So That's How you Skin a Pig!

(Well, that's not the only thing we learned in Thailand this year!)

Every year, with the cooperation of the Student Services Association of KGU and International Soroptomists, our KGU Sigma Society sets out on a service-learning trip to Thailand. We stay in Bangkok for a few days, learn about some of the shapes of poverty in this complex city and volunteer in a day care center in one of the eastern slum areas.

Then we head up to Chiang Rai province in the northernmost part of Thailand to learn about the challenges faced by ethnic minorities living there (these folks are sometimes referred to as "hilltribes" peoples though many of them don't live in the hills anymore). For the past number of years, every year we've built a multi-use church/community center/shelter building in a different village. This year, we helped put up a wood/brick building in the small village of Lu-an.

Next, we headed down to Chiang Mai for a week of visiting a number of Christian institutions serving at-risk ethnic minority children and youth. Some of the "kids" we met were AIDS orphans, others were rescued from abusive situations, and others at high risk for falling into prostitution. It's always an eye-opening experience for all of us, reminding us of our responsibilities to work together to solve the human and political problems so many of our "brothers and sisters" around the world face.

For more pictures of the trip, check out this link!

http://www.davidsonjapan.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=912

A Christmas Song for YOU!

Enjoy this Christmas song from the students in the KGU Fellowship group!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGcc4REBxI

An Important Lesson at Kanto Gakuin's 125th Anniversary

A surprising thing happened to me this week—and it taught me an important lesson.

Because I’m a chaplain at Kanto Gakuin, I often have opportunities to study our Christian history. This month, KG celebrated its 125th anniversary. As many of you know, Kanto Gakuin traces its roots back to 1884, when American missionary, A.A. Bennett founded the Yokohama Baptist Seminary.

As part of the 125th anniversary celebrations, Kanto Gakuin wanted to invite two great-grandchildren of A.A. Bennett to come to Japan from America to attend the celebration. Early last year, I was put in charge of finding and inviting these people. After months of searching, I was finally able to find some of Rev. Bennett’s descendents—and we contacted them, asking them to attend our celebration.

Here’s the surprising part—these folks knew that their great-grandfather had founded a seminary in Japan. In fact, they had a number of books he had written in their home. But they didn’t know that the seminary had grown into the modern Kanto Gakuin. When they attended the celebrations this weekend, they were visibly moved. The small school their great-grandfather had started had turned into a 15,000 student institution! They were amazed to travel to the Mutsuura Campus to discover that “Bennett Hall” existed—all of this was completely new to them. They were truly filled with gratitude for being invited to attend our 125th celebration as representatives of the Bennett family.

But here’s the lesson I learned. One of the family members said to me, “I’m sure that when my great-grandfather started the Seminary in his home with 5 students, he had no idea it would ever become something like Kanto Gakuin!” She continued, “This makes me realize that we never really know what will happen as a result of our service to others. I’m sure my great-grandfather had times of real discouragement, but he just continued to be faithful to the calling God had given him. Maybe this is what we all need to do—just be faithful to our call.”

That was a great encouragement to me. None of us can control what the results of our service to others will be in one generation, or two, or three. But we can control this: whether or not we are faithful to do what God asks of us today.

文学部教員コラム vol.22 『関東学院創立125周年での大切な教訓』

（英語英米文学科　D.P.デビッドソン先生）

先日、驚くことがありました。そして、それは私にとってとても大切な教訓になりました。

私は関東学院の宣教師です。そして学院のキリスト教の歴史をよく調べたりします。今年の10月、関東学院は創立125周年を迎え、その記念を祝いました。ご存知のように、関東学院の源流の一つは、1884年にアメリカから来た宣教師A.A. Bennett（ベンネット）氏（下写真）により設立された、横浜バプテスト神学校です。

2008年の春、関東学院の関係者が集まり、創立125周年記念式典に、Bennett先生のご子孫を探して、彼らをお招きしようという計画がたてられました。そして、私は、そのご子孫を探す仕事を担当することになりました。数ヶ月して、私はやっとBennett先生のお孫さんとひ孫さんを見つけることができました。そして、そのお二人を私たちのお祝い場へ招待することになりました。

そこで一つ驚いたことがありました。Bennettのお孫さんたちは、A.A. Bennett先生が日本で神学校を設立したことはよく知っていたのですが、それが現在の関東学院だということを、全く知らなかったのです。10月の記念式典に参加してくださったA.A. Bennett先生のひ孫さんたちは、関東学院のことを知ると、とても感動していました。彼らの曾祖父が作った小さな学校が、なんと学生、生徒、園児15,000人を超える関東学院になったのだと！また、私は彼らを金沢八景キャンパスのSCCの建物に案内し、4階にある「ベンネット・ホール」を紹介しました。すると、自分の曾祖父を記念するホールがあることを知って、彼らは言葉を失うほど感動していました。今回、A.A. Bennettのご家族の代表者として、関東学院の創立125周年記念のお祝いの場に参加できたことに、彼らはとても感謝していました。

横浜外国人墓地（横浜山手）に眠るベンネット先生"he lived to serve"の文字が刻まれている今回私は、彼らから大変大切なことを学びました。ある時、お一人が私にこう言いました。「私の曾祖父が自分の家に学生5人を集め、神学校を創った当時、彼は将来の関東学院のことを想像出来なかったでしょう。それを考えると、やっぱり私たちも、自分の小さな奉仕がどんな実りになるかは知ることが出来ません。私の曾祖父は、大きな試練を受け、落胆することもあったと思いますが、彼は、神様からいただいた使命を毎日毎日忠実に果たしてきただけなのです。おそらく、私たちも自分に託された使命を忠実に担うことしか出来ないでしょう。」

私にとって、それはとても励ましの言葉になりました。私たちは、他者への奉仕について、将来の結果を完全にコントロールすることは出来ません。しかし、コントロールできることが一つあります。忠実な日々の奉仕。将来の実りについて、神様に任すしかありません。

The Fellowship's 30 Years

This year, Kanto Gakuin University's The Fellowship group will be thirty years old!

