For some, forgiveness is an act that most would deem unimaginable. The mentality of always holding a grudge or placing a never ending burden on the soul of another is by the world’s standard a understandable reaction. After having read a book a dear friend of mine from Hong Kong gave me this summer about a missionary named Gladys Aylward, I recently began to look for more books within the series about other missionaries. Since my 7th grade year in high school, my heart has been for the Asian people. It was a calling that seemed farfetched at the time because I had always been interested in Mexico until that given year. But when I discovered a book within this series about a POW during WWII, needless to say it sparked my interest. Being the history enthusiast I am, this book first caught my eye among the many other potential buys. Christian Hereos Then and Now: Jacob Deshazer- Forgiving Your Enemies is the second installment that I have read in the Christian Heroes Then and Now series. The read was quite easy, especially it took me about a day and a half of casual reading. I began reading it during the free time I had during my substitute teaching job and I became engrossed in the book.
The book Jacob Deshazer is about a man who joined the air force at an early age. During his training, he was asked to join a top secret mission to bomb the Japanese shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Jacob Deshazer was part of the Doolittle Raiders, who were renown for their brave attempt at first bombing a major Japanese island. Shortly after fulfilling his mission, his aircraft headed straight to supposed friendly territory in Mainland China. Except, it turns out that his aircraft landed in enemy occupied territory by the Japanese and was captured by the Japanese. Jacob Deshazer would then spend the next 4 years (give or take) as a prisoner of war to the torturous Japanese. During WWII, the Japanese were brutal to their POWs, completely disregarding the Geneva Convention. Deshazer watched over the years as the Japanese brutally abused both him and his companions. Several of his friends died throughout the years of mistreatment and understandable, Jacob’s heart grew even colder to the Japanese. The story continues like this until a close friend of Deshazer’s eventually had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him. After the death of this dear friend, Deshazer began to contemplate their conversation concerning salvation. About three years or so into captivity, Deshazer gave his heart to Christ.
Remarkably at one particular internment camp that Deshazer was transported to gave him a Bible. Throughout the remaining time at that internment camp, Deshazer and his companions would share their one copy of the Bible, memorizing Bible verses. The Japanese guards began to see a difference in his life and began to ask him about his sudden change of personality. Having been in captivity for three years prior to this prison, he was able to share the Gospel to them in his limited Japanese that he acquired over time.
After the war, Jacob along with a couple of his companions were released from captivity. God was calling Jacob back to Japan, to preach to the very people who had made his life a living hell for the previous four odd years of his life. Though at first many of his friends and family were against the idea, they could not deny the change that have overtaken Jacob’s life. Jacob along with his wife, spent the next forty years dedicating themselves to spreading the Gospel to the Japanese. Jacob at one point was even able to witness to a major military leader for the Japanese army during WWII and helped him give his life to Christ. These two individuals became great friends and even began to speak about the Gospel at major events in Japan! No more than five years before had they been enemies at every description of the word.
This story is definitely extraordinary, but something like this had already happened long before WWII. Jesus Christ was hung on the cross for our transgressions and was tormented in the most horrific ways. He bore our sins for all to see and despite his anguish, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (ESV Luke 23:34). He knew what was going to happen in the garden of Gethsemane, yet He continued on with the plan, so that you and me may have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him. The fact of the matter is that we all have turned our backs on God, yet He forgave us and even died for each and every one of us. See this motion of love is extraordinary and unfathomable, but thats what our God is capable. The love that He first showed us is possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jacob Deshazer’s love for the Japanese was a manifestation of Christ’s love for us and was a direct result of someone who gave his heart to Christ. Christ’s redemptive power is capable of greater things than we could ever obtain by our own means. I hope that you get the opportunity to read this powerful testimony in Jacob’s book, but more importantly, I hope that you personally will be able to experience the life changing moment of Christ coming into your life! God bless!
I recently purchased a Japanese book and while I was reading it, the website that I am about to talk about briefly was mentioned in it. Mixi is a Japanese social networking website that has been around for some time now. Currently I am learning Chinese, Korean and Japanese. I thought that Mixi would give me a better chance of interacting with native Japanese speakers, especially because there are not that many Japanese people in the surrounding area or that I know for that matter. So after I decided to sign up for the website I ran into a major problem! It would appear that Mixi is limited to those who can register for their website, but don’t worry, I found a work around. 
When registering for Mixi you will find that they ask for a Japanese cell phone number and a Japanese cell carrier. Well I am not in Japan, so there is no way that I could enter in that kind of information. I tried to skip over it, but the website would not allow me to continue to the next page. After searching for a solution, I found out that if you register using a .edu email address, it does not require you to enter in a Japanese phone number. Thankfully I had one that was given to me through my university, even though I do not really use it. Once you have registered for your Mixi account using a .edu email address, if you do not speak or read Japanese, I think the best thing would be to download or use Google Chrome. The reason why I prefer this browser is because I am currently learning Japanese and I cannot comprehend a lot of the words I am reading. Google Chrome will allow you to translate the page so that you can at least navigate around the website. One nice thing that I also liked about Mixi, is that they have a really nice iOS app and they also have an Android app! 
