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Update: Now we Need 50%

First off thank you all so much for your prayers. It’s been pretty amazing to see God answer them each day the last three. But we need to ask you to pray for something a little bigger.

Due to a miscommunication in the SEND office, we were given the wrong amount to shoot for. In order to qualify to go to MOP we need to reach 50% by July 10. In other words we have a new deadline, and a higher target. If we don’t get an additional 16.5% (previously we were trying to raise an additional 8%) of our support by July10, we’ll almost certainly have to push back our departure to Summer 2012. More on that in a minute, but first, the good news.

Praises

1. Each day of the last three, God has provided one new supporter comitting $40/month. As you recall in the last Prayer update I mentioned that we needed to get one new $40/month supporter each day until the end of June, and asked that you pray for God to provide. That was Tuesday, three days ago, and sure enough, each day someone has decided to start supporting us at $40/month, or increase their support. I have been blown away to see God answer so clearly thus far. Now however, I need to ask you to pray that God provides two supporters each day for the next three weeks.

2. Due to God’s provision if we qualify for SEND’s Member Oriencation (by getting up to 50% by July 10), we will be able to afford to take the three weeks off of work needed to attend. I meant to ask you to pray about this, but forgot. It’s something we’ve been praying about for awile. When we started planning on going to MOP this Summer we realized that we wouldn’t be able to afford to take three weeks off of work. Technically to avoid having to push back our departure date we needed God to work two miracles: providing the supporters, and providing the finances to enable us to take time off of our jobs. As of this morning it looks like He has taken care of the second one, and that if we do get enough support to qualify to attend MOP we will be able to take the time off of work as well. So this was a huge answer to prayer.

3. Tomo is mostly over her cough. But still suffering from morning sickness :-(.

Prayer Request

1. That God provides an additional 16.5% of our support by July 10. Previously we set a goal of one new supporter a day for the next two weeks. Now it looks more like we will need 2 new supporters a day over the next three weeks. 1 Corinthians 4:8 comes to mind: “We are… perplexed, but not driven to despair.” I got two phone calls today while I was in a meeting. One was the call to let me know that we were accidentally told the wrong amount and that we needed to raise more than double what we thought. The other was a person calling to let us know that they wanted to increase their support by an additional $40/month. We aren’t sure what God is doing. But He is clearly doing something. If July 10th comes and goes and we have to push back our departure date till next year, then we trust that’s part of God’s perfect plan. But if it comes and we are at 50% we’ll know He worked a miracle. There could be no other logical explanation. This would not be the first time God has made a situation seem hopeless in order to demonstrate His ability to overcome obstacles that we cannot.

Judges 7:2-7

The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.

And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water.

And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.

And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”

2Corinthians 1:9
Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Thank you all, and God Bless!

Dave and Tomo

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June Prayer Update

We’ve started a new Facebook Page. If any of you are on Facebook, please click here and Like the page to get updates! Dave and Tomo and Japan: on Facebook!

NOTE: We’ve learned that due to a miscommunication we actually need to raise more support than previously thought in order to attend MOP this Summer. We now need to be up to 50% by July 10. Please see the post above this one for an updated explanation of our situration, and please continue to pray that God will provide.

As always, I want to start by thanking you all for your prayers and support. It’s been a long journey so far, and many of you have been partnering with us since the begning. It is our sincere hope and expectation that one day, Lord willing, Tomo and I will be serving the Church in Japan. In light of all that is happening there now, we hope it will be soon, and invite you to pray with us that God will allow us to go to Japan shortly.

Prayer Requests

1. That God will provide an additional 7.5% of monthly support by the end of June. This is crucial. Unless we get to 40% of monthly support, we will be unable to attend SEND’s Member Orientation Program (MOP) in July, a required training that must be attended before departing for the field. If we do not get up to 40% we will have to wait until next Summer to attend MOP, and consequently push back our departure date till after that. Pray for David as he makes phone calls, and tries to find one person each day to invite to support us. We need one new commitment of $40 a month each day till the end of June to meet this goal.

2.  Pray for Tomo’s pregnancy and health. Tomo has been having a lot of morning sickness throughout most of the pregnancy, and on top of it has just come down with a pretty bad cough. Pray for healing, and that the morning sickness will ease up, and also that she will be able to gain weight, as its been difficult to do so with the nausea she’s been experiencing. Her due date is December 1st, and we’re not sure yet if its going to be a boy or a girl (we both want a boy!).

3. Pray for the outreach that Japanese churches are participating in the disaster areas in northern Japan. We’ve heard a lot of really encouraging stories coming out of there, and it seems as though God is begning to open hearts that were previously closed and unresponsive to the gospel. Pray for people to come to find salvation and hope through Christ Jesus, and that new churches will be planted in those areas.

A Word About Our Departure Date

Many have asked about when we will be going to Japan; we’re considering and praying about three dates. The earliest one would be September 1st. If we are not at 100% by then, we will wait here in America until after our baby is born, and then try to leave sometime in the Spring of 2012, again, if God provides the support. The latest we hope to leave would be late next Summer, 2012. Despite the slow going on the support raising, we still feel God’s calling just as strongly to go to Japan. And if God keeps us here, there seem to be many opportunities to be involved in ministry here that will only give us more experience, which, Lord willing will further prepare us to be effective missionaries in Japan. This entire experience has been very difficult, and yet at the same time we have seen God work in so many ways, and teach us so many things that we have little room to question why He hasn’t hurried things along, or sent us sooner. We’ll go exactly when He wants us to. But we’re praying that if He wills, it be soon!

Due to the rapidly approaching June 30th deadline, and the large impact it will have on our departure plans, I would invite you to please comit to praying each day till the end of June for God to bring us up to 40% of our comitted monthly support. Also, please pray that God would bring to mind someone that you feel would be willing and able to meet with us to hear about our ministry. If He does, please try to connect us. I would be greatly encouraged if you would let me know if you will be praying for us during the next two weeks.

Thank you all, and God Bless!

Dave and Tomo
www.gloryspeaking.com