I had the honor of preaching at Hope Church last Sunday (see previous blog). Before I preached, I invited Kelly up to the platform to greet the church. I intended to interpret for her, but she informed me the night before that she would do it all in Japanese!!! Kelly is still learning Japanese, but is doing great!! She can go shopping by herself and has no problem carrying a basic conversation with people. However, since this was an official greeting to the church congregation on a Sunday morning I had assumed that I would interpret for her. BUT NO!! Not my Kelly!!!
She did a masterful job and 100% of her greeting was in Japanese. I just stood there next to her and let her talk away in JapaneseJ Not only did she talk in Japanese; she read a scripture in Japanese! That is no easy task folks. That doesn’t even come easy for me! I was so proud of her!!!
And, as you can imagine, when she was done the crowd exploded with applause. I heard numerous comments afterwards and everyone was so impressed that she took a bold step in attempting and succeeding in communicating in a foreign language. If you were there and understood Japanese you would also know that her pronunciations were near perfect!!
I just had to share this and brag about my incredible wifeJ
(Attached photo was taken by my nephew, Samuel Kaylor, while I was preaching last week. Samuel is a young and extremely talented and anointed man of God. He will no doubt make a huge impact on this generation and many generations to come. Check out HIS PHOTOS that he has recently taken.)
Pastor Steven is doing a series at Hope Church on “God’s Partnership”. It is a powerful series talking about our responsibility in partnering with God to fulfill His purpose. He had me preach last Sunday and I continued the series by sharing from Ephesians 3:20-21 and how God has been challenging me to reach, not only this generation, but the generations to come.
God wants to fulfill his purpose through us more than we can ask or imagine. But beyond our partnership with God during our life time, God’s plan is so big that it surpasses our very own life. He wants to use us is to impact the generations to come. He will continue to finish His plan that He started in us until the day that Christ comes back. Philippians 4:6 says “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
This means that God’s plan is so big that it is immeasurably more than what we ask or imagine and He will continue His purpose in us until Jesus comes back, whenever that may be. God’s plan in you and through you is much larger than your life. He wants to use you to not only impact this generation, but to impact the generations to come even after you have passed away.
Whether we like it or not, we will literally effect the next generation. Let’s give everything we have for God so He can fulfill His incredible plan through us for the generations to come.
For those of you who know me you know that I LOVE cars. I have always wanted to go to the Tokyo Motor Show as it is one of the premeir motor shows in the world. I wanted to go to the show this year, but didn’t know if the schedule and finances would allow it. A member of Hope Church gave me free tickets to the show and yes I just happen to find some time to go:) I went this last week with two of my good friends, Katsumi and Shinobu. They are both pastors at Hope Church and they love cars too!! Can’t get any better than hanging out with a bunch of pastors that love cars:) If there is any such thing as a “candy store” that was it.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS that I took of the show.
Here are some of my highlights:
- Be able to see many exotic cars up close and in person.
- Talking to the various car representatives.
- Observing and learning the creative and innovative ways all of the auto makers presented their new releases, concept cars and their vision for their future.
- Most of all, hanging out with two great friends who also share the same vision for Japan (………and for cars).
Ok, since you asked, here were are favorites:
Katsumi—Audi
Shinobu—Mitsuoka Orochi ($120,000USD sports car only sold in Japan)
Me–Maserati GranTurismo
Greetings Friends and Family!
Another month has passed by so quickly. Life in Japan is definitely not any slower than life in America!
October began with a trip to Kyushu (the southern island) to visit Joel’s parents and attend our nephew’s wedding reception. We started out at 7am on Thursday and arrived 9 am on Friday. Traveling by car, enjoying the overnight ferry, and traveling by car AGAIN was all part of experiencing the beautiful Japanese countryside (and the not so exciting Japanese traffic). Once we arrived we had a wonderful time with family eating fabulous Japanese food and ending every day with a soak in the hot springs. Almost every night we went to a different hot springs which tells you what the island of Kyushu is famous for! On Sunday Joel delivered the message at Ariake Bible Church which is pastored by his oldest brother; Rob Kaylor. It was a powerful message of hope and encouragement to be who God wants you to be. It was a great time just to be with family and relax in the countryside. We came back to the bustling city life feeling refreshed and encouraged.
