Summer is in full swing, church camps are just around the corner, many activities and outreaches are being held to introduce people to Jesus. While those things are going on, let me take some time to share how our brothers and sisters in Christ are reaching their friends and loved ones to their Savior.

Bringing Friends to Christ

   In our last letter, I got to share with you the story of Kiyoko Shimizu, who was baptized during our cookout event. She’s been consistently sharing Jesus with those around her. A little over a month ago, she met a co-worker, Mrs. Suzuki who was having difficulty with communication in the work place. (Mrs. Suzuki is Chinese, married to a Japanese man.) Kiyoko befriended her and invited her to come to church with her sometime. A week later, Mrs. Suzuki took her up on the offer and came to church. There she met Ping, one of our faithful members who is also Chinese, and they hit it off as well. Over the last several weeks, Mrs. Suzuki has been faithfully coming, even on days when Kiyoko can’t because of work. She has been intently listening to the Bible being taught, and developing closer relationships with those in our church family. Praise God for Kiyoko’s faithfulness in sharing the Gospel! Please pray for Mrs. Suzuki as she learns more about our Savior.

Bringing Family to Christ

   Let me share another story about a family, which, coincidentally, is also named Suzuki. Yes, it’s a common name here. 🙂 Mrs. Sachiyo Suzuki has been a Christian for many years, and had been attending a church that unfortunately had to close its doors. She started searching for another church to attend, and her husband Ikuya offered to help, although he was not a Christian and had been to church once or twice in his life. In their search, he came upon the website of our church, and he suggested that they attend a service, offering to go with her to check the church out. So the first Sunday of October last year, they came to visit Akigawa Baptist Church. Since that time, Mrs. Suzuki has faithfully attended church. But surprisingly, her husband also started coming; quite frequently! Occasionally he would raise his hand, expressing interest in salvation, but while the interest was there, he wasn’t ready to take that step of faith yet. A few weeks after our church cookout in May, he raised his hand at the end of a Sunday service expressing interest in salvation. As we were preparing to eat lunch (our church family eats lunch together after the service), I sat with him, and asked him what his thoughts were about salvation. He said, “I’ve been seriously thinking I want to trust Jesus for the past two or three weeks.” I asked him, “Well, do you think you’re ready?” He replied, “Yes! I am!” and so while those around us were preparing to break bread with each other, Mr. Suzuki bowed his head and received the Bread of Life!

One day, you will get to meet Ikuya Suzuki. As you give and sacrifice so that missionaries like myself can go, remember why we do this thing called missions. It’s for something that lasts far beyond our sacrifice, far beyond our life on earth. It’s so that people around us can ultimately glorify our Father in Heaven, in receiving the salvation He so graciously offers. One day, you will get to sing the praises of our Savior together with Kiyoko Shimizu, and Ikuya and Sachiyo Suzuki. And it will be glorious!

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

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The first half of this year has been such a flurry of events, administrative deadlines and ministry needs, it seems that we have had to rely on our Father to sustain us and uphold us through these last several months more than I can recall in recent years. And yet it is during these times that we again discover that His strength is more clearly seen in and through our weakness; His power is made more real in our frailty. In our struggle to keep our “heads above water,” we are reminded that it isn’t our frantic “paddling” that keeps us afloat. Rather, it’s the calm, sure, ever-present hand of our Father who holds us up.

February Marriage Conference

The population of Japan has shrunk for the seventh consecutive year. Japan has now become the most aged society in the world, and it is primarily because of marriages, and the consequential low birthrate. One of the issues young Japanese Christians face is a very real struggle, first to find godly spouses, and then to know how to have Christ-honoring marriages. In February, several Baptist churches in the Tokyo area held a weekend conference to address these issues and to give Christian singles a Biblical understanding of how to have a Christ-honoring marriage and a God-glorifying home. I was asked to be the speaker this year, and was very thankful for God’s guidance throughout our time together. Please pray for these young Christians in this crucial time that will not only affect their immediate future, but quite literally the future of generations to come.

