Last week was a very significant week for the Yabuki family on many counts and all of us came away having grown up a lot. I will post what happened in Niagara Falls and Lisa will later post about the Amarillo trip.

Niagara Trip

Roy went with Timothy and Charis to Niagara Falls, New York for the ISI National Staff Conference (check out our pictures). What an experience that was. Many were astonished that I(Roy) went on this trip alone with T-8 and C-5 while he also had responsibilities at the conference. Honestly, there were times I wondered the wisdom of this too. But in the end, I really felt God used this time to allow each of us to grow in so many ways.

The Conference

The conference itself was very informative and marked some important themes that will affect ISI in the future. This was the first conference after the development of a five year plan the included the involvement of over 60 staff in its development. You could feel the buzz and the sense of empowerment that brought.

People seemed more energized. Further, typically, the speakers tell us that what we do is very strategic… but this time, we really got a sense of this in their talk itself. It seems that globalization is making ISI very relevant in the what God is doing in the world. China and India among other countries are exploding as players in the global market. It’s cool that the largest international student groups in the US are from these countries. Many of the past and future movers and shakers of this phenomenon have or will have experience as international students here in the US. Further, it seems that the international student trends in the US seems to foreshadow what is going to happen in the global marketplace. From our discussions at the conference, it seems that God is really positioning ISI to really impact the world. What an endorsement of what we are doing.

Technology Seminars

I also had the special opportunity to lead several seminars on using technology in our ministry. The current generation of internet based software is really geared toward building and maintaining relationships. One of the key values in ISI international student ministry(ISM) is relationship. I would go as far as to say ISM is all about relationship. It behooves us to take advantage of what God had provided in the way of technological tools to supplement what we do person to person. There were several examples of staff using skype with webcam to lead a Bible study across 2-3 countries where people who met originally in the US could continue to do so even after students returned home. We also learned about how Facebook has become so much a part of how student interact and stay in touch. It was such a blessing to see the faces of staff people starting to “get it” and really see the potential of such tools to do their ministry better.

Kids’s conference

T-8 and C-5 were part of a kids conference for the staff kids led by the Buffalo Dream Center. The Buffalo Dream Center is a

church [that] has become well known as a ministry that meets the needs of inner city families, going into crime infested neighborhoods – places other churches are afraid to go. The Buffalo Dream Center reaches thousands of people through various children’s outreaches, a mobile food pantry, a bus ministry, and many other programs that feed, clothe, and bring hope to those who have none.  The church has touched so many children that one-third of those attending the Sunday morning service are under the age of eighteen.

Many of the leaders of the kids conference were teens from the center. The kids got really close and seemed to really learn a lot. Here are some quotes from T-8…

“It was really fun, and I made some new friends that I really liked. Tr-8(from

Oregon) & L-10(from California) were fun to hang out with… We learned about loving God and serving others. It was really worth my time in a big way.”

What a way for the kids to see as well as hear about the love of Christ and how much walking with Him is a full time thing. The friendships went beyond the conference time as the kids swam, toured, and even visited each others hotel rooms together. I know these kids have common experiences in life as children of ISI ministers and these relationships will serve them well.

Enjoying Niagara Falls

C-5, T-8 and I were able to witness the power of Niagara Falls first hand. Our hotel with within walking distance from the American Falls. WOW! Such power! T-8 said it was a really “beautiful site…” We really sensed God’s glory there. The three of us were able to ride the Maid of the Mist boat which went right up to the US and Canadian falls and we really got a sense of the power of all that water falling down. Not the mention the fact we got really wet… One of the best parts was going through the Cave of the Winds to a platform that ran at the base of the American Falls. We were literally walking over the bottom of the falls. And when the wind shifted we felt the power of the water as some of it fell onto the platform and we got totally drenched… It is an experience we will likely never forget. Charis was so brave in all of this and went right up to the falls itself.

