Thank you for your prayers over the past month. Here is a quick update:
1. Drawbridge Creations — Things are moving forward as we prepare to launch this new creative outreach ministry. For details, check out the latest Drawbridge Dispatch newsletter HERE, and let us know if you’d like to subscribe to that mailing list.
2. The Japanese Church — Our partner denomination in Japan, Immanuel General Mission, held their General Conference recently (online) and have elected new leaders. Their Annual Conference, which is a larger gather for all the pastors and leaders, when pastors receive their new assignments, is happening on March 25 (also online). Please pray for the Japanese church during these challenging times!
3. Japan — As you may have heard, in February a large earthquake struck northeastern Japan, the same area hit by the 3/11 disaster ten years ago. Fortunately there was no tsunami this time so the death toll has been low, but as you can imagine it is a difficult time for those in the affected area. Meanwhile, Japan is still dealing with COVID-19 and vaccinations are just beginning. Please pray for Japan!
As mentioned in our previous prayer letter, we are relocating to Ishikawa Prefecture as we begin a new missionary term here in Japan. Since then we’ve found an apartment in Hakusan City and have started to get moved in. Of course, most of our stuff has been in storage in Nagoya since last summer when we returned to Canada. So this past week we paid a visit to Nagoya.
Visiting Nagoya gave us a good opportunity to catch up with people there, and to finally see the new building in person. We were encouraged to see how God has been working at Immanuel Nagoya Church, not only through their building project, but also in that even in a year when they can’t do outreach events due to Covid, new people are connecting with the church and coming to faith in Christ. In fact, this Sunday while we were there, they held their first baptism in the new building!
Praise God that He’s not limited by the things the challenges we’re facing in 2020, and that He’s still at work in Japan and around the world!
Thank you for being a part of what God is doing here in Japan through your prayers and giving!
End of year giving:
If you’re looking to do some end of year giving, we’d really appreciate you remembering the mission here in Japan! If you’ve been unable to make an ongoing commitment, but would like to make a one-time donation (or if you’re already a partner but would like to give an extra gift) please consider giving to our Drawbridge Creations start-up fund. Click HERE for more info or to give online.
Thank you again for your partnership! We pray that no matter what you’re going through in this challenging year, you will experience God’s blessings this Christmas season.
Thank you for praying for our trip! Yoko and I arrived back in Japan on the evening of October 17 and spent our first two weeks self-quarantining at the Wesleyan Mission House in Yokohama. In spite of being stuck in one place, we have enjoyed the time it has allowed us to not only rest but also plan and prep for what’s next. This week we’re still in Yokohama connecting with fellow missionaries and getting some work done before moving on.
Next Steps:
Speaking of moving on… We have been praying for some time about the possibility of relocating. Since our new ministry is not going to be limited to a specific location, in light of Yoko’s father’s passing, we are moving to Ishikawa Prefecture. This will allow us to be closer to Yoko’s mother, as well as give us a fresh start in a new place as we begin a new chapter of life and ministry together. It turns out there are fewer missionaries in that area, too, so there is definitely a need.
Prayer Points:
Please pray for God to provide the housing and ministry space we need; for God to lead us to the right home church and local ministries; and for God to lead our next steps toward launching our new online outreach, Drawbridge Creations.
Financial Partnership Update:
Good news! We are now at about 95% of our faith promise goal! Getting to 100% would really help us shift our focus to the ministry here in Japan. Please pray we’ll get there soon!
If you’re not already a financial partner, please consider clicking HERE to make a faith promise.
End of year gifts: If you’re unable to make an ongoing commitment, but would like to make a donation (or if you’re already a partner but would like to give an extra gift) please consider giving to our Drawbridge Creations start-up fund. Click HERE for more info or to give online.
Thank you again for all your prayers, giving and encouragement!
Thank you for your prayers this past month! This month’s news is in the form of our latest quarterly newsletter, so please follow the link below to read/download/print:
If you’re in a hurry, here’s the short version: Yoko and I are on our way back to Japan on October 16! Thank you to all of you who have helped to make this happen. Please pray for us as go through this time of transition.
It’s been a long Partnership Development… but we are in the homestretch now! Thank you to all who have prayed, given and made faith promises to help us get this far!
We have been talking to GP and have made some budget adjustments that, in addition to the healthy cash balance in our ministry fund, will allow us to return to Japan soon — if we can reach $6600 in our faith promise total. Here’s the breakdown:
New target = $7590/month (US) Current total = about $6328 September goal = at least $6600
So that is this month’s goal! We are aiming to go back to Japan in October, but we need at least $272/month (US) in new faith promises first. Would you consider helping us reach this goal?
Please pray! And if you’re not already partnering with us, we’d appreciate your consideration!
