Spring Events Part 1

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June 13, 2013

We had so many exciting events this spring!  Spring was such a busy season but it was filled with great memories.  God truly blessed us.  This is just a quick summary of these events.

Trip to South Korea:  We went to South Korea to visit our friends who helped us while we were there in 2011 and also to attend our friends’ wedding.  It was so good to see every one of them!  Ever since we left South Korea in 2011, many of them prayed for us and gave us financial help as we worked on the disaster relief.  We wanted to thank them in person and we are thankful God gave us this opportunity to do so!  We just love our South Korean friends and their heart for God!

Can you tell Luke was excited to see them again?

At our friends’ wedding.  Can you tell Luke was excited to see them again?

These friends came to Japan to help us in 2011. They are coming back this summer!

These friends came to Japan to help us in 2011. They are coming back this summer!

We visited Dr. Billy Kim at FEBC (Korean Christian Broadcasting Company). Dr. Kim donated so much money for the disaster relief work in Japan and we can't thank him enough!

We visited Dr. Billy Kim at FEBC (Korean Christian Broadcasting Company) and shared what God is doing in Japan.  Dr. Kim donated for the disaster relief work in Japan and we can’t thank him enough!

We visited our friend's church and were reunited with the young adults who had prayed for us faithfully.

We spoke at our friend’s church and were reunited with the young adults who prayed for us faithfully.

We had dinner wiith Yu's former assistant at DBU and her mom.

We had dinner with Yu’s former assistant at DBU and her mom.

Luke’s Playgroup at Church: We go to the playgroup that meets at our church every Tuesday morning.  Most of the moms and kids that come are from non-Christian homes and it’s a great way to invite them to the church and to share the gospel.  It’s one of Luke’s favorite times of the week.  Yu has enjoyed getting to know other moms and many of them have come to our house for play dates.

Story time!

Story time!

End of the school year party (the school year ends in March in Japan)

End of the school year party (the school year ends in March in Japan)

Visiting Sakata: Sakata is where our mission church is located and we go there several times a year to help them with their English class, children’s ministry, and worship service.   We had a great time with Pastor Fujii, his family, and all the church members.

Helping their Sunday School class.

Helping their Sunday School class.

They always encourage us when we visit.

They always encourage us when we visit.

Kids English Club: We lead the Kids English Club every Wednesday.  We have about 20 children every week and most of them come from non-Christian homes that live in the community around our church.  We teach English, sing Christian songs, and have a short worship service.  Many of them have told us that their favorite time is the Bible story time.  One of the cool things is that many of their moms stay during our class and worship, and they get to hear the gospel as well.  Many of the children and their moms have showed their interest in knowing more about Him.  We can’t wait to see where He leads us next!

Playing "Simon Says"

Playing “Simon Says”

Love these kids!

Love these kids!

Ministers Retreat: Every spring, all the ministers and their families from the Baptist churches Tohoku (northern Japan) area get together for a retreat.  This year, we went to Iwate prefecture for this retreat and it was so much fun!  Not only it was fun, it was great to hear what God is doing at each church.  Even thought some churches are going through a hard time, all the pastors seemed to be encouraged as we prayed for each other.   Of course, Luke enjoyed playing with the other pastors’ children.

Opening Worship Service

Opening Worship Service

Luke and another pastor's son giving a shoulder massage to the pastor's wife. Everyone got to enjoy a special massage therapy!

Luke and another pastor’s son giving a shoulder massage to the pastor’s wife. Everyone got to enjoy a special massage therapy!

Please pray for these pastors and their families!

Please pray for these pastors and their families!

Thanks for reading, but we are not done yet!  Please stay tuned for more photos and exciting stories…

Categories: Hope for Japan News, Prayer Needs.

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Happy Easter!

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March 31, 2013

Happy Easter from Japan!  He is risen!

We just came home from the Easter service and fellowship lunch. The church was full and we had to keep bringing more chairs.  It was great to have so many guests.  Our hearts are full because we have been praying for this Easter service for a long time.  Ever since our pastor asked Michael to preach on Easter Sunday, we have been praying that God would bless this service and the people who come.  He answered our prayers in an amazing way!

