This Sunday after worship we had lunch. Many churches have lunch together every week, or at least once a month. Our church has it less frequently.
It seems that many churches have a set lunch menu - udon noodles with toppings, or a bowl of rice with toppings, or curry rice. Each church has their own price. First-timers are free, while adults usually pay 2 or 300 yen, and children 1 or 200.
Those who want to serve on the cooking rotation are divided into teams, and the teams rotate preparing the meals. When you're trying to feed a large group on a budget, the meals are usually simple. Not remarkably special, but always hearty and good.
Our meal this week was red beans and rice! We were celebrating!
The church's fourfold prayer over the past ten years has been: to start a daughter church, to have its own land and building, to have a Japanese pastor, and to have Japanese elders.
A few years back, two Japanese elders were ordained. Later, in a miraculous way, the church was able to acquire its own land and building. Two daughter churches are in various stages of being planted, and two unordained pastoral staff are in the midst of a lengthy ordination process.
This Sunday was reason for great celebration, as we saw an answer to a specific prayer request that we have asked for many times over these many years. God has provided one more Japanese elder to help shepherd this flock!
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