we arrived in Tokyo!

So we made it!!! Wow, it's been a whirlwind. Leaving at Orange County at 5 am on the 27th, we arrived in Tokyo at 3 pm the next day. But everything has been going well without any glitches (besides 2 pieces of lost luggage), we're all here in one piece.

So I didn't get to write much about our briefing before in my last post, so I'll tell you a little more about our team and a couple cool things that happened. We actually have 2 Epic Japan teams here. We had so many people apply and get accepted to our project that we have a total of 40 people!!! Since it was so big, we had to split into two teams, one in Tokyo and one in Nagoya. I am leading the Tokyo trip.

During one of our prayer and sharing times, Lyndsey on the Tokyo team shared with us a vision that she had right before briefing while she was praying for Japan. In her vision, she saw a picture of a darkened Japan, with only a few little faint lights on different places of the country. However, as she looked on the lights grew brighter and brighter, and new lights popped up all over the darkness. "God is really going to do something amazing this summer through our work," she encouraged us. Right after she shared, Sara (a girl on the Nagoya team) told Lyndsey that she had the exact same vision, but in a dream a few nights before!! God is already on the move, encouraging us with what is ahead. I am so excited. These are pictures of our team during briefing. (Epic Japan teams worshiping together on the left)


Now that we are here, we are settling into our apartments and getting adjusted to the time change. Today we'll go to church and start exploring our city.


Some facts about the "darker side" of Japan:

--Japan has the highest suicide rate of any country, accounting for 1/4 to 1/3 of the world's suicides every year.
--That's 1 person taking their life every 15 min.
--It is common for young people (from 15 to their early 20's) to meet on internet "suicide chat rooms" and later take their lives together.
--STD's and HIV run rampant, as there is little education about sexual health and a denial of the problem in the culture. (Many believe only foreigners can contract HIV)
--The social pressures of school and work are immense, pushing many into depression and loneliness in this wealthy country.

Please pray for Japan.