Here’s a little graphic I made to illustrate the difference in the population density between Japan and the U.S. The images are as close to scale as I could get which could be off by a percent or two… or more…
Hopefully this helps with getting a better idea of how crowded it can be in Japan.
In the future, I’m also planning on designing a graphic to show how most of Japan live in just 1/4 of the country because of the mountainous region that covers a vast majority of Japan.
We updated our family picture, so if you are in need of one, you can click here to download it.
Or, if you are ever in need of one in the future, you can click the photo in the sidebar of the “Who We Are” section of this site.
It has now been a month since we’ve returned to the United States. Although it’s only been three years since our last furlough, there have been quite a few instances where we’ve experienced “reverse culture shock.” The incredibly low cost of fruit and vegetables, and the ease with which we can throw things away, as well as the continual outpouring of love from our family, church family, and supporting church families has been incredibly refreshing! Of course, as many missionaries experience, there has also been the struggle to re-learn how to live and function in the ever-changing American culture. How often we find ourselves relying on our Heavenly Father to give us much needed grace and wisdom!
One of the purposes for this furlough is to raise support for several key areas of growth in our ministry in Japan. God has been very gracious in allowing our ministry to grow, and with that growth are areas in which we need your help, both financially and in prayer.
The first of these areas is the growth of our church. Due to the high cost of property in Japan, any expansion beyond our current situation will require a significant investment. Because we are reaching the capacity of our small auditorium, we will be holding extra services to accommodate the current growth. At some point in the future though, if God allows our growth to continue, we will need to relocate. In our area of Tokyo, the average price for 3,000 ft2 of land (without a building) is $250,000. Our current building sits on 1,300 ft2 of land which gives us the space to hold forty people and three cars.
The second area of growth is our Christian school. We will be starting our second year and have already had several inquiries of families who have a desire to enroll their children. This is in addition to the 17 children that are currently enrolled for the upcoming school year. A dear Christian brother who operates an English language school in our area has graciously rearranged the schedule of their school to hold their classes in the evenings which has opened up the building for us to use for our school during the day rent-free. The maximum capacity for the school is around 20 students, at which point, again, we will need to find a new place to meet.
Our goal is to find a location that is suitable for both our church and school to operate in the same location. This will require a significant increase in funds, both in the short term and in future monthly support. I believe that in the long term the benefits are significant and will allow us to have a multi-generational impact that will provide a much-needed foundation of Biblical instruction for our Japanese brothers and sisters. Please pray that God will allow us to raise the needed support while we are here. If you have been following our ministry but have not yet partnered with us, please consider this time as an opportunity to begin doing so. For those of you who have been continuing to pray for and support us throughout the years, THANK YOU!! We are so encouraged by what God is doing.
Please keep several people in your prayers who are adding on to their already heavy workload in our absence.
For us, Easter is such an exciting time. In a culture where death is rarely discussed because of the insecurities that encompass it, it is a time where we as Christians can boldly and joyfully proclaim Christ’s victory over death and the grave. In a nation where Christianity is such a small part of the culture, the celebration of the resurrection of Christ has 
surprisingly started to draw a curious interest to many Japanese over the last several years. For the last four years, before our Easter services, we’ve held an Easter egg hunt followed by a Gospel presentation as an opportunity for our church family to invite their friends and families to hear a clear Gospel presentation of the Resurrection.This year, we had the highest ever attendance of any single day in the history of our church with a total of 110 people who came to the different services throughout the day! It was a special day for us as we saw many whole families attend and parents sitting alongside their children as they listened intently to the Gospel being preached. 
I was standing at the train station one morning in March, waiting for the train to take me to our Christian school to preach chapel when I got a call from the States. Chris Stansell, a missionary evangelist who has been praying for us for years, called to see if he could come be a help to us for a few weeks. I was thrilled! A month later he arrived in Japan bringing several suitcases full of greatly needed, and greatly appreciated supplies and gifts (including cereal!). During his time here in Japan, he was a great encouragement to us as a family and to our church as well. We were blessed by his singing and preaching and our school was helped with the voice lessons he taught, and was also greatly challenged by his preaching. Two young students gained assurance of their salvation during chapel. During his time here, we were able to visit several other churches as well and God used the time with them to both encourage us and those to whom we ministered.
