Category Archives: Financial Report

To Know Our Affairs

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“…I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.” -Eph 6

Upon review, it seems that the post intended for June never quite made it to publishing – I apologize. Please let me take this time to get caught back up that ye might know our affairs.

 

First of all, it was our pleasure to host Lance Beachy here for about a month. He did a very good job during his stay here and we hope and pray that his time in Japan will be the springboard to a great and life-long walk with the Lord! Please pray with us as we weigh the future of hosting others (both in general and specifically). There are a few people/options that are already in consideration and we want to seek the Lord about them.

 

“My ways are not your ways, your thoughts are not my thoughts”, and the Lord has certainly shown that a few different ways lately. As you may know, Hannah and I were hit by a car a couple of months ago, though very thankfully not at high speeds. I have a problem with my left hip (though not sure if it was a problem from before, or because of, the accident) and Hannah hit her head, but we are otherwise fine. We are so thankful to Him for sparing us of what could have been. When I reflect on what happened I cannot comprehend how God could sacrifice his precious child for people like us – what a Saviour! Even in light of that, I suppose there may be many things, even on a daily basis, that the Lord spares us from each day that we truly ought to give thanks for. We are blessed beyond measure! Additionally, because of our accident, we were able to witness to the driver who hit us, and her husband. Please pray for their salvation! Our last contact was a letter by mail a couple of weeks ago.

 

The Pocket ministry table at the new area

We were able to get the “Pocket” downtown outreach Ministry moved to a different area. We started it downtown, but in an area near some shops but it was somewhat secluded. It is now in one of the busiest parts of the city called “Happiring“, and is under the new officially recognized name of ヘイベン教学 (Haven Kyougaku), meaning Haven Religious Learning. The new area is completely open and we have seen a decent increase in the number of people we have been able to reach. The Pocket involves utilizing the Bible to teaching English and the gospel. Just this past week a lady and her husband came by and we had a prolonged conversation with them. To all of our surprise, the lady was a very old acquaintance of Pastor Emori and Hiroko! She called the meeting “the leading of God”, and we prayed with them. Her husband has some sort of mental disease (though specifically what I could not understand) and wasn’t coherent, but when I laid hands on him and began praying, he suddenly began speaking and, perhaps, understanding. We don’t fully understand what all took place, but there were many details exchanged and it was truly possibly “the leading of God”. Please pray for God’s continued leading for Mr. and Mrs. Shirasaki!

 

It was Pastor Emori’s birthday this past month.

Speaking of Pastor Emori, we are still having our usual meetings at his home. We have considered me/us meeting with him to be a necessary ministry, and have made a purpose to see him on a usual basis. He can no longer drive and often is isolated. Today we had a very good conversation, along with his wife Chizuko, and I think it was encouraging for all. Some of the topics this time included the problems associated with having so few Christians in Fukui/Japan, the possibility of working together with a couple of other churches, and having a church Tea Ceremony in October to invite the lost to hear the gospel. Please pray for these things as well, as the church’s future weighs heavily on Pastor Emori’s heart, as well as ours.

 

In a direct answer to prayer, the Lord has given another lady who loves the Lord to mutually “sharpen iron” with Mia – a much needed blessing! Another lady from America named Rachael had prayed similarly, and she and Mia have recently been able to spend a good amount of time specifically to encourage each other. It is so nice for Mia to now have another person to counsel with and seek support from when needed, and we pray for Rachael as she continually seeks the Lord’s clear direction for her future.

 

Something else that was quite surprising recently was an invitation to speak on the radio for the local city station. It was an opportunity to explain what a “Christian volunteer” means, as the radio host said that they have never heard of such a term before! We were able to clearly present Jesus Christ, and yet the radio host eagerly continued asking more – so much so that we went over our allotted time by quite a bit! She expressed interest in having me come again, though with the Japanese you never quite know if that is the truth or not. It was an amazing opportunity, and we pray for more open doors like it.

 

A picture Mia took through a small hole in a rock we found under the water.

On the contrary to the above, the summer has been literally record-breaking hot, but thanks to both the literal and spiritual support from you and everyone at our church, my work schedule is no longer unconscionable. We have been able to do more ministry, but we have also been able to catch up on lost family time, which is extremely appreciated. We took Hannah out to the beach last week and I got to swim with her for the first time! Classes will pick-up some more in the next couple of weeks, but the downtime sure is a blessing. One of my recent students just left for college in Kansas and I was able to leave him with the gospel and he said that he wanted to look into visiting a church. Please pray for his salvation as well – his name is Hidenobu.

 

Finally, for those of you who have given, or are giving, financially towards the ministry here, we are now providing itemized financial reports. If you would like access to them, please either contact Pastor Nate or ourselves. As always, thank you for your constant support, and please pray continually for the lost in Japan.