After the Conference

After the conference we went to stay with the family of my college roommate. Brian & Donna Bennett live with their kids J & C and big Rhodesian Ridgeback, Cora, in Lewiston, NY. Brian is a professor and head of the religion department at Niagara University. It was a huge blessing staying with them. While Charis was afraid of Cora at first, she learned how to trust her and even embraced Cora before we left. Timothy told me that we wanted to stay in New York because he wanted our family to be like Brian’s… Wow! Brian & Donna were off from their work as educators and so we were able to go to such places as the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester (where we saw C-5’s beloved Berenstain Bears town & sesame street) and we were even able to go into Canada to enjoy the Niagara whirlpool aerocar and the falls from the Canadian side. This was the first time Timothy left the United States. It was really cool.

The kids were also exposed to some new ways to play at the Bennetts as we were often outside and we played such fun games as horseshoes, hopscotch & ultimate frisbee.

Tim really had a thing for Ultimate and played well with the adults. It was awesome. Our time with the Bennetts was such a blessing and we are so thankful for their hospitality and most of all for who they are as a family.

Coming Home

The trip home was quite and ordeal and yet God taught me through my kids so much about trusting him. Our first flight from Buffalo to Detroit was delayed by an hour. Unfortunately we had only a 30 minute layover scheduled before our flight to Dallas. Talking with gate agents at Buffalo, all felt that we had no chance of making it to our flight and because we were on the last flight to Dallas, we would probably have to stay overnight in Detroit. We were all bummed. We were tired of traveling and were really looking forward to going home but I prepared the kids for what I thought was the inevitable.

As we approached Detroit, the pilot announced the estimated time of arrival and I figured out that the flight would arrive after our second flight was scheduled to leave. And according the the internet (I checked on my phone before we took off) the flight was scheduled as leaving on time. Further more, we were set to arrive in at gate A11 and our second flight was leaving from gate 59. I told the kids about what staying in Detroit would be like, that there was no hope that we would make it home on that day, let alone have our luggage. T-8 & C-5 reminded me, full of confidence, that we should pray because nothing was impossible with God. So I let them pray, ready to help them to deal with their disappointment when we arrived. When we got off our flight we found that our flight was indeed delayed… but was leaving in less than 5 minutes. So we ran and ran, C-5’s shoe fell off along the way, I pulled her by her arm having her walk around with one shoe in her hand, looking back it was embarrassing… Anyway, long story short… we arrived at the door of the plane as it was about to close. You would think I would learn by now. I told the kids our luggage would not make it. They prayed again and all our stuff made it… I really felt like the “spiritual leader” I was supposed to be…

Lessons Learned…

Besides the obvious lessons learned at the conference, we learned so much more on this trip. Some time ministry is not only about what we do, but what we learn in the process so we can be used more in the future. Here are a couple…

• I was reminded by the trip home that God really loves us and is involved in even the intricate details of our lives, and what “faith like that of a Child” looks like.
• I was reminded by the time with the kids at the conference that I needed to sometimes not do “ministry stuff” no matter how strategic for the sake of my family and the ministry to them. I was not able to “hang out” with the staff and do some other ministry responsibilities a well as I would have liked… but to see the kids and how much they grew because of time spent with them was truly worth it. This idea was rammed home with my time with the Bennetts. No family is perfect, but I was reminded about what a good family looked like and I was convicted by how little I have been actually playing and spending time with my kids lately in the name of “important” work. We really have a important and strategic ministry to and then through our family (this order cannot be reversed)
• I was thrilled by how much T-8 and C-5 grew in this trip. I really put it on Tim to step up as “first boy” “in charge of the kids” on this trip while Jonathan was not there and he really lived up to the challenge. I saw maturity that I have never seen before. I really see a lot of my dad in Timothy. He has a humble take-charge lead-by-example quality that is really a blessing and he really sees things. He really needed the time to shine away from his brother. C-5 had many things she was afraid of on this trip before we left… she was afraid of the waterfall, swimming away from the wall of the pool, being away from mom… she overcame most of these during this trip and showed me how brave she could be. I also learned about her need for dad and regular affirmation of our love for her equal to our love for her brothers. I found out she struggles with being the youngest and feeling like she is loved less because of it and I learned how important it is to remind her of the lie that is every day.

This was quite a trip. I feel like God truly used it to re-energize me and our family for the upcoming year as a family and in ministry.

Tagged Conference, ISI, Niagara