Youth Camp

At the end of March, I was able to take a group of teenagers to youth camp about 6 hours away, where 15 Baptist churches throughout Japan gather for three days of preaching and teaching. This camp has always been a great encouragement and challenge for our teenagers. Think about this. If the average church size in Japan is between 25 and 30, how many of those who attend are teenagers? More than likely, just a small handful (This is true for most of the churches I know). For many of our teens, they know very few other Christian teens. They are often the only Christian they know of who attends their school. It is very easy for them to feel like Elijah did when he wondered if he were the only one serving God in the land. Can you imagine how much of an impact, how much vigor and strength it will bring your soul to see a hundred other teenagers who love Jesus like you do, all gathered together in one place, lifting your voices in unison as you sing praise to your Father, intently listening with you as the Word is being preached? It changes you. It opens your eyes to the fact that you aren’t alone, that you are actually a part of the Kingdom of God that is great, grand and glorious! As they head back to the rigorous grind of Japanese school, please intercede in prayer for these teens that they would keep glorifying God with their lives.

Easter

The Sunday after we returned from camp, our church had our annual Easter event. For the past several years, we have gathered at a nearby park to hold the event, as it has drawn many more people than can fit at our church building. This year we had an attendance of 89 people. It has continued to be a time for people who have never been to church to not only bring their children to hear the Gospel, but to hear the Gospel themselves. I find it so encouraging to see moms and dads sitting next to their children listening intently to the story of Christ’s resurrection. Please pray that the seed of the Gospel will grow and nurture as it is planted and watered in their hearts.

Barbecue Baptism

In January, a lady named Kiyoko Shimizu called me and asked me if it was ok to come to our church. She had been part of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and in her study of the Bible, had recognized that their teachings concerning Jesus were wrong. Since that Sunday, she had been coming almost every week, studying and asking questions. After talking with her at great length about her understanding of the Gospel, I had no doubt in my mind that she had clearly trusted Christ. Our church barbecue was approaching, so I asked her if she would like to be baptized in the river next to where we held our cookout. She wholeheartedly agreed. This year we had 90 people come to the cookout. Many of them were unsaved friends and family of our church family who have been coming to the cookout consistently for several years. I believe this year had a bigger impact on many of them as they got to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel, and then seeing the testimony of this dear sister in Christ.

Tsunami 7 year anniversary

March 11 was the seven year anniversary of the great tsunami disaster. After our service on that Sunday, several of our church family drove about 3 hours away to Fukushima to show our support for our Christian brothers and sisters who are still recovering from the nuclear meltdown. While it was a time of solemn remembrance of the many who perished into eternity, it was also a time of encouragement and strength for our dear brothers and sisters who continue to share the gospel with those around them. Please continue to remember them in your prayers: that God would continue to sustain them and uplift them as they shine the light of the gospel of hope to others.

On a personal note, we are greatly looking forward to having our family reunited again! This summer, our oldest son Tyler will be returning to Japan from college for a few months, and my parents will also be returning from furlough. Thanks so much for remembering us in prayer! The notes of encouragement, the quick emails to remind us that you are thinking about us are always such a great blessing to us!

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Reflecting on the previous year, I am again humbled by how gracious God has been in allowing and enabling us to share His glory with many here in Japan. The coming year brings great anticipation in seeing the magnificent way in which the goodness of God will lead the lost to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Christmas Service

On Christmas Eve, we held our annual Christmas Candlelight Service. We had 47 come to the service, which we were delighted with, considering many people were out of town due to the holiday weekend. One of the first-time visitors was Mr. Togura, a co-worker of Elizabeth Fujita (one of our Sunday school teachers). It was his first time to any kind of church service. It was clear that the Holy Spirit was working in his heart as he raised his hand for salvation, and one of the men in our church led him to the Lord after the service!

