Greetings from Japan! We pray you and your family are doing well!
Many of you already know that we started a new ministry called “Hope House” where we gather to have fellowships and Bible studies. God has already blessed this ministry so much and we have made new friends at this ministry house.
Recently, we had severe roof damage at Hope House because of strong wind. We contacted several roofers but many of them said they would not be able to help because the current roofing materials were brought from America when the house was built. We spent a lot of time praying and contacting roofers.
Thankfully, we heard from two roofing companies and they came to look at the roof to give us estimates. One company was willing to do a temporary repair so we wouldn’t have a problem with water leak from the snow.
We praise God for answering our prayers and we would like to ask you to pray with us as we continue to pray for His provision and guidance. We are still waiting to get estimates for repairs. When Michael met with them this week, they said it looked like we would have to replace the entire roof which would cost a lot of money. We want to use this house to make Him known among Japanese people. Thank you so much for your prayers!
Greetings from Japan. You may be surprised I am writing a new blog post two days in a row. This is something that has been in my heart for a while. However, it always takes courage to write and ask for more help and support. I was not sure if this would be the right timing because of the holidays and everyone is busy around this time. After praying for several days, God has given me peace to share.
A Growing Problem
In the last month, there were two moms who committed suicide after killing their child(children) in our city. One of these tragedies happened at a house that is about a 10 minutes drive from our church. It’s called “Muri Shinjyuu (forced murder-suicide)” and it happens a lot here in Japan. When a parent believes they have no hope and decides to commit suicide, dad/mom will feeling sorry for a child that will be left behind kills him/her. The frequency of occurrence is numbing people to the point that they are not even surprised or shocked when it happens.
Every time I hear news like this my heart breaks. This time hits me really hard. It happened so close to the community we serve and the child who was killed happened to be my friend’s former student. Just the fact that a parent believes this is the only solution is very heartbreaking.
After discussing this with my good friend/ministry partner, we wanted to take action. We wanted to invite our non-believer mom friends and share the hope we have in Christ. We wanted them to know they can ask for help. And we wanted them to be the ones to offer help to their friends. So that is exactly what we did!
All the moms that came shared that they had struggled with marriage/parenting before, and some of them said they didn’t have anyone they could trust to share their needs and concerns. Everyone agrees with the need and share our vision for “mom’s community”. They asked if we could continue meeting more often and if they could invite their friends.
I have been reflecting and thinking a lot about this community, and there is so much more I want to do and so many more people I want to invite.
A Local Need Revealed
Right after we had one of the fellowships, we also hosted a bazaar (like an inside garage sale) at Hope House to raise money for orphans in India. My friend, who is a single mom, came with her daughter. She shared that she would be leaving her parents’ house to move to an apartment. This is the step that she has been praying/preparing for for a long time. She has worked very hard to be able to provide for her daughter.
I have been praying for them for several years and I am so happy for their new journey. When I asked her how we can help, she was hesitant at first (a typical Japanese person wouldn’t ask for help), but she shared that she doesn’t have anything for her new apartment. Several ladies at our church are trying to provide what we can, but I know the need is great. This is a mom who hasn’t asked for any help. And I know her family can’t help her much (this is one of many reasons she is leaving her parents’ house).
How You Can Help
I am writing this because we know there are many needs. And even though I don’t like to ask for financial help, I know God has sent me here to make Him known and there are many people who love and care about Japanese people. In order for me to continue ministering to these moms and children, I need your help.
As the end of this year approaches, you may be considering supporting ministries with a tax-deductible gift. It is an honor that through your support the people of Japan receive the opportunity to hear the gospel and find hope in Christ. If you would like to give a one-time gift or set up a monthly donation, please go to this link:
We understand that you may not be able to support financially right now. Please remember these moms and children in your prayers. They need lots of prayers. And please pray for those we have not even met yet. We have many ministry goals for 2019 and we value your prayers.
Please know we appreciate each of you so very much. May God fill your heart with His joy and peace as you continue to serve Him.
As we reflect on this year, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness. We faced many challenges in our ministries as well as our daily lives, but God has provided what we needed. We continue to share the good news with Japanese people in this community. We are blessed to be a part of a loving church family and ministry team. Michael enjoys leading the Bible study and worship, and Yu enjoys ministering to moms and children. Luke and Logan are growing up quickly, and they enjoy fishing and playing soccer. They open doors for us to meet new families. Many of them have various needs and we have started a family focused ministry at our new ministry house called “Hope House.” It has already become a place where people receive encouragement and find hope in Christ. We are thankful for your prayers and support. We pray for God’s richest blessings on you and your family.
