Here are our most recent prayer letters. Enjoy!
Carter Connection- December 2015
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. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! 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. Christmas Outreach for the Homeless 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 ...
Read moreCarter Connection- September 2015
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. Summer Family Camp 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. Start of New School 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 ...
Read moreCarter Connection- June 2015
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. Church cookout 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 ...
Read moreCarter Connection- April 2015
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) Church Growth 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 ...
Read moreCarter Connection- January 2015
As we begin the new year, I am reminded of Paul’s resolve. “…This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13, 14) Regardless of the means, or the capacity in which God chooses to use me, my desire is to continually be molded and shaped as His vessel, until I am completed in His presence in glory. Christmas Service Christmas is a special time for our church, simply because of the interest Christmas draws to Christianity during this season. It is a great opportunity for our church family to reach out to their family and friends to hear the Gospel through the story of Christmas. Because we were so limited on space at our church for our Thanksgiving outreach, we decided to rent a hall for our Christmas service. God blessed the service immensely, with 52 people attending, and 10 visitors; 3 of which were first-time visitors. Again, my neighbors Norio and Mieko came, and Norio jumped in to help out throughout the time he was there. Please continue to ...
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