Call for Prayer for Godly Wisdom I received notification last night that the US has implemented an international travel ban, and MTW is asking me to return to the States on Sunday. I've requested permission to stay, but am asking for prayer not for that, but for godly wisdom whether that would be wise. I came to Japan earlier this week to support my friends who were married yesterday. We had a wonderful, scaled back wedding. My additional purpose here is to handle all my household things that I've had stored here for the last 16 months. The plan right now is: An international shipping company is scheduled to remove my things on Tuesday to be shipped to Australia. As things are removed from the storage unit, I will pull out everything electrical (Australia's voltage is much higher than Japan's). My friends who were married yesterday plan to claim most of these items, and have a truck scheduled to pick them up on Wednesday. The remaining electrical items, as well as several pieces of furniture and other things that I don't want to ship to Australia would then need to be sold or given away, which could take some time to accomplish. I bought a one-way ticket to Japan, and have a hotel reservation for three weeks with this in mind. Other considerations: There is no way to know how long this travel ban will last, and when I might be allowed to depart for Australia. I could get stranded here in Japan. If I were stranded here, there are many ministry opportunities open to me in Osaka. A missionary family in Nagoya who are currently on furlough in the States have offered their home where I could live (no hotel expense) for however long necessary. I don't know what kind of ministry opportunities I would have there during the current situation. If I leave Japan before taking care of my storage unit, I may lose money to the moving company, and I would then need to come back to Japan when I do have permission to travel to Australia. Support Raising Update In the last few weeks, my pledge report has gone up from 84% to 91.5%. However, I am waiting on confirmation from a couple of partners regarding their intended level of giving, so this could potentially be much higher. Please continue to lift up this need before our sovereign God. I will be sure to keep you updated as this support-raising process appears to be coming to a successful end. If you would like to make a pledge or contribution, you can do so via one of the following methods: Reply to this email with your pledge. Give/pledge online. Email Brooke Richards at MTW with your pledge. If you have any questions, please email me. If you would like a hardcopy of my prayer card sent to you, please let me know. (You can tear off the bottom half of it to mail to MTW with a contribution and/or pledge as well.) Thank you for your prayerful consideration! Follow FB Group Forward to a Friend Calendar Completely Unknown With the current travel bans, there is no way of knowing where I will be at this time tomorrow, let alone when I might be able to depart for Sydney, Australia. Prayer Points   Praise God for providing additional ministry partners and at least 91.5% of my support. Pray that he will provide the final partners -- if he hasn't already done so! Praise God for the marriage of my friends yesterday! Due to the Covid-19 situation, their wedding was scaled down to about 20 people. I'm so happy that I could be here for them, especially because the groom has been estranged from his family since he became a Christian in 2013. Please pray for Yuuki & Janelle as they begin their married life together. Pray for wisdom for the MTW leadership and myself TODAY as we determine whether it is necessary for me to evacuate from Japan due to the Covid-19 virus. If I am able to stay, there are many considerations such as whether I stay in Osaka or Nagoya, etc. And of course, Pray about this crazy situation in which there is so much fear and unknowns, loss of life, but also ministry opportunities.