Our church family
Youth Retreat
Small group
Moms and Kids Ministry
Weekly English Class
We have a baby cousin
Thank you for praying for us and supporting our ministry
I shared about Thanksgiving in our children’s classes and moms’ groups this week, and I asked them what they are thankful for in their lives. Many of them talked about family, friends, food, house, jobs, toys, and different things. But one boy said he is thankful for Jesus, and several moms said they are thankful to God for an opportunity to know more about Him. One mom shared her life has changed so much since she started learning about God. It’s so exciting to see God working in their lives.
We are thankful God has sent us to Japan to make Him known. We also thank God for all our prayer and financial supporters who make it possible for us to share His love with Japanese people. Please know God is working in many ways here in Japan!
Greetings! We pray you are all having a blessed fall season.
The colors of leaves are changing here and they are so beautiful. We wish you could see them in person!
Michael is in America right now to share what God is doing in Japan. He will be in Texas, Florida, and Tennessee this month. He would love to meet with you in person or talk on the phone. Please email us at michaelandyu@gmail.com if you can make time to talk to him! We thank you in advance!
We have seen many photos of the fall festivals and special events held at churches over the last week. Instead of having the annual fall festival, we decided to have the fall party which was a smaller event, but all the kids and moms seemed to have a great time. Some of these moms started coming to the weekly “Bible Cafe” which is a small Bible study held at our church. And these children get excited when we share the Bible stories. Please pray these families will come to know Christ. And please pray dads will be willing to attend our special events!
They did a great job singing songs and reading a story aloud together!
Thank you so much for praying for us and Japanese people. As many of you know, this past week was a difficult week for Japan. A big typhoon hit west Japan and a strong earthquake hit northern island. Many lives were lost, people lost everything they owned, and there are those who are without power and water.
It reminded us of what we went through after the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear plant disaster in 2011. As soon as we heard about the news, we started contacting our friends who live in those areas. Some of our dear friends had to evacuate. Their children are still having a difficult time sleeping because of fear. Some of our sister churches were damaged.
We are working with our church as well as churches in affected areas to help those in need. We would appreciate your continued prayers for those who are struggling and grieving. We know it will be a long road of recovery. If you would like to give, please go to this link https://sending.org/worker/michael-and-yu-towery and add instructions to the finance office so we know it’s for the disaster relief. We truly appreciate your love, prayers, and encouragement. We are praying for America as Hurricane Florence is approaching.
God has blessed me with a wonderful church family and it made me realize I have so many things to be thankful for.
I love all the generations that are represented here. We can learn so much from each other. I am also thankful to have a wonderful pastor!
Some of these kids have gone through a difficult time. One boy lost his dad and one girl almost died because of an accident. One college student lost her grandparents in the tsunami. Their smile is a reminder of His faithfulness.
Every summer, we have a special worship service to think about peace. The oldest church member shared her testimony as a war survivor. Her testimony impacted many children including our boys. We had a meaningful conversation on our way home.
I am so thankful for these women at our church. It’s a blessing to have a group of women who pray for each other.
I love my church family! I pray we will continue to love each other and share His love with people around us. I am also thankful for our church family in Texas and those who are praying for us and supporting our ministry. I am praying you all are blessed by your church family as well.
Hello from Japan! We pray you are all enjoying the summer. A big typhoon just passed West Japan and it’s so hot now. Please pray for those who were affected by the heavy rain.
July went by quickly! One BIG praise is we have a new brother in Christ. Mr. Saito was baptized on July 8th. His wife and two children are believers and they prayed for his salvation for the last 18 years. Our God is so faithful!
Please pray for Mr. Saito as he begins his new journey as a follower of Christ!
We went to Tokyo to renew Logan’s passport and we had a chance to see our dear friends from DBU! We enjoyed meeting their baby girl!
Thankful for good friends!
We partnered with another church to host the Children’s Camp. Most of these children came from non-Christian homes. It was encouraging to see their excitement as they heard the gospel.
Please pray for the seeds that were planted.
