March Prayer Letter

by | Mar 1, 2012 | Ministry News

Building Spiritual Bridges Teaching English!

Kids!

Hi everyone,

Greetings from Nagoya, Japan! I have lots to be thankful for and lots to pray about this month. Please join me!

The above picture is from my kids’ English class. We just completed our first year with this group, and it looks like most (if not all) of them will be continuing during year 2. Most of these kids come from non-Christian homes; in fact, only one is from our church.  In March we will be starting a second kids’ class, with 9 signed up so far, all of whom are from outside the church. I’m so thankful to see our church building relationships with families in our community through this ministry! Please pray for these kids, their families, and this important part of my ministry.

As you may remember, I also teach 3 adult English classes. Most of these students come from outside the church as well. There are a couple of students in one of these classes who seem to be becoming more open to the things of God. Please pray these students — and for me as I try to speak God’s truth and love into their lives.

Recently the Immanuel Church elected our new daihyo (president or superintendent) Rev. Fujimoto. Please pray for this time of transition, our leaders, and for our annual national conference being held March 19-21.

And last, but not least, I would ask you to pray for Japan. It has been almost one year since the March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake.  As memorial events are held, especially some big outreach events in the Tohoku area itself, pray that God would turn people’s hearts to Jesus.  Many seeds have been planted over the past year as Christian organizations and churches have reached out in practical ways to those affected by the disaster. Pray that God will bring a harvest.

Thank you so much for your partnership, through prayers and giving, in building spiritual bridges in Japan!

– Robin

What I Saw in Northeast Japan (video)

by | Nov 26, 2011 | Uncategorized, Videos

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/32665016 w=480&h=270]

This is what I saw during my relief work trip to Tohoku (Northeastern Japan) this past week.

While I stayed in Sendai, the work we did was in the city of Ishinomaki, which, as you can see from the video, suffered a lot of damage during the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. And, over 9 months later, there is still a lot of work to be done in rebuilding the area and restoring people’s normal lives and livelihoods.

I worked with an organization called JIFH (Japanese International Food for the Hungry). In addition to bringing supplies and encouragement to people living in the temporary housing units, JIFH is helping to clean up and re-build damaged homes and places of business. We worked in damaged houses tearing down walls and pulling out flooring and plumbing fixtures so that carpenters could go in and replace the damaged ones.

I felt like my part was a very small one, but it was a privilege to be there to help in any way I could. There aren’t enough resources or people to get the work done quickly, but things are going more quickly where there are volunteers, churches and relief organizations lending a hand.

Thank you for praying for Japan.

Note: The song I used in this video is called “Blackwater” by Fatblueman, and can be purchased via iTunes, with proceeds going towards Japan earthquake relief work:

http://itunes.apple.com/album/black-water-in-support-japan/id453606035

Untitled

by | Jun 30, 2011 | Uncategorized, Videos

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/24081017 w=400&h=225]

I posted this on my Facebook about a month ago, but for those of you who didn’t see it there I thought I would share it here as well. This has no connection to my ministry but is a good look at north-eastern Japan 2 months after the disaster, and what God is doing there. A little long in internet-video terms, but worth taking the time to watch, for sure.

(posted June 30 2011)

Tokyo

by | Mar 14, 2011 | Ministry News

Well, it was a bit of a challenge getting here, but I’ve safely arrived in Higashi-Kurume, Tokyo. They are scheduling rotating blackouts throughout the city to conserve power, so some of the train lines were not operating. I got within a 2-hour walk or a 30-minute taxi ride, so I opted for the taxi, even though it was ridiculously expensive.

Before deciding to take the taxi, I was going to stop at a fast food joint for lunch, but the power was out and all the restaurants in the neighborhood were closed. Convenience stores were open but the shelves were almost empty.

The amazing thing is how safe and calm everything is in spite of the disruptions. If this were another country, there would be looting and rioting in the streets.

I’m working at CRASH’s command center, helping with communications. Basically we are trying to organize and mobilize the potentially thousands of volunteers that will helping with the relief efforts, and trying to ensure that the teams sent out into the affected areas are able to communicate with HQ. Lots of logistics to be worked out; lots of learning on the go. Please pray for things to go smoothly, especially as we have to continue working around power outages.

I’ll try to keep you posted. For more frequent, shorter updates you can follow my twitter feed.

(Mon. Mar. 14, 11:20 PM)