Who Have Both Hands Full

Posted on 2016, December 31 by Mia

Idleness. Something that seems like this December hasn’t had. In a way, I’m very thankful for that as the Bible says many things against being idle. But at the same time, it seemed like there weren’t enough “idle” times for us to appreciate and soak in why we have this season of Christmas. Another thing that this month hasn’t been full of is the word “No”. Hence the reason for such a busy time.

One thing that has been keeping us on our toes, especially Brian, is his mom has been to the hospital I think 3 times and it all started back in November. I think if we all really put our heads together about what is really wrong with her, we would still have no idea. From what I have gotten from Brian and everyone else is that there isn’t a single good hospital in Staten Island. I don’t want to go into much further details about any of it but prayer for our family would be greatly appreciated. The problems are still going on right now.

We had planned about 5 ministries but one didn’t work out. We wanted to have a little concert/caroling of Christmas/gospel music at Fukui Station but with everyone that was planning on doing that, our schedules didn’t work out for enough practice time and bad weather happened that day. Even though it didn’t work, it’s a blessing to know that God isn’t going to hold against us that a ministry didn’t happen. If He wanted it to work out, He certainly would of made it happen when those involved were willing to do so. But some of the other ministries that did happen were our church Christmas parties. One was for youth, another was for children and the last was for anyone. I was able to attend the youth. While a lot of our church members attended, there were 2 girls that attended that aren’t church goers. It’s nice being a foreigner as they take interest in talking to you and you can talk pretty much about anything with them. One of the girls asked me when we plan on going home (not for visiting) and those types of questions can open up a wonderful opportunity for God/Jesus. Also, she asked if it’s hard to be away from home. Again, wonderful opportunity! Unfortunately, we missed the children’s Christmas but we were able to go to the Christmas party that anyone can go to. Lots of singing, preaching (not entirely sure what the preacher was saying) and good food.:) All in all, it seemed like good events. The one thing that seems to lack here in churches are follow-ups. Like, you can’t just hold an event, talk to people about spiritual things and then not keep the connection with them. In the Japanese culture, you really have to stick with him as far as being in contact because they usually won’t come to you on their own. If we haven’t said this before, Japan is a relational country. Relationships are so important.

Of course, Tanpopoen Nursing Home is always a place of ministry and we certainly enjoy spending time there. Other than decorations being different from the last time we were there, nothing else was much different as far as how the program goes. Everyone seemed to be having such a wonderful time. Even little reindeer Hannah made her appearance. I’m sure you can only imagine what fun the elderly had with such a cute little baby. 🙂 On a side note, one thing we didn’t notice there last time was a big scale. So of course we all wanted to weigh ourselves. Hehe. I won’t tell you the numbers, but Hannah is growing well! 😉

Two different Christmas gatherings were done through GRACE Academy. One was done for a kindergarten school. I think it was the first time that the gospel could be introduced. Years prior, one of the other teachers would do whatever activities but this year Hiroko, Brian, Hannah, and I got to do it. So we did the telling of Jesus’ birth. Brian played the accordion and sang the 12 Days of Christmas which is a wonderful thing because it helps the children with counting. Boy! Did they have fun with that! Also, it makes you realize that you have to remember a lot of things as you sing down everything your true love gave ya! At times, I think Brian got 4 turtle doves and then 2 more turtle doves. 🙂 And the older class, we got to play Christmas bingo! Everyone won! We also played Christmas bingo at the GRACE Christmas party. Along with singing and again, the story of Jesus’ birth. The GRACE Christmas party was not only for the staff of the school but also any of the students that wanted to come. Hannah and I finally got to meet one of Brian’s classes which consist only of a husband and wife, the Nishimoto family. Brian has always spoken so highly of them and to finally meet them was so exciting. I think if they could of taken Hannah home, they would of. But of course, most importantly, we hope that everyone received the message of why we celebrate Christmas. That is a goal not only for us but also for Hiroko.

Even though GRACE has their “holiday break” but there were still some classes that needed to be taught and we’re happy that happened that way. Part of one of the lessons was that you had to list in order what was most important to you. The things were Language, IT, Physics, Religion, Maths, Art, Sports, and Cookery. For both students, their first was Language and their second was Cookery. Their last… Religion. Brian said that his most important were Religion and Language. The reason why we are here is for Religion, Language was number two. Less than 1% of Japanese even know about Jesus and we are here to tell others. They showed interest in why we are here for “religion”. He also got to ask them what they are doing for New Years, the lady Sasaki-san said that her family would go to a temple and do their praying in which they clap twice, bow twice and then clap once. And at a shrine you clap twice, bow twice and then clap twice. Or maybe it is all the other way around. He asked why they have to clap this many times or bow this many times and so on. Sadly, they couldn’t really answer because they didn’t really know. Sasaki-san admitted that what really matters to her is her family and friends. It really comes to show, whether in Christianity, Buddhism, Shinto or any other religion that things can be done so mindlessly, that one just goes through the motions and when confronted about it, can’t give an answer because even they don’t know. “It’s just how we’ve always done it”. It is a great reminder to us that we need to make sure we know why we do the things we do. Why do we believe in God? Why do I wear a head-covering? Why not watch this type of thing? Why have a day of rest? Why, why why? Truly, we need to know these things. So please be in prayer for Brian’s students, Dani-san and Sasaki-san.

