Hope you had a happy Easter! We spent Easter weekend in Nagoya again this year, doing an English outreach event that Sunday afternoon. We were grateful for a good turnout, and that several of my former English students joined the event and got to hear an Easter message.
Please PRAY that God will continue to work in the lives of my former students in Nagoya!
Meanwhile, we uploaded a new Easter-themed Waypoints manga and did some paid promo on Instagram to try and get some more views. Thankfully we had a pretty big spike in website traffic, though it’s hard to measure the impact.
Please PRAY with us that God will use this project to sow seeds of salvation and draw people to faith in Christ!
This coming Sunday (5/4) we’re at Immanuel Fukui Church again, where I’m scheduled to preach and Yoko to lead worship. The following week we’re back at Immanuel Komatsu Church for music and worship ministry. The rest of the month is fairly quiet, but we’ve got lots to keep us busy as we prepare more Waypoints content and work ahead before a very busy June.
Please PRAY for these ministries and behind-the-scenes projects, and that God will give us vision and direction to move the mission forward in Japan.
Thank you for being a part of our team through your prayers and giving!
At IGM annual conference in Yokohama, with WGM missionaries, their director Dan Schafer (who was guest speaker) and his wife, and IGM’s president Rev. Iwagami.
Hi everyone,
Thank you for your prayers for us, our ministry, and Japan!
This past weekend, we attended the annual conference of Immanuel General Mission (IGM), our partner denomination in Japan. Earlier in the month, I preached, and Yoko led worship at Immanuel Fukui Church; and we led worship together in Immanuel Komatsu Church. We’re grateful for our church connections and partnerships in Japan!
Please pray for IGM pastors, churches, and families going through transitions right now as this is pastoral change season. And pray for us, too, as we explore new church connections and partnership possibilities in the months to come.
Also in March, we released a new manga (The Pool) at Waypoints. This month, we’re posting a new Easter-themed Waypoints manga, and doing some extra online promo and outreach. Pray that God will help us connect with new readers and point them to Jesus.
And speaking of Easter, we’re scheduled to do another English ministry reunion at our former church in Nagoya on Easter Sunday, April 20. Please pray that we’ll have a good turnout, especially from people who don’t normally go to the church, and that we can effectively share with them about the hope we have in Christ.
Thank you for your prayers throughout February! It was quite a month… Here’s some of what’s been happening (or in some cases not happening) this past month:
1. We wrapped up our manga collaboration withZOE Japan, finishing the English translation. ZOE now has both Japanese and English versions in print (as seen in the above photo) to distribute across Japan as they connect with young people and do anti-trafficking education.
2. Early in February, I got the flu, so we had to cancel our trip to Sapporo, and I had several unproductive days at home. Fortunately I’m better now and Yoko somehow managed to not get sick.
3. I traveled solo to Tokyo for a missionary gathering, promoted Drawbridge and had an encouraging time learning and networking with the JEMA community.
4. We’ve been working with three different artists on new manga stories for Waypoints. We’ve also been working on some “next steps” for website visitors who may be open to learning more about Jesus.
5. This past Sunday we were in Fukui (a 1.5 hour drive from us) for church. Yoko led worship, I preached and we closed with a song together. This is a small church that is currently without a full-time pastor, so we’ve been asked to help out and are scheduled to do church there three more times throughout this year.
Some Prayer Points:
1. Please pray that Waypoints will reach a broader audience and be an effective online outreach as we launch into a new season of manga this month.
2. We’re scheduled to lead worship a Komatsu Immanuel Church on 3/16.
3. Immanuel General Mission (our partner denomination) is holding their annual conference this month (3/28-30). This is where church business is discussed and pastors receive their assignments for the next year. This year is also the 80th anniversary of IGM!
4. Please continue praying for us as we explore some next steps for local ministry and prepare to grow our missionary team.
Hope 2025 is off to a good start for you. This month for our update we’ve got a video for you. This was recorded in the US last year, but between editing and then a busy year end, we’re just getting around to sharing it now. Please take a look!
Meanwhile, here are some current updates and prayer points:
My big goal for January was redesigning the Waypoints website, and on the final day of the month it was done, thanks to some help from a friend we met in Michigan last year. Please pray for us as we work with artists and writers to prepare new manga for 2025.
We’ve also been exploring and praying about some new local church partnerships and community involvement. Please pray for direction!
February is shaping up to be a busy month, with guests visiting as well as trips to Sapporo and Tokyo. On February 9, in Sapporo, we’re scheduled to do Drawbridge promo, preaching and music ministry. Please pray for safe travels, energy and effective ministry!
Mount Hakusan as seen from Hakusan City Hall this past Sunday
Happy New Year from Ishikawa, Japan!
