Joel & Kelly Kaylor

I have heard Craig Groeschel mention this quote several times. Each time I think it is excellent, thus my post.

“Most people overestimate what God wants to do in the short run, but underestimate what God wants to do in the long run.”

Well, the summer heat has arrived.  The kids arrive home from school every day soaked with sweat and I feel like I need to take a shower every couple of hours as well!  I have to say we are more than a little happy to be visiting the dry, cool climate of Canada next week.  The kids and I(Kelly) will be visiting my mom in Canada for three weeks before going down to Portland for another two weeks.  We arrive back in

Japan two days before the kids start school again.

  English Class in a Kitchen

I had the great opportunity to teach an English class for the mothers in Joshua and Elisa’s school.  There were approximately 30 ladies in attendance with several of them being women I had already met so it was a great time to strengthen relationships.  We held the class at a community center and because of the size of the class we had to meet in the training kitchen because there was no room big enough for us.  It was quite the interesting arrangement.  The class went fairly well but it is very difficult to come up with a lesson plan when there were so many different levels of English ability.  Some women had lived in Australia or

America while others just remember a little from when they were in high school.  I am going to continue to meet with the women monthly. At the end I was able to give out a Brooklyn Tabernacle DVD to everyone and also invite them to church so seeds are being planted!

Healthy Business Podcast

A wonderful opportunity has been presented to me (Joel) to start a podcast for the Japanese business community. I believe there are several keys to reaching Japan and one of them is through the marketplace. I have always wanted to go beyond the walls of the church and reach out, encourage and serve the Japanese business community. Not knowing this was one of the desires I had, a businessman in the church asked me if I would be interested in doing a daily business podcast. Needless to say, we felt that this was an open door! As of July 1^st, a 3 to 5 minute short podcast is uploaded daily (Monday to Friday) via iTunes. It is a non-religious podcast purposefully and strategically aimed towards the non-Christian Japaenese business people. I have never done anything like this, but I am very excited to take on this challenge as it has unlimited opportunities. Please pray for favor and more open doors as we continue.  Here is the link to iTunes if you are interested in listening: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=284457915  Hope Kids WorshipThis month was another great kid’s worship time.  Joshua really wanted to invite some classmates from school to Hope Kids Worship but it was hard for him to explain in Japanese what the event was about.  Joel solved that problem by creating a flyer for Joshua to hand out at school (which is not taboo here!). When Saturday arrived, Joshua was able to bring his classmate, his classmate’s older brother and their mother!  He was so excited the night before that he could hardly sleep.  The family ended up having a really good time and we were able to invite them over to our house afterwards for tea.  Elisa brought her friend Yuka, who has been coming on a regular basis, as well as two new friends.  We have definitely seen new evangelistic opportunities open up through our children that we would not have seen otherwise!  It is so exciting!From Where We Stand

Elisa–Hi this is Elisa! The picture below this is a picture in my class and I am playing the recorder. You can probably tell which one is me. At first I didn’t even know what to play. But now I am able to tell what I have to play. We only have 3 days left till summer break. I am so exited!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to go to Canada to see Nanna and Betsy (our dog), and go to Idaho (maybe) and go to Portland. Yesterday I brought home a car that we did for science. It is really cool. It goes really fast.

Joshua–Hi! This is Joshua!  Did you know I caught eight lizards where my dad cut down all the high grass?  I gave seven to my friends so I only have one.  The lizard that I have right now has a short tail because I think it got cut off so I named him “Shorty”. I did hanabi (fireworks) two times and I burned my finger.  It hurt a lot! Cultural Notes

Hanabi(fireworks) are available all summer long.  Joel decided to surprise the kids with a package of fireworks.  We walked up to a huge empty parking lot that is only used on weekends by the horse racing track, and prepared to set them off.  It was great fun until Joshua held the metal part of one and badly burned his index finger.  So, it was back home we went with Joshua crying that he will never do fireworks again. 

Now we fast forward to this past weekend.  We invited some friends over for a make your own Japanese pizza party. Sachiko and Kenji Nakamura also brought over some fireworks.  By this time Joshua’s finger had healed so he was quite willing to try again.  It was so much fun!  We shot off some rockets that made some huge sounds, some fireworks that exploded high in the sky, some spinners that skipped along the ground and made you think they were headed straight for you, and lastly, some hand held sparklers.  All the kids had a great time and Joshua is still talking about it. 

Tanabata

 This is a Sinto ritual that means “evening of the seventh” and is translated as “the Japanese star festival”.  People write down wishes or prayers on pieces of paper, sometimes in the form of poetry, and hang them on bamboo.  You will see them everywhere.  We took these pictures in a shopping mall.  Joshua and Elisa’s teachers also wanted their classes to do it but we explained to our children what it was and told them how to politely refuse!! 

THANK YOU FOR PARTNERING WITH US! We are completely relying upon financial support from individuals and churches to partner 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 instructions2.By check payable to:

City

Bible

Church9200

NE Fremont

Portland, OR

97220Note in the memo line: Joel & Kelly Kaylor-Japan 

It is too expensive here to figure out how I am going to pay my bills, let alone do what God has asked us to do. What do we do? We don’t figure it out. Jesus was very clear in teaching generosity “Give and it will be given to you”. Finances was the only thing where God said to “Test Me”. We are missionaries in one of the most expensive cities in the world and we believe in being generous. That being said, I NEVER want to be a “poor” missionary. By that I mean a missionary that is always receiving and asking for money.

Here is the motto I have living by faith in the one of the most expensive cities in the world:

I CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO BE GENEROUS!