I have a big fan of Canada and Toronto is one of my all time favorite cities that I have been blessed to visit. Some of my friends are Canadian and I have heard some of them mention a place called Tim Horton’s (which is sort of like a McDonald’s). Well in Fayetteville, North Carolina there are no Tim Horton’s, so I decided to see what I could find on the internet! I found out that the closest Tim Horton’s was in Virgina and I was not about to drive that distance for a cup of coffee! So thankfully Amazon had it where you could order a package of Tim Horton’s coffee. I have never purchased edible items from Amazon before, but I figured since it was coming from Amazon directly, it would be safe. Amazon Prime had my coffee even quicker than they had previously said in an email and I received it within one day! Once I opened my package, I headed straight to my one cup coffee maker and I used my re-useable kcups I had ordered off TV. After trying this Tim Horton’s decaf, I was not impressed. Actually I did not enjoy it to say the least. It tasted something like instant coffee and I was pretty disappointed. I cannot say if Tim Horton’s regular coffee is any better, but I can say I won’t be purchasing their decaf blend ever again. Often I have joked around with my friend’s that I was going to obtain dual citizenship with Canada, so I was really wanting this coffee to taste good because it came from the Great North! 
While I was in Hong Kong and the Mainland this past summer, I did not have a TV in either my apartment in Hong Kong or my dorm in Shanghai. I have been missing China a lot lately and I cannot wait until I travel back to China this upcoming summer to continue my studies. That being said, I found out the Chinese state run media outlet, CCTV, has an iOS app! The Chinese news outlets have been in the news a lot over the past few weeks, especially for extending its reach in the continent of Africa.
As you can see this app has a nice and simple UI (user interface). On the main page it offers major news stories that are also available on CCTV’s webpage. Now the most important feature, at least that I find about this app is the Live News broadcast that is available. This past Christmas, I received an Apple TV, which I have been using a lot and my favorite feature is the AirPlay. Not all apps take advantage of this feature built into iOS (Al Jazeera for example does not). With my Apple TV and my iPhone, I can stream CCTV’s programs to my television set! 
This app offers a wide variety of programming, available in multiple languages. The channels are shown in many major languages ranging from news to documentaries! I am not a big fan of the Chinese media, but I think its an excellent way of practicing one’s Chinese for free! I also really enjoy the documentaries that are offered through CCTV, they offer a great experience for those who are fascinated with traditional Chinese culture or interested in learning more about China. So I hope this app encourages people to learn more about China and remember, take the news with a grain of salt! 
This past Christmas 2012, I purchased a used iPod Nano 5G for my sister. I am just now starting to work again and I could not afford a new iPod, but I made sure I sought out one that was in pristine condition. On Black Friday I purchased this iPod at a 25% discount and it seemed in excellent condition or so I thought…
My sister and I are really on the same page with this opinion, we do not like the new iPod Nanos. This style is much more appealing than the new iPod Shuffle touchscreen like Nanos. Anyways come Christmas morning when my sister was opening her present, her delight lasted only a moment. To our surprise, Gamestop sold this iPod at a premium price despite the fact that they literally dug out what looks like a personal engraving. Needless to say my sister was disappointed and I was even more disappointed. Instead of my sister enjoying her present Christmas morning, she had to put it back in the box. 
We were appalled that Gamestop even had the balls to sell this iPod in its present condition and even hid it by repackaging it! I purchased a used iPhone 3Gs that same night and it was just in a box, like many other iPhones and iPods, but this iPod had been repackaged. The very next day I drove back to Gamestop and demanded an exchange for the iPod. The staff was understandable at first, but when they did not have another iPod similar to this one, my sister found another one she liked. She decided to get a pink fat nano. This little fat nano was cheaper than the one I had purchased. Since I purchased it on Black Friday during their sell, I simply asked to be refunded the difference and then this 25% discount be applied to the iPod that was being exchanged. 
The staff at the Ramsey Street Gamestop located in Fayetteville North Carolina was completely unprofessional when I asked them to apply this 25% discount. They simply continued to say that this iPod was cheaper than the one I purchased and the sell was over. In fact two of the employees there began to laugh at my request, this made me even more stubborn in the matter. I asked for the store manager and after 20-30 minutes of him telling me it was impossible for them to do this, despite the fact that I ventured out Black Friday for that particular reason of getting a good deal on my Christmas gifts. I told them that if I wanted to pay full price for a product, I could have gone out at any time in the year and purchased this gift. I also told them about how upset I was that they sold me this iPod in horrid condition and that my gift I had purchased for my sister on Christmas was ruined. The manager said you know this discount will only save you $5 and I didn’t think it sounded right, but I quickly replied, its the principle of the matter (later I questioned his math and 25% of $60 USD is $15 USD!). The store manager continued to argue with me and I simply had had enough. I sat down on the floor, in front of the iPod showcase, and told him in a stern voice, “I am not leaving this spot, until you fix this matter, I do not care how you do it”. The manager after arguing for around 20-30 minutes about how they could not do this request, quickly changed his tune. While the manager was working on a resolution concerning the phone, the staff continued to laugh at my sister and I. I will admit, the “sit in” may have been a little extreme, but I was tired with the whole dilema. This Gamestop will NEVER see any of my business again. 
branhow.com 