[NOTE: The next several entries were posted after our safe return of June 13. Due to lack of internet access we were unable to make updates.]
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9)
The morning brought good-byes at the church, and the 2007 Fellowship Exchange between Trinity and Yukinoshita Congregation has come to an end. In our hearts we immediately made plans for what we will do when our sisters and brothers visit us in Orange City.
The NWC drama team headed to Yokohama Union Church for a morning performance to preschool children and their parents. The Opgenorth’s tagged along.
Ken & Linda are both ordained pastors in this unique ministry to the international community. Yokohama has a significant number of English speaking people from various parts of the world, and this church is one of the oldest Protestant churches in Japan, dating to the 19th century. Linda graduated from Hope and Ken graduated from Dubuque and is ordained in the PCUSA. The Union Church is an English-speaking congregation, making it quite unique that a Japanese pastor preaches to an English congregation.
The congregation has had three buildings in its history. It’s first sat up to 500 people in a very European-looking large church (I think during the period of many foreigners living here and few churches). That building was eventually given to start Ferris School. The building was destroyed in the epic earthquake of 1923 that destroyed most of Yokohama.
The church’s second building was also destroyed, but this time by a bomb from a US raid in World War II. Ironically, it was the only bomb that fell in that entire neighborhood during the fire-bombing that occurred.
The church then met in a variety of locations through the years and in 2004 the congregation built a beautiful facility with 84 chairs. Although small in size, it has a thriving pre-school ministry and very capable pastoral leadership. To my eye it seems primed for growth.
The team performed three short “Ancient Plays” and ate a wonderful lunch. After lunch, just before leaving, the team performed an enacted prayer for Ken & Linda’s ministry. The prayer they want answered was “We are praying for a partnership with an American church to do a week of VBS in Yokohama and for the Holy Spirit to fill this place.”
The enacted prayer was beautiful and many tears streamed down the faces of Ken and Linda.
Could he be a man in “Macedonia” calling out to Trinity?
One of the unique things about partnering with this congregation is that there is no language barrier with the children they are reaching out to. Something to pray about.
Another interesting part of the visit was seeing the architecture of the church. The Barker’s and Opgenorth’s immediately saw some qualities we thought were beautiful for Trinity – large hewn wooden beams, loads of natural light, stone floor, elegant (but portable) furniture, and a unique way every member’s participation was seen in the design of one window.
Finally, we met a 1992 NWC grad (pictured, but I cannot remember her name). She brought with her the 1992 yearbook and it was fun to see old pics of people like Rick Scholtens and Kris Korver.
The afternoon was spent with Beth Bonnema (her married name is Japanese and I forgot it). On one side of her family, Beth is a first cousin to Marlys Van Aartsen. On the other side, she is a first cousin to Paul Aykens.
Beth came to Yokohama in the early 1960s on an RCA short-term volunteer program (3.5 years) and never left. She met a man who would become a Japanese Baptist minister, and they were married. Her husband died, and she stayed in Japan. Now she is retired and took our family around Yokohama for the day.
We saw a museum detailing the presence of Westerners in Yokohama and then enjoyed the modern down town. Because the earthquake and war destroyed much of the city, the down town was rebuilt with lots of planning and is a very modern city. Among other sites, we traveled to the top of Landmark Tower (the tallest building in Japan), rode the giant Ferris wheel called “Cosmo World,” and a fun little roller coaster called Spinning Coaster.
Thanks, Beth, for a great day in your city!
Then it was back to Zushi by train and we relocated to Ron and Ruby Korver’s, where we’ll spend Thursday and Friday.
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9)
The morning brought good-byes at the church, and the 2007 Fellowship Exchange between Trinity and Yukinoshita Congregation has come to an end. In our hearts we immediately made plans for what we will do when our sisters and brothers visit us in Orange City.
The NWC drama team headed to Yokohama Union Church for a morning performance to preschool children and their parents. The Opgenorth’s tagged along.
Ken & Linda are both ordained pastors in this unique ministry to the international community. Yokohama has a significant number of English speaking people from various parts of the world, and this church is one of the oldest Protestant churches in Japan, dating to the 19th century. Linda graduated from Hope and Ken graduated from Dubuque and is ordained in the PCUSA. The Union Church is an English-speaking congregation, making it quite unique that a Japanese pastor preaches to an English congregation.The congregation has had three buildings in its history. It’s first sat up to 500 people in a very European-looking large church (I think during the period of many foreigners living here and few churches). That building was eventually given to start Ferris School. The building was destroyed in the epic earthquake of 1923 that destroyed most of Yokohama.
The church’s second building was also destroyed, but this time by a bomb from a US raid in World War II. Ironically, it was the only bomb that fell in that entire neighborhood during the fire-bombing that occurred.
The church then met in a variety of locations through the years and in 2004 the congregation built a beautiful facility with 84 chairs. Although small in size, it has a thriving pre-school ministry and very capable pastoral leadership. To my eye it seems primed for growth.
The team performed three short “Ancient Plays” and ate a wonderful lunch. After lunch, just before leaving, the team performed an enacted prayer for Ken & Linda’s ministry. The prayer they want answered was “We are praying for a partnership with an American church to do a week of VBS in Yokohama and for the Holy Spirit to fill this place.”The enacted prayer was beautiful and many tears streamed down the faces of Ken and Linda.
Could he be a man in “Macedonia” calling out to Trinity?
One of the unique things about partnering with this congregation is that there is no language barrier with the children they are reaching out to. Something to pray about.
Another interesting part of the visit was seeing the architecture of the church. The Barker’s and Opgenorth’s immediately saw some qualities we thought were beautiful for Trinity – large hewn wooden beams, loads of natural light, stone floor, elegant (but portable) furniture, and a unique way every member’s participation was seen in the design of one window.Finally, we met a 1992 NWC grad (pictured, but I cannot remember her name). She brought with her the 1992 yearbook and it was fun to see old pics of people like Rick Scholtens and Kris Korver.
The afternoon was spent with Beth Bonnema (her married name is Japanese and I forgot it). On one side of her family, Beth is a first cousin to Marlys Van Aartsen. On the other side, she is a first cousin to Paul Aykens.
Beth came to Yokohama in the early 1960s on an RCA short-term volunteer program (3.5 years) and never left. She met a man who would become a Japanese Baptist minister, and they were married. Her husband died, and she stayed in Japan. Now she is retired and took our family around Yokohama for the day.We saw a museum detailing the presence of Westerners in Yokohama and then enjoyed the modern down town. Because the earthquake and war destroyed much of the city, the down town was rebuilt with lots of planning and is a very modern city. Among other sites, we traveled to the top of Landmark Tower (the tallest building in Japan), rode the giant Ferris wheel called “Cosmo World,” and a fun little roller coaster called Spinning Coaster.
Thanks, Beth, for a great day in your city!
Then it was back to Zushi by train and we relocated to Ron and Ruby Korver’s, where we’ll spend Thursday and Friday.