In the beginning of May, we held our annual cookout and tent meeting which has evolved into quite a big event. Over the last several years we have consistently had around 70 people attend the event. On the day before we hold the event we always cut the grass along the river to clean it up and set up tents for the big day. Each year, several people from the area have stopped by to thank us for cutting the grass for the community. 🙂 We let them know about the cookout, and always invite them to come. Last year, one neighbor, Mr. Kudo, saw all the preparation work and actually started to help us set up the tents. He was having so much fun that I invited him to the cookout! He and his wife came and had a great time, and even volunteered to cook the burgers with other church folks! We were able to get to know each other throughout the year and when the time came for the cookout this year, he was all in again. He and my other neighbor, Norio (whose wife got 
saved last year), are good friends and they spent the day helping me and dad haul equipment and cut grass. With A LOT of our church family helping out, the preparation day became a great time of fellowship.
Of all the people to whom I am indebted spiritually, the greatest debt would BY FAR go to my parents, Dave and Glenda Carter. They have been faithful, steadfast servants who have served God in a nation where many long years must be dedicated for each soul that is won for Christ. This year begins their 40th year of ministry in Japan, and many of us who have been touched by their faithfulness wished to express our thanks to them for their dedication. Our church, Akigawa Baptist Church, and our sister church, New Life Baptist Church (which was also pastored by dad, and whose current pastor was saved and trained under their ministry), held a surprise celebration for them on April 29, and had a chance to thank them and honor them. Several other missionaries and pastors attended and it was truly a special day. We not only took time to thank God for the faithfulness of mom and dad, but also for the faithfulness of the many churches who have stood behind them, supporting them through giving and upholding them in prayer for all those years. We are indebted to you. Thank you for your faithfulness!
June 22, the time for us to return to America for furlough, is fast approaching! There is so much that I desire to do before that day comes! Please pray for us in our preparation. God has already answered many prayers which I can’t wait to tell you about! However, there is still much left to be done, both in preparing to leave Japan and in preparing to arrive in America. While our hearts yearn to see our loved ones, friends, church family, and faithful supporters, at the same time they ache to leave behind my parents and dear beloved brothers and sisters in Japan. PLEASE pray for our church family and especially for my parents as they carry the load of the ministry in our absence.
Serving Him,
The Carters to Japan
To download a printable PDF version of this letter, please click here.
The kingdom of God is immense. It is immense in the scope of its magnitude and power. That God allows me to play any role in it at all is a testament to His grace, specifically towards me. Over and over, I see my miserably inept attempts to show others His glory, and I see how He chooses to use those meager attempts to show ME how He draws men to Himself through those attempts. What a joy and relief to know that His kingdom is always in HIS hands!
This reality has been shown to me many times, but in the past several months I have been specifically reminded of God’s magnitude and power in the lives of two men: Takamasa and Shuntaro.
I met Takamasa, literally, the day after my family and I arrived in Japan thirteen years ago. He had come to welcome us to Japan and we hit it off the day we met. Since that time we have been praying that God would work in Takamasa’s heart. I have spent many hours witnessing to him and showing him his need of a Savior, but it has always seemed to fall on deaf ears. While we were good friends, it seemed to me that nothing I said would convince him to see that he needed Jesus. I have mentioned him quite a few times in my prayer letters and I’m sure many of you have prayed for him through the years.
About a year ago, Takamasa got a job in downtown Tokyo and, because of the busyness of his job, we haven’t been able to stay in touch like we used to. On a Friday night a few weeks ago, I got a call from Takamasa and as we caught up with each other he told me of some very difficult things going on in his life and he wanted to ask me what I thought he should do. I told him the first thing to do was to take care of the most important issue, his salvation. He replied, “I’ve been really thinking a lot about that over the past couple of days.” So I asked him if he was ready to trust in Jesus and without a second’s hesitation he said, “Yes, I am.” So over the phone we prayed together and Takamasa asked Christ to save him! To hear him repent of his sins and profess his faith in Jesus was one of the most overwhelmingly glorious moments I have experienced of seeing God work in a person’s life in a way that was completely out of my hands. For those of you who prayed for Takamasa’s salvation, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! Please don’t stop praying for him though. He is still going through a lot of difficulty and still needs us to pray for him. And pray for his spiritual growth as your brother in Christ, too!
