Outreach #2 Phillippines

--Hi all my supporters, friends, family, and everyone else that i may have missed, i know this post is coming so soon after my last one, but its already time for our next outreach to begin. By the time you read this blog post there is a good chance i will already be on my way or already in the Philippines. We leave our house at 5am on 6-29, 4 pm (6-28) back home in the US
--For the next two weeks the DTS students will be working for and alongside a ministry in the city of Alongapo (sp?) that helps to bring women out of prostitution and into the body of Christ. The ministry itself began a few years back when a single YWAM staff went into a bar in the city to do evangelism and helped get one girl named Virgie come out of prostitution and into the light, now Virgie is doing the same for women like she once was and helping them and inviting others to help them see the love that Jesus Christ has for them.
-- There are a few reasons why this ministry is so important. 1) Sex slavery/ prostitution is terrible and needs to be put to an end and by showing these women that Jesus loves them, does not wish them to be in this position and that He has other plans for their lives 2) 70% of the girls who are sold into slavery in Japan come from the Philippines where they are promised work and a better life if they come here 3) the relationship between the Philippines and the Japanese was at one time very poor and by partnering with the people of the Philippines we hope to restore the relationships that were once poor/unhealthy 4) lastly Japan is a very hard place to do ministry, people are very within themselves, and ministry here takes a lot of time and effort (this will change in the future as more and more Japanese come to know Jesus), but the Philippines on the other hand is a place where people have very little (money, food, possessions) and because of this they tend to be more open to hearing the gospel and many lives will be changed on this trip.

-- Once again we need your help, this ministry/outreach time will not leave the ground with your prayers partnering with us and giving it wings, here are the things i feel that are most important to pray for us over the next 2 weeks
1) Unity for the group - if we are in anyway dis-unified in any way our purpose and power as the body of Christ will be weakened because we need all the parts of the body, that we would encourage and strengthen one another
2) An Outpouring of Holy Spirit and the Love of God - that we would partner with Him and how He is moving in the Philippines, that we would focus on God and because of His love for us we could pour it out on His children in powerful ways
3) Leadership - that our leadership would function in the way the Lord wants them to and that they would have strength, boldness, courage, rest and fun on this trip, that it would not be straining in the least bit, and that all the big, but good, personalities wouldn't clash but lift one another up
4) Fun, but not vacation - that we would enjoy our time, see people come to know Jesus, but not check out and forget our purpose/have a vacation mindset

God Bless, In the Love of Jesus Christ, thank you for all you do,
Austin Bock

GT Fin

--Thank you all so much for partnering with myself, Hi-BA International, Hi-BA Japan, and YWAM for these past two weeks. GT is officially over and I could not have made it through without your constant prayers and support. The entire 2 weeks were definitely go, go, go, but the Lord gave all of us grace and rest throughout the action packed weeks. Our average wake up time to go and pass out tracks to the high schoolers was about 5:45am and our average bed time was about 11pm so it was an intense few weeks.

Ryutaro-san, on fire for God, his own family, surfing, and God's children

--My favorite part of GT was not necessarily the program itself but rather the relationships I had the opportunity to build with so many people including: the international Hi-BA high schoolers and GT students/staff who are all extremely on fire for God, the Hi-BA staff from all over Japan specifically Ryutaro-san, Tsuguru-san, and Masaya-san who are three Japanese men, family men, and christian men who are on fire for the Lord and who I believe are going to be important players in the Christian revival of Japanese high schoolers and of Japan.

My GT team, such a blessing

-- I learned and experienced a lot through GT. I got to see how the japanese people reach out for Jesus Christ, I got to experience and see hungry high schoolers go after kids their own age for the sake of the gospel, i got to see many japanese high schoolers come into relationship with Jesus Christ, i got to show the love and relentless pursuit of Jesus Christ for His children through the skit we did which is below, i got to act like a fool passing out thousands of invitations/tracks to high school students, i got to submit to authorities that God placed over me that i wouldn't normally/regularly submit to, and best of all i got to experience the love, grace and rest of God on a regular basis.
--Thank you all again for all the love, prayer, and support that you have given me. I also want to give a special thank you to my home church, The Chapel in St. Joseph, MI for supporting me financially and continuously praying for me i would not be where i am without you. I want to also thank my kind and loving family, my mom and dad (Karen and Frank Bock) for stepping out in faith and supporting me, as well as Jenny Ryan my sister and Blake Ryan my brother-in-law and my nephew Grady for being such a joy and blessing in my life I love you all so much. Also to my Aunt Paula for writing me such encouraging emails, I have truly been blessed by them. God bless, check back very soon for a new blog on our upcoming outreach to the Philippines.

In this skit i got to be Jesus, and the girl who is carrying the bag

 is throughout the skit being labeled with labels like: boring, not cool, not

 good at anything, and not worthy etc. She begins to feel the weightiness

of all these labels and finally breaks down. She then realizes that Jesus

died for all these burdens and that if she takes them to the cross,

she can walk in her true identity which is a loved daughter of God. 

Based off of Matthew 11:28-30

Outreach Begins!!!

