Joel & Kelly Kaylor

I am in Seattle attending The City Church’s youth conference with the youth from Hope Church (Tokyo). I have been asked to be one of the drivers and interpreters for the team. On my way back to Tokyo I am stopping over in Portland on April 1^st. Unfortunately, Kelly and the kids will not be with meL

While I am there I will be sharing about our experience in Japan and our vision for the future. I would also like a chance to thank each of you personally for all your prayers and financial support. If you are in Portland I hope that you can join me at the following time and hear about the amazing things God is doing in Japan.

Japan Vision & Report Night

Tuesday, April 1^st

7:00pm

City Bible Church

Rocky Butte Campus　(Upper Conference Room)

In a few hours I will be boarding a plane to fly to Seattle with 25 youth from Hope Church to attend The City Church’s Generation Conference. I have been asked to be one of the drivers and an interpretor. Really looking forward to it, but my Kelly and the kids will not be with me:(

After the conference I will fly down to Portland on my way home to Tokyo where I will have a 2 day lay over. I will be having a Japan Vision night at City Bible Church to share with everyone about our transition in Japan, current ministry and our future vision! Everyone is invited:

Japan Vision Night

• Date: April 1st
• Time: 7:00pm
• Location: City Bible Church Rocky Butte Campus
• Room: Upper Conference Room

If you are in the Portland area I would love to see you there.

We had a great Easter Sunday in Hope Church! Great celebration and presence of God during worship. Great sermon by Pastor Steven Kaylor (title: Our Great Confidence), and a great response for salvation at the end. There must have been 1o hands raised indicating they wanted to commit their lives to Christ!! Topping all of this off was our highlight. A Japanese friend, that we got to know in Portland is now back in Japan. He called me up a few days ago asking if he could bring his new wife to church! This picture was taken after a delicious meal of Tonkatsu (deep fried pork). You like his hat? I gave it to him:)

 How we connected with him in Japan:

He attended our Japanese Ministry Bible studies in Portland and we became really good friends. He moved back to Tokyo about 5 years ago. When we came back to Tokyo I knew he lived very close to where we moved to, but I had lost his contact information and had no way of contacting him. So……on one of our many shopping trips to IKEA we heard a voice call our names. We turned around and there he was! It was so good to see him and we were so thankful for this Divine Appointment (no kidding!). In the midst of 35 million people in Tokyo, how else would I have gotten ahold of him? He even emailed me the day after we met and said it himself, “I think God arranged for us to meet!” God is touching his heart and it is a matter of time before he becomes a Chrstian! Last month he took me to a Thai restaurant (yeah! there is Thai food in Japan!). I had invited him to come to church, but he very rarely gets Sunday off. So, on his first Sunday off since meeting him last month, he called me asking if he bring his wife to church! Please pray with us that we will continue to be able to get to know them more and they will get to know Jesus!

SPRING IS HERE!

We looked out our front window and saw the first pink cherry blossoms peeking out from their stark branches.  Spring is here!  That means we can finally edge away from our space heaters.  We are going to devote this newsletter to a few cultural events that have happened in the past month.

WEDDINGS AT HOPE CHURCH

February and March found us attending and being involved in 3 different weddings at Hope Church.  Kelly played the piano for two of the weddings.  She had to brush up on the “Wedding March” and the “Bridal March” which were the popular requests.  The weddings were American style but definitely had Japanese elements in them.  A dear woman in Hope Church, whom we call Sunaga Mama, offered to dress Elisa in a kimono for one of the weddings.  She used to work in a kimono shop and had a kimono that was just Elisa’s size.  It is traditional for women to wear kimonos to weddings.  Elisa was very excited to wear the kimono but also had several questions.  “Won’t I be really warm in the 3 layers?  How will I go to the bathroom?”  These were definitely valid questions.  However, Sunaga Mama put her mind at ease and showed her what to do.  We went and had a practice run just to make sure the kimono fit.  This took at least 40 minutes to put every layer on.  The obi (the band around the middle) is what takes the longest and there are several ways to tie the bow depending on the situation and also how old you are.  It was all very fascinating!  Elisa enjoyed being dressed up like a princess but she was more than willing to take the kimono off.