Nearly There! I hate to start an update with finances, but it is finances (via God's providence) that determine when I depart for Australia. So I ask your indulgence.... In my February newsletter, I was somewhat discouraged. Support-raising can be a difficult process, and my percentage had gone down due to a revised budget. A month later and I am very encouraged. (Thank you for your prayers!) Additional ministry partners have pledged, and MTW offices found $8,000 in language funds hiding in my account; those funds have been released into my primary budget lines. That brings my support to 90%, meaning I still need an additional $894 in monthly pledges to be at 100% and able to depart for Australia. Where will those partners come from? Well, I have some people considering their level of support. A friend is hosting an event on Friday for current and potential supporters in the Jackson area. I've spoken to many people at two recent missions conferences, and connected with many other churches and individuals over the last 8 months. But ultimately it is God who provides, and only he knows from where and when the support will come in. I ask again for your prayers. If you would like to partner with me, you can do so by: Replying to this email with your pledge. Give/pledge online. Email Brooke Richards at MTW with your pledge. Thank you for your prayerful consideration! Wrapping Up for Departure Being close to fully-funded, here is what I need to accomplish in the next few weeks: Sell my Jeep (listed it online this week). File (pay) US taxes. Wrap up committee work for MTW (training revisions, and meetings next week in Atlanta that will conclude my part in the process). Get a will written up and filed (required by MTW). Work on getting a residence visa for Australia. Contract with a shipping company to move some of my things from Osaka to Sydney. Fly to Osaka March 16 for the wedding of very close friends, and to sell some of my stored household items and coordinate with the shippers for the remainder. And what am I forgetting? There's a lot to do. Your prayers are appreciated during this stressful time. Want to know more about the work of the MTW team in Sydney and my specific role? Click here to watch a presentation from last Fall. Follow FB Group Forward to a Friend Calendar Friday, March 6 Dessert Event;  7 pm Brandon, MS If you are in the area and would like to attend, please email me! You are welcome!   March 16 Flying to Osaka Japan for a wedding and to sell or ship my stored things.   April 6 Target date to arrive in Sydney, Australia Prayer Points Pray that God will provide the final 10% of my support in the next few weeks. I have a one-way ticket to Japan, hoping to fly directly to Sydney on April 6 if my budget has been met. Pray regarding the corona-virus. While the likelihood of infection is relatively low, I have some concerns about possible travel bans to or out of Japan, possible quarantines, etc. Pray for my acculturation into Australia. It may be a western, English-speaking country, but there are numerous subtle differences. Pray for my travel to and from Atlanta, and for the meetings in Atlanta to be productive and a blessing to MTW as a whole. Pray that God will provide a buyer for my car, at a fair price, and in the right timing (Sunday night, upon my return from Atlanta, and prior to my Monday morning departure for Osaka).

He's Never Failed Me Yet! -- February 5, 2020

He's Never Failed Me Yet! In this newsletter, I want to be brutally honest with you. Chances are good that those who are reading this are likely those who also pray the most regularly for me. THANK YOU for your prayers; I need them! When I first sensed a call to missions in 2007, my most significant reluctance was support-raising. I was happy to financially support missionaries, but I wasn't excited about asking for financial support from others. But through many means, God demonstrated to me that if he was really calling me to missionary service, then he would also provide the needed financial partners. But learning to trust God is hard, for me at least. Back in 2007, as I continued to struggle with the idea of support-raising, I thought, "I know a lot of people. I have connections in the PCA and the CRC. I've lived in many states, and worked at several universities, and my former students have jobs." Who was I trusting? "I" know people. "I" have connections. I was trusting me! As I started to raise support, a number of churches and individuals whom I thought were likely supporters didn't pan out. Then I started to get support from people I didn't even know. How do I explain that? God! A few years later, during my first furlough, transitioning from short-term to long-term status, I needed to raise more support. "But hey, the vision for Genesis College is compelling, so it shouldn't be so difficult," I thought. Again, I was trusting in myself and my ability to convey a compelling vision. God was patient in teaching me the same lesson all over again: he is the one who provides! And now, during my second furlough, I again need to raise more support. This time, I thought it wouldn't be so difficult because I already had a very solid support-base; the additional amount I needed to raise wasn't so much. While that may be true, it has not been easy. I expected to probably lose some supporters due to a change in ministry fields, and I did ($360/month in pledges). But I've also gained support, some from new partners, and some from higher pledges from existing partners ($630/month). Where does that put me? My monthly budget is $8,724. That includes my salary (a small portion of that total, I assure you!), as well as ministry expenses, health insurance, administrative costs, etc. I currently have pledges for $7,347/month (84%), meaning I need an additional $1,377/month in pledges. (My budget is available for supporters or potential supporters upon request.) Support-raising is scary! I love sharing about the work to which God has called me, but ASKING is scary. I have fears of rejection. I worry that friends and family want to run away from me because I might ask for money. I know in my head that support-based missions is absolutely biblical. I know that God has called every Christian to be involved in the work of missions through going, giving and praying. But my human nature just cannot overcome my fears. I'm often convicted that my lack of faith is not unlike the ancient Israelites who sinned, were punished by God, then returned to him, only to repeat that cycle again and again. And so I continue to ask God to accomplish what seems so impossible to me -- to raise up a support team that will enable me to serve him in Sydney. Of course God has unlimited resources, and nothing is impossible for him! And so I ask you: Will you pray for me -- for my lack of faith, and for God to fully provide for my budget? Will you join my ministry team by pledging a monthly or annual contribution? Will you talk to someone at your church, asking them to invite me to share about the work of the gospel in Sydney, and to potentially partner with me in this work? There is a black gospel song that I've sung with my church choir called "He's Never Failed Me Yet." The song is a great reminder that God is always faithful, and always provides for every single need of his children. He never fails! I pray that you will be encouraged in your trust of our loving Father as well.   To Give: If you would like to give a one-time gift or make a pledge for regular support: Reply to this email or click here to contact me. Go to the MTW website where you can give and/or make a pledge for recurring support. THANK YOU for your prayers and your consideration! Follow FB Group Forward to a Friend Quick Links   MTW Sydney Ministries:   • Harbour City Church   • SOW (Student Outreach      to the World)   • City Sanctum Watch a video presentation of the work to which God has called me in Sydney. My blog (past newsletters)   Calendar February 22-27 Briarwood PCA Missions Conference; Birmingham, AL   Feb. 28 - Mar 1 Redeemer PCA Missions Conference; Jackson, MS March 12-14 MTW committee meetings Atlanta, GA March 16-30 Osaka, Japan (I will be participating in a wedding of a Japanese friend. While there, I will sell some of my stored things, and arrange for the rest to be shipped to Australia.) March 31 Depart for Sydney, Australia, pending full support. If I do not have full support, I will need to return to the States. Prayer Points   Praise God for safe travel back to Mississippi at the end of January. Pray for the final 16% of the required financial pledges. Pray whether God would have you partner with me through financial giving. Culture Corner   "Are those fires near where you will live?" I've had this question many times over the last several months. Yes, the fires are around Sydney, and have broken into some of the outer suburbs. "How bad are the fires?" They are bad -- very bad. But no, the entire country is not on fire. One problem with many online representations is that the "dot" for each fire is often much larger than the  actual fire. The map below shows a more realistic view. If they were all consolidated, they would cover an area similar to Indiana. The worst of the fires are in the southeast, near Sydney and the capital city of Canberra. Nationwide, 2,779 homes have been destroyed. At least 34 people have died. Countless animals have died. The air quality of Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra are currently the worst in the world. Please pray for Australia. Pray that God will even use the fires in ways that only he can to bring people to faith in him.