Brian continues to have time with Moriai. I can’t remember a lot of their conversations but when he has told me what they’ve talked about, it is always just so exciting because you feel like he’s almost there. Or as Brian will put it, he’s like King Agrippa. Almost persuaded. But hopefully, Moriai’s decision will be different than Agrippa’s. Please continue to pray.

I don’t remember if Brian said in the last post that we were planning to look for another place but if he didn’t, well, we’re searching for a new place to live. One that we can’t outgrow very quickly. One thing that we learned from moving here is that you should do some research before actually making the move to a new country. For us, a 2DK (2 “bedrooms” along with a dining room and kitchen) is not as workable in the long run. Maybe a 2LDK (2 “bedrooms” along with a living room, dining room and kitchen) would work. We have one of the “bedrooms” as a living room and we all sleep in the only bedroom. We certainly didn’t plan for Hannah to still be sleeping in the same room with us at almost a year old. So it gets a little difficult at times. But it’s not the worst thing that we can’t live with it for right now but we definitely can’t wait to have more room. We looked at a house to rent a few days ago, it was an older house but it was nice. There are probably a bit more cons than pros in our minds but we are still praying about it and of course still looking around but we’d like to ask for prayer of anyone that reads this. While we want someplace different quickly, we know that waiting on the Lord’s timing is best.

Speaking of being busy, we have many people to thank back home who have taken care of numerous affairs. While I would love to put everyone’s names down but I’m afraid I’ll forget someone. But there are things from taking care of our finances, to the trailer and all the work that comes with that, our beloved dog, making sure that if we need either something from our possessions or buying things. But even some of the things that aren’t physical, thank you to everyone for your prayers and fastings. I know I’ve said this before in other places but it is why we can do what we can do because of your intercessions! Thank you!

So we are thankful for not only the month of December and all of it’s busy times but we are thankful for the year of 2016. As two major doors were opened and in such a short amount of time, Hannah’s birth and moving to Japan. As we look back on the year, I think our heads spin because it’s like “How did we manage to pull all that off so quickly?” and we’d still give the same answer. “God!” It truly was all God because personally, it was overwhelming with the changes of already having moved, to having a baby on the way, to have to move to a new country in 2 months from the time that Brian was offered the job at GRACE, plus all the little things in between. Although sometimes I think that heading up the VBS was quite the task at the time. Whoa!!! Just a lot! But again, God supplied. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19

As we enter this new year, may we all continue to strive to be more like Christ. May we remember we are on earth for His glory. May we remember Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” May our emphasis never be on things working together for us, but may our emphasis be “to them that love God”. May we remember that it isn’t about what God can do for us but rather what we can do for God. We are to live for Him! Praise the Lord! May everyone’s year of 2017 being filled with Almighty God!

A Season and a Time

Posted on 2016, November 21 by Brian

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up”. Ecc 3

We were reminded just the other day by a missionary friend to not “spread ourselves out too thin”, which is again a good reminder as we seem to be so busy. There is a time for everything, and we are facing a little change of “season”. Pastor Lonnie preached this week about discouragement. It was a good message that he preached from his heart (a link to the message can be found here). Mia fights with alike discouraging feelings about her self-worth when she examines herself. Her up-bringing was filled with criticism and scorn, so she sometimes struggles with fighting those feelings in herself. Pastor Shannon also preached recently on the husband’s responsibility to his wife and family. An area in which I also need to examine myself, for I can be neglectful. As we each fight with our own flesh’s “besetting” difficulties, going abroad for a purpose has not removed these obstacles, so we hope to make sure that we spend adequate time on these areas of our lives.

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Hannah and Mommy trying to scare the dinosaur….

Maruoka Castle

Got to finally take Mia and Hannah out last week to one of the attractions in the prefecture – Dinosaur Park! There are actually two parts to it. One is a museum, the other is an outdoor park. We decided to skip the museum for now, as it would do much good for us not being able to read advanced Japanese and Hannah being so young. The outdoor park was basically a guided path through the

woods with different moving dinosaur models, sound effects, and information. We also got to go out to Maruoka Castle, too. It was nice just to have time out as a family; we’ve needed it.

When we left the States we had taken several supplies and resources to help us during our transition into Japan, but most of those resources are about all gone. It is now time for us to start venturing-out into the terrifying realm of the Japanese medical field. Mia will have to see an ophthalmologist soon, I’m planning on going for acupuncture this week for some health reasons, and (worst of all!), I need to figure out how to see a dentist. We really could use some prayer for a few of these things – I don’t think there are any English-speaking options!