Another young man named Shuntaro has been a true blessing to me. He is currently studying to take the bar exam to be a judicial clerk and often gets in on just the tail end of a church service because of his busy work schedule. As a very young Christian he is always hungry to learn. Many times after a church service we will take time to study the Bible and discuss questions he has relating to the Scriptures. Recently, Shuntaro and I talked about what baptism is and why Christians get baptized. I then followed up on the topic and sent him an article on baptism. After reading the article, Shuntaro sent me this encouraging email and I thought I would share it with you:
“Thank you! I read the article about baptism. I did not know baptism is so important. I think today is a defining moment in my life as a Christian. I had not understood why the people I respect so much are often Christian, like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Manny Pacquiao and the doctor of the hospital I go to. They knew Jesus and the Bible well, and God made them marvelous men. Now, I know I can endure any hardship because I’m Christian and I think I want to be the Gospel that people around me can see. So I want to obey Jesus’ commandment to be baptized in the future. Thank you!”
To download a printable pdf, click here.
I was going through some old pictures and I found some pictures of Tyler’s kindergarten many many years ago. It reminded me of the different occasions that are a really big deal throughout the school year.
One of those occasions is the first day of school. This is one day where all the kids dress up in their fancy duds, get their picture taken together with the family, greet everybody, and put their “best foot forward.” This is one of the occasions that the parents dress up too. I remember when Asher started kindergarten, it was the first year (grand opening) of his kindergarten, and for the opening ceremony, the mayor of our city even came to give a speech.
The second big event is called “undoukai.” It is essentially a sports day, where every school, from high school down to kindergarten participate in sports activities for the day. It’s such a big day that parents will come several hours before the start of the day to reserve prime spots around the school field. This isn’t just to get a good view, but also to get the best spot to take photos and videos. Tyler’s kindergarten held a huge marching band show with the children, who practiced for several months to put on the show. It was pretty impressive.
Graduation, similar to the States, is also a big event, with everyone dressing up, attending the graduation ceremony, and offering congratulations all around to the children. Usually after graduation, the family goes out for a meal at a nice restaurant to celebrate.
Graduation Day
Tyler’s Graduation from Kindergarten
Saying our goodbyes to the teacher after graduation
Tyler’s graduation certificate
As we come to this season of Christmas, I am reminded again of the reason for our celebration. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son…” What a gift has been given to us! That God would choose to look upon us with such favor is simply overwhelming. Jesus, thank you for loving us enough to come to provide salvation to us.
This season is one of the heaviest concentrations of ministry that we have in Japan. Many people who would not step inside a church door will gladly come to hear (and sing) Christmas carols, as well as listen to the message of the birth of Jesus. Because of that rare opportunity of openness, we do our best to pull out all the stops to spread the gospel in every way possible. Here are several of the events that we have as at Akigawa Baptist Church to share the story of Christ’s birth.
Beyond the normal visits to the homeless people in our area, our church teams up with a military church, Yokota Baptist Church, to hold two big events every year to provide the homeless with gifts of things they might need to help get through the difficult seasons of summer and winter. The winter event is a Christmas party, where we share a hot meal together, sing Christmas carols, and share the story of Christ’s birth. This year we had 20 people attend. Many of these dear people have trusted Christ, but find it difficult to be willing to go to church. Please keep them in your prayers.
We also held a special Christmas event for children on the 19th of December. 
We invited children from the neighborhood, several parks, and from several English schools in the area. God blessed, and we saw 24 visitors who came, including several mothers. We were able to show a video about Christmas, as well as well as share Jesus Christ as the true meaning of Christmas. Please pray that these children will continue to come, and that the Gospel that has been sown will bear fruit.
