Grand Opening

Saturday, August 20th was the big day. We worked down to the wire. The mortar in the parking area wasn't completely dry when people showed up, but what a time it was. About one hundred people came, most from New Hope Tokyo, some from New Hope Yokohama and Shiki Christian Church, and a few other folks.

We started with worship. The future Narimasu worship team led, and did a wonderful job of it. Pastor Talo introduced and thanked various people, and gave a brief message about our three-fold vision for the Narimasu project (preschool, culture center, and worship service). We watched a slide presentation that showed the renovation from beginning to end (even though we still aren't quite done). Pastor Toru dedicated the project in prayer. All this was followed by refreshments on the first floor provided by NHT's hospitality team.

Personally, I was touched by how many people came and the excitement they have for the project. A few expressed interest in being teachers or staff. Also, before Toru prayed, he talked about God's faithfulness in bringing vision to pass and related how glad he was that I hadn't decided to move back to America a couple years ago when I was going through a dry time. I had forgotten all about that time, but it's true that I was inches from a decision to pack it all up and head home. If I had done so, I am sure that God would have worked his purposes through others, but I would have been watching from afar.

Just getting to the Grand Opening was arduous but the real work has yet to begin. We now need to furnish the school, recruit and train teachers and staff, and begin gathering students. We are working on a flier and have a web domain, www.newhopeclc.jp, but if you click the link, you will see that, as of today, there is no content yet.

When I get some photos of the opening, I will post them here. Until then . . .

Grand Opening Announcement

Here is the postcard invitation to the grand opening of our community center and preschool. Everyone is welcome.

Edit: I just realized this image might be too small. Please click here to see it at a (much) higher resolution.

Study Trip to Kobe

I went to Kobe (actually Ashiya) last week for a few days to observe classes in a preschool that is very similar to the one we envision. The time there was great. Thanks to Richard and Chisa, and Jef and Aya for hospitality. Thanks to Sharon and Satoru (and Yumi) for allowing me to sit in on classes and pick your brains. I came back encouraged, inspired, and full of ideas. Check out their web site. It's in Japanese, but the pictures are great.

5 Days Left

On August 20, we are going to have our grand opening. The remodeling will go down to the wire, probably without us being finished with everything, but we're pretty close. We installed the flooring in the main classroom/hall today. Tomomi put in some carpet tiles downstairs. Most of what's left to be done is finish work, hanging some doors, touching up paint, and the like.

Our Logo

logo
Originally uploaded by Jeremy in Japan.

Here is the logo that Yuzupon (an excellent New Hope graphics guy) came up with. It's an adaptation of our church's logo. Notice that the ribbon with "Preschool" on it can easily be changed to "Elementary School," "Junior High School" or "High School."

Long time, no write

It's been a while, but here's a short update. The remodeling work is taking much longer than expected, but we have people working almost around the clock to get things ready for our "opening ceremony" on August 20.

A big thank you to the Kona DTS team of Cliff, Chan, Mike, and Moses, who put in a week or so of very hard work ripping up old vinyl flooring and busting tiles and a concrete wall out of our parking area. Everyone here was impressed by your enthusiasm and servant hearts. (I hope you get your cho cho longs, Cliff.)

Also to the Australia team that helped for two days. The kids are going to get a lot of fun out of those blocks. And I'll think about you guys whenever I see those shiny brass edges on the stairs.

I'll be going down to Kobe on August 11 and 12 to observe Sharon in action at the preschool she started earlier this year. She and the Lord have a good thing going there and it is her vision to see schools multiplied across Japan.

Please keep the project in prayer. As we get closer to the end of the remodeling, it is time to focus more on our program, teacher recruiting and training, publicity and student recruiting. Please pray for me personally as well that I will be wise with my time. I am still on my current job until March and want to have a great transition to the next head teacher there. I have never worked on a project as big as this preschool project before and at times feel overwhelmed. I also need to be a good husband and father in the midst of the busyness. In other words, I need to listen keenly to the Lord and follow his leading.

Thank you for reading, and for your prayers.