New!?News for October 2002

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It has been way too long since I have let anyone one know (outside of family) what has going on. Life IS busy but it is busy for everyone. I realise that even now.

  • Summer Lake visit
  • Visit to Yoko's Family (9/21)
  • The 13th Tokyo DTS graduation
  • The 14th Tokyo DTS begins
  • YWAM in transition
    • A one day lakeside holiday at Kawaguchiko, one of the five lakes at the foot of Mt. Fuji
    (on the northern side).
    We all need a holiday. Though it was for only one night at a hotel at Kawaguchiko in August (Summer time here in Japan) it was a chance to get away from all the stresses of the base and for use to enjoy meals we'd seldom have a chance to. In fact the greater portion of the cost to stay at many hotels is because of the lavish meals they lay out for their guests.
      And, naturally the hotel had a very nice "ofuro" (bathroom). This is something else we can't enjoy at the base as we only have showers. It is nice to get into a tub (though it is the size of a small pool) and get relax.   You learn to pay no regard to the other hotel guests who are sharing the water with you. Just to set you at ease, the men and women have different bathrooms.
      We enjoyed a walk by the lake in the late afternoon before dinner, and after eating we went back (as it had become dark) to enjoy the little pack of fireworks we had got, fireworks is a summer activity here. Though Nathaniel didn't settle to well in an unfamiliar bed the rest of us had a good sleep. Breakfast was the full spread a Japanese person might expect, including rice, fish and soup. Then after looking around the local shops we retunded to Ome (the YWAM base.)

    Visit to Yoko's Family (9/21) was short but definatly very sweet. Though I drove in the morning for four hours (getting stuck in holiday traffic) we made it to Yoko's parent's home in time for lunch. What was especially nice was meeting Yoko's older brother. He has a house on the same property as our parents where he and his family lives. In the course of the evening we met all the children who have all grown so much since we last met them. Chie has a couple of part time jobs, Shiho is at university and Takashi (still at High School) is in the base ball team.
      Yoko's dad still spends most of his days in his garden/fields though he is in his late 70's. Though a man of few words we chatted a little.
      On the way home we stopped at house of friends Yoko has known since her teenage years, Bo and Chastine Dellming, Swedish missionaries. Bo also took part in our wedding.
      We headed for home around 11.30 so got home very late. It was a days driving for me but a holiday for the family. We had a great time.

    The 13th Tokyo DTS Graduation was held on September 10th, on a Sunday evening. It was a great time of celebration for the school as everyone shared what they had received from God during this time. And within a couple of days all the members of the school either left for home or to stay with friends.
      It was a great privilege to have been the leader of this school. I was a challenge as there were so many aspects of my character that got challenged that, till now, hadn't been. I also found it a great challenge to keep up with my regular base office work too as my "assistant" didn't work out. I know I couldn't have done this with out Yoko's support (and hard work) and of course the strength that God gave me.
      Yoko and I joined this ministry 5 years ago to be involved in the discipleship program here. Though Yoko has often been called on to translate I only got more directly involved on the earlier DTS (April 2001) as a staff.
      I hope to keep in contact with "my" school and continue to pray that God will have his way in their lives.

    And the 14th Tokyo DTS begins!   With only a two week break another DTS has began. I'm not the leader this time but as there are no other "male" staff and there are four guys on the school I have steeped in to offer what assistance I can to Ana, our Fijian DTS leader.
      This is a trilingual school which is a new challenge for us. We will be translating into both Japanese and Korean.
      There is one Japanese- Toshiyuki; Three Koreans- HaeSun, YeongMi and DunkIm; and four Americans- Corrine, Carly, Cody and James. They are all very young and are a very "happy" bunch but they are also applying themselves well to class and ask lots of questions. This is what most of our guest speakers like to hear.
      They will have lecture till December 13th and go to outreach on the 16th. They are going to Bangladesh! And on their return will have another week of lecture with Frank Naea, the currant charman of YWAM.

    Ever changing describes YWAM very well and our ministry here in West Tokyo is no exception. It was only a matter of name a couple of years ago when we adopted the University of the Nations - Tokyo title. (We were the Greater Tokyo Training Ministry). However we have been looking for a location that would better serve a "university" scale work.
      We have found a hotel that has been derelict for 6 year though it was only constructed 10 years ago. It is only 5 minutes from the nearest railway station and has 40 rooms (it is 8 floors). But as perfect as it seems is would seem that God is wanting to build into our lives more. This is only 15 minutes away from where we are.
      Bryan and Teruko Smith, our ministry's leaders, have talked with the owners of the building and have some agreement however there seems a little lack of confidence among the staff has slowed progress in this. And when you read on you'll see what part we, the Peat family, will have in this.

    In closing...
      I have writen a lot and I guess there is a lot more that could have been said but... I'll leave that for those who would like to know more to write an email to ask.

    Email me by clicking here!

    I hope to continue to keep this page updated. If you notice it is getting old click the above email link.

    God bless and bye till next time. ;-) Phil


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