One dear lady had started coming to our church after having left a cult recently. After attending for just a few weeks, she was thrilled to be able to bring her friend who was interested in Christianity. After the service, Bethany sat with them and started sharing the Gospel with her friend. It was so exciting to see her jumping into the conversation herself to share with her friend what she knew about the saving grace of Jesus! Please pray for this dear lady, as the cult is not wanting to let her go easily, as well as for her friend to put her faith in Jesus.

Over the years we have asked you to pray that God would add more Christian men to our church family. During the Christmas service, I was struck by an incredible realization. After the service, we have a time of fellowship and games, including a Christmas present exchange. In the past, the ladies overwhelmingly outnumbered the men in the present exchange. This year, I had an unexpected moment of joy in discovering that we had practically the same number of men as we had ladies! What joy in seeing the continual working of our Father in the midst of our church family!

Men’s Sermon Day

The answer to this prayer continued to be displayed in our first ever men’s sermon day, where I asked our Christian men to take about fifteen minutes each to share a truth from God’s Word on the first Sunday of January. We had three men in our English service speak, and two men in our Japanese service speak. For me personally it was a momentous day to see these steps of growth in our church family! For several of them, it was their first time speaking in front of a church congregation. Please continue to pray for these men as they lead their families, as well as our church family in living for Jesus.

Coming Marriage Conference

The combination of the incredibly low percentage of Christians in Japan (around 0.5%) and the decrease of marriages among Japanese brings to light an enormous need: the lack of Christian families. A second generation Christian whose parents are both Christians is rare to see here. For many young adult Christians, this lack of having stable Christian couples to model a Christian home brings a lot of uncertainty: first in what to look for in a spouse, and secondly in how to have a God-honoring marriage themselves. To address this need, the independent Baptist churches in the greater Tokyo area will be having our first marriage conference in February to help young people have a Biblical understanding of these issues. I have been asked to be the main speaker for the conference, and I covet your prayers for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in preparation for it.

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This thanksgiving, as I watched our church family gathered together to thank God for Who He is, and what He has done, the gratitude I felt for how God has directed my family’s path through the years was overwhelming. You are an integral part of that path, and we are deeply thankful for your faithfulness to us.

Mr. Hanagaki

When we first arrived in Japan, we were introduced to Mr. Hanagaki, the owner of a noodle restaurant here in town. (The picture to the left is one I took 14 years ago of Mr. Hanagaki and our oldest son Tyler, two weeks after we arrived in Japan. Tyler, who is in college now, was four years old at the time). Because his noodle shop was busy on Sundays, he rarely had a chance to go to church, but he would often study the Bible with me or dad on Tuesdays, his day off. About three years ago, the Holy Spirit was clearly working in his heart, and not long after, he put his faith in Christ. For the next several years, as much as he could, he would spend time studying the Bible.Last year, he discovered that he had advanced stages of cancer, and that it was beyond treatment. As his condition gradually worsened, he got to the point where he was too weak to do much, so we would just spend time chatting and having spiritual conversation with him each week. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, Mr. Hanagaki went to be with the Lord. He is the only Christian in his family. Daigo, his son-in-law, took over the restaurant last year, and he and I have gotten pretty close. Yesterday, as he and I were reminiscing about Mr. Hanagaki’s life, I was able to have a good Gospel conversation with him. Please pray that as the seed of the Gospel is planted in the heart of Daigo, that he, as well as other members of his family, will also find salvation.

Multilingual Book Studies

 A few months ago, Bethany started up a book study for the ladies in our church, and it has been amazing to see their response. The publisher donated all the Japanese copies that we could use, which was a great blessing, especially when you consider the difficulty in finding good Japanese Christian literature. For many of the ladies, it has been very eye-opening, and they are hungering to learn more. We also have Peruvians and Chinese who are part of our church, and thankfully the book is translated into their languages as well. It’s a very interesting thing to see people reading a book from four languages and then discussing what they learn in Japanese! We were also able to start a men’s book study, and it has been exciting to see how God is using these avenues of discipleship to grow and strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters here.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we head into the Christmas season. Christmas has always been a great opportunity for outreach here in Japan, and we are excited about the upcoming opportunities to share the good news of our Savior!