Speaking of speaking, it doesn’t get said much on here, but language learning is of course a daily added activity for us here. Mia is still having her weekly Japanese lessons (she’s doing very well!), and we both have several daily resources that we use (not to mention instant immersion). We can finally hold controlled conversations to an extent, though listening to/partaking in full conversations is extremely difficult. It is encouraging to finally be able to read things and to understand different things – like what food items Hannah is eating!

Omikuji – purchased god fortunes.

Also at this current level, we are really hoping to utilize the time of one of the biggest Japanese holidays ‐正月 (Shou Gatsu/Holy Month), or New Years. This is a very important time for Japanese in which they seek to welcome the gods’ blessing for the new year and try to be clean inside and out. They also go to temples for おみくじ (Omikuji), which is basically a paper fortune, hoping for a blessing from god. We are really hoping to “redeem the time” wisely, and reach the people here, that they may truly have God’s blessing of salvation in Christ. We had another missionary couple over at our apartment this last weekend and discussed some ideas. Overall we were reminded of how very different of a mission field it is here, and how the Japanese people require a lot of time spent with them in order to reach them. Please pray for wisdom for us as we consider these things for December on how to reach the people.

Moriai on the bass and Hannah on the floor.

Also an update regarding Moriai – we are indeed carpooling every week to one of our joint classes. It’s about a 40 minute drive each way, so it provides quite a bit of time to talk. Please continue to pray for more open doors. He also joined us last week to practice some children’s Bible songs for a “concert” we will be doing at GRACE next month, Lord willing. He seems so much like king Agrippa with the apostle Paul, so willing to listen, but then, nothing. Please keep praying for him! He may be just like most other Japanese, and he needs a lot of time.

Again, thank you for your prayers, and please remember to spend time with your family this week! We would also love to hear from you if you have any prayer requests of your own. Please let us know.

For Whosoever Will

Posted on 2016, October 29 by Brian

“And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us”. -Luke 9

These past couple of weeks have been extremely busy, it seems, both with new and routine things. I’ve acquired yet another few extra classes lately. A couple of which involve Mineo Moriai. As mentioned briefly before, he is my main associate at the school; a Japanese man who speaks English fluently. He knows much about the Bible and American culture, but does not yet know Christ. He is one of our biggest points of prayer.

We will possibly car-pool weekly to the new class, as it is in a town named あわら (Awara), which is some distance away. We are praying for this to become an open door to witness to him more. Also, I have started a new class that only has two students – my boss and Moriai-san. It has already facilitated some Biblical discussions, and we are hoping for more “water” on his heart in this way. Thank you for your continued prayers for his salvation!

Mia has also started her own class this past week! She is now teaching a 3 year-old girl named さら (Sara). Mia is able to use Bible-based materials, and we are praying that it will not only plants seeds in the young girl’s heart, but also in her family’s (her grandmother is one of my students). There is also the possibility that Mia will be working with me in one of my larger future classes as well. Please keep her in prayer as she is working hard and seeking open doors!

One of our tea ceremony arrangements.

Two Sundays ago we had what’s called お茶会, or a Tea Ceremony, at the church. This is a very formal event for Japanese. It was a good time to witness to some who do not know the Lord. Pastor Emori gave a much longer message than some expected, but I believe it was a very good one. There was a Japanese man that sat next to me during the ceremony. He happened to be saved. While I was away from the table, he spoke to Mia and asked that we would reach Eiheiji to make it “a better place”. We surely hope that the Lord will though ordinary people like us (well, we’re a little peculiar at times, but mostly ordinary)! There was also a couple that accepted the Lord last week after the Tea Ceremony (the husband actually passed away later that week)!

Mia leaving a tract at a home.

We finally got to join our church for tract distribution. For one reason or another, we’ve not been able to join them until now. It involved going “door-to-door”, but not quite in the Biblical sense. We simply put tracts in mailboxes in a somewhat-plotted area. Mia and I gave out gospel tracts and spoke (very little) to people as we walked by them – this seemed foreign to the others (and not just because we’re foreigners)! We still have the vision of starting an outdoor outreach in the city, but it requires more Japanese fluency and perhaps more conducive weather – it has already become cold here and it would not be very realistic with Hannah. Japanese are culturally uncomfortable with initiating conversations with strangers. In-turn, it is very effective for us when we simply ask how someone is, or interact in other ways that they don’t expect. We hope to use this difference to positively influence our church and to reach more people. Please help us pray about wisdom for this – it’s so hard to think that nearly everyone you is dying in their sin without the remedy. We need to reach them!

The tract from the J.W.s

Also, in regards to door-to-door, we were very surprised to have a pair of J.W.s (Jehovah Witnesses) come to our apartment a few days ago. We’ve been spiritually “brought-up” to differentiate good and bad teachings, and have been taught to “endure sound doctrine”, holding to that which God upholds (which we very much should!). We, in the meanwhile however, have also been essentially taught to shun all other denominations that have “wrong doctrine”. It was certainly interesting to, instead of seeking to contend with our visitors, but rather to offer them a drink and pray for them. While some would be offended with this story, it was strangely refreshing to do so with them. The Lord gave me peace with this reminder in Philippians chapter 1:

“Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice”.