For us, it was a quiet new year — especially compared to last year — and we’re thankful. Now we’re getting back into the swing of things after a bit of a break. Here’s some of what’s going on…
Creating new Waypoints manga, with a goal of posting 5 or 6 this year.
An English version of the manga we did with ZOE Japan.
Leading worship at Immanuel Komatsu Church this coming Sunday (1/12).
Praying and seeking God’s direction for how we can better serve local churches and our community.
Preparing to expand our missionary team.
On that last note, we’d like to introduce you to our new teammate, Mickey Veach. Mickey has been appointed by Global Partners as a missionary to Japan, and visited us last February. We also got to connect with him in the US during the summer.
Mickey is now in the middle of support raising and training, with the hope of joining us full-time here this fall. You can check out his first newsletter (and subscribe) HERE. I’m sure Mickey would appreciate your prayers!
Thank you for your continuing prayers and partnership with our mission in Japan! Here’s to a great 2025!
With Mickey at a Japanese garden in Michigan last summer
Thank you for praying for our busy season of travels, connections, and ministry! We just returned earlier this week from GP’s Asia-Pacific conference in Australia. We’re thankful for a good time of re-connecting with our fellow Global Partners missionaries in the area.
And now it’s the Christmas season! Christmas is a big opportunity for outreach at Japanese churches. Our Waypoints manga booklets will be distributed by various churches and ministries throughout Japan, so please pray that they will be effective. Please pray, too, for us as we do Christmas preaching and music ministry the next two Sundays at the Immanuel churches in Kanazawa (12/15) and Komatsu (12/22).
As we approach the end of the year, we want to say a special THANK YOU for being a part of our lives; for keeping us in your prayers; and for your giving which allows us to be a part of God’s mission in Japan.
Hope your fall is going well. As we near the end of the year, it’s time for another big semi-annual JapanLog newsletter. Please follow the link below to view/download the PDF:
Thank you for your continuing prayers! It’s been just over a month since we got back to Japan from our partnership development time in North America. It’s been a time of settling in, finding our rhythm again, and getting back to work.
On the Drawbridge Creations front, after some fresh promotion, we’ve been getting quite a few orders from missionaries and churches for our Waypoints manga resources in the lead-up to the Christmas outreach season, and have had to order more copies of the booklets from the printers.
Our schedule for the rest of the year is looking pretty busy, with travel and conferences and special ministry opportunities. We’d appreciate your prayers for health, safety and readiness!
Here are some dates to keep in your prayers:
11/10 – Preaching and music ministry at Immanuel Komatsu Church.
11/13-15 – Renown Conference (in Shizuoka), where we’re promoting Drawbridge Creations.
11/16-19 – In Yokohama for meetings with missionaries and church leaders.
11/24 – Preaching/music ministry at Immanuel Fukui Church.
11/29-12/9 – Global Partners Asia-Pacific missionary Conference in Australia.
Thank you as always for your prayers and partnership!
PS – In case you missed it, please check out the latest Drawbridge Dispatch HERE.
Thank you for praying for our month+ in Ontario. We were blessed to be able stay in one place all month and make day trips to various churches and camps in the area, giving us a pretty productive month of partnership development. We’re thankful we could reconnect with partners and churches we hadn’t been to for many years (or for Yoko, ever), as well as make a lot of new connections at camp meetings.
We’re now in the US, in the middle of a short whirlwind tour that took us from western New York to Pensilvania to Delaware, with plans to make another stop in Pensilvania, then Massachusetts and Maine before heading back to New Brunswick, Canada next Thursday (Whew!)
Please pray for safe travel, rest, and for God’s blessing on our ministry on Sunday (in Lock Haven, PA) and Wednesday (in Jonesport, ME).
We are scheduled to return to Japan on September 30, and have been given the green light, but we are still in need of more financial partners, so if you’re not already, would you consider becoming one? Click HERE for more info, or feel free to email us with any questions.
July was a very full month of travels, speaking opportunities and personal reconnections as we continued our partnership development (PD) journey. Since our last update, we’ve had the opportunity to share about the need and work in Japan at four camps (including our beloved Beulah) and four churches, and have made a lot of encouraging connections. We’re grateful for God’s provision and the Church’s hospitality along the way.
And we’re thankful for the PRAYERS of people like YOU!
We are currently in Roblin, Ontario, where we’re staying for most of August. We’re thankful that the Wesleyan church here has provided us with a camper to stay in so we can settle in one place for a while and feel a bit “at home” while we’re not at home.
Please continue to PRAY with us this month as we speak at several churches and two more camps; pray that we can make good connections, build stronger (and more) partnerships, and be a blessing. Please pray, too, for safe travels, good health and rest.
Thank you!
PS — Click HERE info on partnership and giving, or feel free to email us with any questions or updates about supporting our ministry. Thanks again!
