Summer has been an absolute whirlwind! But it’s been a good kind of whirlwind. 🤣 There has been so much to be thankful for, so many opportunities to see God’s faithfulness and care for us!
It’s Official. We’re Getting Old.
By God’s grace, we have officially become grandparents! In August, our oldest son Tyler and daughter-in-law Morgan gave birth to their first child, and our first grandchild Eleanor Grace Carter! We’re so excited! It’s somewhat surreal to think that we are already at this stage of life. We’re also very thankful that it worked out for us to return to the States to meet our new grandbaby in September. We were in the States for four weeks, and while we were back, we were also able to come see some of you all as well! We were able to visit eight of our supporting churches during the month. There are still more of you that I would so love to see again soon, and as my pastoral responsibilities here in Japan allow, we hope to see more of you over the next few years. Needless to say, thank you for your faithfulness! As we work together to share the good news of Jesus, I pray that God will keep using our labors together to reveal his amazing glory to more and more here in Japan!
Even More Men
Over the last year or two, we’ve had six unsaved men who are now consistently coming to our services. These include young college-aged men who are seeking to know more about Christianity; some are husbands whose wives were saved and baptized last year, and having seen the change in them, are wanting to know more themselves; others are men who have been coming for many years, but are still unsaved. Please pray for these men. I remember asking you to pray for more men in our church about seven or eight years ago, and now we’re seeing how God has wonderfully answered our prayers! These unsaved men who are coming now are being gently led to the foot of the cross by other men in our church who have been saved, baptized and are growing in Christ! On Sunday after services, we often see them in conversation with one another, asking and answering questions, sharing thoughts from the sermon, building stronger relationships. Once again, I ask that you pray for these men. Pray that the Holy Spirit will use our brothers in Christ in our church to help these unsaved men to put their faith in Christ as well!
Missionaries Sending Missionaries
One interesting aspect of missions is that the sending of missionaries doesn’t simply end at the mission field. Here too, we send out, support, and pray for missionaries who leave Japan to reach those around the world. Even now, our church here in Tokyo supports two missionaries who serve in other parts of Asia, including areas that are difficult for Westerners to minister. This coming Monday, I will be speaking at a regional Missions Conference with pastors attending from the three prefectures (states) surrounding Tokyo. Please pray that God will use this opportunity to encourage both pastors and missionaries here in Japan as we too labor together with Japanese missionaries to share the good news of Jesus to others!
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