Month: April 2013

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to visit the coast for the first time since we moved here one month ago, in order to attend the Sunday afternoon worship service at the only Christian church in the town of Ofunato. Ofunato is a town of 41,000 people, slightly larger than my home town of San Juan Capistrano, yet it has only one church, and that church has only two members.

The church has seen it’s share of hardships. For a number of years the church has been without its own Pastor, instead a pastor would come from the neighboring prefecture, often commuting over an hour, to preach at the afternoon service. The church was heavily damaged by the Tsunami, but thanks to the generosity of Christians in Japan and abroad, the small church was repaired. However by the beginning of this year their numbers had dwindled to 2, and their pastor was no longer able to make the commute each Sunday. Our church, Morioka Bible Baptist Church (MBBC), has taken the responsibility of ministering to this little church each Sunday, by sending a speaker and some of their members to make the hour and a half drive each Sunday afternoon to fellowship with the 2 remaining members of the church in Ofunato.

These two saints are a mother and her adult son. As you can imagine it is incredibly difficult to be a Christian in such circumstances. They are the only members of the only church for miles around, and surrounded by a culture and society that looks at them with suspicion because of their faith in a God that seems totally foreign. As they face persecution from family and coworkers, living in a town that was completely devastated only two years ago, they have also had to watch as every other member of their church, including their pastor, has moved on. Yet each Sunday this mother and her son gather at their little church to worship their God, hear from His Word and offer tithes.

It was a tremendous blessing to be able to worship alongside them this past Sunday. Our neighbor, James, who is a missionary that is working with MBBC, went to preach, while I and two other members of the church came along as well. MBBC also has strong ties to the Iwate 3.11 Church Network, and with this new partnership with the Ofunnato church, 4 or 5 Iwate 3.11 Staff members are now working more closely with the church in Ofunato. While I have a long ways to go in language acquisition, I was able to share through an interpreter how God had brought me to serve in Iwate.

• Pray for the two remaining members of the church in Ofunato, that God will continue to give them perseverance, and that they will not become discouraged.
• Pray for this new partnership between the church in Ofunato, MBBC and Iwate 3.11 Network. Pray that through the tsunami relief efforts of Iwate 3.11 Network that many in Ofunato would come to salvation and join in fellowship with the church in Ofunato.
• Pray for us as we begin to seek God’s guidance and direction as to where He can best use us after the I am done with language school. There are many places with many needs, and Ofunato is one of them.

One minor praise, today we picked up our car, a 2003 Subaru Forester. Now that we have a dependable vehicle that can handle the mountain roads that lead from here to the coast we’re free to begin visiting more frequently. We hope to visit various coastal towns at least once a month. Last Sunday in Ofunato I received an open invitation from some of the Iwate 3.11 Staff members to come to Ofunato any time to visit and help out. We also are looking forward to visiting Tomo’s parents in Kamaishi which is just north of Ofunato) and helping out with their ministry from time to time. We can’t express our gratitude enough to those of you who have given financially in the past, as it was these gifts that enabled us to purchase this vehicle. Pray that it is useful to God’s work here in Iwate!

After another incredibly busy week, today I started my first day at language school. This past week we made some great progress in getting our apartment set up, and it’s finally beginning to feel like home. We are so incredibly grateful to all of our financial partners who have provided all the funds for us to get this apartment and to furnish it so that we can have a place to live, entertain guests and study during our time here in Morioka. At this point I’d say that we’re about 85% moved in, and almost totally unpacked. Our biggest problem now is that we are practically swimming in cardboard boxes and packing material. One of our chores this week is to figure out where we can dispose of it all, as we have too much for the delivery trucks to pick up. Trash can get really complicated here, we have to separate everything into recyclable paper, recyclable cans and bottles, burnable trash and non-burnable trash. Different trash is picked up on different days. So cardboard is recyclable paper which we can take to one facility, but all the Styrofoam and plastic bags have to be taken to a different one. Our little apartment is quite small by American standards (a 600 sq ft, 3 bedroom) but we’re really starting to love living in it. Once we get it cleaned up I’ll be sure to give you all a little video tour!

Another big praise is that we found a car! We found a used 2002 Subaru Forester with only 41,000 miles on it for about $6,000. We bought it through a mechanic’s shop, and it should be delivered in about two weeks, in the mean time the shop has loaned us a car which has been a huge blessing; we’ve been able to visit many thrift stores to buy furniture and other necessities. Again, we are so grateful to all our supporters who have provided the funds to be able to purchase this vehicle, which we will be using to get around town and also to make the two hour drive over mountain roads to the coastal towns in order to help out with outreaches to Tsunami survivors living in temporary housing. In the winter this area gets heavy snow, so we’re grateful for a car that has 4WD and is safe to drive.

