This past Wednesday, September 3rd, was my 26th birthday (my first birthday with the YWAM team and in Japan!). We started the morning with an intercession meeting, that we do every Wednesday, which consists of worship and prayer. After the meeting, on my way to the train, I called my siblings for a birthday chat. Once the train arrived, I went to a special birthday lunch by myself where I treated myself to Katsu Curry. For dessert, I had a strawberry crepe.
Originally we were going to have a barbeque to celebrate both my birthday as well as my teammate who is going on sabbatical, but the weather was too hot so we had to cancel. In the afternoon I had some downtime and was able to call a friend from home.
That evening we had ministry night in Kokobuncho. Kokobuncho we do weekly, we start by worshiping in a park followed by a prayer walk where we walk around the red light district and talk to/pray for people. We are mainly focusing on praying for the workers, there are a lot of store owners or other promoters for businesses there on the streets. After ministry I called with my parents then I got some gifts from some of my teammates, mostly pastries and treats. Then I had dinner with a teammate at Saizeria (a Japanese Italian restaurant) and went home to relax.
In other exciting news, Real Life Church back home in Virginia has officially put up a plaque with my photo and bio. It reads:
Sendai, Japan is a vibrant city of over a million people. With only 1% of the population identifying as Christian, Sendai is one of the least gospel-reached areas in the world, deeply rooted in Shinto and Buddhist traditions. By serving with Youth With a Mission (YWAM), we will be working to share the love of Jesus by prayer, evangelism, sports, and homeless ministry.
I also have been attending a local bilingual church. The church is made up of a Family of 5 from Australia, a woman visiting from Singapore, the pastor is from Singapore and the rest are from Japan. Along with the service, we spend time in fellowship by playing games with each other (most notable being games such as Uno and Ticket to Ride).
I have been thoroughly blessed to be in such a vibrant and beautiful city with a great team and a great church. I am excited as I step into my 26th year on this earth as I get to follow God’s calling for me to spread his love in Sendai, Japan. Thank you to the friends and family who reached out with birthday wishes, and thank you to those who sent cards as well. And as always, I extend gratitude and thankfulness to all who are supporting me prayerfully and financially, your support his helping God’s mission.
Keep a look out for more updates via my Newsletter, Instagram @samuelbowmanmissions, and my website samuelbowman.com