SCHOOLING JAPAN STYLE

God knows everything before we even think it.  When Tomoko (our friend in Portland) found the house we are currently renting, we had no idea what a great location it really was.  The Japanese public school that is near us specifically caters to foreign students and students returning from overseas.  It is one of the largest elementary schools in Japan with 1400 students!  We have decided to enroll Elisa and Joshua in the Japanese school for one year.  This will give them a chance to get a good foundation in the language, make friends, and learn more about Japanese culture.  It will also give Kelly a chance to focus on learning Japanese.  The kids are very excited to attend school after a year of home school.  We are now trying to decipher the school supplies list and buy everything we need.  They do not need a uniform but they do need a PE uniform.  One has to go to the school authorized shop and purchase the uniform which also includes shoes; at a very expensive price, of course. 

School children also need a special backpack called a randoseru.  It is usually purchased by the grandparents and is supposed to last for the six years of elementary school.  This backpack can range in price from $150 to over $600. Wow!  Joel immediately went online to several Japanese auction sites and managed to get two used backpacks for $20 each!  God provided once again!

MINISTERING SIDE BY SIDE

Kelly was asked to share at the Ladies Meeting a few weeks ago. In addition to home schooling the kids, she does an amazing job juggling everything else in our day to day and church life. The ladies loved her and the response was very positive. The comments we heard was they wished she had more time to share.

Joel has been faithfully teaching the Hope Church interns every Saturday.  He had another opportunity to minister to Japan’s younger generation this past month.  A church that has a school and also a college asked to come and hear from Joel and Pastor Steven on a Friday.  They brought 20 college students with them and spent a whole Friday learning from the Hope church leaders.  It was a great time of meeting new people, building relationships with the youth of Japan and being a part of raising leaders!

FROM WHERE WE STAND

Elisa

This was an awesome month. We went to tennis courts and I wore a kimono at a wedding and my mom played the piano at the wedding and we went to the zoo. When I wore the kimono at a wedding it was really tight and hard to breath! One day we went to a friend’s house. And she gave me a play KIMONO. I can put it on when ever I want! They had a dog named Megu. Well Megu had a Kimono too! You don’t just put it on like a normal kimono, there is velcro so you just put it together. Megu is a Dashound. I think she is really cute! They also had a cat. Her name is Coo. She is not that playful. She also bites. Coo also had a kimono too!

More photos of Elisa in Kimomo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekaylors/sets/72157604135828698/

Joshua

We went to a zoo and it was the biggest zoo in Japan and we saw a Red Panda. It is the size of a dog and not as big as the usual Panda. We also saw the big Panda. We saw an animal that was half giraffe, half zebra (at least it looked like it). Dad took a picture of me standing beside a crocodile in the tank, but it was sleeping.

My dad got me my own tennis racket and we went to play tennis. I was actually good. I hit the ball to my dad a lot of times and it was fun. Click here for the photos that we took at the zoo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thekaylors/sets/72157603890082825/

UENO ZOO

We had been waiting for several months to visit the largest zoo in Tokyo and we were finally able to go this month.  The kids loved it!  All the animals played it up which has never happened to us before.  Usually when we go to a zoo the animals just sit and do nothing or you can’t even find them. The lions roared, a gorilla kissed Joshua through the glass and we stood in a long, long line to see a………PANDA!  It was so amazing.  This is the first time any of us have seen a live panda up close.  We spent the whole day there and still didn’t see everything!

JOEL WILL BE IN PORTLAND ON APRIL 1^ST (no fooling!)

While he is there he will be sharing about our experience in Japan and our vision for the future. He would also like a chance to thank each of you personally for all your prayers and financial support.  This past month has been tough financially but every time we start to see our finances diminishing, we give out of our need and God is faithful to give us even more. We hope that you can join him at the following time and hear even more amazing stories of what God is doing!

Tuesday, April 1^st

7:00pm

Upper Conference Room

City Bible Church

SIGN OF THE MONTH

Found this sign in the main government building in Tokyo. They are trying to say “One per person please.”

