JAPAN 2011 - Skit at Watari VIDEO

JAPAN 2011 - What Does Love Look Like?

Tagajo, Japan
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
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What Does Love Look Like?

Our team of nine Iris missionaries, along with our hosts and translators have been carrying the love of Jesus into the shelters and areas of devastation. So what does love look like after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan?

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At the shelter in Watari love looks like serving coffee to the people gathered in their makeshift homes separated by carboard half-walls. Love looks like buying 300 pieces of chicken and feeding 40 families. Love looks like giving flowers to the people who have lost loved ones, homes and possessions in the earthquake and tsunami and giving time to them cry and grieve openly, even though it goes against their culture. Love looks like listening to their stories and giving them hugs. Love looks like dressing up in monkey, tiger and rabbit costumes and bringing smiles to children's faces in the midst of fear and uncertainty. Love looks like distributing donated clothing to families whose clothes have been washed away in the tsunami waters. Love looks like performing a skit and explaining the gospel. Love looks like praying with people to receive Jesus. Love looks like giving people Bibles and small mp5 players with the Jesus film in Japanese.

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In Tagajo love looks like a treasure hunt. Love looks like serving coffee to workers who are cleaning up debris and praying with them to receive Jesus. At a shelter in Sendai love looks like embracing a young girl and speaking destiny over her life. This is a glimpse of what love has looked like as our Iris Relief 2nd Response Team has traveled through Japan. The Japanese are beautiful people. Jesus loves Japan and so do I.

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Christian Young

JAPAN 2011 - Beauty for Ashes, Death to Life

Minami-San Riku, Japan
Sunday, April 24, 2011
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Beauty for Ashes

Our team drove a few hours north to a place called Minami-San Riku. So far, it has been the worst destruction we have seen on our trip. This city is situated in the foothills where the enormous tsunami wave traveled. We heard that with one road exiting the city to higher ground, many lost their lives in their cars as they tried to make it from the side roads onto the main road. There simply wasn't enough time.

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Once again, we went to a shelter that God had showed us through heavenly strategies. As we entered this shelter, we were greeted by the families staying there with warmth. Our mascot costumes again were a big hit with the children. Some of our team served hot coffee to the adults, while others played with and loved on children, as well as gave out toys and gifts. We were able to engage in a lot of conversations with the people we served, asking questions, empathizing and praying with them. Amy, Ruth and I prayed with three ladies who received Christ. We also prayed for the healing of their child who was suffering with a skin condition. Yonnie and Naomi led another lady to Christ. We gave Japanese Bibles to each of them. We prayed and prophesied over others, and often, just sat and listened to them share their story about how they escaped from the tsunami waters and in many cases how they lost family members. We played more group games with the children and I was even challenged to arm wrestle a young adult from the shelter. As we drove around and took it all in, we know that it the midst of it all, the beauty of new life in Christ emerged from the ashes and debris.

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From Death to Life

Today we celebrated Christ's resurrection at our host's church in Sendai. We started out with a pancake breakfast. Then we were blessed by a Christ-follower from their church who brought an indigenous Japanese instrument called a koto (that came from China originally I believe) and played so beautifully for us. It was literally heavenly. We then had a beautiful time of worship in Japanese and English. During that time I was just soaking in God's presence and He revealed to me that two people present were needing a healing; one from nightmares and another from chest pain and tightness due to stress and anxiety. I mentioned this to the congregation as I led a worship song after Yonnie shared a wonderful testimony that our team acted out in skit form. I told them that they would be healed from these two things during our time in God's presence. (After the service a mother and a daughter came forward asking how I knew they were suffering from these things. They said that they felt set free during the service, but I prayed for them and blessed them nonetheless) Jeremy then gave an awesome message from Hebrews 12:25-29 and 1 Corinthains 3:11-13. At the end of the service, their church prophesied over our team. It was an amazing time at an amazing church. I really love our hosts, Jeremy and Kumi. They are such special people with such huge destiny over their lives for God's Kingdom coming to Japan.

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After church our team walked to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. It is an area of downtown Sendai that is crowded with people. So Yonnie, and then later, Amy, put on the bunny suit and hugged on and loved children and adults on the way for ice cream and back. I am telling you, our team carries so much of God's love and I am so honored to be a part of it. The bunny suit almost every time made children and families smile and laugh, which is huge during this time in Japan. Transformational life in Christ is taking place in where death's sting has been felt so strongly.

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Christian Young

JAPAN 2011 - Salvation and Healing at a Shelter in Watari

Watari, Japan

Friday, April 22, 2011

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Salvation and Healing at a Shelter in Watari

Everywhere you look there is devastion here on the east coast of Japan. The devastation goes beyond wreckage wrougth by the earthquake and tsunami. So many people here have lost everything, are living in tremendous fear and are in desperate need of hope. Our team has been staying in Sendai where literally every night we have felt earthquakes over 5.0 that wake us up from our sleep.

