Thank you for praying for our recent volunteer work. It turned out there were a lot fewer evacuees who ended up staying at our local community centre than expected. But it was good to be able to help out for a couple days, and make some connections with local people too.
In the coming weeks we don’t have any relief-related plans, but as Christian relief efforts in Noto ramp up we’ll no doubt get involved in some way. Meanwhile, please continue to pray for the thousands who have lost their homes, and for the people serving them. There is also risk of a major aftershock, so pray for safety, too.
Meanwhile, the last half of February we have some extra things going on, so we’d appreciate your prayers about the following needs and opportunities.
We are preparing to host another potential missionary on a vision trip from February 17 to 27. He and I will be attending JEMA Connect (a missionary conference) on February 19 to network with the Japan missionary community and promote Drawbridge Creations. Then, Yoko and I are scheduled to lead worship at Immanuel Komatsu Church on the 25th, with our guest taking part in the service as well.
God is answering our prayers for more workers in Japan, and this vision trip is another sign of that! Thank you for your continuing prayers and partnership in God’s mission in Japan!
I’ve been working on some website maintenance lately, so please excuse any hiccups you may be experiencing using the site. It’s a work-in-progress. You may notice that old blog posts are no longer available here, as they have been archived during this process. If for some reason you want to see some of our older updates (2023 and before), please visit our archive site HERE. Thank you for your interest.
Thank you for praying for Japan in the wake of the New Year’s earthquake in the Noto Peninsula. As of this morning, official reports put the number of dead at 232, with 21 people still missing. 26 people remain isolated in five remote villages. Currently there are around 13,934 people staying in 359 evacuation shelters.
Please continue to pray for rescue, relief and repair workers, and for the health, safety and peace of mind of survivors.
Since it will take some time for communities to be rebuilt, many evacuees are now being moved from shelters into more comfortable temporary housing outside of the disaster area. This includes hotels and community centres.
One such centre (a public sports complex) here in Hakusan is welcoming some 600 people. Since this is literally in our neighbourhood, we have signed up as volunteers and will be serving there a few days next week to begin with. Please pray for us, that we can be a blessing and encouragement there.
Meanwhile, Christian relief efforts have also begun, as several organizations and churches are coordinating efforts under the banner of “Noto Help.” There is a lot of work to be done in the coming months. Please pray for the Church and missions community to be united and well-organized in reaching out to those in need, and that God will use these efforts to sow Gospel seeds in this largely unreached area of Japan.
If you would like to donate to these Christian relief efforts, please check out this email from JEMA, which lists up trusted Christian organizations who are engaged in relief work.
If you want a recommendation from us, CRASH Japan is a trustworthy Japanese organization who are well set-up to receive donations from overseas:https://crashjapan.com/en/donate/
Thank you for praying. By now most of you have probably already heard about the major earthquake and tsunami that occurred here in Ishikawa on January 1. It was centred up the coast from us on the Noto Peninsula.
Thankfully, we are safe. We did experience some pretty intense shaking and a tsunami warning. But our immediate area did not sustain much damage from the quake, and the tsunami did not reach us.
But many were not so fortunate. Please join us in praying that rescue workers, supplies, and comfort will reach those in need in a timely manner. Also, since the initial quake, there have been aftershocks occurring several times a day. This is expected to continue throughout the week, so pray for protection and peace of mind.
Lastly, please pray for us as we consider how we can help with relief efforts. We’ve both done relief work before, but this is the first time a disaster like this has happened “in our own backyard.” We are already gathering what information we can from churches and missionaries in the area. Pray that the Church can be united in sharing God’s love with Ishikawa in the weeks and months to come, and that we will be wise and discerning in doing our part.
Thank you for your prayers this past month! In November we hosted a group of six guests from the US on a vision trip — a first for us.
The team was made up of two leaders from GP and four potential future missionaries. It was a short visit but our schedule was full, and included taking part in an English class at Immanuel Komatsu Church and Sunday worship at Immanuel Kanazawa Church. We enjoyed some great conversations about the needs and opportunities in Japan — and of course some culture and food, too!
Meanwhile, there has been a LOT of interest from the missions community in the Waypoints manga booklets we recently released; so much we had to do a second printing! Please pray that God will use this story as it gets shared at outreach events all across Japan this Christmas.
And speaking of Christmas, here are some upcoming Christmas-related ministries we’d appreciate your prayers for:
Dec. 3: Immanuel Kanazawa Church – preaching/music
Dec. 10: Immanuel Komatsu Church – worship leading
Dec. 17: Immanuel Komatsu Church – preaching/music
Thank you for your partnership in the mission here in Japan!
– Robin & Yoko
PS — Some Links:
HERE is our Fall 2023 Newsletter, in case you missed it.
Click HERE if you’d like to do some year-end giving to Drawbridge Creations.