For our annual Christmas Candlelight Service, we have no longer been able to fit everyone into our little auditorium, so we have started to rent a nearby hall for the occasion. This is the second year at the hall and it was already starting to feel full. We were excited to have 61 people attend, with 16 first-time visitors. 
This service requires an enormous amount of work to prepare, and I was so thankful for all the church folks who jumped in to take part. My neighbor Norio was a big help again this year, and he even recruited one of his friends, Mr. Kudo to come early to help next year. Mr. and Mrs. Kudo came to our cookout this summer, and Mr. Kudo was a big help then too. This gradual process of relationship building is key to reaching the Japanese, especially for those who have lived a lifetime in a culture of Buddhism and Shintoism. Through the different services, we were thankful for the opportunity to minister to over a hundred people this year.
In the last week, I have had two separate deep conversations with people who have been seriously searching for the past several years. They have shared the difficulty they struggle with in choosing to accept the Gospel that they clearly see in the Bible and in the lives of the Christians around them, because it means they have to let go of everything they have been taught and grew up with their entire lives, including letting go of people who have passed away that are dear to them, and accepting the fact that they won’t see them in Heaven. This is a real struggle, and it is not uncommon. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to work in their hearts, and to give them the strength, and the courage, to put their faith in Jesus as their Savior.
One a personal note, please be in prayer for my family. Since the week before Thanksgiving, there has literally not been a day where one of our family hasn’t been sick. We have gone through several cases of whooping cough, pneumonia, strep throat, week-long fevers, and many trips to the doctor. We tend to face unusual difficulties right before Christmas as it seems that this is the season that we feel the effects of the opposition of Satan the greatest. This season was a rough one. We seem to have mostly recovered, but there are still a few members who are getting over their coughing.
We are deeply indebted to each of you who consistently remember us in your prayers and in your giving. We thank you for boldly going to the throne of grace on behalf of us and the people we are trying to reach. May God bless you during this Christmas season!!
To download a printable pdf, click here.
God has blessed us with a wonderful summer. It was a special summer for me personally, as I turned 40 this August. Yes. It’s official. I’m no longer young. Please pray for funds for my Corvette. J In all seriousness, I am so thankful for the life God has given me. I cannot imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else, with anyone else that could bring me more joy. God is truly gracious to me.
This summer, we held our annual family camp with six other Baptist churches in our area. We had 60 people attend, including 11 from our church. One of the families who attended from another church was a family of 4 generations, all of whom were saved except the youngest child. This is very rare to see in Japan. It was a great encouragement to our people to see faithfulness continuing down through each generation. Thank you for praying. Camp greatly encouraged our church folks.
Our Christian school started on August 24, and although it has had the normal obstacles that any new work encompasses, God has graciously helped us through them. Our school has 15 students; some missionary children, and some Japanese children who are fluent in English. Please pray for the spiritual growth of the children, as well as strength, grace, and wisdom for my family and the Smith family (the other missionary family) as our workload has significantly increased.
A special blessing for our church happened this last Sunday as two of our Christian ladies were baptized. Mieko Kobayashi, our neighbor, and Kozue Harashima, whom we’ve been working with since nearly the beginning of our arrival in Japan, were both baptized in the Akigawa River, which our church is named after. It was the first river baptism that our church has done and it was a glorious event! Although rain was forecast for the whole week (typhoon season), God held back the rain enough to allow us to prepare the site and hold the baptism. As we were walking away from the river, the rain started falling. There were several unsaved who gathered to watch and it was evident that they were touched by the testimony of these two ladies and the glory of God. He is awesome! Pray for the spiritual growth of these ladies and for the salvation of their husbands.
Our son Tyler will be going to college next fall and we’ll be taking a furlough in order to help him get settled in as well as to raise some much-needed support that was lost from the financial crisis a few years ago. While our main focus needs to be in restoring our support, we would love to see as many of our faithful supporters as we can. If you would like for us to come and share what God has done here, please let us know by emailing us at cartersjapan@gmail.com. I am so grateful to each of you who take time out of your day to pray for us. THANK YOU!
Serving Him,
The Carters to Japan
To download a printable pdf, click here.
