Month: January 2015

First off, I’d just like to share a big praise report. We just got our December giving report from JEMS and were totally blown away at the generosity that was reflected in it. Thank you all so much for your support, and a special thank you to those of you who gave year end gifts. Through you God provided above and beyond even what we asked for in our year end letter. As a result we have all the funds needed in order to cover our travel expenses back to the US this Summer for home service, as well as enough to supplement our monthly support throughout most of the 2015.

As I’ve mentioned before, our monthly support is currently low, however God has been providing through people who have given special gifts as He enables. One of our big focuses for our time in the US this Summer is to find more monthly financial partners so that we can serve without interruption here in Japan for the long term. Our first two years in Japan has been quite a lesson in trusting God, and we’re constantly humbled by God’s relentless faithfulness towards us in spite of our own lack of faith at times. Thank you for your faithfulness, generosity and partnership as we continue to press on to accomplish the calling which God has laid before us.

Last Friday we had our January English Cafe. At the end I shared from the Bible about the parable of the unmerciful servant, explaining how God’s abundant forgiveness enables and compels us to forgive others. Pray that the non-believers in attendance would be confronted with the weight of their own debt of sin towards God, and be drawn to His generous offer of total forgiveness through Christ.

Language school has been challenging lately, as I approach the end of my full time term of study. I met with a disappointing set back when I received the results of the N2 Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Unfortunately I did not pass. My intention was always to continue studying after I was done with school, so now this gives me some clear goals to work towards in the coming months, during which I hope to be able to study part time with a tutor. Despite this my confidence in speaking Japanese is rapidly improving, and communicating in Japanese is becoming easier and easier, for which I am very thankful.

Thank you again for all your prayers and support. The last few weeks have been exhausting on many levels, yet God continues to sustain us and remind us of His goodness. THank you for standing behind us and supporting us.

After returning to Morioka from our trip to Tokyo we promptly packed up again and headed up to the mountains for a church winter retreat. But before that we helped my brother and his family move out of their house and saw them leave to head back to the US for their first home service since they arrived in Morioka two years ago. We’re going to miss having them around, and Titus will certainly miss seeing his cousins on a regular basis, but we’ll see them again in about 6 months when we also head back to the US for our first home service.

While Tokyo was relatively warm (rarely did the temperature drop below the high 40s) and snow free, Morioka is cold and covered in ice, and when we went up to the mountains for our church retreat we spent time in a beautiful camp covered in over a meter of light fluffy powdered snow. It was a wonderful time of fellowship with our church family here in Japan, and for me one of the best opportunities to practice Japanese since my arrival. One highlight was playing a game of “Mafia” in Japanese, there’s nothing like the motivation of trying to convince people not to execute you to get over the nervousness of trying to speak a foreign language. Lately it feels like I’ve really turned a corner in Japanese speaking ability, I’m getting fairly comfortable at having one on one conversations with people (though I quickly get lost in group conversations which tend to flow much faster). At Prayer meeting last Wednesday I was able to share what I learned from the sermon on Sunday and my prayer requests without writing all that down ahead of time like I normally do. Please continue to pray that I am able to communicate well in Japanese, and particularly that I can navigate spiritual topics which is significantly more difficult than talking about the weather.

There are two college students at our church who recently became Christians, which is very exciting. One of them is a student at a college where Pastor Kondo teaches a class on Christianity, and the other is a student in Okinawa who took time off to come volunteer to help out Tsunami survivors. Both of their stories are quite unique and it has been a tremendous joy to see them at church every Sunday and to see the way that Christ is working in their lives. Pray that God works in the hearts of many more to bring salvation to the lost. Next Friday we’ll be having our January English Cafe, please pray that God would use this ministry to reveal the truth of His gospel to those who attend.

Thank you all for your faithfulness in praying for us, supporting us and helping us in so many other little and big ways throughout 2014! You are all such a blessing to us as we continue to adjust our new lives as missionaries in Japan and prepare for the work God is setting before us to do. It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly two years since we’ve first arrived, and yet so much has happened in that time. We became members of our receiving church here in Morioka. God blessed us with a beautiful baby girl. And in almost exactly 2 months I’ll be graduating from language school and starting out into full time church ministry here in Japan.

When I first arrived I knew just a few helpful phrases in Japanese, and now by God’s grace I’m able to carry on basic conversations, give announcements at church, share at prayer meetings, and with enough preparation time, even give short messages. I still have a difficult time communicating, and will continue to study Japanese long after I’m done with language school, yet the difference between where I was two years ago and now is pretty huge. Please pray that I continue to grow in my ability to communicate in Japanese, and that God uses me to speak for Him in this place.

After language school is finished in March we will begin getting more involved in our home church here in Morioka, while at the same time preparing for our first home service in the US from June to September (If any of you know of a place in South Orange County we can stay for a week to a few months during that time please let us know!). We’re looking forward to seeing my family, especially as there are two weddings and one new baby expected during our time there (not us having a new baby, my brother and his wife)! After returning to Japan in September I’ll begin serving as a missionary at our receiving church, helping with the ministry there as well as working with the 3/11 Network to participate in various ministries among the coastal towns. During this time I’ll be putting into practice and improving the Japanese I’ve learned, as well as gaining invaluable experience doing ministry in a Japanese context while serving under Pastor Kondo.

This past December we had to go to Tokyo to take Felicity to the US Embassy and get her US citizenship and passport taken care of. We also were blessed to be able to see all four of Tomo’s grandparents, and introduce them to their new great-granddaughter. We really enjoyed the “warm” weather, which rarely dropped below 40F and only snowed briefly. We had a wonderful time, but have now returned to our currently snow buried home town which despite being entirely different from California is somehow beginning to feel like home.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support, we hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and pray God’s Blessings upon you during this new year!