April 2026

Time: 9:00 PM – 9:40 PM

Participants: Kana, Hiyori, Ko, Akari, Seiyu

Hiyori shared that verses 18 and 20 stuck out to her the most. From these verses, she learned that it is good to question things about life and the Bible, as it signifies that God is trying to teach you something.

Akari spoke about the verse concerning fearing the Lord. She reflected on how, before entering high school, people around her would tell her what they thought was best for her. This advice didn’t sit right with her because, as a Christian, she knows that what God says is best.

Ko shared his belief that true wisdom only comes from God. He spoke about the importance of not accepting the words of doubt from those around him and expressed a desire to truly learn how to do God’s will, sharing past instances where he realized he wasn’t following it as he had thought.

Kana shared that true knowledge and wisdom come from God and cannot be attained by oneself. She noted that true knowledge resides in the heart rather than the mind.

I did not share anything regarding today’s chapters.

Akari concluded with a prayer of thanks for the church since the anniversary is this Sunday, and she also prayed for Keisuke-san’s friend.

Job 30-31 (*We were actually on ch. 28, but we incorrectly assumed, thus we will return back to that chapter tomorrow)

Ko:
Whenever hearing about Job, I would always wonder how I would’ve reacted if I were in his shoes. From what I’ve read so far, it seems that Job handled the situation way better than I would’ve. I most likely would have panicked (*wouldn’t be thinking straight) and acted irrationally. Thus, I can learn from Job in how he tried to seek out the reason behind why he was suffering instead of letting it overtake him.

I could also connect this to something God taught me through Masami-san in a call this evening. She taught me that God’s will does not always correlate with the “right thing to do.” Like Job’s friends, I too have tried to say what I believed was “right” (moral) to people, but looking back, I realize it was not God’s will and it ended up hurting the person rather than encouraging them.

Hiyori:
Whenever bad things are happening to us, we often feel like God does not care. That is not the case; he is trying to train us to help us to build our faith upon him. And so, he will always provide a way out for us.

Akari:
She felt that Job was being a bit self-righteous. She felt that he was becoming too focused upon justifying himself to his friends. If people don’t understand you, that’s fine, let them think that way.

Seiyu:
He learned that it is important to be honest with God, whether that be in problems or things you question in life. He also learned that it’s important to be honest to the people around you. By doing so, it allows God to help you more. Sometimes when he would have questions about life, he would ask his mother. But she hasn’t been able to give him the answers he’s looking for. Therefore, he has realized that it’s important to ask God first.

Kana:
She learned that it’s important to notice the specific situations/circumstances when Satan tries to attack you. When God disciplines us, he wants us to understand the reason for it. In Job’s case, it is his current period of having to wait upon God. There is a reason behind why God hasn’t answered Job yet.

Prayer:
On Saturday, Masami-san told us Rikuto’s situation and how he’s in an isolated medical setting where he is unable to communicate with anyone. She then told us what we—the youth—could still do for him: pray.
On that note, I prayed for his peace and joy (from what I’ve heard, it seems that his faith for his healing is already strong and complete, so I thought it would be better to pray for something else).
Scripture: Romans 15:13

Starting at 7:00-7:40pm, we read Job chapter 25 & 26.

Participants were Seiyu, Hiyori, Ko, Akari & Kanami.

Hiyori shared that when Job’s friend questioned him on verse 4, she thought it was an interesting question to think about. His friend was trying to convince Job that he didn’t do righteous things and that’s why the judgement grew again.

Akari didn’t have anything to share from this chapters.

Ko learned that it’s okay to question God when you’re confused like Job was. In his life, he feels like he’s doing his best, but it still feels not enough and that leaves in a place of confusion. But through Job, he was reminded that God sees everything and always has better plan for us.
For his week, nothing much happened.

Seiyu also didn’t had nothing to share on this chapters.

I also didn’t had nothing to share on this chapter.

Lastly, we prayed on starting next week the boys are going to teach and lead the kids so we pray that we could guide and control them in the right way so that they can grow. We stood on 1 Peter 5:2.

Participants: Kanami, Seiyu, Hiyori, Ko, Akari
Time: 9-9:50pm

I started with prayer and we read Job 23 and 24.

Hiyori: What I shared from here that Job was being unsure about what he should hope for when being trained, but he kept strong thought about how God does his works. So when I’m being trained, not losing hope but keep believing in what God does/plan for you.

I shared about how my spring break ended and started final project in class towards the end of semester.

Ko: He shared how he noticed Job is coming to seek God more by questioning and try to find like what is almighty set for judgement? Then he shared how he used to try to know everything in a sense that wanting to know all about own life, so that he can be more of control of his own life.

But he came to learn that you can’t know everything and certain things he does not reveal something yet, and God has plan. As we learn in Sunday service to be simple and be like a kid, trust in God’s hand because God knows best. At the same time ask God and not overthink by yourself when you don’t understand.

About his week, he said he watched 呪術開戦by binge watching episodes.

Kanami: She shared that she could see how Job is getting to come closer to God in sense of fear him, like how he fear God. When God is trying to discipline or train you, to have mindset of God doing for Good, but gives you training person need.

For her week she went to some shopping and played with Kat-chan’s dog Beanie at home for two hours.

Seiyu: He shared about how Job went through hardship and through that he came to have faith. And from Job 23:10-12, he saw that hardship is necessary for your faith to grow stronger.

For his week, he said he had online class for ethnic studies.

Akari: what I noticed that job was righteous and was confident about what he did from beginning of chapters. Job also was not too frustrated or irritated with his friends, he kept straight on what he believed about doing right actions. So knowing what you doing is right and that God trains us because he has plan for each person.

For her week she shared how her spring break ended and went to classes today.

At the end, we prayed about kayak activity for coming Friday, to go well and that leaders could take care of younger ones and each other. We stood on 1 Peter 5:2.

Time: 7:00 PM – 7:56 PM

Participants: Kanami, Hiyori, Ko, Akari, and Seiyu

Ko shared that it was ironic how Job refused to back down to his friends, while his friends simultaneously refused to admit they were wrong. He learned that to come boldly into God’s presence, we must fully accept that we are made righteous through Jesus’ death and resurrection. He shared that he has a desire for more boldness to approach God openly.

Hiyori noted that those who align with the world often succeed in society. She shared that following God’s will allows Him to grant the desires of her heart, such as her new part-time job.

Akari shared that life is a valuable gift from God, made possible through Jesus’ sacrifice, and it is something money cannot buy. This led her to reflect on the importance of how she lives after college and after entering the workforce.

Kana learned the importance of discerning right from wrong based on God’s standards. She shared that knowing God is not just about “head knowledge,” but about having a close, personal relationship. This intimacy is what allows for true discernment.

I did not share reflections on the chapters this time but mentioned going to the gym frequently last week.

Akari prayed that more people be saved and that God would use the group as His vessels. Afterwards, we prayed in tongues for a few minutes.