Team from First Baptist Church Arlington

August 11, 2014

We were blessed to host a team from our sending church, First Baptist Church Arlington.  They came to help with our VBS at Taitomi Church and Sakata Mission Church.  It was their second time to come to Japan and we were excited that they wanted to come back.  Mary, Martha, and Kristen were so much fun to have around on both trips.  They are teachers by profession and it shows because they have connected with the kids so well.  The team also went with us to Sakata to encourage the pastor’s family and also to minister to children in the community.  It was the first time that they met Susanne who was already hard at work helping the Fujii family.  One of the most touching moments was when we arrived in Sakata.  When class started the kids sang the welcome song that Kirsten taught them two years ago.  It was awesome to hear them singing in English to the team.  It was great to see so many friendships rekindled throughout the two weeks this team served with us in Japan.  As we drove to the train station to send the team off I asked them what was one thing they would remember most about this trip.  Kristen was so impressed with the patience of the Christians here who minister in a very difficult religious setting.  Mary and Martha both agreed what a blessing it was to see the kids again and to share God’s love with them.  Please pray that the Spirit will continue to work on the hearts of everyone they met.  This was truly an encouraging group of ladies.  Thank you as always Mary, Martha, and Kristen, for being here. We look forward to serving with you again.  And thank you to FBCA and to their families for allowing them to be serve.

They prepared for many fun activities.

They prepared for many fun activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids had so much fun!

Kids had so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were so proud!

They were so proud!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They learned many Bible songs.

They learned many Bible songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These kids loved the special gift from Texas!

These kids loved the special gift from Texas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visiting the Christian kindergarten in Sakata.

Visiting the Christian kindergarten in Sakata.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved spending time with the Fujii family and the church members.

Loved spending time with the Fujii family and the church members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

A Very Special Friend

August 6, 2014

We hosted a very special friend in July.  We have known Carolyn for many years.  She came all the way from Canada to attend our wedding in Texas.  Yu first met her at church in 1997 and Carolyn was also a school teacher at Yu’s high school.  Yu’s family really enjoyed spending time with Carolyn while she was in Sendai for three years.  For two weeks we got to celebrate many old friendships as people came to see Carolyn.  We were blessed as a family because the boys had someone that never stopped loving on them.  Carolyn also helped with our Kids English Class and Adult English Bible Study.  She shared her testimony which encouraged us so much.  I must say there wasn’t a single time that Carolyn was not smiling or thanking God for the chance to rekindle old friendships.  She now lives in Canada but her time here proved one thing if only one thing and that is that the fellowship one has with fellow believers is tremendously important.  And to see how much a life has changed because of the friendship you started many years prior is priceless.  Thank you, Carolyn, for coming back to Japan and spending time with us.  And especially thank you for allowing us to the opportunity to witness just how much you cared for the people here and allowed the light of Christ to shine wherever you go.

We got to go on a vacation with her!

We got to go on a vacation with her!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was great to see our friends from English worship service.

It was great to see our friends from English worship service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carolyn sharing her testimony.

Carolyn sharing her testimony.

Categories: Family.

Olivet Team

July 29, 2014

July brought a lot of great moments to our ministry.  This time we want to share about the Hawaii team that came to help with our ministry in Ishinomaki and the Oshika Peninsula.  We were so pleased to have Roger Honda, who came two years ago, come back with this team. We also had Pastor Morita from Olivet Baptist Church and Pastor Watanabe, his wife, and son from their Japanese Ministry come as well.  Every one of the members brought their smiles.  The ladies did an excellent job of singing and hula dancing.  As always, we were amazed to see just how prepared they were with every detail.  We visited a preschool where many of the children lost homes and loved ones.  It was so joyous to see the kids laughing and smiling as the team loved on them and shared Christ’s love.  Thank you again to each one of the members and to Olivet Baptist Church for sending such a great group of Christ centered believers.

Singing a song called "God bless you"

Singing a song called “God bless you”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful hula dance

Beautiful hula dance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craft Time

Craft Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Photo

Group Photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful fellowship at our church

Wonderful fellowship at our church

 

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News.

