2 Corinthians 13:11 – Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Hello to all of you as I prepare to say goodbye to Japan and the wonderful hosts I’ve had here. I am leaving early tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, so this will be my final blog post. I’m still trying to figure out how this time went by so fast. I’m certainly going to miss being here!

The past three weeks have remained busy with the weekly Pocket Ministry as well as several other ministry opportunities. I would like to request prayer for one specific individual who we got a chance to witness to this past Friday during the Pocket Ministry. His name is Carlos, a Brazilian who has been living in Japan for 10 years. We had a conversation with him for over half an hour. Please pray that he would accept Jesus’ wonderful gift of salvation.

A ministry we helped with last Saturday was Mamma Mia. This is a place where mothers can bring their children for several hours. We sang a few English children’s songs with them, we taught them some animal names in English, one of the Japanese ladies taught them a lesson about Jesus, and lastly everyone had lunch together. This is a great opportunity to teach the children about Jesus while they’re still young!

This past Sunday, we had another opportunity to go to the orphanage that I mentioned in my last blog post. The kids helped carve out pumpkins, and they also made little bags for candy that we later passed out. Something that blessed me was the fact that I had 2 little boys come sit on my lap for a while, and I couldn’t talk to either of them in their language. That reminded me that these children just want to be loved. They might not have even known that I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but that didn’t stop them from smiling and having fun!

Several weeks ago, we got to visit the Eiheiji Temple, a Buddhist temple here in Fukui Prefecture. It was quite fascinating to see the monks there going about their duties. Another interesting thing to watch was the people giving their offerings, burning incense, and praying either to the gods or their deceased family members. It is important that we keep these Japanese people in our prayers. We can pray that their eyes would be opened and that they would see and know the One True God.

Earlier this month, we were invited to represent the United States at what’s called a “Global Festival”, which was held outside the Fukui train station. This was an event put on by the city of Fukui. It featured people from many different countries showcasing the different cultures from throughout the world. At our table, we set up an English Bible verse that we use for the Pocket Ministry, and many people were able to read it and ask any questions they had. This opened up opportunities to talk to many people about the Bible. Brian and Mia have been invited to join them at another event in a few months.  We are praising God for this open door with the city! Please pray for continued opportunities with the city in the future.

I want to give a special thanks to Brian and Mia (and Hannah, too, of course!) for their incredible hospitality during my time here. I have grown spiritually and have been encouraged tremendously! I pray that God has worked through me to make an impact in the lives of the people here and, most importantly, that all the glory has been given to Him.

Thanks for all of your support! May God bless you all!