My Life as an Infant & Life Lessons - 7/27/2010

In This Edition:

• My Life as an Infant & Life Lessons
• Prayer Requests

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Chasing After the Wind - 6/30/2010

In This Edition:

• Chasing After the Wind - Finding Purpose in Life
• Prayer Requests

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Makuhari Megumi Church - 6/2/2010

Included in this (2 page) Edition:

• 10th Anniversary of Makuhari Megumi Church
• "Open House" English Ministry Update
• "Crossway" College Ministry Concert/Coffee House
• Gospel Choir Concert
• A Place to Call "Home"
• Financial Update
• Because You Asked (Answering Questions)

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Answer to Prayers - 5/9/2010

Thank you to all who prayed for the 2nd monthly bi-lingual worship service! It means a lot of me that so many of you prayed! Here's a report of how it went tonight:

• PCA Elder Bob Drews preached this evening on Psalm 65, with the sermon title: "True Satisfaction Comes from True Worship." He clearly preached the gospel, showing how Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and offers heaven as a free gift. Worship songs in both English and Japanese supported the sermon and directed our hearts toward the living Creator God.
• Attendance this evening was around 40 people, most of whom were either members of the Makuhari church or regular attenders. There was one first-time guest -- a woman from the neighborhood who saw our flyers, checked out the church's website (http://www.kmch.com), and decided to worship with us. Turns out that she is already a Christian but was unable to worship with her church this morning. There were also two brothers who are not Christians. "Yuki" is 25 and has been attending the Makuhari church for about a year. He told me last week that he would like to become a Christian soon, but he wants to be sure that his decision is not only in his head but also in his heart. He is very involved at the church, but still struggling with taking the big step of placing his trust fully in Jesus Christ. Yuki took his 16 year old brother with him this evening as well; last Sunday morning was his first time attending anything at the church. Please pray for these young men that God will work in their hearts and bring them both to a saving relationship with Him.

Please continue to pray that God will direct us at Makuhari Church as we seek to reach out to the lost. Pray that others will come next month, or perhaps even to the traditional morning worship services. And pray that we will be focused more on following God's leading than on numbers. We would certainly like to see more people attend, but we don't want to equate numbers with success, but instead we want to be faithful kingdom workers.

Prayer Request for Bi-Lingual Worship Service - 5/5/2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Would you please join me in prayer regarding a Bi-Lingual Worship Service this Sunday? The Makuhari Megumi Church to which I have been assigned as an English teacher is holding its second monthly Bi-Lingual Worship Service this Sunday, May 9. I've been told that about 25 people attended the first service last month, including several people who had never been to church before.

This service is targeting both Japanese people and foreigners (from many countries), as there are a good number of foreigners in this part of the city of Chiba, just outside of Tokyo.

To publicize the Bi-Lingual Worship Service, many people from the church distributed flyers into the mailboxes of many apartment buildings this past Sunday. Please pray that God will use these to draw curious, hurting, and hungry people to worship Him in this nation where so little praise is given to the Creator God.

Regarding the Worship Service:

• Please pray that the music will touch people's hearts and open them to the preaching of the Word and the speaking of the Holy Spirit.
• Pray that the preaching of the Word will be blessed and will break people of their sinful desire to "do it on their own" but instead to trust Jesus Christ for what He has done for their salvation.

THANK YOU!

P. S. - The service is on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., 14 hours ahead of US Central Time -- 3:30 a.m. Sunday your time. You may want to pray on Saturday evening before you go to bed!

My First Days in Japan - 4/27/2010

My First Newsletter FROM Japan Includes:

• First Days in Japan
• Financial Update
• Prayer List

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Visa Update - 4/7/2010

Dear Friends & Family,

Praise God with me that all went well in Atlanta! I dropped off my visa application on Monday at the Japanese consulate and was told “it will be ready tomorrow morning” – and it was! From the consulate, I drove to Twin Lakes Conference Center just south of Jackson for the “Twin Lakes Fellowship” (pastors’ conference). It’s a good thing that I once audited a seminary class or I would feel completely out of place! (That's a joke;  I did feel completely out of place!)

Prior to arriving in Atlanta this past weekend, I had a good trip to Florida as well. I spent Thursday evening with college friends Anthony & Sally Jo Roorda in Tallahassee. We walked through an Easter “Walk-about” at an Alliance church. There were a number of vignettes of Jesus’ ministry, the Lord’s Supper, Gethsemane, the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. It was an excellent way to renew in my own heart what Christ did for my sake and yours. On Friday, I visited my college roommate, Ron Vanderwey, and his wife Connie in the West Palm Beach area. As you may recall from my previous post, Connie has been battling cancer since November – a recurrence of the cancer she had four years ago. She looked great and is feeling pretty good as she is at home with a weekly visit from a hospice nurse. Please pray for them and their two pre-teen children.

I spent Sunday and Monday with my oldest brother’s family in Atlanta. His son, Nathan, moved there in November with his wife Stephanie, and nearly the entire family joined us there from the Pacific Northwest for Spring Break. It was great to see them before heading off to Japan next week. I also feel a little more Southern as I visited Stone Mountain for my first time!

Financial Update:
Although I have had a few additional pledges come in over the last week, I also lost some support that I thought had been committed. This brings me to $800/month from being fully funded. Please continue to pray that God will provide full funding. I am praying that this will happen by Tuesday when I depart for Japan, but am confident that God will provide in His own timing. Please consider how you might financially partner with me as well as I seek to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ among the Japanese people.

Six days until departure . . . !