Ministry Spotlight: "SOW" - 12/2/2019

Ministry Spotlight: "SOW" Over the last few months, I've been spotlighting a different ministry of the MTW Sydney missionary team. The last of these is "Student Outreach to the World," or "SOW." The university ministry was actually the first ministry started by Sydney team leader, Jim Jung, back in 2007. The goal of SOW is to raise up disciples of Jesus Christ who are transformed by the gospel, and who spread that transformation to the world, both in Australia and beyond. SOW currently has "uni ministries" at four different major universities in Sydney. Each of them has a campus pastor and a core group of student leaders. There are small group Bible studies on each campus. Large group worship, however, is together on one campus in downtown Sydney. In many ways, SOW is very similar to Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), for those of you familiar with that. In addition to Bible studies and worship times, SOW has many activities for fellowship and to draw students to the ministry, such as "SOWlympics" competition between universities, beach events, retreats, etc. SOW also sends teams of students each year to several different Asian countries where they serve with and learn from MTW missionaries. A group of ten students visited me in Osaka back in 2015, helping us hand out flyers on city streets for an upcoming Christmas musical at my church. A primary goal of the SOW ministry is to encourage and equip university students to be missionaries (or senders of their friends) into Asia-Pacific. Most of the students themselves are first or second-generation Asia-Australians, so as missionaries to Asia, they are able to spark different conversations, "why are you -- an Asian -- a Christian?" Please pray for the SOW ministry and our students, that many will find hope through the grace of God, and also that many will hear and heed the call to go into all parts of the world to spread that hope of the gospel. Support Raising Update Praise God that he has brought in 89% of my needed support! I am still in need of an additional $1,000 in monthly pledges to be fully funded for the next four years. If joining my support team is something you've been thinking about, I would welcome your partnership in the gospel. Missionaries cannot go abroad and serve full-time without financial partners who give, or without those who will pray. Any amount helps. Monthly pledges are most helpful as they provide stable longevity. One-time gifts are distributed over 48 months, lessening the amount of pledges needed. Those wishing to make a pledge can do so via one of the following methods: Reply to this email with your pledge. Give/pledge online. Email Mimi Lee at MTW with your pledge. If you have any questions, please email me. If you would like a hardcopy of my prayer card sent to you, please let me know. (You can tear off the bottom half of it to mail to MTW with a contribution and/or pledge as well.) Thank you for your prayerful consideration! Follow FB Group Forward to a Friend Departure to Australia Over the last several months, I have been on an MTW committee working to revamp the training we offer to new missionaries. This has involved a weekly online meeting, but will require several days of meetings in Atlanta in mid-March during which we will hammer out the final product. This project has changed my anticipated departure date from early January to mid-March. A side benefit will be that I'll be able to attend a number of church missions conferences this winter. Calendar Sunday, Dec. 8 CityLife Church St. Paul, MN 9:05 am Sunday School      (full presentation) 10 am Worship (4 minute talk)   December - January I'll be in Iowa with my mother, working to raise the remaining support needed to reach 100% funding. February - March I will be back in Mississippi, attending various missions conferences, raising support if still not at 100%. March 11-14 Meetings at MTW offices in Atlanta. March 20 Groomsman in a wedding in Osaka, Japan. March 23 Arrival in Sydney, the Lord willing. Prayer Points Praise that God for providing 89% of my support. Pray for the remaining funds needed to be fully-funded. Pray whether God would have you be a financial partner with me in the gospel. Pray for Student Outreach to the World (SOW) -- for each of the campus pastors at the four universities; for openness to the gospel among the students; for discipleship and mentoring of students as they grow in Christ and their ability to share the gospel with others; for students who are soon leaving for international missions trips around Asia. Pray for my own preparation for ministry in Australia. I am reading several books on ministry and on Australian culture.