Living within half an hour of Tokyo Disneyland and driving by it several times has been torture for Elisa and Joshua. We finally ended this dreadful suspense by surprising them with a trip to Disneyland on Joel’s day off from church activities. The kids definitely thought it was the happiest place on earth but my feet told a different story! We arrived when the gates opened at 8am and left when the gates closed at 10:00pm. As you can see from the attached pictures, Tokyo Disneyland is definitely a well visited attraction in the hugely populated city of Tokyo! Check out our blog about our trip to Tokyo Disneyland.
MINISTRY
Now that we are technically settled, we are looking forward to learning more about ministry in Japan. It has been such an honor to jump from a great church like City Bible Church and land in a healthy, growing church in Japan that is giving us the opportunity to be involved in many aspects of ministry. We have only been here a little over 2 months, but it feels like we have been a part of this church for years. Everyone has welcomed us as part of them. Our purpose for being in Hope Church is three fold. 1) To allow time to adjust to the Japanese culture. 2) To be of service to the church. 3) To receive hands on ministry training as we pray and plan towards a church plant in Osaka. Practically speaking, we are on a crash course of learning everything we can about ministering to the Japanese. We are involved in wide range of meetings and projects that consist of Tuesday morning debriefings at Denny’s (Yes, Denny’s! It’s a step up from American Denny’s), staff devotions, strategic planning, teaching, preaching, product development, website development, conference planning and administration, and so on.
FROM WHERE WE STAND
Hello this is Elisa.
I am having a lot of fun. About a few weeks ago my family and I went to Tokyo Disneyland. It was sooooo fun. I had the best time ever. I do not know what my favorite ride was. But I liked all of the rides that we went on. We also went shopping. I bought a Marie hat and Stitch ears and a Stitch ring. There were so many people at Disneyland. This Saturday is Hope Kids worship. I am looking forward to it. I am also looking forward to coming and visiting America.
Joshua
We went to a fun place called Disneyland. It was really fun. I went with my family. We went on a lot of rides. We went on go-carts that had a metal guide to make you turn or go straight. There were rockets that went high in the sky too. One ride was too scary for me and I cried but I still had fun!We had a family day last Monday. We went to a Toyota showroom that had lots of cool cars and games to play. They even had a car for me to drive. Daddy was more interested in looking at the bigger cars though.
CULTURE CORNER
Driving in Japan! Well, it hasn’t been boring. Motorcycles, scooters and bicycles weaving madly through traffic all on the left side of the road adds a new dimension to “keep your eyes on the road”. Joel has no problem with this concept, having driven in Japan when he was a teenager. I (Kelly) paint an entirely different picture when I am driving down the road. I find myself constantly turning on the windshield wipers instead of signaling right and looking the wrong way to check traffic before pulling into that oncoming traffic. Japanese will see me driving down the street, wild curly hair and my windshield wipers flapping madly!
The Japanese shopping saga continues. My story this time is one of hope! After experiencing high prices everywhere I finally found some great bargains. While in Kyushu we went to Joel’s mother’s favorite china shop. It is a small shop with a remarkable variety of Japanese style dishes. When we arrived at the shop the owners told us they were retiring and everything in the store was 70-80% off! What a blessing!
GOD’S FAVOR & PROVISION
God has been so faithful to provide for our needs. Living in the most expensive country in the world has definitely caused us to learn to trust God for everything. He has proven time and time again that He is in control and that we are in His perfect will!
We are so blessed to have so many good friends and family believing in us and praying for us. Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. We look forward to sharing many exciting reports with you.
Joel, Kelly, Elisa & Joshua Kaylor
To Contribute Financially
1. Secure Online Giving at
www.CityBibleChurch.org – click on “Online Giving”
2. By check payable to:
City Bible Church
9200 NE Fremont
Portland, OR 97220
Note in the memo line: Joel & Kelly Kaylor-Japan
Click here to view our video greetings from Tokyo’s water front: Video Greetings from Tokyo
Reading Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders has challenged me to step up to the plate and do my part in becoming who I am in Christ in partnering with God to accomplish His great plans. Reggie McNeal, in his conclusion, writes a challenging summary:
“You are faced with the option of greatness as a spiritual leader. You can choose, as countless others have done, to settle for less. If you do, you die a premature death. And you rob others of the chance to live a better life. If you decide to go for greatness, it will cost you everything you have and are. You will have to surrender your life. You will no longer belong to your personal dreams and petty agendas. Your days and years will belong to the One who believes in you so much he has risked his agenda on you. You will die first, only discover this is the way to life.
The choice is momentous. Amazingly, it is yours to make.
Choose greatness!”
