the best meeting ever

In battling this cold, I am feeling lag time between what I process and what's really happening. But in spite of the cold, I clearly felt God's movement amongst our prayers and conversations yesterday.

I'll be very direct in saying that I usually dread the monthly meetings in Ibaraki. It has absolutely nothing to do with the people - the main reason I go is because I LOVE those people and want to see them and spend time with them. I feel like I have so much to learn from them, and just appreciate their fellowship. But the fact that we meet and repeatedly discuss maintenance-mode items on our day off nags at my core.

Yesterday was different. To begin with, 12 brothers and sisters traveled from Ibaraki to Sendai because one of the ministers mentioned that we always make the trip down there. It didn't make any sense to me at the time why ALL OF THEM would come up here instead of us going there, but it spoke volumes of love. Secondly, the discussion following Noguchi-sensei's devotional thought was immediately applicable to our work and challenges we face. Thirdly, the meeting itself was amazingly short (just an hour) and the remainder of the time was spent sharing about past strengths and weaknesses in the Japanese mission, and seeking God's vision and guidance for the future. It was a wonderful mix of the practical nitty-gritty with thinking outside of the "box" about the future. Finally, it seemed like prayer permeated every step.

Once again, I felt strongly the need to press "Re-start" on any previous conceptions of where I should go or what I/we as a team should do in the future of this work. Yesterday was answer to my prayer asking the Lord to begin anew His work within me.

Lord, I recommit my heart and my plans to You. Thank you for your evident power at work within us. Help us to be obedient servants, and continue to fan the flame of joy and a willing spirit to be your worshippers and disciples of Jesus.