Ministry Spotlight: Harbour City Church - 10/24/2019

Ministry Spotlight: Harbour City Church Harbour City Church is the primary ministry of the MTW Sydney team. HCC's beginnings were in small groups starting in 2008; two years later, HCC began weekly public worship services in space rented by the hour in the heart of Sydney, with a view (if one was in just the right spot) of the famous opera house and the slightly less famous harbour bridge. As a young, growing church, there have been several moves into larger spaces, with the church now worshipping a bit farther out in the Sydney suburbs at a local community center. Jim Jung is the original church planter and lead pastor. He and his wife, Claudia, started the Sydney MTW team in 2006, and have recruited a missionary team currently consisting of the Goodrich family from Texas, and two single men both hoping to arrive in Sydney in January (Kooi and Choi!). In addition to leading HCC, Jim oversees Student Outreach to the World (SOW -- to be spotlighted next month), City Sanctum (spotlighted last month), and is the MTW regional director for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Harbour City Church is led by two MTW ordained pastors as well as several elders, mentored and trained at HCC. There are active ministries for men, women, and children, as well as mercy ministry, and the aforementioned Student Outreach to the World (university ministry) and City Sanctum. HCC is a member of the Westminster Presbyterian denomination; the first church in the denomination was planted by American missionaries from World Presbyterian Mission, the predecessor of Mission to the World, in the 1970s. The denomination currently consists of just 15 churches, most of them in Perth in far western Australia. In addition to my primary role with City Sanctum, I will have a role at HCC and in assisting Jim Jung in his leadership of the various local ministries and within the Pacific region. Support Raising Update God has provided for 84% of my monthly support! The process of raising the additional support to serve in Sydney has sometimes been a step or two backward and a step or two forward as I've lost a little support here and there as a result of changing mission fields. Support raising is a daunting task: working to make contacts, but waiting patiently on God to bring in the funds. A number of people and churches that have shown interest in partnering with me, but have not yet made that official. Committee decisions are often slow; please pray! Due to excess one-time gifts over and beyond my one-time budget, these funds will be disbursed through my four-year term in Sydney. This is currently about $400 per month, leaving about $1,500 in needed monthly pledges. Additional one-time gifts will increase this reserve fund. Monthly or annual pledges get me to 100% funded more quickly. If YOU would like to partner with me, you can make a pledge by any of the following methods: Reply to this email with your pledge. Give/pledge online. Email Mimi Lee at MTW with your pledge. If you have any questions, please email me. If you would like a hardcopy of my prayer card sent to you, please let me know. (You can tear off the bottom half of it to mail to MTW with a contribution and/or pledge as well.) Thank you for your prayerful consideration! Support Goals/Timeline: 90% by the end of October; it's possible! 100% by the end of November Apply for resident visa in December Depart for Sydney first week of January Follow FB Group Forward to a Friend Jackson, MS area Event! If you are in the Jackson, MS area, you are invited to Cultivation Food Hall THIS SATURDAY, October 26, for lunch and a presentation about the new ministry in Sydney. This event is open to all friends, current supporters, and anyone interested in missions. Children are welcome and encouraged to attend! The presentation will start at 12:30 pm. I suggest you come around 11:30 to noon in order to order lunch from one of several great vendors in the food hall, then bring your lunch to "The Living Room" event room. I hope to see you there! Calendar October 26 • Jackson, MS event (see above for details) October 27 • Ethnos: Prayer for the Nations meeting (event is at a private home in Jackson, MS area. Email me if you'd like info.) • 6:00 pm Nov. 26 - Dec. 3 • Thanksgiving with family in Washington state December 8 • City Life Church • St. Paul, MS • 10 am worship Prayer Points Pray for the upcoming events on my calendar, that God will use them to bring additional partners, but also that God will use them to call others to serve overseas for the gospel. Pray that God will provide 90% of my support by the end of October. Pray whether God would have you be a financial partner with me in the gospel. Pray for Harbour City Church: • for Jim Jung as he leads the church, as well as his many other responsibilities; • for the elders and various ministry leaders; • for Westminster Presbyterian denomination, that they will be faithful to scripture, engaging in the culture, and effective in bringing many people into relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray for my own preparation for ministry in Australia. I am reading several books on ministry and on Australian culture.