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God has been very gracious to us this summer, both in ministry, and personally. It’s always amazing to see the many ways He provides for us, how He cares for us, how He leads us, how He comforts us, and how He matures us. Our Father is awesome!

Record Rainfall

August was an incredibly wet month for those of us who live in Tokyo. Beginning on August 1, we had rain every day for 21 consecutive days. It was the second-longest wet streak on record for August. The record occurred in 1977, with 22 consecutive rainy days, just one more day than we had this year.

Summer Camp

It was in the middle of this rainy streak that we held our annual summer camp. This is the camp that we asked prayer for in our last letter. It was a 3 day camp that was held with several other Baptist churches in our area. Altogether, there were 63 attenders, including 10 from our church. Thankfully most of the camp was held indoors, and we had only two activities, a bonfire and a canoe outing, that required us to be outside. By God’s grace, the rain literally stopped a few hours before each activity, and then resumed shortly after they were finished!

One of the greater blessings for me personally was to see one of our new Christians, Takamasa Harashima, who was saved last year, attend camp for the first time. He was able to get off work just a few days before camp started, and it was so encouraging to see his joy of meeting Christians from other churches. It was clear that the preaching, as well as the counsel and fellowship he received from other believers, was a great benefit to him. We were reminiscing about camp just a few days ago, and his comment was, “If only I had gone to camp years ago, how different would my life be now!” There are still many in our church who would greatly benefit from this time, and we pray that Takamasa, along with those who attended, will be an encouragement to the rest of our church family in attending next year.

Tyler’s Summer Return

On a personal note, as is the case for many missionary families, our family is very close. It was with heavy hearts that we left our son Tyler back in the States as he began his college studies. Our home church, Landmark Baptist Church in Louisville, generously purchased a round-trip plane ticket for Tyler to spend time with us this summer. For us as a family, it was an incredible encouragement to have our son back! Please keep him in your prayers as he begins his second year of studies.

Conflict with North Korea

Over the past several months, the conflict with North Korea has been escalating. Several rockets have been recently fired over Japan which is causing great concern to many here. Please pray that even in this time of uncertainty, God would give our fellow brothers and sisters not only grace and comfort, but also boldness to share the Gospel. We confidently rest in the assurance that our Father, Who has all things under His control, will use even this conflict to display His magnificent glory!

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The change of seasons seem to come and go at a dizzying pace. Yet the steadfast grace of our never-changing Father continues to flow upon us, and through us, for which we are deeply grateful.

Summer Outreach Cookout

In the beginning of May we held our annual summer cookout just a few weeks after our Easter event. We asked you to pray for those who would be under the sound of the Gospel during this event as it seems to be something that many of the unsaved friends and relatives of our church family are not only willing to attend, but something that they look forward to. For the last two years, I’ve had Japanese pastors preach and give their salvation testimony specifically for the purpose of showing those who attend that Christianity is not simply a “western religion.” God has greatly used these pastors and I am so thankful for the privilege of working alongside them in reaching the Japanese. This year marked our highest attendance yet, with 104 people attending the event. Nearly 50 of those were visitors, with 23 being first-time guests. During the service, Shuya (wearing the black shirt and shorts), one of the teenagers in our neighborhood who attended both our Easter event and the cookout, expressed an interest in understanding the gospel. After the service, I spent some time talking with him, and it was clearly evident that he was ready to be saved. That afternoon, he put his faith in Jesus to save him. Praise God! We have been inviting these teens for quite a few years, and this was the first year they attended. God is so good. Please pray for Shuya’s growth since he is the only Christian in his family. And for the other teens who still need to be saved.