Our friend from our sending church came to visit us for a few days. It was so good to see him again and we had a great time together. Thank you, Joel, for coming to see us and encouraging us!
With men at our church. The man wearing a black shirt is the one who got baptized.
We were all blessed by the gifts Joel brought from America! Our friends from Sunday School class are so generous and we appreciate their support!
Huge thank you to everyone who blessed us with these gifts!
We have been busy working at Hope House. We will be able to share more information soon, but there is a lot to be done in order for the house to be ready to be used for ministries. We invited one of our Japanese friends to Hope House to have dinner since she will be moving to another country soon. She thought this ministry house could bless many people because of its size and warm atmosphere.
Please pray for God’s provision for Hope House.
We helped with the VBS at our sister church. About 20 children gathered from 3 different churches. All the kids seemed to have fun learning about the Bible, getting to know each other, singing, and playing games!
These children represent the future of Japanese Christians! Please pray for them!
We had a farewell party for our Korean friend who has been attending our English Bible Study and Worship for the last 6 months. We really enjoyed seeing him every week and our boys loved playing baseball with him!
Please pray for Mr. Yu who is wearing a white t-shirt. He will be going to Korea next week.
Before we close, we want to share two big prayer requests. Yu and the boys were in a car accident this month. Thankfully, no one was injured. However, the car needs to be fixed and our insurance will not cover everything. Right now, we don’t have enough funds to cover the cost. It has been such an overwhelming process for us. We believe God is in control and He will provide everything we need. Please pray with us for His provision.
Second prayer request is for our dog, RT(Rat Terrier). Recently, he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, and our vet believes he has a few months to live. Needless to say, we are all so shocked and discouraged. Luke is having such a tough time with this. Please pray we can provide the care our dog needs and we can all feel God’s presence and peace during this time.
The one on the right is RT and the one on the left is Eli. We brought them from America 7 years ago.
Thank you all so much for your prayers! When we get discouraged, we think of those who are praying for us and supporting us, and we are reminded so many prayer warriors are praying for us. Thank you from the bottom of our heart! We pray for God’s peace, guidance, and provision for all of you.
Greetings from Japan! We pray you are all doing well.
It’s finally getting warmer here in Sendai. It’s in the middle of the rainy season and all the flowers are so beautiful!
We struggled with some health issues this past month but we are all doing better. Please pray for our health as we begin this busy summer season!
We have a huge praise to share! One of the men that we have been ministering to for a while has decided to accept Christ as His Savior and he will be baptized in July. His family has been praying for his salvation for the last 20 years. Please pray for Mr. Saito as he prepares for his baptism.
Here are some photos from this past month!
We were honored to be a part of the special concert with members from 6 local churches!
Kids in our English classes love Mr. Michael!
We went to the local nursing home to deliver flowers.
Our church hosted a summer concert and there were more than 10 people who came to our church for the first time.
Yu loves leading the children’s program at church. They made Father’s Day cards for all the men at church.
Thank you so much for praying for us! We appreciate each of you!
Greetings from Japan! It finally started getting warmer here and we are enjoying this beautiful spring season. We pray you are all well.
We would like to share some of our memories from this spring. It has been a busy season with many exciting news! It’s hard to list all, but hope these photos will help you get to know more about us and our friends here!
We helped lead the Youth and Young Adult Retreat at our sister church. There were many students who attended for the first time.
Yu leads the Children’s Fellowship at our church every month. We are thankful these children are learning more about Christ.
Two children were baptized on Easter. What a blessing it was to see their joy when they shared their testimonies with the church family.
Michael leads the Bible Study and Worship on Sunday evening at our sister church. It’s a great group of both believers and non-believers from different countries.
We had a BBQ fellowship one Sunday evening after the worship service. We enjoy partnering with our missionary friends.
Yu went to South Korea to share about our ministries in Japan. She had a great time visiting several churches and meeting with friends.
Yu enjoys leading a moms group every week.
We had a farewell party for a family who moved to another part of Japan. We learned so much from this family.
We welcomed two friends from our sending church. We are thankful for their encouragement. They helped with our English ministry.
Logan turned 5! We celebrated his birthday with our friends!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! As you may already know, we have been praying and preparing to start a new ministry for families, single moms, and senior citizens. We have some exciting updates to share soon. Please pray for God’s guidance as we seek His will! Thank you for partnering with us to share His love with Japanese people.
