Japan Fest

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Went to the Japan Fest in Gwinnett County not too long ago and wanted to share some of the videos I took from it. We had a blast there, and Rebelle had the chance to dress up in a Japanese Kimono.

The best part would have to be the Japanese Katana demonstration!

My friend Jeremy checked out his Buddhist fortune. Buddhist believe these to be very accurate and will often change something in their life to prevent or cause the fortune to come true.

His Good Fortune

I don’t think I have mentioned this yet, but I love Japanese Koi! They are an amazing display of God’s creation! My favorite part of this video is when the Koi tries to swim up the water fall!

Japanese traditional music

This year’s fest was sad as well, there were many pictures of the destruction from the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.

There were many booths where you could buy merchandise to support the rebuilding of Japan. Like these origami swans.
I ask that you would continue to pray for the Miagi Prefecture as it is being rebuilt. We praise the Lord that through this more Japanese people have been coming to churches and now see Christianity and churches as a place of help. I read this article from  go2japan.org “Churches across Northeastern Japan have been the center of providing shelter, relief, and supplies. Most notable are the voices of children heard in various regions saying:“Grandma, Jesus is coming… Mr. Christ is holding a BBQ… Jesus brought us food… Jesus brought us clothing!” Prior to this disaster the church was a fairly mysterious entity in the region but now it is known as the place where help is coming from.”

As always thanks for helping us see the name of Christ rise in Japan!

Rebelle and I standing in front of a Torii. Which is a gateway to a Shinto Shrine.

WHVT Radio Update

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I was able to get the audio file of the broadcast on WHVT. I had the opportunity to speak about Japan on Harvest Baptist Temple’s Radio Station WHVT 90.5 FM in Clyde, OH. You can now listen to the two broadcasts here: WHVT Radio Interview and here: Joel Willoughby about Japan

We praise the Lord for all He is doing through us and we pray that through this more people would be burdened for the mission field of Japan! Thank you Harvest Baptist Temple for letting us have a part in your mission conference and time on the air! You have been a great blessing to us!

Loved the headphones            View of the Studio from outside      DJ Joel Willoughby

3 days, 2 nights in Pigeon Forge and a World of Change

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I’m greatly anticipating this years OG Summit in Pigeon Forge, TN so much so that I feel like giving one individual the opportunity to come for free! The trip will include room for two nights, awesome sessions about missions, and breakfast at the hotel! All you have to do is send me an email to will2japan@gmail.com with subject line of Summit trip. I’ll randomly pick an email address and inform you of winning. No strings attached… come on people I’m a missionary 🙂 I won’t even add you to my email blog list unless you ask me to! I’ll be accepting emails for the Summit Trip Giveaway till Monday the 28th. On Tuesday the 29th I’ll reveal the winner. You must be at least 18 years of age and be able to get to Pigeon Forge, TN by December 29, 2011 at 1:00 PM. If you need a ride there, please include that in your email, and I’ll see if I can work something out.

Even if you don’t win, I ask you to consider coming and joining us this year on December 29-31. The Summit has been a blessing to my family for the last few years, and a great time to learn more about what we can do, as Christians, to impact the world with The Gospel of Christ! The Lord has used many of the speakers there to give me a greater burden for lost people across the globe; speakers like Austin Gardner, Trent Cornwell, Ronald Tubillas, Jeff Bush, Mark Coffey,  Josh Ewing, Chris Gardner, David Gardner, Jeremy Hall, Jason Holt, and Tony Howeth! Not only is there great preaching, but also sessions in which missionaries and pastors speak about church planting, discipleship, media in ministry, and much more. As a young missionary, I was able to get some questions answered by veteran missionaries and pastors during the Q&A times.

If you’re wondering if you’ll have free time to visit some of the sites around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, don’t you worry because there’s plenty of free time to speed through a go cart track, shop till you drop at the outlet malls, see a show or two, or my personal favorite of visiting the Krispy Kreme donuts while the hot light is on! You can get a full schedule and more details about the Summit at http://bcwe.org/events/our-generation-summit/.

Don’t forget to send me that email by November the 28th!