School Graduation

In the end of June we finished up the second year of our Christian school, with two young men graduating. One of them is a member of our church named Rui Sakurai. He has been an incredibly faithful young man, riding his bicycle to church each week from several towns over. This is about a 40 minute bicycle ride each way. We are so thankful to God to see how much he has grown spiritually over the past several years. He has been my “tech guy,” uploading sermon podcasts each week, and helping out with different projects that need to get done. Please keep him in your prayers as he is seeking God’s wisdom in preparing for his future studies.

Upcoming Summer Camp

We have several events for outreach and to encourage spiritual growth this summer including a 3 day family camp that will be held with several other Baptist churches in our part of Japan. Please continue to pray that through these events, God will continue to draw people to Himself. Pray that our church family will grow in their love for our Father and for others.  Thank you for your dedication in praying and giving for the encouragement of your brothers and sisters in Christ here in Japan, as well as for those who we pray one day will be, in God’s grand and magnificent timing. May He receive all the glory!

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In the three months that we’ve been back in Japan, God has done so many things to show us how magnificently glorious He is. The fact that He is willing to use us in any way at all is a continual testament to His unending grace!

Youth Camps and Conferences

In the end of March, we took six of our teens to the annual youth conference in Kyoto, about 6 hours away by car. One of the teens was a girl named Sakuya who, although had not come to church before, was deeply interested in Christianity. One of the ladies in our church had been witnessing to her, and invited her to come to the youth camp. For her, it was very eye-opening to see so many Christian teens who loved and followed Jesus. While she didn’t get saved at camp, I believe this was a significant step towards her salvation. I did have the opportunity to speak in one of the services, and was encouraged to see a young man from another church trust Christ during the invitation. According to his pastor, it was a HUGE answer to many years of prayer. God is so good!

Two weeks later, I headed to the Philippines to speak at a youth conference at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Catarman, where missionary Layne Jones has been pastoring for many years. The difference in the culture, as well as the reception to the Gospel was amazing to me. In the three days that the conference was held, there were at least 10 professions of salvation, and one young lady surrendered to go to their Bible College. I heard later that three other young people came to Pastor Jones after the conference expressing their desire to attend Bible College.

Easter Sunday

I arrived back to Japan the day before Easter Sunday. Our church family had done an amazing job in preparing for our annual Easter event, and it was incredible to see the ever-increasing flow of people who came to the park where the event was held. God blessed immensely! We had 110 people attend the event, with 77 visitors. Several children and teens raised their hand indicating that they had trusted Christ during the invitation, and we’re looking forward to following up on them. Several of the adults also came up to me afterward, thanking us for letting them come, and sharing how they understood for the first time how the resurrection of Christ was so key to Christianity. These are parents who, for the most part, have very little connection to Christianity, and so to hear them reflect on what they learned was so exciting to hear. Again, these are just the beginning steps toward salvation for them as we pray that not only their minds, but their hearts will continue to become open to the Gospel.

Children’s Program

The week after Easter Sunday was the official kickoff to our completely revamped children’s program. Over the past year, we have seen an increase of grade-school age children attending. While Bethany, my mother, and another lady in our church have been doing a wonderful job of teaching the kids, it was clear that for the benefit of the children who were coming, and for the children who would be coming in the future, we needed to have help. So in early March, we held a “Sunday School Promotion Sunday,” where we presented the new children’s program to our church family in the hopes that they would be willing to have a part in training the following generation of children. The response was amazing! Something that was so encouraging to me and Bethany was that one of their main concerns was that they didn’t want to miss being in the services. But we had enough adults and teens volunteer that we’re now able to put them on a rotating schedule, which helps them to keep the consecutive number of missed services down to a minimum. I can’t wait to see what God does through the children’s program to draw more children to Himself, but also what He does through this to strengthen the faith and maturity of our believers who get to see God using them consistently to reach and train others.

