We arrived in Japan at the tail end of March, 2013 as full time supported missionaries. The process of raising the necessary support and partnership was long and difficult, taking 5 and a half years, and two different sending agencies before God finally sent us on to Japan. During that time we learned to trust in Him for all of our needs, to be patient, to persevere, and to pray. We met hundreds of amazing brothers and sisters in Christ, made new friends, and found support from numerous churches in Southern California. Arriving here in March felt like the end of an epic journey in itself, but in reality it’s actually the beginning.
We cannot possibly express how grateful we are to our prayer and financial partners for sending us, and partnering with us as we seek to obediently follow Christ’s command to proclaim the gospel to all nations. Thank you for serving along side us. In God’s perfect wisdom He determined that this great endeavor of missions would not come about except through great cooperation and partnership on the part of His church, and so together we joyously walk in faith that He will accomplish all His plans and purposes through us.
We’ve determined that our monthly needs to serve long term in Japan are $5,700/month. This covers not only salary, but also ministry expenses, administrative costs, retirement savings and taxes. Praise God that our average monthly giving in 2013 was $5,719, due in large part to generous giving to our outgoing fund in the months leading up to our departure, and generous year end giving. However He chose to provide, we clearly see God’s provision in meeting our needs (and even going a little bit above them!). Our hope and prayer for 2014 and onward is that normal monthly giving would be sufficient to keep us here in Japan long term.
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Average giving for our first 6 months in Japan was about $4,700, which means that about $1,000 a month was covered by special gifts. Which is absolutely amazing, we were constantly blown away by the generosity of God’s people in supporting and sending us to be a part of the work He is doing in Japan. For the long term, however, our goal is to be fully supported. This will allow us to focus more fully on the ministry at hand and lessen the likelihood that we would have to interrupt our work here in order to return to the US early to do support raising.
Our first scheduled home service assignment is next year, in 2015, where we look forward to being able to report in person to our partners and sending churches about all that God is doing here. We will also be focusing on raising additional monthly support at that time. We also hope to be able to raise some support while on the field here in Japan, particularly as God clarifies His Will for our future service here. Below you will find a monthly break down of the gifts that were given, and the needs for each month. Thank you for your generous support and prayers!
Monthly Giving vs. Needs
(NOTE: we were only partially supported while in the US during the final months of preparation for departure, which is why our needs for January and February were lower.)
| Month | Giving | Needs | Difference |
| Jan | $3,446 | $2,500 | $946 |
| Feb | $7,466 | $2,500 | $4,966 |
| Mar | $6,768 | $5,700 | $1,068 |
| Apr | $5,936 | $5,700 | $236 |
| May | $4,452 | $5,700 | -$1,248 |
| Jun | $3,931 | $5,700 | -$1,769 |
| Jul | $5,048 | $5,700 | -$652 |
| Aug | $3,776 | $5,700 | -$1,924 |
| Sep | $5,010 | $5,700 | -$690 |
| Oct | $6,590 | $5,700 | $890 |
| Nov | $4,875 | $5,700 | -$825 |
| Dec | $11,333 | $5,700 | $5,633 |
| Average Monthly: | $5,719 | ||
| Monthly Needs | $5,700 | ||