A Helper Sent

July 22, 2014

While we were in Texas, we had the privilege to meet a young lady with a tremendous heart for the Lord.  Susanne Shaw answered the help wanted post for the Sakata Mission Church.  As some of you know, we have worked with the Pastor and his family for some time now.  One of the biggest needs they have is someone to help with their English program.  This program helps many kids in the community.  Many of which come from single parent homes.  Susanne was a big help with our Kids English Class the two weeks she was in Sendai.  During that time, her mom joined her on the way to Japan.  It was great to be able to show Susanne and her mom the places she would be working this summer and to meet the good folks in Sakata and Sendai.  We will be checking on her progress over the next few weeks.  We know she has been a huge help already and we continue to pray that God will use her mightily.

Dinner with Fujii Family

Dinner with Fujii Family

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

Hawaii Team 2014

May 27, 2014

For the Japanese video go here.

This year we had another great team from Hawaii come to Sendai.  As always, they were an encouragement to everyone they met.  They loved on our boys and we were truly blessed by all the team members.  We hosted another Hawaiian Festival at our church and several new faces came to win prizes, sing songs, make leis, eat spam musubi, fellowship, and more importantly, to hear about God’s love.  The faces of the people in Ishinomaki were lifted as many rekindled friendships from two years ago.  Everyone was deeply moved by the team’s testimony.  Thank you again to First Baptist Church of Pearl City and Waialae Baptist Church for sending these messengers of God’s love.

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Hosting a mission team from Hawaii!

May 1, 2014

We are hosting a mission team from Hawaii this week and next week.  They are from Waialae Baptist Church and FBC Pearl City.  Eight people are coming and seven of them were here two years ago.  We are excited to have them back again!  They will be serving at local churches and in the disaster area.  The following is the prayer calendar that the team has made for this trip.  We appreciate your prayers as they minister to so many people!  We also want to ask you to pray for extra strength for us and our boys!

May 1: Pray for safe travel to Sendai, second ministry area.

May 2: Pray for missionaries Michael and Yu Towery at Taitomi Church. Pray for the mothers and children as the team interacts with them. Most of them do not come from Christian backgrounds.

May 3 Pray for the Hawaiian Festival community outreach to families around Taitomi Church. Pray for good weather, a great turnout and the opportunity for the team to share the Gospel.

May 4 Pray for the Sunday Worship time at Taitomi Church. Pray for the work that missionaries Tony and Marsha Woods are involved with in Ishinomaki and for the English Bible Study and worship at Sendai Baptist Church. Pray for Lynne as she shares her testimony.

May 5 Pray for those involved with the Nozomi Project. Pray for people still living in temporary housing in Oshika. Pray for Miyuki and her daughter.

May 6: Pray for the people in the temporary housing in Ishinomaki. Pray for the team’s sensitivity to the people as they listen to the residents’ stories and as they minister through music, games, and crafts.

May 7: Pray for the Tokyo Baptist Church ministry in rest home in Ishinomaki with Tony and Marsha Woods. Pray for safe travel back to Sendai.

May 8 Pray for missionaries Tony and Marsha Woods and Michael and Yu Towery and their ongoing work in Japan.

May 9 Pray for the team’s safe return home and the ongoing work in Japan.

Thank you in advance for your prayers!  Looking forward to sharing the photos and stories!

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News, Prayer Needs.

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Happy Easter!

April 21, 2014

The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here! He has risen, just as he said he would! Come and see the place where he was lying. Go quickly! Tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” Matthew 28:5-7

Happy Easter from Japan! He is risen!

We hope you had a blessed Easter.  Our Easter was filled with joy and gratitude.

Recently, many Japanese stores are selling Easter related items such as egg shaped cookies and stuffed bunnies, and there are signs saying “Happy Easter”.   However, if you ask those who are selling them if they know the meaning of Easter, many of they would say no.

In our English classes, we let the kids dye eggs and shared why we celebrate Easter.

With our friend, Sarah, who will be helping us with this class!

With our friend, Sarah, who will be helping us with this class!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They had so much fun!