Hope you are doing well! As we speed towards the end of 2023, it’s time for our latest semi-annual update. Please follow this link to view/download the PDF of our latest newsletter:
We had good times of ministry at the Immanuel churches in nearby Kanazawa and not-so-nearby Yokkaichi, with some great interaction with the pastors and members as well.
After that, we spent four days in Gifu attending the 7th Japan Congress on Evangelism (JCE7). It was encouraging to worship and learn together with some 1,200 Japanese pastors and leaders, as well as fellow missionaries, from various denominations across Japan.
Worship time at JCE7
Of course, part of our purpose there was to promote Drawbridge Creations and hand out manga outreach resources, joined by one of our Waypoints artists, Mukai Makito. We made a lot of good connections at our booth, and gave away lots of outreach cards and manga booklets. We’re thankful that many people showed interest in what we’re doing, and hopeful that these resources will help them reach more people for Jesus.
At our booth at JCE7
We’ve also set up a resource page on the Drawbridge website, where people in Japan can order materials from us, and already we’ve received several orders, even without doing much promotion yet. We’re able to give these resources away for free because of the support of people like you! Thank you for partnering with us to resource the Church and reach out to Japanese!
Please PRAY with us this month as we…
Send manga outreach resources to people who ordered them,
Do music ministry at Immanuel Komatsu Church,
Teach an art class at Uchinada Hope International School (10/15),
Take some online leadership training (meaning late nights once a week),
And make plans to host a vision trip team from the US in November.
Lots to pray about, plan for, and prepare, as we get closer to the end of the year.
Hope you have had a great summer! As we shared in our last prayer letter, there is a lot going on with us this fall. Thank you for your prayers as we have been preparing. Now that September is here, it’s time to get moving!
This coming Sunday (9/1) we are doing special ministry (preaching, testimony and music) at a local church — Kanazawa Immanuel Church. Then, next weekend we’re travelling to the Nagoya area, where we’ll be doing more ministry, as well as promoting our ministry Drawbridge Creations, at Yokkaichi Immanuel Church (9/17).
Then, that week (9/19-22) we are attending the Japan Congress on Evangelism (JCE7), an inter-denominational ministry conference, in Gifu. We’ve reserved space at the conference for a booth to promo Drawbridge Creations, and will be debuting our first printed manga product there. Here’s a look at the cover:
If you’re interested in reading more about this manga and all the other stuff going on with Drawbridge, please read our latest Drawbridge DispatchHERE, and sign up for that email list if you want HERE.
PLEASE PRAY!
We’d really appreciate your prayers for our final prep, travel and ministry this month. Pray that we can make good connections, be open to God’s leading, and be a blessing wherever we are. And pray, too, that God will keep us safe and in good health through this busy season.
Thank you as always for your prayers and partnership!
Speaking at Uchinada Bible Church (screenshot from the video)
Hi everyone,
Hope you’re having a great summer and staying cool!
Thank you for your prayers over the past month.
As we shared in last month’s letter, on July 26 we had the opportunity to speak at a prayer meeting in nearby Uchinada. We had a great time connecting with the church that morning, sharing about our ministry with Drawbridge Creations, as well as giving a short message. We also had the opportunity to chat with the people who came and answer some of their questions. It was an encouraging time.
Now that we are well into August, we are busy preparing for fall. Specifically, we have a LOT going on in September, including some speaking opportunities at churches, as well as promoting Drawbridge at a large conference. We’re also prepping online content for Waypoints, as well as putting together our first printed manga. And we’ve got music ministry at our church in Komatsu this month, too.
Please pray that we can stay on top of it all, stay healthy, focus on what’s important, and remember WHY we’re doing it all — to move God’s mission forward in Japan.
Hope you’re doing well. As we mentioned in our previous prayer letter, the last week of July we had the opportunity to travel to Europe for a conference and some vacation time.
The conference, held in Greece, was the Global Partners missionary summit, a rare gathering for all GP missionaries serving around the world. It was an encouraging time of worship, learning and fellowship. It was also an opportunity to reflect on the mission; on GP’s past, present and future; and on our place in it. To be reminded that our mission is not actually our mission, but God’s mission, which are invited to be a part of. So God’s mission is our mission (not the other way around).
And as a bonus, we also got to do a little sight-seeing while we were there.
At the Acropolis in Athens on a very hot day
We’re thankful for this time away, but also to be back in Japan.
Here are some ministries and needs to be praying for:
1. This coming Sunday (7/23) we lead worship at Immanuel Komatsu Church. Please pray for God’s leading and anointing, and for Him to strengthen our voices, which aren’t at 100% at the moment.
2. Next Wednesday (7/26) we’re scheduled to speak at a prayer meeting at Uchinada Bible Church. Please pray for us as we promote Drawbridge Creations, as well as share a short message and maybe a song.
3. Please pray, too, as we plan and prepare for the rest of the year. We’re currently prepping content for the next few months of Waypoints, and planning ahead for some travel, ministry and promo work we’ve got scheduled in the Fall.
Thank you as always for your prayers and giving! We appreciate your partnership in God’s mission in Japan!