Salvations and Visitors

Throughout the past several months we have also been encouraged to see several new families start attending our church. The Takai family is a young couple with four young boys who moved from downtown Tokyo to our area in January. Mariko (Mrs. Takai) is a Christian, but Hiroki (Mr. Takai) is not yet, but loves being in church. They’ve been very faithful in attending the services, and it’s exciting to see both of them listening intently to the preaching and teaching, as well as to see their boys participating in Sunday school.

One of our ladies, Elizabeth (she’s from Peru) has been sharing the Gospel with her co-worker Mari for the last three years. Mari would come to church off and on as her work schedule would allow, but over the past several weeks, it was evident that her desire to understand the Gospel was increasing. During the last several mid-week prayer meetings, we were able to spend time with her, answering her questions and showing her what it meant to be a Christian. Last Thursday, she seemed to want to be saved, but still held back. So I invited her to think about what she had read and heard concerning the Gospel that night, and to put her faith in Jesus. Elizabeth followed up with her again later that evening. Sunday morning, Mari came to church, excitedly saying over and over, “I believe Jesus! I believe Jesus!” She had trusted Christ that Thursday night! Praise the Lord!!

Upcoming event

In the next several weeks, our church family will be preparing for yet another major outreach event, our church cookout, which will be held on May 3. This is one of the events where MANY unsaved friends and family members are willing to attend, and even listen to the Gospel being presented to them. It has consistently been an event that has allowed us to interact with and develop relationships with people who would have never been willing to step foot into a church building, yet have become more and more open to hearing and accepting the Gospel. Please pray with us that we will see friends and family members trust Christ through this event.

Thank you for all of your sacrifice: both in time praying, and in financial giving, that enables us to love and serve our brothers and sisters here in Japan, and to share the glorious Gospel with those who will hear. May God receive all the glory!

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A missionary’s heart is always in more than one place. When you are on the field, while your heart is fully with the people that you serve and minister to, there is always a sense of longing for your family and friends you’ve left in America. And when you’re back in America blissfully enjoying the time with your dear loved ones you’ve missed while on the field, you sense a different longing. It’s an intense longing for the family of brothers and sisters into whom you have poured your heart. Both families are loved dearly. Both families are longed for deeply. Oh, for the day when both families will be together in the presence of our Father!

A Family Reunion in The U.S.

Furlough in the States was a much needed time for us. It was a time to recover from several intensely busy years of serving in Japan, as well as a time to reconnect with our loved ones and spend cherished time with them. Because we were able to stay longer than usual, we were able to see some family that we haven’t seen in close to 15 years, and some younger family members for the first time! This was also a time to reconnect with churches who have been faithfully praying and supporting us through the years. While we are never able to see all of our supporting churches in one furlough, it was so encouraging to see those that we were able to see. I am also very thankful for several new churches that chose to partner with us in reaching the Japanese. While we were in the States, our home church family was such an incredible blessing to us in how they loved and encouraged us. It was also so helpful for me personally to spend time with my pastors, gleaning as much knowledge and wisdom from them as I could so that I could better serve my brothers and sisters in Japan.

A Family Reunion in Japan

        On January 11, we said our goodbyes to our family. This time the pain of leaving was much deeper for us than it usually is as we were leaving our oldest son Tyler behind for college. God was (and continues to be) so gracious to us in giving us the strength to leave family again. As our flight neared Tokyo, the overwhelming sorrow of leaving was being overtaken by the overwhelming desire to see our family in Japan: my mom and dad, and our brothers and sisters at Akigawa Baptist Church.

      Our first Sunday back was, again, a blissful family reunion. While the intense busyness has already begun, it has been so good to see the spiritual growth of our brothers and sisters in our absence. God is so good! There have already been several blessings in just the two weeks that we’ve been back that I will be sharing in our next letter.

Some things to pray for

        There are several health issues for which we would greatly appreciate your prayers.