SUPPORTING THE KAYLORS

We are completely relying upon financial support from individuals and churches that are partnering with our vision of raising and releasing leaders that will build and strengthen churches in Japan. Living in Japan is NOT cheap, but we have experienced God provide in amazing ways. If you have been supporting us we are so grateful as we wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing without you. If you have not supported us financially, would you prayerfully consider partnering with us? Imagine being a part of reaching Japan?

To Contribute Financially

(all financial contribution is tax deductible through City Bible Church)

1.Secure Online Giving at

A)www.CityBibleChurch.org – click on “Online Giving”

B) www.TheKaylors.org/support and follow instructions

2.By check payable to:

City Bible Church

9200 NE Fremont

Portland, OR 97220

Note in the memo line: Joel & Kelly Kaylor-Japan

(This is a picture I took of Shinsaibashi Suji in down town Osaka last week. This outside mall literally goes for several kilometers. As in this picture you can not see the end of the crowd. 200,000 people walk through everyday. You have to be there to experience it. Simply amazing!)

Okay, let me just say it and get it out. I AM IN LOVE with OSAKA! I have always liked and feel called to Osaka, but my trip last week ruined me, literally! I will never be the same. Okay, now that is cleared up let me summarize my trip. For my own records, I wrote a 12 page report from the 2 day trip, but I won’t bore you with it (actually, it’s not boring to me!). Let me give you a very short version of the report:

God powerfully and specifically spoke to me through many circumstances, confirmations, scriptures and also by directly speaking to me that Osaka is my city!  We feel a strong sense of calling towards Osaka. We will now be moving towards planting a church there.

That was the very short version. If you need a little more info here is a short version (as oppossed to the very short version)

• It has been 8 months since we moved to Japan. When we first moved to Japan we moved to Tokyo with the understanding that we would go to Osaka and plant a church in a year or two. However, after arriving we felt that we were supposed to put Osaka “on the shelf” and just focus on getting settled and helping Hope Church. Through various circumstances Pastor Steven, Pastor Katsumi and I began to talk about the future of Hope Church and the future of Kelly and I. We came to the conclusion that we really needed to hear from God about Osaka.
• Bottom line result of the trip—I received many confirmations about Osaka and specifically heard God speak to me about Osaka in Osaka.
• We do not know how all of the details will work out, but Osaka is on the front burner and we are moving ahead accordingly.
• The focus of this year will be: 1.) We will proactively seek God about Osaka and do what we can to plan for a church plant and our move to Osaka. 2.) Continue to serve
  Hope Church, get acclimated into the church, establish relationships while we are here in
  Tokyo and continue receive many invaluable hands on training.
• We are right on target with my two year plan of transition in Tokyo to go to Osaka. (of course we are totally open to God’s leading and timing, not mine, but it is interesting and encouraging that we are on target with what I wrote down before moving to Japan.)

 I am sure I will look back on my visit last week as very significant two days in my life.

 Osaka is a great city and we are very exicited what the future holds.

 In the morning I am waking up early to catch a 6:50am bullet train out of Tokyo Train Station headed for Osaka. Now that we are settled in Japan and the busy New Years and conference season is over, we are asking God to specifically speak to us about our next move. My trip to Osaka is hopefully the first trip of many in learning more about the city and pursuing the possibility of planting a church in Osaka. I will be there for 2 days checking the sights, where people congregate, walk the streets, ride the trains, pray about the city, meet up with some pastors in the city, etc.

Even though Osaks is only a 2 hour and 20 minute train ride (350 miles) away, domestic traveling is very expensive in Japan. However, God provided the finances to go and I was also able to get a great train/hotel package deal!!

Regardless of how God leads us, we know for sure that we will be involved in building churches (church plants, strengthening existing churches, etc) & rasing leaders in Japan. We are seeking God for His perfect will and direction. Please join us in prayer that God will specifically speak to us regarding how, when and where.

 My boy is growing up! A few weeks ago he was excited about his first loose tooth and a few days ago it came out! He wanted me to pull it out on Saturday, but I wimped out (seriously). So on Sunday after church, being the man that I raised him to be, he got a tissue and pulled it out himself!!