2011
On June 4th the Japanese Ministry hosted missionary to Japan, Roald Lidal, for a presentation on the Manga Bible project. Lidal recounted how, after years of service with Bible and Christian literature publications, he felt intense frustration due to the low response among Japanese. At that point, the Lord amazingly opened a new avenue: producing the Bible in the extremely popular Japanese form of comic - Manga. Five volumes have been produced to date and been translated into 20 languages. We recommend the Manga Messiah volume, now on sale - in English - in The Orchard bookstore!
Thank you for coming to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Charity Event at The Orchard! There were more than 200 Japanese guests and the total participation was close to 300. A number of important local musicians participated in support of this event to raise the donations.
We were welcomed by the traditional sounds of Japan played by the group Chicago Koto. Choral Futaba, a Japanese women's chorus, kicked off the afternoon with beautiful harmony, followed by the ensemble Encore Brass Quintet. As special guest, Mr. Tage Larsen, trumpeter with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, treated us to some world class music, accompanied by his wife, Mamiko, at the piano.
The second part of the program featured by black gospel music. The powerful renditions of gospel tunes by our guest soloists prepared everyone for the workshop to follow. Many Japanese guests signed up to join the choir and were delighted to try singing black gospel music for themselves.
We appreciate all Japanese and American volunteers who served at this event. We are so grateful for everyone who has a heart to love and support Japan. We collected $3433.23 and thank you for your contributions. All donations will go to CrashJapan. This is an organization with much experience in relief to disaster areas, including Haiti and New Orleans after the Katrina hurricane. We pray that the donations may be used effectively and that all those who have suffered so much will be healed and receive peace and hope from Jesus Christ.
2010
On Weds Nov 17 English Cafe ministry hosted a dessert party with Japanese and American women. 40 people were able to come. Thank you for that! We had a combination of delicious Japanese, Italian and, American desserts. If you missed this event, come to our next cafe event. Thanks Andrew family to host this dessert party!
On Saturday, Nov 13 our Japnese community member had a fun fellowship time. Thank you so much for your attendance ! We are thinking to have this kind of great fellwoship again in near future. See you next time!
The Orchard Evangelical Free Church invited movie producer Paul Nethercott for a showing of 3 short, award-winning films produced in Japan, including the acclaimed "Jitensha". Paul has lived in Japan for more than 20 years, working as a missionary, producer, actor, and seminar speaker. After the films, Paul shared behind-the-scenes stories about the production of these films. Also, he shared how much God cares about us through these short films. There were many meaningful and helpful discussions. Finally, we had plenty of great barbecue and rice balls.
Thanks for coming to Football 101! About 100 Japanese moms, dads, kids and grandparents heard speaker Gary Hrivnak share memories of playing with the Chicago Bears. Gary and Roscoe DeChalus prepared everyone for the Super Bowl by presenting basic football rules and regulations.
American Football Ticket
We were encouraged to hear Gary's story of overcoming his personal struggles after sustaining an injury while playing for the Bears. Even though we face difficulties and challenges, we should not be discouraged, for our hope is in God. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you. To give you a future and a hope!" (Jeremiah 29:11). Thank you Gary! We are planning more interesting events in the near future. Please stay connected and God bless you! Please visit more event pictures from here!
2009
There were 160 students, pastors, layworkers, missionaries who came for the Reaching Japanese for Christ Midwest Conference. People came from Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, Tennessee, New York, Canada Toronto, and Seattle. We were taught how best to serve Japanese here in U.S. There were great messages, testimonies, worship, discussions, prayers and fellowship. We hope that we can hold another wonderful conference in the future!
On October 29, 2009, we had a soup and bread gathering with Japanese women who attend our English Cafe. Thank you to all the Japanese moms and kids who came for this event. All the people brought one of their favorite breads. Chili and vegetable soup were served. Many people had a great time and still talk about how much fun they had.
In September 2009, our English Cafe participants gathered and had a dessert party. We ate and had fun conversation. All of them brought thier favorite desserts, including a traditional Japanese dessert. We learned how to make a Sushi style desert for the Japanese guests.