It is that simple and it works. I am talking about living a generous life in every way, especially finances. This doesn’t mean giving everything away. Be responsible with your bills, but also push the limits of your giving.

The list of the most expensive cities has been released. Tokyo comes in at #2 and Osaka at #11.  Here is the Wikipedia link with a detailed report and here is an interesting article by Japan Today.

I am honored to be called to live and minister in two of the world’s most expensive cities! Looking back one year with all of the expenses we had in getting settled and paying our bills each month, I honestly do not know how we survived. We literally live each month by faith and WITHOUT fail we have NEVER been short! God is SOOOO amazing. God has used so many people to meet our needs and we are so grateful for our incredibly generous supporters! If you have given financially in anyway, we are soooo grateful and pray that God will bless you 100 fold. I am serious! God loves Japan and He will bless anyone that gives towards Japan. Am I biase? You better believe it!

We reject the “poor missionary” mindset as we need lots of money to get by each month. And we need UNLIMITED amount of finances to fulfil what God has called us to do. Do we have that money? Do we know where it is coming from? NO! But I do know that God will continue to PROVE HIMSELF and provide for everything that we need.

Stay tuned for the next post. I will introduce my motto for living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Tokyo is hot and humid. Actually Tokyo is relatively cool compared to other parts of Japan. I am not complaining. I wanted to send out a specific prayer request. As a lot of you know Kelly and the kids are now in

Canada and the States for a month enjoying some well deserved time off with family and friends. Their airfare was provided thus making it possible. God is so good and always provides. Due to my responsibilities I needed to stay home. For those of you who care

J I definitely miss my wife and kids, but I am actually doing well, thanks to a very busy schedule. I really feel that August is a strategic month. There is something in my spirit that has a high expectation of what God will do in August. We feel a strong sense of dependency on God and prayer. God is up to something! Can you feel it? I want to ask you to join us in prayer regarding the below prayer points: 

For Kelly, Elisa and Joshua to have a great time in Canada (with Nanna, Kelly’s mom) and in the States (friends and family)

Ø         For protection and health

Ø         For refreshing, rest and rejuvenation          

For traveling mercies. They will be in the car for many hours. Their itinerary:

Ø         July 22 – August 7 in Quesnel, BC

Ø         August 7 – 9 in Kelowna, BC (Kelly’s brother)

Ø         August 9 – 12 in Idaho (my sister and family)

Ø         August 12 – 28 in Portland           

My “spy out the land” trip to Osaka—July 31 to August 3

Ø         I will be researching and checking out a few areas to live in.

Ø         I will be meeting up with several key pastors in Osaka.

Ø         A couple that will be helping our church plant will be joining me for a couple of days.

Ø         Prayer for divine appointments

Ø         For favor and specific leading of the Holy Spirit

Ø         For continual clarity of when, where, how and who          

Please join us in praying for the church plant. Regardless of where you are at you can be a part of touching Osaka. (Remember, there are 18 million people who live in the Osaka area!!!)

Ø         For God to continue to speak to and gather our launch team. (We are praying for at least a team of 20 that will be committed to launching the church)

Ø         For all of the details of the preparation stage to come together.

Ø         For God to start preparing and softening the hearts of the people that will be saved through our church. 

That’s right, I am a bachelor for 5 weeks. YIKES!

Kelly and the kids are in Canada and the States to visit family and friends. Kelly and the kids have done an amazing job this past year adjusting to the Japanese culture, learning the language and making lots of friends. They really deserve this break and I am excited that they can take it!

If I said I didn’t miss them I would be TOTALLY lying! Are you kidding me?! Having said that, I am actually surprised at how well I am holding up. I definitely miss them very much, but there are several things that help ease the pain (nothing can take away the pain though). I have a very busy schedule with many tasks and projects. If I can stay focused I usually go to bed exhausted, which is good:) Skype has really helped as well. To be able to talk to them as you see them via video conference is incredible!!!! THANK GOD for technology! Now, if I can only tough them. Also, another thing. I do not want to sound religious and spiritual, but I really think there is a special grace that is helping me.

One verse caught my attention as I was reading the Psalms today. It is Psalms 18:30

“As for God, His way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”

His way is perfect. Is there any other way that we want? Let’s be honest. We have all gone our own way in the name of “God’s Will”. Why do we deceive ourselves like that? Let’s set aside all of “our ways” and go His way! I think we complicate the matter too much. It is actually very easy. Here are some questions that I thought of for myself.

What can I do to make sure that I am aligned to God’s perfect way? What can I do confirm God’s perfect way? What are somethings that I can do to partner with God to prove His promises to be True? Which of God’s promises should I do something about and which ones should I keep on the shelf (or back burner)?

These questions got me thinking. Definitely worth meditating on. Each person’s answers will be a little different. I will let you answer these questions for yourself.

I can’t wait to continue to walk in God’s perfect way and continue to watch God prove himself faithful!!!!

I was sorting through my files today and came across a peice of paper that I jotted down some thoughts a few years back regarding the purpose of God. This one statement I wrote down caught my attention:

God uses PEOPLE to demonstrate His POWER and fulfill His PURPOSE

 

Joshua caught a crawdad on his way home from school today. He LOVES any kind of bugs, beetles, lizards, crawdad. We seem to have quite a few of them around here. Joshua loves the Japanese summer.

I just got back from the bank. I did something that I have been wanting to do for a long time. I opened a specific bank account for our Osaka church. The Osaka church is God’s project, but there are also a lot things that I can do to partner with Him to move towards Osaka. Although opening a bank account is easy, this was significant for us. We are looking forward to how God will continue to prove Himself!

What kind of God projects are you involved in? What are some of the practical things that you can do to partner with Him?