Hi everyone,
I hope you all enjoyed the holiday this past week, whether you celebrated Canada Day on the 1st or Independance Day on the 4th. No holiday in Japan, but Summer is definitely here! That means it’s time for one of my almost-quarterly newsletters. Please follow the link below to read, download or print:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_HFtReSrjVRRHJKUVJsajZhN3c
– Robin
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your prayers this past month. It was a busy one, with lots of travel, meetings, and a couple of preaching opportunities. I’m thankful for God’s protection and guidance.
The photo above is from my visit to the Immanuel Church in Nirayama, where I preached and led worship in English with the help of an interpreter. It’s a very small church, as you can see, but on the day of my visit there were six guests. One of the pastors told me by email later that two young girls who were visiting that day were showing an interest to putting their faith in Jesus. Please pray for these two girls and for the pastors as they follow up with them.
I’d appreciate your prayers as we enter the summer months. Here are some things going on in June you can pray for:
Again, thank you so much for your prayers and support!
– Robin
Hi everyone,
I’ll keep it short this month since I just sent out a full newsletter a couple weeks ago. If you missed that, please follow the link below to check it out:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_HFtReSrjVRREZ0MExiZ2tNcjg
This is a holiday week in Japan, so things are pretty quiet, but for me it’s just the calm before the storm, as May is the beginning of my busy season. I always need people praying but I’d especially appreciate them during the spring and summer. Here are some specific May events to pray about:
Thank you and God bless!
– Robin
Hi everyone,
Spring has come, which means it’s time for another one of my almost-quarterly JapanLog Newsletters. Please follow the link below to read and/or download:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_HFtReSrjVRREZ0MExiZ2tNcjg
Thanks,
– Robin
Hi everyone,
This month’s photo is of our Global Partners / World Gospel Mission team in Tokyo, at the Immanuel Church annual conference. It was great catching up with Japanese pastors from around Japan as well as these fellow missionaries.
Spring is transition time in Japan, and since there are several pastors retiring this year, there are a lot of churches going through pastoral transitions. Please pray for these pastors and churches as they adjust to these changes.
As I mentioned last month, I’m starting a hiking ministry with a friend (Kenji) from my church. We’ve been to the mountains twice since then for our first couple of adventures. Please continue to pray for our safety and for God’s guidance as this new ministry takes shape.
This month, I’d especially appreciate your prayers for our English ministry event on Easter Sunday (4/16). Pray that many of my English students will come out to celebrate with us, connect with the church and hear about the Good News about Easter.
Here are some other dates to pray for in April:
4/7 — English Cafe
4/12 — Leading worship at Prayer Meeting
4/13 — Easter Brunch for one of our English Bible study groups
4/23 — My monthly English Bible Study
Thank you for your partnership with our mission in Japan through your faithful prayers and giving! You are much appreciated! Happy Easter!
– Robin
Hi everyone,
In February we completed our second year with our current kids English class. As you can see from the above photo, they’re an energetic bunch, and it’s a lot of work keeping up with them; but we have a lot of fun together.
As I’ve mentioned before, most of my students in all 4 of my English classes (3 for adults, 1 for kids) are from non-Christian backgrounds. I’m thankful for the relationships being developed between our church and community through our English ministry here, and that little by little we’re getting to sow Kingdom seeds in their lives. During this month’s English Bible study, we had some really good conversation about Jesus, heaven and the Gospel, and I think I was able to help the two non-Christians present see some major differences between Christianity and other religions.
Please keep praying for the students, families and friends we’re connecting with through our English ministry at Immanuel Nagoya Church. Also, here are some upcoming dates to keep in prayer about:
3/3 — English Cafe
3/4 — Mountain climbing with friends that I’m starting a new climbing ministry with. This is kind of a “test run” for this ministry which we’ll be doing once a month starting this month. Meanwhile, a couple of American missionary friends will be covering my English class that day.
3/15-16 — The Immanuel Church Annual Conference in Tokyo. Pray for productive meetings, vision and direction for our partner denomination in Japan; and for the churches and pastors going through transitions this year.
3/22 — Leading worship at my church’s prayer meeting.
If you’re up for a little more reading, here’s a link to an infographic about the State of Missions in Japan to fuel your prayers some more: https://omf.org/blog/2017/01/17/japan-mission-church-infographic-team/
As always, thank you for your partnership!
– Robin