They had so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We read the children’s Bible to share what Jesus did for us.  Several kids asked us questions after the class and some moms told us they had never heard the story.  Praise God for the opportunity we had to share!

On Sunday, we led the children’s Sunday School class and used the resurrection eggs to share the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  We were encouraged to know many kids could tell us what each item meant.  We could see curiosity in Luke’s eyes as it was his first time to see the resurrection eggs.  As his parents, we have such an important responsibility to teach him about Jesus and we look forward to sharing more in the future.  The kids also had the Easter egg hunt.  We brought lots of plastic eggs and Easter candy from America and they made these sweet kids so happy!  After Sunday School, we had a special worship service where Michael preached.  We are thankful God is using us to deliver His message!  Thank you for praying for us and supporting us!

Listening to the story of the resurrection eggs.

Listening to the story of the resurrection eggs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see her excitement?

Can you see her excitement?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praying for each of them!

The baby on the left came to our church for the first time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter from Japan!

Happy Easter from Japan!

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Ministry Partner Development

April 7, 2014

PrayerCardFront3 Our time state side has been both busy and refreshing.  We are so blessed to be surrounded with so many friends and family who have showered us with love.  However, the time has come for us to go back to Japan and continue the work that God has for us.  We want to thank everyone who has joined our support team.  Your giving has allowed us to not only go back to Japan but continued the ministries that God has laid before us to do.  Your prayers have enabled us throughout the last three years to minister during even the hardest times and will continue to fuel and guide our spirits.  We are faith base supported which means no one church, organization, or individually supports us financially.  Thank you to those who have trusted God by giving.  We are also thankful for our home church, FBC Arlington.

Even though we are going home to Japan, our fund raising will continue.  If you are not a part of our support team yet, we would like to offer you an invitation to join us in furthering the work God is doing in Japan.  Below are links to our support letter, contribution fact sheet, and two videos that help to give perspective to the ministry we have been a part of the past three years.  Please feel free to share this information with others.  We would be glad to hear from them.  Thank you as always and God Bless you!

Support Letter 2014

Contribution Fact Sheet

 

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News, Prayer Needs.

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Happy New Year!

January 10, 2014

Greetings from Texas!

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed new year!  Our Christmas in Japan was filled with joy as we shared the meaning of Christmas with many Japanese people!

We came back to Texas last week and have been adjusting to our new life here.  It took us a while to get over jet lag and cold weather but we are finally feeling better.  It has been fun to see our family and friends.  We know many of you have been praying for us and supporting our ministry in Japan, and we want to thank you.

One of our main goals for this trip is to share what God is doing in Japan and to recruit prayer partners and financial supporters.  We would love to meet with you in person or visit your Sunday School class/church to tell you more about Japan, Japanese people, and our ministries.   Please send us an email at michaelandyu@gmail.com to let us know if you would like to have us.  Also, we want to get to know you better and to know how we can pray for you and your family.  We look forward to seeing you and spending time with you!

We are planning to attend a support raising conference in GA at the end of this month.  We appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this important trip.  We look forward to seeing our friends in that area as well!

Thank you for your prayers and support!  We pray this year brings many blessings to all of you!

Kids English

Kid’s English Christmas Party

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Kid’s English Stocking Craft

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Family Photo

 

Categories: Family, Hope for Japan News.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

November 30, 2013

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Even though people do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Japan, we had a great Thanksgiving dinner/celebration with our dear friends from America!  We also invited our Japanese friend and her daughter to join us and we all enjoyed our time together.

In our English class this week, we told our students about the history of Thanksgiving.  Then we all made a turkey hand and wrote what we are thankful for this year.  As all the kids shared what they wrote, this girl who comes from a non-Christian home said “God” with the sweetest voice.  Then another girl said “Jesus”.  Our hearts were so full!

There are so many things we are thankful for, but we want to thank you for your love, prayers, support, and encouragement!   We wouldn’t be here without you!  And we are grateful God has sent us here to share His love with the people of Japan!

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PS We are still in the process of updating our blog.  Thank you for your patience!

Categories: Family.

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