The Fellowship started in 1979, when American Baptist missionaries, Charles and Judith DeRolf began inviting students over to their home for Bible studies and meals together. The DeRolfs continued leading this group until they retired from work in Japan in 2005. Here are some quick historical highlights of The Fellowship:

1982: The Fellowship becomes an official club of students at the university.

1985: Eiji Osato becomes a Bible teacher at Kanto Gakuin Mutsuura Jr./Sr. High school and begins helping out at the Fellowship.

1992: Eiji Osato and his wife, Emi (whom he met at the Fellowship group) become Japan Baptist Union missionaries to Thailand, working in leadership development among the Karen tribal group

1993: Fellowship goes to the USA (Yosemite National Park and Chicago, IL)

1994: Fellowship goes to Thailand to volunteer with the Osato family

late 1990s: The Fellowship takes a number of overseas trips (to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, and to multiple places in the US)

1999: Sanae Nakajima, a Fellowship alum, founds "Free the Children, Japan"--an NGO which works to save children around the world from exploitation

(see http://www.ftcj.com/index.html )

2002: Fellowship goes to Boulder, CO, USA

2005: The DeRolf family retires from missionary work in Japan; Rev. Hogari becomes the advisor; Rev. Noh begins volunteering with the group

2006: The Fellowship begins annually welcoming two groups Korean college students for cultural exchange; Dwight begins volunteering with the group

This year, we start our 30th year of friendship-building and Christian witness. PTL!

Sigma Society Volunteer Trip to Thailand, Spring '09

This March, 17 students along with Rev. Morishima, Mr. Kanda, and myself, went on the Sigma Society volunteer and study trip to Thailand. What a great trip! For the first couple of days, we stayed in Bangkok, getting oriented to Thai culture, and learning about the plight of children living in slum areas outside the city. We volunteered at a daycare center in one of these slum areas, with the help of Japanese missionary, Rev. Matsushita and his wife.

We then headed up to Chiang Rai, where we worked with Akha Churches in Thailand to build a shelter in a remote village called Hoi Chom Pu. We stayed in the village for three days--eating delicious stuff like rice, mountain veggies and meat from a freshly killed hog (we also ate some other stuff like ant eggs and and various hog "parts"). The Akha people were lovely and were happy to share their lives and culture with us. The shelter/church building project was carried out with generous funding from Soroptimists International, Japan.

We returned to Chiang Mai after this, to visit a number of Christian ministries which offer help to hill tribes peoples: The House of Love and The House of Hope (both AIDS orphanages) and the House of Blessing (a daycare serving underpriviledged hill tribes children). We also had the chance to have a joint class with students studying Japanese at Chiang Mai University.

This two-week trip was a great chance to put KGU's motto "Serve the World" into practice, as well as a great chance to get to know one another better.

See the full pictoral report at:

http://www.davidsonjapan.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=701

A Busy School Festival

At this year's "Bunka-sai" (Culture Festival), two of the clubs related to the chaplaincy at KGU had booths. The Sigma Society, which is a volunteering club, put up an exhibition advertized in this flyer.

The flyer says, "Lots of Thai Children! Pictures! Video! We've been doing volunteer work among the minority people groups in the mountains of Thailand... Riding elephants, working out in the forests! We've seen lots of smiling faces--come take a look!"

The booth was a great success, with many students and a number of teachers getting a good introduction to the work these students have been doing in cooperation with Akha Churches in Thailand and International Soroptomists.

The Fellowship group also put up a booth in front of the chapel--a long standing tradition. This year, we made "Tonjiru" - Pork Soup, a fall time favorite in Japan.

To make this soup, students first had to prepare the "konyaku"--a strange rubbery food made from a root vegetable (like a potato) we usually don't grow or eat in America. I've always thought konyaku was a little bizarre, but the tonjiru sure tasted good when all was said and done!

Good job, everybody!

Obama & Pooh sighted in Japan...

The Fellowship group had their annual Halloween party lately and we had lots of interesting entries for "best dressed." Pooh showed up, as well as Sen. Obama--both very popular here in the land of the rising sun!

We have about four Korean students coming to the group now, and they have been helping out with the music end of things, as well as teaching Korean language at lunchtime on Fridays. These Korean volunteers have been a real blessing to us--they are all Christian young adults who are in Japan for ministry or for study purposes. I sure do appreciate their willingness to try to communicate in Japanese to build friendships and share their love of people and of Jesus.

This week, one of the young ladies in the fellowship group decided to become a Christian. This was a big decision for her, and we wish her the best in her spiritual journey!