Finally, today was my first day of language school! (the picture at the top was taken at my entrance ceremony, which was more formal than most graduation ceremonies I’ve attended) After spending a week and a half struggling to get by with my very limited Japanese ability, and having to constantly rely on Tomo to translate everything (she was getting a little tired of hearing me ask “what’s that say?” at every single passing sign we drove by) I was very motivated to begin full time language study. It’s hard to describe how difficult it is living in a place that you can’t communicate well in. I often feel like a little kid who doesn’t know anything, or someone who is deaf and mute. It’s incredibly difficult to get to know people when you don’t speak their language. Ultimately we are here to help the Japanese understand the message of the gospel, and to find salvation in Christ; but I am unable to effectively do that until I can communicate in Japanese. So this is a necessary first step, and I am eager to progress and to see what relationships the Lord will bless me with as my ability to speak Japanese increases.

One really unexpected blessing is that both of my Japanese teachers are Christians. The school that I entered mostly caters to students who have already been studying Japanese full time for at least six months. I was unable to do that while in America because I was working and raising support, so I entered the school significantly behind all the other students, which is why I am in one on one lessons instead of with the group. There are four classes, A, B, C, D and E. A being the most advanced class, and E being the easiest. They made class E just for me, and I’m the only one in it. I was a little nervous that my teachers wouldn’t be too enthusiastic about taking on someone at such a beginning level. However my first teacher, after introducing herself, smiled broadly and told me that she was a Christian, and was looking forward to helping me learn Japanese because she knew that I was a missionary. My second teacher turned out to be a lady who attends our Church. We share a common aim; as I strive to learn Japanese in order to help proclaim the gospel in Japan, these two precious sisters in Christ are serving God by teaching me. Also, I need to add that the odds of this happening by chance are astronomical. There are so few Christians in this area that it is incredibly rare to have two Christians working in the same place.

We’re here! After years of preparation God has finally brought us to serve Him in Japan. We could never have gotten here without you, and as we launch into a totally new phase of ministry, your role in sending us and praying for us is even more vital than before. We’ll never be able to thank you enough, but we look forward to sharing with you the things that God does here in Japan, and trust that He will reward you greatly for your obedience in helping to reach the lost with the hope of salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We’re been in Japan for one week now, and we have been incredibly busy during that week. Your prayers have certainly been felt, as we have been amazed at how smoothly everything has gone, and how much has been accomplished. The day we arrived in Morioka we signed (or more accurately stamped, in Japan everyone has a personal stamp that is their official signature) papers to rent an apartment. One great thing about the place we’re living is that it’s right above another young missionary family that is working with Pastor Kondo’s church, and we’re looking forward to working with them and being able to encourage each other. In Japan apartments typically come totally unfurnished, without even a stove oven or heater, much less a washing machine, refrigerator or microwave. Also, unlike Tokyo, you really need a car to get around Morioka. However, thanks to the help of my brother and his wife, Pastor Kondo and his family, our new neighbors and others, we were able to get our place about half way set up by last weekend, and officially began living in our apartment Easter Sunday.

It was a real blessing being able to make here in time for Easter, and we had the great joy of seeing four people baptized following the service. After the baptism each of the people who were baptized were presented with flowers, given to them by the four people who were baptized at the last baptism. It was such a touching way to welcome them into the church and into the family of God, and so encouraging to see that the four who were baptized previously remained faithful and steadfast in the church. Pray that this cycle happens again and again!

Titus has been adjusting really well, and seems to like Japanese food much better than American food. Also, him being a total extrovert doesn’t hurt. He hates to be stuck at home, but has absolutely loved getting out and driving all over Morioka shopping with us, and meeting all sorts of new people.

Also this past week: Tomo and I got a job teaching English to pre-school kids twice a month, pray that God will use us in that role. It is a Christian pre-school, but many of the children and their parents are not Christians, so pray that we can be a good witness to them and develop good relationships.

I start language school this coming Monday, and have a very formal entrance ceremony this coming Friday. Good thing I brought a suit! We have to arrive an hour before the ceremony to practice, and I’ll have to introduce myself in Japanese. I wasn’t able to get as far as I’d hoped in learning Japanese prior to arriving, so I’ll likely be starting out one on one with a tutor, and hopefully be able to join a group class later on. Pray that I can stay focused and make lots of progress in learning Japanese.

We need to find a car. Buying a car is a lot different here, and it’s hard for us to know what a good car is, how long one would be able to reasonably expect a good car to last (The Japanese equivalent of a Smog check is very strict and very expensive, which is why there are very few older cars on the road in Japan). Pray that we’re able to find a good car soon, and also that we’re safe on these insanely narrow roads, crowded with bicycles and pedestrians, where everyone drives on the left instead of the right.

Pray for good relationships to be formed with our church, Morioka Bible Baptist Church, other missionaries in the area, neighbors, classmates, students, and anyone else God would put in our path.

Pray for us that we’d make time to spend in God’s word, even with all the pressure to get our house set up before language school starts next Monday.