--For the next 2 weeks and all the weeks that follow, starting tomorrow (6-13), myself and the rest of the DTS students/some staff will be beginning the outreach portion of our time here in Tokyo, Japan. The upcoming two weeks we are partnering with HiBA (high school born again) a ministry to high school students that has been active in sharing the gospel for 50 years to high schoolers throughout Japan with whom our YWAM base has partnered for the past 3 to 4 years.
--The basic set up for this ministry/outreach time, called gospel team (GT), is divided into 2 groups: support team and students teams. Student teams (which is the section I am in) are dedicated to waking up super early like 5-530am to pass out invitations/tracts to high school student for rallies that occur after school lets in the afternoon. At the rallies there is social time like games and ice breakers, worship times, testimonies, small messages, and small groups to discuss the messages/testimonies and encourage relationship with Christ Jesus or prayer about matters the students may have. Support team is basically what the name says they are the ones behind the scenes doing laundry, making food, handling money for lunches, cleaning the areas we are sleeping in, etc. These staff are the ones who allow all the students to basically do ministry freely and effectively.

Please, like you have all done so effectively and efficiently when i have asked of you, partner with this minisrty, myself and the rest of the DTS students in prayer for the high schoolers of this nation.

1) Thank God for this wonderful opportunity to reach hundreds even thousands of Japanese student with the good news of Jesus Christ
2) Pray for a Softening of hearts - that students all throughout Japan would be open to hearing and accepting the gospel.
3) Pray for myself and the staff - for extreme amounts of energy, drive to push forward in mundane/monotonous, patience, love, boldness, wisdom, and rest. For the next two weeks because we will need all of them especially energy, drive, and rest (if we have those the rest follow suit).
4) Praise God for all the students that will come to see and know the Lord, there has been at least one each year for the past 50 years. Pray that those who do come to know Him live and walk out their newfound relationship and that they will grow in accelerated ways.

5) Pray that the Lord would take this ministry and all of those involved, including the YWAM group, to the places in Him that we cannot go to without Him taking us there. That He would show us His love, His might, His power, and His extreme favor. That we would walk like Jesus walked and look like Jesus all throughout Japan.

Thank you so much for your prayers, and your support, I will update you as much as i can about what the Lord is doing, but if not you will hear back from me in about 2 weeks when GT is over. God Bless

Beautiful Japanese Worship

I hope you enjoy this Japanese worship song it is one of the many we are going to learn for outreach this year. God is so good and His love is spread throughout the earth.
-Here are the lyrics in English


Title: A Little Prayer 
- All the fears of my heart
And all the pain and suffering
Please remove it all from my inside
- When I was a young child
I used to stare at the sky
Please grant me the peace I felt then
- When I prayed to you
The cloud in front of my eyes began to dissolve
Leaving only a clear sky
- I stand under such a vast sky
But I dwell in the arms of a God much bigger
This very moment
Only because of your strength
- I live

Luqman

--> Family, friends, and follower you may remember about a week ago i posted about a new friend that i made while i have been here in Japan. This is my really awesome friend Luqman.
--> Luqman is like a brother to me. He is literally my twin from Malaysia. Luqman like myself is a missionary, but for his religion (Islam) and is also a student at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He like myself loves soccer, riding bikes, broccoli, and being around friends.
--> Earlier today (it is 9:30pm as i am writing this blog post) i got to play soccer with Luqman, but even better i had the wonderful opportunity from the Lord to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with Luqman. I shared for about a half an hour after we were done playing and Luqman was all ears. Every so often he shared a little, but the entire time i shared with him he seemed very receptive and interested/intent on what i had to share.
--> The blessing of the night was that there didn't seem to be any tension or bad blood between us even though our faiths throughout the world butt heads all the time. I shared my testimony with him and that the God that I believe in is one who talks to me, one who loves me unconditionally, and one who is living and active, I explained that Jesus Christ is the only way and that whoever believes in Him can have relationship with Him and the Father as well as eternal life.
--> Luqman did not begin His walk with the Lord tonight, but i believe that he has been marked by heaven and that the Lord is going to begin ministering in his life. I have done my part to plant the seed, now it is God's turn to make Himself known. Before i left i gave Luqman a comic book called "The Messiah" which tells in detail the life of Jesus Christ, and he said that he would read it which is amazing in itself. I also challenged/dared Luqman to ask Jesus to make Himself known and show Luqman that He is the real God, let's hope he takes up this challenge.
--> Please partner with me in prayer for these things
1) Luqman's heart would be softened to Jesus and the love of the Father
2) Rebuke the shame and guilt that may come from exploring "The Way" that is different from him and his family's ways
3) that our relationship would continue to grow and flourish and that love would carry the weight and make way for fun, growth, depth, and discipleship despite differences
4) that God would visit Luqman in dreams, visions, audible speaking, etc. because He is doing it all throughout the Muslim world today
5) that Luqman would give His heart to God and believe in what Jesus has done for him

Thank You/Answers

--> I want to give you who follow my blog an opportunity to share if and how the Lord has blessed you through my ministry or through the support of my ministry. If you have seen an increase in the outpouring from the Lord in anyway please let me know. If you have seen any direct answers to prayers that you have prayed over me or over yourselves or your families that have been answered please I ask that you would share them with me.
--> The reason I am asking you all to write me with these stories is because when we, as believers, share our stories of faith and answer to prayer, faith arises and the Lord pours out more on our behalf. This happens because we are thankful to Him and testify about what He has done fore us. My goal is to take these stories and possibly compile them and share them with the staff and students here if you would not like me to use these stories please let me know.
--> Also if there is anything that I can be in prayer for you for as well, email me as well, because I believe that the Lord hears us and wants to answer our prayers, but it is our job to partner with one another and partner with God in order to see these prayers come to fruition.
--> So if you have a story or a prayer request please email me my address is austin.bock15@gmail.com I would love to hear from you let me know if the story/prayer is one that can be shared or should be kept silent.