Do All in the Name of the Lord Jesus

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Tit 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

 

This has been a rather full month- full of insights, changes, and challenges. I have been reminded a lot lately of how real eternity is, and just how fleeting the “reality” around us is.

Sakura Tree starting to bloom

A few weeks ago was the extremely short time of year that Sakura trees bloom and show forth their beauty. Their flowers only last for a few days and then fade away. There is a lot of symbology in the Sakura tree to the Japanese – mostly for how long the flowers last. Though despite that even “the heavens declare his righteousness”, the Japanese can’t see the plain evidences of God. The Japanese are a people that “go through the motions” to the extreme, and don’t stop to question or consider “why”. After nearly two years, we have not found a single person who has told me why they do what they do as a Buddhist. They simply do what they’ve been told, and everyone is expected to act, talk, and work, identically; they don’t know how to become peculiar people for God. The Japanese people are quite different from people of other mission fields, and we are continually praying over new ways to reach the lost here.

 

 

First, I want to thank all those who have been praying for me and my family in my grandmother’s passing. Most of my family is not saved, and I am very grieved for them. Sinful practices grip most of our family, and we pray that each pain and loss in life may be used to bring them to the Lord. “It is better to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart”. (Ecc 7)

 

Learning numbers with Jesus’ disciples (New Kid’s English Ministry)

Along with the difficulty of losing my grandmother, this past week(end) has been a full one. We had the normal weekly “Pocket” ministry nearby the downtown train station on Friday, and have been building a good connection with a couple of people there lately. One person is named Mitsui. He actually has a form of Autism. We first met during the ministry and have since been meeting privately; I got to witness to him and a friend of his. Mitsui calls himself a believer though he doesn’t go to church, and what we know of his spiritual background seems uncertain. Please pray for him as we continue to interact. He shows unusually strong interest in meeting and talking about the Bible. Another man that we have been building a relationship with is named Tanabe. He is the manager of a café next to where we do the outreach. Lately, he has been making a purpose to stop working to come and talk to us. He appears quite curious, and we have been able to give him the gospel more directly than most Japanese are willing to receive. Please pray for his salvation.

 

Also regarding the Pocket ministry, there is a large uncertainty regarding the permit for that location. Up until now, Fukui City has been the one we have been working with in order to get the permit. We are the first people to ever request a permit of this style before, according to them, and have received an extraordinary amount of grace, however, management has changed, along with who we need to work with. and they can no longer guarantee much of the details for us starting next week. The change in responsibility, however, is actually going to an organization nearby that we know pretty well. They are also the ones who control the space immediately outside of the station that we have wanted access to for some time. We don’t know what the ultimate conditions of the change will bring, but it might have a big impact on the ministry. Please pray about this this week. The city officer promised to call me soon with more information.

 

Giving the gospel to visitors at the Lighthouse Cafe in Mikuni

I want to thank the Lord, as last weekend was the first time I had to preach my first full Japanese gospel messages. They weren’t more than 20 minutes, and they certainly weren’t perfect, but it seemed that they were well understood, and a lot of people were subject to the gospel. Please pray for the many who listened, for our continued learning of Japanese, and for more open doors to preach. Additionally, regarding preaching, I had a meeting with Pastor Emori a few days ago. As you may know already from our previous posts, he has been ministering for some forty years and is need of help. The details are a little sensitive, but his sons are not in a position to take over. Extremely few men in the church are experienced, and it is, regrettably, mostly women who step up to lead, which ought not to be. On top of that, the other church that we work with has been leaderless for several months, with no one to guide it. The need for experienced Christians is huge, and we think it might only be a matter of time when I might need to do something to “fill in the gap”. Please continue to pray for wisdom and understanding, both in language learning and to handle the matter after God’s will.

 

This week is Japan’s longest holiday stretch (three national holidays back to back), and, at the time of writing this post, Mia is at the end of attending a Christian retreat in Kobe (about 3 hours south of here). I am sure she will share next month about it, but it sounds like she is getting blessed for her three days there. The retreat is associated with Japan Christian teachers (the same one we went to last Autumn). This time I think Mia mostly went just to get recharged and not to serve as much, for which rest I’m thankful. Consequently, it’s just been Hannah and I for a couple of days.

 

A little downtime with the family between ministries.

 

I am extremely thankful for those of you who are being an active support to us and the ministry here. Last winter was rather tolling on us, but because of your prayer and financial support we are now able to transition out of a constantly draining situation and be able to focus more on our marriage and family, and ministry. Thank you. My work has already been reducing and will stabilize completely once we can get a secondary teacher to work with us at GRACE. Everyone has been overwhelmingly supportive not only of ministry, but also for us to get more time as a family, which we need very much. Again, thank you so much, and please continue to pray for these needs. May the Lord bless you for all you do for the lost in Japan!

