2013 started off with a sense of excitement; after 5 years of support raising in the US, we finally had a departure date set and were preparing to move to Japan. There were many times during those years that we wondered and questioned whether or not would ever open the doors for us to go to Japan. If He wanted us to serve Him there, why was He taking so long to provide? Yet every time we considered giving up He would provide some small push to keep us going. Encouragement from a friend. A new supporter, or a new supporting church. A reminder of the incredible need for missionaries to serve in Tohoku. We learned to persevere. On March 25, 2013, the three of us boarded a plane and flew to Japan.
The first few weeks were a chaotic blur as we tried to settle into our new home, or it would have been if we had a home. Initially we did not. But by God’s grace we arrived knowing that my brother and his family had come a month earlier, and God had miraculously provided a large house for them to live in, which they then generously invited us to share until we could find our own home. Thanks to new friends that we had barely met, we were able to sign a lease on a cozy apartment the day after we arrived, and moved in less than a week later. Again God provided.
Language school began on April 7, before jet lag had even fully subsided. I started knowing virtually no Japanese. The language school I began attending required that students spend six months of full time language study in their home countries before beginning the program in Japan. Despite this they agreed to accept me, and I was put in a “class” with no other students, receiving one on one instruction from two amazing teachers, both of whom are Christians (impossibly rare in a place where Christians comprise less than half a percent of the population). After six months they decided that I was close enough to the other students in level that I could join their class. I was able to pass the first 2 of 5 national language proficiency tests, and Lord willing I’ll be able to skip the third and take the fourth this Summer. While it has been challenging, I can’t imagine a better scenario in which to learn Japanese. Yet again, God provided.
We arrived in Japan with a heart to see churches planted among the Tsunami devastated coastal cities of Iwate. But at the time we had no idea where, or how or with who we would work. But God gave us a church and a network, which led to new friends and a constant flow of opportunities to help out and to contribute to the ongoing efforts to minister to the survivors. In the summer we were able to spend a week on the coast participating in events at the temporary housing parks, or Kasetsus as they are called here. We also found many opportunities to serve in our new home city of Morioka. Despite not playing piano in years before arriving, Tomo has joined the regular rotation to play on Sunday mornings. In the fall the church decided to continue a monthly English practice outreach that was started by short term summer team, which Tomo and I have been able to help at each time, often seeing many unbelievers coming to the church to practice English, but then also having the
opportunity to hear the gospel. In the midst of full time language study it’s wonderful to be able to also participate in ministry, and to see God working.
We saw Him provide abundantly in 2013. We are incredibly thankful for those of you who have been praying for us, supporting us, and encouraging us throughout our first year as missionaries in Japan. We look forward with great anticipation to what God will do in 2014 and beyond, and are so encouraged that you are coming along with us.