atlanta. So we had two teenage girls helping us with the three year olds, but they still kept us all VERY busy! Every day they loved practicing songs to sing at the closing program and we loved sharing the love of Jesus with these precious little ones.

Impatient Taxis

Click here to view this video

VBS and church planting training

Today was the beginning of the VBS we are helping with in Queens, NY and it went really well. We are teaching a 3 year olds class and we had 11 precious little ones. Triston even got to try out his Japanese because there were a couple of little fellows who didn't understand very much English! Please pray for these precious children. Today was also the first day of our church planting training. We were reminded that apart from Christ we labor in vain and we need to extend grace to others just like He has extended grace to us.

Evangelism Training

We had our first evangelism training class today and it was very interesting. We met a lot of other new MTW missionaries and our future team-mates, the Carters. We also walked all over Manhattan and got blisters on our feet, but it was still fun!

The Beverly Hillbillies have arrived in New York City!

WOW is all I can say! We arrived in Manhattan today and walked up from the subway into a new world. And for those of you who have seen the movie ELF, it's true, "the yellow ones don't stop"! Triston and I (Kim) will be in New York for 10 days of church planting training. We already ate a slice of New York pizza (yum!) and tomorrow we're gonna look for a hot dog stand! Please pray for our family as we are separated, we miss the kids already:-(

Japanese way of folding T-shirts!

car park in japan

desiringGod

desiringGod is John Piper's website. Click here to watch a video about Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya that was posted on desiringGod's blog earlier this year.

Fast Forward through Nagoya, Japan

Nagoya, Japan 2005

Attempting what seems impossible, but with God ALL things are possible!

I just read an article about the most expensive places in the world to live (to see the article click here). Nagoya, Japan is ranked #4. Tokyo is #1 and for a "US" based comparison, New York City is #29 (the only US city in the top 30)! We could look at these rankings and decide it is impossible for our family of six to ever raise enough money in this weak economy to move to Nagoya. But that would be limiting God. God loves the people of Japan and wants them to know that He sent His son for them too. If it is God's desire for us to go to Japan and share the love of Christ (and we believe it is), then He will provide!

Psalm 121

I just started a new Beth Moore study, "Stepping Up", with my sister-in-law. I can already tell it's going to be great! We will be memorizing Psalm 121 and I can't think of a better one to memorize. My God is the maker of the heavens and the earth, He is my protector and He is always watching over me! He watched over and protected me and my family in Papua New Guinea, He is doing the same here in the US and will do the same in Japan.

The need for Christ in Japan

As I mentioned before, I'm still learning how to blog. The following link takes you to some interesting videos about the needs in Japan. I can't figure out how to download the video to my blog, but maybe you can watch the videos by going to this link.
http://www.pacrimjo.org/info/video.html

Mission to the World

Mission to the World is our sending mission organization. To learn more about MTW check out their website at www.mtw.org

"At Mission to the World we believe that God's grace, demonstrated to us in the radical love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, has the power to transform our world. Our mission is to build church-planting movements, whose energy continues to grow far into the future, long after we may be gone. Vibrant, nationally-led churches around the world will grow and multiply, transforming the culture around them."

Update to Partners

Dear Friends,

You are receiving this email because you are either currently partnering with us, have partnered with us in the past or have shown interest in partnering with us in the future.J We just want to say “Thank You Very Much” to all of you for your support, prayers and encouragement over the years. It means more to us than we can ever express. I’m sorry that this is a long email, but it does have some important information if you could find time to read it.

You haven’t received an update from us recently because our computer overheated and the hard drive was destroyed, bummer. So I’m in the process of trying to recreate my email address lists. Thankfully, most of the info (like your email addresses!) was able to be recovered and we were able to purchase a new hard drive for a good price, but I’m still experiencing some technical difficulties.J

People frequently ask us what our plans are and/or when we’re leaving for Japan, so my guess is that you are probably curious about that as well.J

First and foremost, we are waiting on the Lord’s timing. We don’t want to try and “rush things” and get ahead of God’s timetable, even though we are getting pretty anxious to get back on the field. God has given us this desire to “go” and He is the one who opened the door for us to go to Japan, so we need to wait on His timing.

Second, we do have some training to complete before we can leave. If you remember from a previous update, we mentioned not needing to attend the month long training in New York City as a family and that Triston would need to do some church planting training instead. MTW decided that Triston & I (Kim) could come up to NY for the church planting part of the training without the kids and we will only need to be there for 10 days instead of the whole month. This is a real praise item because it saves A LOT of money. The other option was for Triston to fly to Chile for a church planting seminar! So, over the next few months Triston and I will be in New York July 6^th-16^th, the first week of August our family will travel to Indiana to visit a supporting church/family & friends, then Triston & I have a week-long MTW retreat in mid-September and finally MTW’s Global Mission’s Conference November 5^th-7^th that we also need to attend. We will hopefully have other mission’s conferences and speaking opportunities interspersed in there as well over the next six months, so please pray that we’ll have many opportunities.

Third, Triston has been blessed with a job for the time being, which has helped with expenses because we have not been able to draw from our MTW account yet. The money that is being contributed currently will help meet all the “one-time need” expenses that have to be met before we can leave. So, thank you very much if you are currently contributing, it is helping us get to Japan sooner! We will also need to start withdrawing from our account soon as we start traveling more and Triston is engaged full-time in itineration, so thank you. Triston is also still working on some correspondence classes from Moody Bible Institute when he has time (working towards his Bible degree), facilitating a marriage class at our church on Wednesday night and leading our Community Group that tries to meet at least once a month. I (Kim) stay very busy with the kids now that school is out for the summer.

Finally, we are required to have 100% of our monthly support pledged before MTW will allow us to leave for Japan. We would love to be in Japan by this time next year, but as I mentioned before, we need to wait on the Lord’s timing. Japan is an expensive country to live and minister in, but we know that God is more than capable of providing, if He so desires (even during a recessionJ). We are currently making contact with churches, pastors, mission’s committees, small groups, Sunday School classes and Bible studies, individuals, etc. If you know of ANYONE who might be interested in hearing more about this ministry opportunity, please let us know or give them our email address triston_craven@att.net or phone number (Triston 704-441-3011, Kim 704-288-9323) or forward this email to them. I am currently working on a Blog, but I’ve never “blogged” before so I don’t know if I’ll be able to figure it out. I might need some teenager to come show me howJ. Anyways, the link is http://cravensix.blogspot.com for those of you who might be interested in checking it out. Our new prayer card is also available to download at www.mtw.org (just click on “Search for a Missionary” and then find our name) for those of you who don’t have one yet or if you’d like me to mail you a “real” one, just let me knowJ.

Thanks again for EVERYTHING!! Please let us know how we can be praying for you.

In Christ,

Kim (& for Triston)