It truly is a daily grief and reminder that hardly anyone around us knows Christ as their Saviour. We may not agree with many things of other groups (especially J.W.s), but if they lead someone to trust in the Lord and to love him with all of their heart, we will no longer be the ones to condemn it. We must all develop convictions and study to know God’s Word, but we mustn’t sacrifice the lost for the sake of “being right”.

Lastly, we had another ministry opportunity at Tanpopoen. It was similar to before: singing and a short Bible message. We are scheduled to return again to give them a Christmas kind-of service. Praise the Lord for a continued door to reach them there! We hope that we will one day see fruit.

Lastly (again): One last note! We’ve been making a point of praying whenever possible when we pass a shrine (there are a lot). One thing we pray is for God to destroy the idols, and to replace them with Christ. Here is a recent picture of one of those shrines.

Remains of a small shrine downtown.

We don’t know how, but it’s been completely demolished. While we don’t know the events leading to it, but it is certainly a “big deal” to both us and the local people, and we certainly believe in the ability of our God! Please keep praying against the evil that is here, and for the Spirit of the Lord to fill Japan!

There are a couple of more updates, but we’ll leave them for the next post. As always, we thank everyone so much for your support and your prayers! You are as much a part as we are.

The Same Yesterday, Today, But Not Forever

Posted on 2016, October 5 by Brian

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18)

Prayers purchased by our town’s people.

Perhaps a good sign of a mature christian is a consistent life; the Lord wants dependable people in his kingdom (I Tim 1:12). The last two weeks or so have been pretty steady for us here and a test for us to be consistent. Work is increasingly busy, and Mia is perpetually busy with not just being a mom, but also while learning a new language and pursuing ministry opportunities. At this point we are but continuing to acclimate to life here. There has not been much change recently, but it seems some will be coming soon.

It seems that Mia will be engaging in a small amount of English teaching herself. It would include teaching a young child, as well as the possibility of having a moms’ class. On top of that, she was also approached by a stranger the other day, who promptly offered her a teaching job at her school – it all seemed so sudden. While we all agree that she should not be adding so much to her plate, Mia is excited to start teaching at least a little, and for it to be both another ministry opportunity, as well as a way to bolster her own language learning. We are praying for the right timing of our schedules to make it work.

It’s kind of hard to believe that we’ve already finished a third of our company contract here in Fukui! It still feels like we just got here (which is still quite true). If you have been following this blog, you know that our length-of-stay here in Fukui has been one of the top topics of prayer for us, of which an answer seems nearly in sight. We have decided that it would be highly beneficial for us to stay in Japan for at least four years… starting from the U.S. election in November (well, it was a thought, anyway)! Even with that being the case, we do truly feel it is wise and of the Lord’s leading, at this time, for us to remain in Japan beyond our contract end in June. We do not know how long that may mean, but only that we sense that our purpose here is not just for one year. In agreeance with several areas of counsel, some steps have already been taken in the U.S. for us, and we plan on slowly making a few more decisions both there and here. Thank you so much for your fastings and prayers in this! It isn’t really for us, but for the countless in Japan that need reached for Christ.

In addition to the physical considerations that will have to be made, we also have a vision for future ways to minister. In addition to continued efforts at Tanpopoen, there is also a children’s orphanage in our prefecture called くれ愛園 (Kure-ai-en). While we continue to live our lives in relative comfort and blessings, the elderly and the young remain held within the limits of walls, with almost all of them without hope physically, or eternally. With the continual support of Hiroko, we are currently looking into what way we can reach the orphans at Kureaien. There may be a couple of possibilities, but it’s too early to say just yet. Please join us in our burden and prayer for this!

Some of you also know about a young woman (she will remain nameless) that we asked for prayer for to help in the Philippines. Thank you for praying. Her and her daughter are safely home. We will not share all of the details here, but if you have any questions, please ask us personally.

Whether it’s about homeless children in Japan, endangered family in the Philippines, or reading about suffering in the U.S., we’ve been reminded lately of our great need, as christians, to proclaim the truth of God’s love and mercy. The late Joey Feek had a song entitled, “In the Time that You Gave Me”. Part of the lyrics say this:

“In the time that you gave me, did I give all that I could I could give? Did I love all I could love? Did I live all I could live? Was my faith in your grace strong enough to save me? Did I do all I could do in the time that you gave me?… If today is the day that you should decide to take me, did I do all I could do in the time that you gave me?”

It is the Lord’s desire to save the sheep that have gone astray, and our desire and prayer is that you will join us to reach those who are wandering their way into eternity on the wrong side of heaven. Thank you so much for all of your support, whether in encouragements, packages, financially, or by prayer. We are truly a blessed people!

Sent

Posted on 2016, September 16 by Brian

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved….. how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” -Rom 10:13-14

As a youth I had a lot to learn (and still do). One of the most influential things in a young person’s life are their elders. To this day I still remember the depressing feeling of a time when my pastor was upset with me! Even as an adult the same has an influence on us. The contrary is also true. Knowing that we have the support of family, friends, and our church, is very empowering – even across the world.