My Only Comfort In Life and in Death - 10/18/2019

This morning I learned of the death of a college classmate.  Celebrating their 30th anniversary, she and her husband were vacationing in Italy when the wife died in a tragic accident.  While students at Dordt College, I knew who she and her boyfriend -- and then husband -- were, but I really did not know them.  He was a basketball jock, and she was a musician, if I remember correctly.  Unfortunately I didn't hang out with athletes at all, and very little with many serious musicians.

On a very cold and snowy January this past year, I finally got to know this couple just a bit.  They are members of a supporting church in Sioux Falls, SD, and led the junior high/high school Sunday school class to which I had been invited to share about my ministry in Japan.  Harry is a very kind man, with a gentle spirit I hadn't expected.  He treated the students with patience and a little humor, despite how squirrelly these young teens may have been.  Dori was an exceptionally gracious woman.  It was soon apparent that she was not only highly knowledgeable of the Bible, but her gentle spirit reflected her love of Jesus Christ and of those around her.  Although my time with the class was brief, I regretted having such a limited circle of friends while in college.

My heart breaks for Harry and his children.  How utterly horrible to lose a loved one who is so full of love and life one moment, and then gone the next.  Her loss leaves a gaping hole in the hearts and lives of her family and her church.  How does a spouse, family, church, go on?

Death comes to each of us, sometimes much sooner than we expect.  It's so final;  so scary;  so unnatural -- but that's a blog for another time.  So I pose the question again:  how do we go on with life following the death of a loved one?

In the first letter from the Apostle Paul to the Christian church in the city of Thessalonica, he says to them, "But we do not want you to be uniformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so even, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

Some Christians may say we shouldn't mourn the death of a saint;  after all, they are now with Jesus.  Considering that Jesus Christ himself mourned at the loss of his friend, Lazarus, these Christians could not be more wrong in their calloused attempt to comfort the mourning.  The verses above say that we should not mourn in the same way as those who have no hope.  We do mourn, but we mourn with hope.  And what is that hope?  That Jesus Christ himself died to take the punishment for sin that you and I deserve, but that he then defeated death, rising back to life so that we too may have life that never ends -- life with God in heaven, where there is no death, no pain, no tears.

Perhaps you too have lost people you love.  In the span of just 13 months, in 2015-2016, I lost both my dad and my sister;  I know the sting of death.  Perhaps especially those of you who have lost a spouse or a child can attest that you don't "get over" the death.  But if you know Jesus, and especially if your loved one loved Jesus, you also can attest that your mourning is not without hope.

If you do not feel the sense of hope that persists even through life's most difficult times, I plead with you to pray to God, to confess that you are a sinner in need of salvation, and to trust that what you could never accomplish on your own, God has already done for you.  If you want to ask questions, or seek guidance in any of this, please reach out to me or to another trusted Christian friend or pastor.

Life is hard.  But in Christ, there is a hope that does not disappoint.