• Asher’s asthma. While in the States, our youngest son Asher had a severe asthma attack. He received excellent medical care in the States, and we are hoping to find a good doctor here in Japan who can continue to give him the treatment he needs.
• Bethany’s carpal tunnel. After arriving in Japan, it was determined that Bethany’s carpal tunnel was severe enough to require surgery. She had surgery on January 25. Please pray for a speedy recovery.

Thanks so much for each of you who’ve been praying for and supporting us! I so deeply wish that I could have gone to each of you to thank you personally for how much you mean to us. One day…

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Over the past several months we have had the privilege of sharing how glorious God has been to our brothers and sisters in Japan with churches here in the States. We have been to over 30 churches in the time we’ve been here, and in each church we have been greatly encouraged to see God’s glory manifested in the lives of our brothers and sisters here in the States as well. How great God is! How immense is the vastness of His Kingdom! How intricate is His providence as He prepares us and equips us to serve Him! How intimate is His grace to each of us in uniquely empowering and strengthening us for His glory!

The Gospel displayed in the color of our hair

While Bethany and our youngest child Asher were shopping one day, a friendly store clerk saw Asher’s red hair and asked, “Where did you get that red hair?” (Neither Bethany or I are redheads.) As Bethany was thinking about how to answer, Asher simply exclaimed, “Jesus!” With that simple response, the door was opened for spiritual conversation and for Bethany to invite her to church. While she hasn’t put her trust in Christ yet, our new friend has been faithfully coming to church over the last two months (even while we were traveling out of town to other churches) and has been listening intently to the preaching.

One day, when Bethany was back in town, she stopped by the store to see how our friend was doing. In their brief conversation of catching up, another coworker overheard their conversation. She came over and said, “I’ve been looking for a good church to go to.” Bethany mentioned that one thing we love about our home church is that they are so committed to teaching the truth from God’s Word. Our friend agreed, “Yes, they do!” and proceeded to invite her to come with her the next Sunday, which she did. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in the hearts of both of these dear ladies.

Meanwhile, Back in Japan…

We are thankful for how our church family in Japan is continuing faithfully in our absence. This summer, we started an early service on Sunday, primarily to address two challenges that our church family was encountering. The first challenge was to alleviate the space issues we’ve been having from the growth in church attendance. We also have several faithful church members who do not speak Japanese as their primary language and have difficulty understanding the preaching and teaching in the services, which have all been in Japanese. We decided that the early service would be most profitable to be held in English as it would be the best way to promote spiritual growth for those who are more comfortable with English. As is all change in routine, the new service time has taken some time for our folks to adjust to, but it is steadily picking up steam and is becoming a great source of encouragement to our church family.

Norio and Mieko Kobayashi are neighbors that we have been working with for the last 7 or 8 years and have been dear friends of ours. Mieko was saved and baptized a few years ago, and Norio has interest but isn’t saved yet. Norio has always been a huge help to me in preparing for different events we hold at our church. For the last several years, Norio and I get to spend a day together smoking turkeys in preparation for our church Thanksgiving service. This year, I was encouraged to hear that Norio has asked to continue the tradition with my dad in my absence. These steps of relationship building have always been such a critical part of sharing the Gospel with the Japanese. Please continue to pray for Norio’s salvation as well as Mieko’s growth as a Christian. Like Norio, there are several other unsaved husbands that also need prayer for salvation.

Thank you so much for giving and praying for your brothers and sisters in Japan. In our travels to different churches, we have been continually humbled and honored to meet those of you who pray for us regularly. Thank you!!

Serving Him,
The Carters to Japan

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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!

New Supporters Needed!

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.

Church Growth

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.

Christian School Growth

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.

Prayer Requests

Please keep several people in your prayers who are adding on to their already heavy workload in our absence.

• My parents, Dave and Glenda Carter, as they take the full load of our responsibilities of the church.
• Missionaries Jim and Amy Smith, who are taking on the full load of the school responsibilities.
• Jenna Powell, who will be flying to Japan to teach in the school in Bethany’s place while we are in the States.

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