As we serve here in Japan the obstacles continually remind me that we must have a power greater than our own if we are to accomplish anything in a “Graveyards of Missionaries”. We’ve seen so much of God’s provision before and during our transition to Japan, but will God continue to show his favor? If you are feeling discouraged, not seeing the power of God in your life, would you commit it to prayer and fasting? The power behind knowing God is behind you and sending you is incredible.

From the left, Hiroko, Angel (previous teacher), and Mr. and Mrs. Nishimoto

Mr. and Mrs. Nishimoto are on the right.

I recently got to meet a young man named Takumi Nishimoto – the son of two of my students (mentioned here); he joined my class for a few weeks. While several people had been praying for him, along with a parting gift, I was led to give him a gospel tract. That evening an open door also arose to give them a Christian testimony and to talk about the Bible. It turns out that Hiroko was praying for him at the same time, and Takumi has recently shown interest in, and began reading, the Bible. I didn’t realize what was going on behind the scenes, but the Lord did. We would love to see the Lord do a work in his heart and to reach his family for Christ! Please pray for the Spirit’s continued leading in Takumi’s heart and for his parents’ salvation as well.

Many of you have also been praying regarding how long we are to be in Japan, of which we thank you so much. This is a very difficult and impactful decision that we can’t haste in making, but we are again encouraged by more of how God is leading people here. One of the many things that are being done on our behalf in the U.S. is the care of our dog, Pippy. As you may know, Pippy (A.K.A. Pip) is very precious to us and she likewise is a very loving dog (she adores Hannah)! Nate and Janae Yoder (along with the stalwart aid of their children, no doubt!) have been selflessly taking care of her. While we don’t yet know all of the details, the Lord may be preparing a future door for Pippy to rejoin us, though it would be contingent on one thing, realistically – us staying in Japan. We ask if you would also pray for us regarding this!

Mineo Moriai and us shortly after we arrived in Japan.

A quick update regarding Tanpopoen, the elderly home. There was another invitation given to return at the end of the month – we are surprised by the continued open door. Please continue to pray for the salvation of the people at Tanpopoen. One of the next desires we have is to visit an orphanage in the next town. To my knowledge it is the only for in a large radius from our area. Honor is extremely important to the Japanese. So important, in fact, that suicide is a common thing here. People would rather end their life in honor than live it in shame. This also applies to children. Many children kill themselves because of bullying of other forms of shame – like the shame of being an orphan. Being adopted is looked down upon, so adoption is rare, and many children are left without a home. We hope and pray for an open door to reach these children. Lastly, please continue to pray for Mineo Moriai, the Japanese teacher I work with. We are determined and greatly desiring for him to trust the Lord – he seems so close!

Thank you all for your support and prayers, and we hope to update you again soon!

Obon

Posted on 2016, September 3 by Mia

“But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. ” Jeremiah 44:5

It seemed the last few weeks were a bit busy for us. While Brian had off from work for about a week for summer break, there were still preparations that we needed to do, some just by ourselves, but some with other people. And of course when everyone has different schedules, it doesn’t always come out smoothly but praise the Lord, it got done!

First we had a “concert” at Tanpopoen Nursing Home! That was very neat to be apart of! The staff did it up nicely! They had little games outside along with some food. Inside they had food and all the music going on. We even did bingo! (My card must have been broken. I didn’t even win anything!) They had what seemed like some kind of school that teaches, I believe, “taiko” which are Japanese percussion instruments. Then Hiroko (Brian’s boss) sang some songs. She sang “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic. I’ll just let the picture speak for itself! And Brian, Makito and I sang some hymns…. in Japanese! Considering two out of three aren’t fluent in the language, I’d say it wasn’t a train wreck. Maybe more like a fender bender. 🙂 So despite me making up words, we pray that it ministered to the people. One thing that is tricky about either singing gospel music or hymns and hoping that people will come to Christ as their personal Savior is that they think that they can just “collect gods”. It needs to be very clearly communicated to them that there is only One True God, and that they can’t have any other gods. Please pray for the people of Japan that their eyes would be open to that Truth and also pray for us that we may know how to communicate that to them!

Pastor Emori and Rainier

Sunday was a little different than usual as we had a man named Rainier join us, who has been doing missions works in the Tokyo area for some years now. He ended up giving the sad news that he was going back to the Philippines (he’s Filipino) in December, but we are happy that we got to meet him. He gave a Sunday morning message and then he gave a message at our Worship service that we had a bit later in the afternoon and they had us to sing there as well. It was great to get together with a church in the area to just worship the Lord.

Sunday evening had been an evening that Brian and I have been waiting for since we found out about O-bon! A little back story on O-bon. O-bon is a time that Buddhists believe that their ancestors come back to this world and visit family. They really have quite a bit of things that they do to help “bring back” their loved ones. For example, they make a horse out a cucumber to bring in their ancestors quickly and make a cow out of eggplant to send them off slowly because they don’t like good-byes.

Lighting the Ancestors’ Way

Men scooping up lanterns.