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Today, our hosts Jeremy and Kumi took us to a place south of Sendai called Watari. They were praying about where we should go to bring relief and they literally heard a cry from this city. Watari is about 80 kilometers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

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As we drove closer and closer to the coast, the damage became insurmountable. We decided we would go on a treasure hunt in the neighborhoods where homes were destroyed as we hear that some families were gathering together in homes that weren't completely destroyed, some of them freezing to death without water or electricity. We aked the Holy Spirit to be our GPS. He led us to a house where a mother, grandmother and child were cleaning out the first floor of their partially destroyed home. We gave the child candy and toys and the family were so warm and welcoming to us, which we've heard is not the norm. They even let us pray for them. We gave them a Japanese Bible that the grandmother clutched as a precious gift. They told us that there were many families at a school that had been turned into a shelter, so we headed for that shelter.

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We found a school and were met by a school nurse who again, was so warm and said she loved our international team. She showed us where the shelter was. As we entered the shelter, three of our team members dressed up in mascot costumes; Naomi was a monkey, Mark was a tiger and Scott was a crocodile. The 40+ kids at the shelter loved it and hugged our team members in costume. The adults were also so glad that we came. We handed out more candy to everyone at the shelter. We were also able to meet many people and pray with them.

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One lady received Christ. Amy, Kumi and I prayed with her after we had given her a puzzle that Amy had brought from the U.S. of Noah's Ark. When we gave the puzzle to the lady's grand daughter we were informed that the child's name was Noah...which is highly uncommon a name in Japan. "This was no coincidence," the lady said over and over again as we led her to Christ. We explained that like Noah and the Ark, that God had saved their family from the flood waters and that in Jesus is our true salvation. Amazing!

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Naomi, Kumi and I also prayed with another lady who had back pain. Her back was healed and we were able to share with her the gospel of Christ. Our team carried so much of God's love and glory into that shelter in Watari as we simply "stopped for the one." We have an open door to return to that same shelter next week with more supplies. Thank you Jesus!
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Christian Young

JAPAN 2011 - Arrival in Tokyo Where the Earth is Shaking

Tokyo, Japan
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
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Arrival in Tokyo Where the Earth is Shaking

Thank you all for your prayers. I made it in to Tokyo a little earlier today. I met up with Ben, another one of our team members after getting off the plane at the Narita Airport. After purchasing a SIM card to use with my Blackberry and changing US Dollars to Japanese Yen, Ben and I bought bus tickets to Sano City where we are staying for the night. We met up with most of our team members but are still waiting for Yonnie, Katherine and Amy to arrive at the Haneda Airport. Our hosts here at the Sano Church are amazing and so hospitable. They took us out to a Japanese restaurant.

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I'm pretty tired but felt like I wanted to update our blog to let everyone know that I made it safely. Just as I was getting onto the blog to make this post, a big aftershock shook the whole church building that we are staying at for a few moments. I just happened to be talking with some other team members, Scott and Mark about the return of Christ and the birth pains associated with the beginning of sorrows when the aftershock hit. What amazing timing! It wasn't big enough of an earthquake to destroy anything at the church building and our team is fine. I can see why the Japanese people are so unsettled and in need of hope. I know where I will go when die. Ninety nine percent of the Japanese are unreached and don't have this same assurety of eternal life through a personal, hand-holding relationship with Jesus Christ that I do. This is why we hit the road for Sendai tomorrow to bring this hope in Jesus to this precious people. Thanks again for your continued prayers. Love to you all.

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Christian Young

JAPAN 2011 - IRIS Relief 1st Response VIDEO

Check out this video that encompasses our IRIS Relief 1st Response Team's journey in Japan in response to the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.

UNITED STATES 2011 - More New Pics at FacePlant Skate Church

More New Pics at FacePlant SkateChurch 

All of our FacePlant skaters have just been shredding so hard lately at SkateChurch, I had to put up some new pics of them on the blog. Also, we've had 1 more first time decision to receive Christ and 3 more recommitments. Very cool!

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Christian Young

Josh Newton airing WAY over the coping on the miniramp

Victor Von Claus with a super-tweaked grind on the miniramp

Ricky Brewer with a crazy over-tweaked stall over the ledge on the miniramp

Matthew Alexander with a nice pop shovit off of a kicker

Ford Bennett the first to land a kickflip down the new five stair

UNITED STATES 2011 - Small Remodel at Ripzu - New Hip and Five Stair

Small Remodel at Ripzu Skate Park 

Chris Gilbert and I worked on a small remodel at Ripzu on Thursday and Friday of last week. We dismantled part of the existing street section and framed out a new hip, five stair and two hubbas. Man, this is gonna be a sweet section to skate. I'm not sure if Chris finished sheeting it all with plywood and masonite for SkateChurch this Monday, but it is a sick addition to Ripzu. Check out the pics below:

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Also in other news, while I was away in Thailand, after Ricky's teaching there was one young man who gave his life to Jesus and two others that rededicated their lives to Christ. I've added some other new pics to the blog below. Check out the sticker slap contest. Ricky won with a whopping 16 foot sticker slap. Crazy! Also just a quick heads up that the cost at the door to skate every Monday night at FacePlant SkateChurch will soon be going up from $4.00 due to the amount of skaters coming and the cost to run Ripzu Skate Park. Thanks for your understanding.

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Christian Young

FP SkateChurch Pastor