Prayer points...

Pray for Japan!  Pray for revival in Japan.

Almost every night, I pray with the kids before they fall asleep (I don't always put them to bed, hence the "almost").  Ever time I pray with them, we pray for unsaved members of our family and for our friends in Hiroshima, practically all of whom are not Christians.  It's heartbreaking and sometimes discouraging that despite our prayers and so many having attended church events and various services, that none of them have yet to show more interest in getting to know about the Gospel.  We know that it usually takes yea~~~rs from when one person hears the Gospel to when they profess faith, but still...  We love our friends so much and we would so love for them to come to faith while we're still here!!!

Here's an article I found today which I think is very informative: Engaging Japan with the Gospel.  It's an interview with Michael Oh, a fellow Korean-American missionary here in Japan.  He's a little bit more famous than we are. ;)  (Big time understatement!)

Pray for me today as I'll be chatting with a couple over Skype re issues that they're having in their marriage (I think).  They're my friends from High School in Germany that I've written about a few times.  The wife has been suffering from depression for over 10 years now.  I'm very under-qualified and feel completely inadequate to be talking with them about marriage issues with them, but they don't seem to have anyone else they both feel comfortable opening up to.  So please pray for me and for them as we chat tonight, after our kids have gone to bed.  Oh, Holy Spirit, guide me big time please!  Pray that instead of stressing and panicking about what to say and how to say it, that I'll be open to His guiding.  I really care about both of them and their two children and would hate to say their marriage fall apart.  

I think Peter and I are both feeling that the decision regarding our next term is imminent.  We're still  not 100% sure but we've been receiving input from those that know the situation in both possible locations better than us.  We will also be meeting with the Japanese pastors at some point in June to speak to them about both.  Please pray for us and the pastors as we prepare for the meeting.  Pray for wisdom, clear communication, grace, and understanding as we discuss our next steps together.  It's exciting and daunting, all at the same time!

2014년 봄 소식지

안녕하세요!
정말로 오래만에 한글 소식지 보냈습니다. 일년씩이나 걸려 죄송합니다... ㅠㅠ
받지 못하신 분은 여기를 클릭하시면 보실 수 있습니다.
늘 기도해주심에 감사드립니다.  꾸벅~~~ ^^

Quick May Update

Hey! :)

A few changes and additional prayer requests for May...

I've made a start on one of my Bible unit coursework so praise God for that!  I haven't been able to do anything since, but at least I've made a start, right? :)

Also, super super exciting news - I'm going to LoveSonata!!!  For those of you that don't know, Onnuri organizes LoveSonata concerts in Japan (and a few other countries in Asia I think) and I've been wanting to go one for a lo~ng time.  We weren't here when they did it in Hiroshima and they won't be coming back here for a while.  However, they are having a concert in Shimonoseki which isn't close, but isn't too far either.  So I'll be going with another pastor and his wife TOMORROW!!!  I'm super excited!!!  One of the main guests is Jaechul Bae who I first met in Cardiff, Wales back when I was in college (or just started working?) about 10 years ago.  He wasn't famous back then like he is now.  It'll be nice to see him again.  It'll be awesome being able to take part in this amazing outreach!  Please pray for all of those who are working hard to make this happen.  A couple hundred people are coming over from Korea and there are probably about one hundred Japanese volunteers working on it too in Shimonoseki.  Pray for those that will be attending the concert, that they will have open hearts and minds and just really soak in the love and message of grace and mercy that will be spoken to them throughout the evening concert. Here's a video in Japanese with Korean subtitles with more info.  Sorry there isn't any info available that I could find in English... :(

I wrote that I won't be teaching English at Smile Club this month, but I am now.  Pray for Smile Club on the morning of the 16th please.  We've had a couple of new visitors during the past couple of gatherings so praise God for that!  It's the day after LoveSonata and I'll be coming home probably around midnight, so pray that I'll sleep well and have lots of energy to teach in the morning and my regular classes in the afternoon (and prep dinner before I go to teach).

The Korean gospel choir Ongijangi (옹기장이) is coming again to Hiroshima!  They're coming next week and I will see them perform twice.  On the 23rd, they will be coming to Sungjae's preschool.  The preschool is using this as an opportunity for moms to attend the weekly worship service.  After the choir performs during the worship service with the kids, the kids will return to their classrooms while the moms stay for more awesome music and probably a testimony too.  Pray that the hearts of these moms will be touched too.  I have a scheduling conflict so will attend for the first part with the kids and then go to Asaminami Chapel for a parenting seminar. :/  I'll be going to their full concert on Saturday at a nearby church (not one of the ones we work with) and am looking forward to it!  Going to concerts like these are the only times when I can praise God freely...

Peter will be meeting up with his private lesson student at the end of the month so pray for them too.

The first Korean e-newsletter in over a year is almost done - phew!  Hopefully I'll be able to send it out this week.

This one may seem silly, but Sungjae's turning four this month and we really want him completely out of diapers!  He stopped wearing them during the day about a year ago, but he still wears them at night.  Pray that it will happen quickly and without too many accidents! :/

Juhee's had two violin lessons so far and is loving it! :)

And to finish off, here's a couple of random photos of the kids for you... (Click to enlarge.)

Thanks so much for your prayers... :)

Helpful Ministry Links

This is a copy and paste from a blog posting from the RJC (Reaching Japanese for Christ) blog.  To see the original posting, click here.  For those of you that are in North America and are interested in finding out more about conferences, ministry resources, etc on how to reach out to the 500,000 Japanese in the US and Canada, and of course, the Japanese here in Japan, this is a great group to be affiliated with.