Another thing that they do that we were able to witness is that they put lit lanterns in the rivers as a way to light their ancestors way back to the spirit world. I mean, this lantern ceremony is a big deal and there are a ton of people at it. As much as it is really gorgeous to see the lanterns lit floating down the river but at the same time, it’s very sad as people believe everything behind the meaning. And what was also sad was when we went back to the bus that takes you to the parking lot, there were some men standing at a spot in the river collecting all the lanterns out of the water. It’s almost like there really is no meaning in actually sending the lanterns down if someone is just gonna scoop them up. How do you determine the ancestors got back safely? Truly, there are so many questions you’d like to ask people and hopefully, you’d get them to think about things rather than just believing it because someone said that this is what will happen if you do this.

While the last few weeks had it’s times of grief for us (as we watch people faithfully doing something that will not benefit them eternally) and while it seemed like we had a ton of things to do in a certain amount of time, it was still a great week! God is still working on us. Showing us things in our lives. He continues to lay “visions” that we hope to keep so the people don’t perish. Again, please pray for the people of Japan. It is a first world country, but it’s a first world country that doesn’t really get to hear the gospel and if they do, they may not receive it clearly from just one meeting. It’s truly a relationship building place. They need to see it played out in real life, but also they need to hear it too.

Eiheiji

Posted on 2016, August 13 by Brian

“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God”. -Col 2:18-19

People praying to Buddha for blessings.

I often think on how Buddhism is the “perfect” outward religion. It teaches a person selflessness, kindness, about the inherently evil nature that we are all born with, and that we need cleansed of it. We even get to see the fruits of Buddhism all around us in Japan. The streets are clean (both literally and figuratively), people are extremely respectful, and it is one of the safest countries in the entire world. Many of this is thanks to Buddhism. What Buddhism does not do, however, is show a person how to actually be rid of that evil nature (the flesh), nor does it show a man the way to the eternal relationship that we all need with God. Francis Xavier once said, “In my opinion no people superior to the Japanese will be found among unbelievers”. Soon later, he left Japan, saying that Buddhism was “an invention of the devil”.

A common demon statue about 10 feet tall.

“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light”. -II Cor 11:14

Today, Mia, Hannah, and I, got to see a strong example of how the devil is a great counterfeiter, and uses things that are so close to God’s beauty and truth, and yet deceives many away from the Lord. We went to the Eiheiji temple today – a long anticipated trip, though only about a fifteen-minute drive from where we live. 時 (ji) is the word for Temple, of which the town we live in is named – the town of Eihei-ji. It is revered as one of the largest Buddhist temples in the country. It is especially sacred to the local people. Eiheiji includes a vast landscape along the mountainside. It is filled with gorgeous examples of God’s creation, but not the creation’s God.

A family starting to make an incense offering.

The monks appear busy all day, doing their daily tasks and up-keeping the grounds. You will not see any of them in the pictures, however, as photography of them is prohibited. You can smell the aroma of incense nearly everywhere you go, as offerings are made throughout. You can hear the monks’ incantations at times. We even saw a monk performing a ritual who appeared to be an American (or a foreigner, at the least). Many areas of worship are filled with gold and other precious materials as a form of expressing gratitude to Buddha in the highest way they can. The particular sect of 座禅 Buddhism (zazen) that is in this temple believe in giving their entire life for the pursuit of spiritual perfection. If all Christians did the same, I wonder the impact that we would have!

Inside one of Eiheiji’s ritual rooms.

Eiheiji is particularly busy right now, as this week marks the beginning of お盆 (obon), a major Buddhist holiday. This is a time that people return to their home lands to pay sacrilege to their ancestors. They visit their families’ grave sites, offer incense, leave offerings at shrines and temples, and light candles for the dead. It is a daily burden to see countless people go by us that are following their lives on the devil’s path of destruction. Hannah got the attention of a shop girl today, and then another, and then another, but we could not tell them about Christ. We met the family of two little twin girls, and they are also spiritually without hope. Just like in America, it is hard to imagine a majority of people around you will one day be in hell – just here it is more of an extreme and more apparent.

It seems that our burden and ministries continue to grow, and we know that to “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required”. Please continue to pray for Japan. Please continue to pray for wisdom for us on God’s intended purpose for us here. Please also pray, as Mia has been burdened with some particular thoughts lately (she may say more on it at a later time), and pray for God to continue to use simple people like us (including Hannah), for the lost and for his glory!

The Young and the Old…

Posted on 2016, August 7 by Mia

We definitely feel that the church we are at right now (Matsuoka Evangelical Church) is the place that we need to be. To help encourage those who labour for the Lord in reaching those without Christ. For them, they’re not the type of church that gets missionaries frequently. To Brian and I, well, we’re just like any other normal person. Nothing special about us. But to them, we are something special. There is encouragement within the church because God has given us a different perspective from the culture we came from to share with the Japanese culture. We think within one type of box and they think within another. But both peoples can learn things from the other and then you have everyone unpacking their boxes!

