God’s Kingdom is amazing! It’s so fun to see how He guides and conforms each of our brothers and sisters in our church family to display His glory through us. His power and glory displayed through our feeble faith is magnificent. Thank you Father!
Judy’s Recovery
Over the last several months, many of you have been praying for the recovery of Bethany’s mom Judy, who has undergone some complicated health issues that almost took her life. In our last letter, we were encouraged to report how her health had started on the upswing, and how she was recovering enough for Bethany and the kids to return to Japan.
We continue to be amazed and thankful for her recovery. It hasn’t stopped! In fact, she has recovered to the point where she is able to resume normal life at home! She has a team of doctors who are able to care for her, and for now, is very comfortable with staying in the States without the need to come to live with us in Japan. We fully believe that her recovery has been a direct answer to prayer. We are deeply thankful for your interceding to our Father on her behalf!
Back to Back Events
This year, we held two outreach events within two weeks of each other: our Easter event, and our church cookout. Both events were well attended. For our Easter event, we saw 107 people participate and hear the Gospel through the story of the resurrection. Several young teenagers responded to the invitation for salvation. Praise God! I was also honored to meet several ladies who have trusted Christ, but because of family pressure are unable to come to church. They told me how they study the Bible each week while listening to our sermon podcast, telling me about specific sermons that meant a lot to them.
Our cookout was held a week and a half later, and we were excited to see 84 people attend this year. I always ask a Japanese pastor speak at this event to help dispel the common assumption that Christianity is a Western religion. This year, Pastor Uchijima, from Okegawa Baptist Church presented the Gospel in a powerful way, and several raised their hands indicating a desire to know more about Christ. Over the years, each of these events have become great opportunities for us to share the Gospel with those around us, as well as build relationships with them to show them more of the glory and grace of Jesus.
Keiichiro
One of the ways I seek to build relationships is by teaching English. Keiichiro has been one of my students for the past three years. During that time, we have developed a friendship that has gone beyond studying English, and we often grab lunch together after class to talk together. Although he is a devout Buddhist, he prays with me before every meal as I thank God for our food. Earlier this year, as we were having lunch, Keiichiro told me that he was going to bring his family to our events. True to his word, the whole family came to both Easter and the cookout! Please pray for these dear friends, that they too would become part of God’s glorious kingdom.
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