Genesis Cafe Reinvented - 2/21/2017

New Missionary Arrival! Arriving on Christmas day, Tim Bentson makes four new missionaries to join the Genesis team in 2016, more than doubling the size of our Osaka presence! Praise God for bringing laborers into the harvest! A native of Tacoma, WA, Tim previously served 2.5 years with MTW in Chiba. As he was there when I first visited Japan with my church's gospel choir, he likes to claim credit for recruiting me to Japan. Tim will be serving with the Genesis team for two years, fulfilling his internship requirement for future ordination. He will be working with a very small PCJ church in south Osaka, teaching a little English with a new church-plant in neighboring Nara, and working with Genesis English events. Upon completing his two years here, he will return to the States to finish his final year of seminary, and then rejoin our team long-term as a church-planter. Please pray for him as he readjusts to life in Japan (he's been away more than six years), as he settles into his own apartment next week, and as he gets into his ministry activities. Genesis Cafe Reinvented We have had two events at our new venue! (As mentioned in the December update, Genesis Cafe lost our previous location due to the coffee shop closing.) We've been very happy with our new location. Swissotel is a very classy place, and the students have really enjoyed it. Additionally, the acoustics are so much better than our former location -- it's easy to actually hear our students! We are eager to build upon the relationships we have formed, and we anticipate that hotel employees will soon be attending the event as well. Thank you for your prayers and financial partnership in bringing the hope of the gospel to the people of Japan! Follow on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Prayer Points Praise God for growing our Genesis team to seven adults! Pray that God will continue to draw the faculty, staff and church planters needed to launch our college and to plant new churches in Osaka. Several prospective missionaries will be visiting our team in March! Following the 2011 earthquake, MTW Japan began to pray for 70 new missionaries (based on Luke 10) -- for 35 foreign missionaries and 35 new Japanese pastors or missionaries. We are amazed, six years later, at God's response to those prayers. I don't know the actual numbers, but we have seen significant growth among foreign missionaries, and decent growth among Japanese pastors.  Soli Deo Gloria! Pray specifically for a permanent college president. There are currently two men interested, but neither is feeling particularly called just yet. Pray for Tim Bentson as he adjusts to life in Japan, settles into his own apartment next week, and gets into his various ministries. Pray for a new event coming up March 23-24: an "English Business Seminar" for business people to network, hear from a Christian speaker on business issues, and to improve their English. Culture Corner Valentine's Day is a big deal in Japan, but it's not the same as in America! Here, women are supposed to buy chocolates for the men in their lives, including their male colleagues! Men have NO expectations! But just one month later, on White Day, it's the men's turn to buy chocolates for the women! At least we know how much to spend and who to spend it on after Valentines' Day!