“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.” 1 Timothy 5:17

The Pastor is a wonderful man. He is an older gentleman and he had suffered from a stroke a few years back and he hasn’t been the same since. From what we understand, he has a servant’s heart, always wanting to help people. But since the stroke, he can’t even drive himself or his wife places. He will be speaking and in the middle of the sentence, forget what he was just talking about. People now have to help him. It truly bothers him because he can’t help others like he use to. But just because of all that, that doesn’t stop him from doing other things that help others. He continues to preach (in Japanese, of course). Since we’ve been there, he has faithfully typed out his messages in English for Brian and I to follow along with during service. A lot of times, when we read what he types, we feel like we’re reading a fortune cookie, but he most certainly gets his point across! Please pray for encouragement for him as he has discouraging times with his health.

There are some ministries that the church has been doing before we got here and there is at least one ministry that was started a week ago. I’d like to add this before I say much more. I keep coming to the realization on how important it is for us to be a part of the ministries that the church has because of our position. But right now, while we do understand a little of the language, there are still lots that we have to learn, and I believe that is what holds us back from being a part of those things. So please continue to be in prayer for us about learning Japanese.

“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35

The one ministry that we got the blessing to be apart of was the one that was started a week ago by the Pastor’s wife. God had laid it on her heart to spread the gospel to the elderly at a local nursing home.

Tanpopoen Residents

There were many more people there than what I expected. But they asked Brian and I to sing. Brian got to play his accordion and also, he preached (his boss, Hiroko interpreted). One of the best elements you can put Brian into is teaching/preaching so he had a fun time doing all of that!
I’ll say this because Brian would never tell anyone this (“Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” Proverbs 27:2). There was a bit of concern at first from Hiroko about the message and the fact that it wasn’t “a usual
gospel message”. He preached from Psalm 100. But in the end, he tied in the gospel. That is a different way than what Hiroko knew. She expressed that, the way the messaged was preached, made her think in a new way. The members of the nursing home actually want us to come back, even though they are almost all Buddhist.

Also, Hannah was quite the attention-getter when people saw her. I sat down with her while all of us were up front singing and I’m pretty sure these two ladies paid no attention to what was even being sung because they were too busy waving at Hannah which Hannah didn’t seem to mind. 😉 It seems like there is always something about the young in a nursing home. Through her, or really any child, you see God’s masterpiece. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Psalm 19:1 We are beyond blessed with how God uses her!

the Light of japan

Posted on 2016, July 23 by Brian

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not”. John 1: 4-5

This past week in Kyoto, the city was paraded by nearly 200,000 people to prepare to meet god. Giant structures were carried throughout the streets to spiritually cleanse the way for god’s arrival, and this week the people are celebrating the one they worship – the Shinto god.

A gift from Mr. and Mrs. Nishimoto. These are cookies that are only made for the Shinto God Festival.

Every year in Kyoto, Japan observes 祇園祭 – the Gion Festival. This is just one of many that are held throughout the country. Two of my students, Mr. and Mrs. Nishimoto, attended it this year. It was shocking to me to hear her continually use “God’s name” in Japanese, but she wasn’t in fact referring to the true God. Mrs. Nishimoto kept talking about how “God”, 神様 “kamisama”, went through the street. And how excited they were to see “God”. It broke my heart, and I couldn’t even talk to them about the Truth.

The darkness of this world blinds its victims so that they cannot see the Light before their eyes, that they should not be saved. By the time you finish reading this paragraph, more than we can count on our hands will have died and perished. Is it not so hard to think of our neighbors, co-workers, class mates, or especially our family, heading straight for eternity, bound for damnation? How can we not burn within ourselves to tell them about the Savior?!

Just the other day our doorbell rang. It was these two ladies with a very young child. They were distributing information packets – though we had no idea the kind of interaction that was going to follow. With both parties doing their best to communicate, they began telling me about who they were and why they were on our front step. They were スピリチュアルボランティア, or “Spiritual Volunteers”, and they wished to share their “light” with us. I told them that we are believers in Jesus, and the minister, Yuki, smiled in agreeance. “We too believe of Jesus”, she said in Japanese, “and many other gods, too”. She began to speak about how they can get power from spiritual pendants, and they can give their “light” to others by holding their hand by someone’s head. She tried to give us “light”, too…. After giving them a gospel tract, talking a bit more, and letting the little girl use the bathroom, they parted. They were friendly, and perhaps genuine, but the grieving truth is that many genuinely friendly people go to hell. There is only one Light that saves, and we have a responsibility to “light our world”!

A tract from the “Spiritual Volunteers” on how to share “light”.

We are greatly burdened to learn more of the language quickly to be able to reach more people that are blinded by the tactics of the devil. We pray for our loved ones reading this for the Lord to continue to work through you where you are. We also ask that you would pray for us that the Lord may give us great understanding and wisdom to be able to reach many that are lost, for surely he answers such requests. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”!

