Sufferin’ in Suffern

OK, I’m not suffering… but I AM in Suffern, NY… and trying unsuccessfully to be clever, it would seem. Here’s a list-form update of recent happenings:

1. I was at Beulah Camp for about a week, where I caught up with bunches of people, heard some good preaching and music, and was ordained as a minister in the Wesleyan church. I also got to share briefly about our ministry in Japan during one of the missions moments.

2. I traveled to PA, where I spoke at a supporting church this past Sunday. My former youth paster is the pastor there now, so I had a good time catching up with him and the family. And a ministry team from Bethany Bible College did the worship music for the service. It was good hanging out with them, too.

3. Tuesday I traveled to NY, where I’m staying with friends here in Suffern before heading to Syracuse tomorrow for some ministry there on Sunday. One more night here, so we’re heading into New York City for some fun. I’m also craving some New York pizza.

4. Monday I’ll be heading to Delaware, where I’ll be hanging out for about a week. Next weekend I’ve got another camp and two churches in that area to minister and support raise at.

5. Then, around the 27th I’ll be back in NB to prepare to go back to Japan (Lord willing) in early August.

Continued prayers are much appreciated!

(posted on July 16, 2010)

July Prayer Letter

Hi everyone,

Good news! I’ve reached “financial clearance” status with Global Partners, meaning that my support is about where it needs to be and I’m on track to return to Japan in August.  There are still a bunch of details to be worked out over the next month, so please be in prayer that these will go quickly and smoothly — especially my visa application. I’m hoping to be back in Japan in early August for a couple of youth events.

Meanwhile, July will keep me busy, on the road again.  Please pray for safe travels, friendly border guards, and and fruitful ministry.

Here’s my July itinerary:

July 1-9 — Beulah Camp & District Conference, NB
July 11 — Hillview Wesleyan Church, Lock Haven, PA
July 18 – Lyncourt Wesleyan Church, Syracuse, NY
July 23-24 – Chesapeake District Camp Meeting, Denton, MD
July 25 – AM – Calvary Wesleyan Church, Harrington, DE
July 25 – PM – Elkton Wesleyan Church, MD

Thanks for your prayers and financial support!

– Robin

(posted on June 30, 2012)

Good News!

I’ve received word today from Global Partners that I’ve reached “financial clearance” status, meaning essentially that I’ve reached my support raising goals. There are still a bunch of details to be worked out before I can actually buy a plane ticket — the biggest detail being my visa application — but this is a big relief and means that I’m on track for returning to Japan sometime in August.  Details will follow as stuff gets worked out. Please be in prayer.

(posted June 22 2010)

Support Update

I don’t like for every post on this blog to be about financial support, but that’s the phase of ministry I’m in right now, so…

I just checked my totals this morning and it looks like I’ve reached the 90% mark towards my faith promise goal. I’m expecting a commitment from at least one other church, so it’s probably safe to say I’m actually over 90% already.

Meanwhile, I received an email from my pastor in Nagoya, telling me that the church may have a room for me after all. It needs some renovations before it’s “livable”, so I will need to pay rent… but it will be half (or less) of what I would have paid for an outside apartment. It also means that I may not need to raise that start-up fund after all, or at least that it will be less, because there will be less up-front costs involved.  This is good news.

If anyone’s been thinking of joining my support team, now would be a great time. I need that last 10% to come in quickly if I’m to get to Japan by August. Check out the Support page for more info.

(Posted Tuesday, June 8, 2010)

(Slightly Early) June Prayer Letter

Hi everyone,

Greetings from Napanee, Ontario! I’ve been traveling in Ontario for about 2 weeks now, speaking at several churches and building my support team.  It’s been going really well.  I’ve been shown great hospitality everywhere I’ve gone — a great reminder of how big God’s family really is!

The good news is that I’m only about $9000 away from reaching my Faith Promise target. And I’m waiting for official word from a couple of churches whose commitments will probably cut that in half.  So in reality it’s more like $4000!

I’d been wondering for a while if August was a realistic target date, but now it’s starting to look like I will indeed get back to Japan by then. Of course, I still need the rest of those support commitments to come in, as well as my visa application to be processed in time.  Please pray for everything to come together quickly!

If you’d like more information on financially supporting this ministry, please visit the support page at my new blog:

http://japanlog.tumblr.com/support

Please also be in prayer for safe travels as I return to New Brunswick next week. 

Thank you so much for your prayers during this busy time of ministry, support raising and preparation!

God bless,

– robin

(posted May 29, 2010)

On Last Legs & Loose Ends

I’m on the last leg of my Ontario tour. Just two more churches to speak at on Sunday, in Roblin and Napanee.  I’ve enjoyed this trip but I’m ready to be done. Ready to be home. Ready to be not living out of a suitcase for a change.

Actually, I’m feeling about ready to be done home ministries as a whole. At this point, I won’t be back in Japan any earlier than August, but I’m feeling good to know that August is a distinct and likely possibility. Of course, it won’t happen without a little more support. And I’ve still got a few more churches to visit, one more big road trip to the US in July, and of course a visa to get… along with a few other details.

Please pray that it all comes together in time. August is not far away, and that’s encouraging. But there’s still a lot of loose ends to tie up.

(Posted:Fri.5/28/2010)