 

Return to a White Harvest

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A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing… -Ecc 3: 3 & 5

First, I want to apologize for such a long wait for this post; the blog host had some technical difficulties and it took some time to regain access… it seems that our time of both pre and post trip, has been a “time to refrain from embracing”… the blog, at least. Anyway, we had such an amazing return for Christmas and New Years (with a little unexpected extension)! We had a planned nine day trip back to the States, with a lot of objectives within that short time period. Thankfully, we were able to accomplish a majority of the major things. We were able to see Mia’s family, our church family, sort through a lot of our old things, handle our dog’s affairs, and talk about the missions work in Japan. We even got to just relax! The one major disappointment was not being able to see my mother. With several factors being involved, she was not able to fly out to meet us, and we couldn’t do the opposite in short notice. I appreciate your prayers for my mother, as I hope to have the chance to see her at least one more time.

 

Hannah opening a new sticker book with Mammi for Christmas!

I kind of felt that we were back for Thanksgiving, not over New Year’s, just because of the kind of time it ended-up being. One thing I am very appreciative for is the time we got to spend with our pastor and his wife. Lonnie and Delilah were incredible hosts. From meals we’ve missed, (unknowingly) looking into meeting some of our most minor “needs”, and supporting us as a family and during our struggles getting on our return flights. They made the trip a very special one. I am glad to have gotten to grow closer with them – and especially for Hannah! It was certainly “a time to build up” for us. And speaking of thanksgiving; on behalf of all of us, we want to say thank you!!!!!!! for all that everyone has done to be a support and blessing. From the too many gifts to pack (sorry Lonnie and Deliliah!), the financial gifts for Hannah, our family, and the ministry, as well as precious time we got to spend with many of you, we were truly blessed so much. I’ve been told that I’ve “thanked everyone sufficiently”, but just one more time, thank you.

 

So being affectionately desirous of you, 「you」 were willing to have imparted unto 「us」, not the gospel of God only, but also [your」 own souls, because ye were dear unto us.  (I Thes 2:9)

Having fun with her new barn animals!

Some of the children and staff we were able to teach.

It was also a good time for us to be able to personally share some of the needs here in Japan. We are extremely excited in looking forward to having more time available for family and ministry. We know that many of you have expressed interest in helping to make that a reality, and we are in the process setting-up financial accounts to keep everything contributed as accountable as possible. As we make preparations on our end, we are open to any feedback, concerns, or other input, to do everything “decently and in order”. One of the Japanese party’s in Mikuni has invited us to meeting on the 7th to discuss a new ministry that we are to work with them with. We will plan to give details after the meeting. We are back to the usual here, and in addition to the normal ministries, we had a new opportunity to give the gospel at a nearby school! While the details are in the works, it is wonderful to now be able to say “yes”, instead of “no” to some of ministry opportunities before us. I am also really looking forward to being able to say “yes” to more husband/father responsibilities. It is an area that I have been falling behind in, and I am eager to get to work in this very necessary ministry to my family.

 

“Better is an handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and vexation of spirit”. -Ecc 4:6

 

Some of you know some of the story regarding what became of our flight situation. It seemed like a large valley of a challenge right at the end of the mountain top. The details would literally consume all of this blog post, but here is the summary. We flew on ANA and United Airlines, both there and back. However, United made several large mistakes with both our itinerary and our dog, Pippy’s. We had to rebook our flights several different times, fly on different days, and send our dog off for a few days without us to an airport that we wouldn’t even go to. Our pastor Nate and his family took very hard and good care of Pippy for a year and a half from a sudden need, of which we are extremely grateful for their sacrifice. That work also entailed them needing to take care of

 

Pippy’s preparations to go to Japan: a nine month process. Paperwork work, vet visits, and other things, all to make sure there is no problem getting Pippy into Japan. And after all of that, the airline lost the paperwork, and said that they would “kill the dog” if they couldn’t find it! Japan ended-up impounding our dog. Thankfully, the USDA was able to work with us to get Pippy released, and after three attempts to fly back down to Tokyo to get her, Mia was finally able to get Pippy home with us! The journey felt so so long, but we are very thankful to have her with us; her and Hannah apparently have a lot to catch up on!

 

Tug of war!

 

So many of you (sorry to say “so” so many times!) have been, and are a part to help make everything work in order to spread the gospel here. I’m learning that there is a lot more involved in missions work than just preaching and praying. It’s giving. It’s reaching out. It’s supporting my family. It’s loving. And it’s ministering in ways I never thought of before. Thank you for being your part, and we look forward to pressing on for the Lord this year with renewed vision and strength.