Yoshikawa Hosting There is currently an open door to continue meeting with the local town board members (like the one Mia went to a few weeks ago) and we were invited again today. It is a meeting that has apparently gotten the attention of the mayor, and they have asked us to be a part of an international outreach initiative. We’ve been asked several times now, “Why Fukui?”, and we have been blessed to be able to share on how God has led us here in the name of Jesus. Even with that information, they want us to be a part of a video to help Japanese people to think of foreigners differently… and we’re praying that they see God differently. What an opportunity! Only God could orchestrate such things! We don’t know what will come of it still, but we are looking forward seeing God’s purpose in it. Please pray about this! We should be meeting again next month.

There also may be a couple of new ministries starting soon, including ministering to the elderly, which our church members are very excited to start. We also have concepts of a music outreach downtown, though it’s not certain yet. Please keep this in prayer, as we are very eager to do so, if the Lord will!

Please let us know your thoughts on these posts and if there is anything that we can change or do to make them better, or if there is anything you would like to know. Our purpose is to glorify God and to bless those that read it. We miss you and thank you so much for your prayers!

My Home for Their’s

Posted on 2016, July 18 by Mia

Today was kind of an emotional day for me. I’m going to try to wear my heart on my sleeve ‘cause personally, I almost really don’t want to talk about it but the emotions are real and if it can encourage someone else, then glory be to God!

Brian and I had to talk about some things last night such as additional insurance pertaining to the car, and then we needed to talk about the trailer back home in Ohio. So far, we are considering two options. Either have it rented out (which has been hard worked on by our lead Pastor and anyone else), or sell it. That thought had gone through Brian’s mind but I don’t think it had gone through mine.

As I said, our lead Pastor Lonnie has been showing the trailer to people who are interested in renting it. I know he’d talked about getting another hobby before but I never thought it would be real estate! Maybe motorcycle riding or something but definitely not real estate! 😉 Anyways, he has been trying to communicate with us and we’ve been going back and forth with the property manager. It’s starting to be a dead end because we can’t get an answer to give an answer.

Our nights lately have been just a little rough as Hannah is waking up a few times (we think she is trying to crawl but then wakes herself and starts to cry). So I wake up multiples times and when I would last night, I would think about selling the trailer and my heart would just drop. This trailer is the only place that I finally felt at home. 4 1/2 years of marriage and we’ve moved 5 times.

(I feel like this might be a longer post than I’d like so I’m not going to really discuss the details).

When we first got married, we had stayed at the crash pad that he rented from another flight attendant. It wasn’t the ideal place for a newlywed to live. So we moved!

Second place was an apartment. There were a few details to why I never felt at home there. But we ended up moving out because of some unhealthy issues that the landlord didn’t fix properly.

Third place was a house that we owned in Columbus. That house was definitely a fixer upper!

Because place 3 was a fixer upper, we got a generous offer from new friends to live with them until we got the house problem fixed. So place four ended up being a 2 year, almost 3 year living arrangement. While both families have wonderful stories about those almost past 3 years, we also now understand why multiple families weren’t mean to live with each other! 🙂 (By the way, it’s hard to be away from them so it clearly wasn’t that bad!)

After selling place 3 and knowing that we had a baby on the way, we needed a place of our own. We then found place five, the trailer!
It was perfect for us! Not too big, not too small. We owned it. We could be a family with our animals without having restrictions and it was out in the country area. In two months we’d welcome our little baby and we figured we’d just get settled in for a while (because we still felt that God was going to have us serve in Japan). Then we got the surprise that we would be leaving for Fukui, Japan in June. So we only lived there for 8 months. We wanted and still want to have it rented out while we are here. Then when we come back (whenever the Lord will) we have something to come back to.

Please be in prayer with us as we make this decision. As far as we’re concerned, we aren’t making the decision quickly.

All I know is that I wanted to feel at home. We found the place. Had to temporarily leave the place. During temporary leave, we may have to sell the place.

It makes me think of how we are to be pilgrims while here on earth. Be ready to pick up your life and move to where God leads you. I remember as we were on the plane ready to leave Columbus, I was crying because it was then just hitting me that we were leaving our dog. I told Brian and he said “We could turn back now and stay”. I’m sure he knew that I wouldn’t have us turn around. But my response was “If we go back now, we’ll suffer the horrible heartache because we didn’t follow God’s command. Then if we were to get right with God, follow His command and then actually do what we need to, we’ll have to go through the heartache of leaving too. So I’d rather just go through the heartache once.”

There is a message that I feel is powerful. It’s called “Going to Hell Unnoticed”. Here is the video. I’d highly recommend that you listen to it.

While we’re here in Japan, we need to give up any and every thing that God desires for us to serve Him and to lighten the load of others taking care of things back home so that we (by the way, we’re no one special. Just because we have hope, the Hope! Doesn’t mean we’re better than anyone) can spread the Gospel so people don’t go to Hell unnoticed. So that God can be glorifed and honored to people who haven’t even heard about Him and His Son.

Yes, it hurts thinking about giving up “home”. BUT if giving up “home” means that someone or people can have an eternal future in Heaven then it would be worth it all!

The Spratt Family

Serving in Fukui