Hope your summer is getting off to a good start! In Ishikawa, it looks like we’re just entering the rainy season. Thank you for your prayers this past month. Here are some updates and prayer requests for June:
1. Thank you for praying for our ministries at the Immanuel churches in Fukui and Komatsu last month. God lead, protected and blessed us!
2. We are now attending Immanuel Kanazawa Church as our “home church.” This is an attempt to centre our ministry closer to where we live. There are actually two Immanuel churches in Kanazawa, and both have asked us to work with their young people (mostly university students). This Sunday we went to an adventure park with some of them! Please pray for God’s leading in our church life and local ministries.
3. In June, we are planning to host a team from The Well in Christchurch, New Zealand. This is a Wesleyan-Methodist Church with a heart for Japan and a desire to partner with our work here. This visit is a vision trip with the purpose of learning more about the needs and opportunities in Japan. Please pray for a God’s blessing on this trip.
4. Also in June, I (Robin) am scheduled to spend two weeks in the Philippines attending a Leadership Matters Course. With new workers (Lord willing) coming soon, GP has named me mission director for Japan and recommended this class to me as part of my preparation.
5. Our new missionary Mickey Veach is making good progress in his support raising. We are planning for his arrival in October. Meanwhile he continues to engage with us remotely as one of the writers for our online manga series Waypoints. The latest story is one Mickey wrote, and is scheduled to go online this Friday! Please pray for this ministry, and for Mickey’s continuing partnership development.
As our busy season begins and we have lots on our minds, we’re thankful for partners like you who hold us up in prayer and support the mission in Japan. Thank you for being on our team!
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