Our short term teams that came last year took part in RJC's short-term missions preparation course as well as our teams two years ago.  They also have other online courses available like Japan 101, which I am still hoping to be able to take part in someday.

RJC's "Operation Japan" is a GREAT source and probably the BEST source for those who are serious about learning more about the Christian climate in Japan and wanting to commit to praying about Japan every day.  There's a daily 365-day prayer guide, lots of stats, and resources available on the CD & book set.  I think the book is available in e-book format now too.

I am so grateful for all of the hard work and dedication that Don Wright has put since starting RJC all those years ago after "retiring" from decades of missionary work in Japan.  A lot of networking, encouraging, and information sharing happens through RJC within our fairly small yet widespread community.  It's really amazing what Don has achieved during his "retirement". :)

Here's the blog posting...

Sites that you can introduce to those who are interested in Christianity: 1. Bible Broadcast Network. BBN broadcasts over the internet 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in nine different languages. The Japanese broadcast will help seekers and Christians alike. There now is a chat service also.
2. Japan for Christ has specific pages in Japanese for those who are suffering from depression and other difficulties.

Here are a few among many organizations that are cooperating with RJC:
1. Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA)
2. Japan Evangelical Association (JEA)
3. Japanese Christian Fellowship network (JCFN)
4. Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society (JEMS)
5. Japan Christian Link
6. The Christian Arts Network for Japan (CAN) 
7. Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) 
8. Say Yes To Japan

Here are some good resource links for ministering to Japanese:
1. Japan Ministry Toolbox 
2. Resources for Japanese Language Learning
3. Resources for English Language Learning
4. HGF (Hallelujah Gospel Family)
6. Indigitech has several good links for audio and visual resources in Japanese.
7. Best site for finding Japanese Bibles and other literature: Multilanguage Media
8. Project Japan. This site contains much of the information from Dr. Samuel Lee's book,Understanding Japan Through The Eyes Of The Christian Faith.
9. Gospel Japan (Japanese)
10.Let's Love Japan is a non-profit ministry that shares the Gospel of Jesus with Japan using entertainment media. It is currently working on an innovative project that uses mobile phones and animation as witnessing tools. Let's Love Japan.
11. BBN now has a Japanese Bible Institute for on-line study!.
12. Reaching Internationals
Includes "Dos and Don'ts for Japanese," "Unique Qualities of Major People Groups: Japanese," "How to share the Love of God with Japanese," and "Japanese Fast Facts."

Where are Japanese churches?

1. JEMS list for USA Churches

2. The United Church of Canada Ethnic Congregations These include non-Japanese churches.

3. Japanese Churches Outside of Japan List (Japanese)

4. Church Information Service (Japanese)

For many more links please see Organizations.

May Focus

May is another super busy month!

One BIG prayer request for this month is for me to able to finish the coursework for at least one of my Bible units. LOTS of prayers for this one please!!! Pray that I'll be able to complete it in a timely way, but also do well and that I'll be able to really learn while writing my coursework. Pray also for protection for us... Pray that I don't take out my stress on the family and that we all work together to try and make this really happen!!!

Pray that I'll be able to get out a Korean e-newsletter this month too please... I really really want to get one out!!!

Please pray for all of the things that are happening at the kids' schools: As of today (7th), I've already been on Sungjae's "parent-child joint field trip" and Juhee's second "parent participation / observation + explanation day". Tomorrow morning is one of the "PTA meeting / club explanation days" for Sungjae's preschool, 14th I have a "school lunch experiencing day" at Juhee's school for parents of 1st graders, and on the 31st (Saturday) is Juhee's elementary school's "Sports Festival" - a big deal, all day event! Each school gathering always takes me a lot of time and energy to prepare for and wind down from. I always have a lot of information to go through before and after too so pray that I'll be able to stay on top of all of the paperwork this month. Sungjae's isn't so bad as I pretty much know what to expect for him, but with Juhee... There's so much and it's so new! Lots of prayers that I don't drop too many balls, especially any big ones with Juhee's school.

There's the usual Friday afternoon Kids Brown classes that you can be praying for. I have another new student that just started, so that's a total of two that started in April! :)

Pray for Peter's Friday morning Japanese classes too.

Please pray for the Love Sonata that is taking place in Shimonoseki on the 15th. I really really wanted to go, but with May looking so crazy, I don't think I can. :( Our Pioneers team in Shimonoseki is very actively involved. Pray that God will use it mightily to really fan flames and to ignite fires!

Thank you so much for your constant prayers and encouragement. :)

Our Monthly Support is now at 85%! The support from approximately 50 individuals/families giving regularly + 16 churches currently make up our ongoing Monthly Support. THANK YOU!!! :)

* During a recent conversation with Peter, he said that because of the exchange rate doing better and a couple of miraculous new donors, we are probably closer to 90% than to 85% - yay! 

** At the end of April, we paid $160.65 in credit card fees. When supporters pick the credit card option, we are charged a 3% fee. If giving online is the best option for you, please consider using the e-check option is possible. It's been a while since we've mentioned this to our supporters... Maybe it's a good time for a reminder? We don't usually like mentioning financial matters in our newsletters...

THANK YOU!!! Thank you for your encouragement and your prayers. :)

Feb-Apr '14 Newsletter

Yay! Our Feb-Apr has just been sent out. If you didn't get it in your inbox, click here to view it and sign up using our e-form in the right hand column to be added to our distribution list. Thank you for journeying with us and for your prayers! :)