As the school year ends and another busy summer begins, I am again amazed at the speed at which time flows. We have begun our 13th year here in Japan. Tyler will be finishing high school next year, Brianah will be starting high school, and Asher will continue going to Japanese kindergarten. We are thankful for each year God gives us here, and pray we honor Him as He uses us to reach Japanese, to encourage them, and to strengthen their faith in Him.
One of the big events we hold each year as an outreach to our unsaved friends and family is our annual church cookout. Last year, we were greatly blessed to have several from our home church in Louisville, including our pastor, Matt Anders, come to 
visit and to help with the cookout. While they were here, they noticed our rather whimsical way of shading our guests by way of bamboo poles and blue tarp. After returning home, they raised money to buy and ship two beautiful outdoor shade tents, which we put to good use! This cookout had one of our higher attendances with 75 people, and all of them comfortably fit under the tents to eat, fellowship, and hear the Gospel in the shade. New contacts were made and many friends and family members came, including several husbands. The day was truly blessed.
This summer, we are teaming up with another Baptist missionary family, Jim and Amy Smith, to begin preparations to start a new Christian school for children of several Christian families in the area. We are excited about the opportunity to impact the next generation with Biblical, Christ-centered teaching that will continue to nurture their walk with God, and strengthen their faith in Him in a country that has so little exposure to the Gospel. Please pray for us, that God will give us wisdom and foresight, and that this new ministry will be used to further the Gospel through the lives of the ones we teach.
This is also a time of preparation for several different camps that are held throughout the summer, including a men’s wilderness camp and a family camp. Both of these camps give us an opportunity to spend time with, and witness to those who are unsaved, while away from the distractions of life, as well as to encourage, and challenge our Christians. Please pray for these camps, that they will be well-attended, and that they will greatly impact those who attend.
Our church family here at Akigawa Baptist Church continues to grow. We are so thankful to see God answer our prayers in seeing more men become a part of our church, as well as unsaved husbands who continue to come to hear the Gospel preached. Please keep your brothers and sisters in Christ here in Japan in your prayers as they continue to reach out to their family and friends, to be a bold witness for Christ in their neighborhoods, schools and places of work. We are thankful for each of you who take the time to pray for us, and who sacrifice to give so that our spiritual family can continue to grow.
To download a printable pdf, click here.
As the cold of winter passes, and the new life of spring blooms around us, I am reminded again of that new life that God has breathed into my sinful, dead heart, and the grace that He gives each day to live for Him. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)
Over the past several months, God has continually been bringing more people to our church family. We are starting to run out of room in our small building, and are gradually running out of ways to get everyone seated in our small auditorium.
We have also had a steady stream of visitors that have been brought to church by our church family. In March, we had 17 first-time visitors who came for our regular Sunday services without any special evangelistic promotion.
In our last prayer letter, I mentioned the need for Christian men, as well as Christian families in our church. God is continuing to answer those prayers. We have been blessed to have another family attend our services for the past month or so, who recently have expressed an interest in joining our church. The father, Yuzo Sakai, is a dear brother I have known for many years, and I’m looking forward to see how God is going to use him his family. Please pray for them!
Every March, we take our church teens to a Christian camp held by another independent Baptist Church about 8 hours away by car. It’s a long trip, but it is ABSOLUTELY worth it! Because of the low percentage of Christians here in Japan (less than 1%), The chance for our youth to be able to spend time with around 150 other Christian teens is so beneficial to them. I, along with four other pastors preached on Purity, the theme for this year, which is vital to our youth. Please pray for the next generation of Christians here in Japan, as they face many obstacles in their spiritual growth.
In the past 3 or 4 years, Easter has increasingly become a great opportunity to reach unsaved people with the Gospel for our church. We hold an Easter Egg hunt 
at a nearby park, and then have a time of singing and preaching about how Christ’s resurrection sets Him apart as the one true God, and our need for salvation through Him. Afterwards, we have a special Easter service at our church. God again blessed this year, with a total of 76 people attending the various services.
We are thankful for your sacrifice, both financially, and through prayer, on our behalf, and on behalf of your brothers and sisters in Christ here in Japan. You are truly an encouragement to ALL of us here in Japan!
To download a printable pdf, click here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.