Many of the guests stayed for lunch and we were able to meet and talk to them.  They encouraged us so much!  Just hearing they felt loved and the message really spoke to them meant the world to us.  It’s not always easy to minister in Japan and we get discouraged sometimes.  We know it’s not our ministry but His and the only thing we can do is to keep planting the seeds.  Today felt like one of those days that God is assuring He is pleased with our journey and He has great plans for Japanese people.

We rejoice the resurrection of Jesus and pray you have a blessed Easter!

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Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Disaster Relief Update

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February 6, 2013

As the new year begins we continue visiting the disaster areas.  God has blessed us with some wonderful friends who live in the temporary housing.  They are like our family.  We enjoy spending time with them!  There is one temporary housing in Ishinomaki where we have been visiting for a while.  It’s the place where we have taken many volunteer teams with us.  We were able to build close relationships with many of the residents and they always welcome us warmly.  Recently, our pastor asked us if the church could start helping them regularly.  After visiting them with the pastor and his wife and having a meeting with the leaders of this housing unit, we both agreed it would be great if the church members could start visiting them.  The leaders of this temporary housing have been so good to us and we just love them so much!

We took several members in January and we all had a wonderful time.  We all met in the gathering room and enjoyed our time together.  The residents were very open and shared their stories (which is a blessing because it usually takes so long to earn their trust).  We all had fun talking, having tea, and singing!  Two old ladies showed us the Japanese traditional dance.  One of them was a lady with Parkinson’s and she usually sits in the corner and listens as others talk.  We were all surprised to see her stand up and dance!  And she was smiling and having a great time!  That made all of us smile!

Singing time!

Singing time!

Luke helped us to put the oranges in the bags.

Luke helped us to put the oranges in the bags.

Michael shoveled the snow with other men.

Michael shoveled the snow (and ice) with other men.

We also visited one of the preschools to deliver some gifts for the students and teachers.

Aren't they precious?

Aren’t they precious?

Of course, Luke had so much fun!

Of course, Luke had so much fun!

This is another temporary housing that all the Baptist churches in our city have been helping every month.  It has been great serving with other believers.

Delivering fresh vegetables.

Delivering fresh vegetables.

Pretty flower pot that was given to each family with a hand written card.

Pretty flower pots that were given to each family with a hand written card.

Making candy leis together.

Making candy leis together.

Group photo after the fellowship.

Group photo after the fellowship.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for those in the disaster areas.  It has been such a cold winter and many of them have told us they are so cold in their temporary housing units.  Please pray they will stay healthy during this winter.  Also, please pray their needs are met.  The fact that you still remember them means a lot to us.

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News.

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Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

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December 31, 2012

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!  Michael had an opportunity to preach at our church on the 23rd.  It was a blessing for him to share the joy and hope of Christmas with everyone there.  God blessed our Christmas Eve service with many people who came to church for the first time.  We pray His messaged touched their heart.

Luke was thrilled to see all the gifts from Santa, family, and friends. We are so thankful for all the friends from all over the world who sent us Christmas cards, gifts, and email/text/Facebook messages!  Thank you for making our Christmas extra special!

On Christmas day, we invited some of our non-Christian friends to our house.  We were able to share the true meaning of Christmas as we looked at the nativity set.  Several of them told us that they had never heard the story.  The truth is that there are so many Japanese people who have never heard what Christmas means.  That is the reason God sent us here and we are so thankful He did.  Thank you for partnering with us as we share the hope we have in Him!

God has blessed us so much this year and we can’t wait to see what He has in store for us this coming year.  We pray you have a blessed new year!  May God continue to bless you and your family richly.

Reading the Christmas story at the Kids English Class Christmas Party.

Santa came!

Merry Christmas from our church family in Japan!

Have a happy new year!

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Day 7- Fall Festival

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November 26, 2012

Last year, we hosted the Fall Festival at our church for the first time.  The team from Thailand helped us and everyone had a great time.  Ever since then, the kids have asked if we would have another Fall Festival this year.  So we were thrilled when we found out that the FBCA team would be coming in October- perfect time to host the Fall Festival!

They brought SO many prizes (thanks to all the Sunday School classes and individuals who donated these items!) for the kids.  Also, Remey did a great job getting ready for all the fun games and activities.

We started the festival with a prayer and welcome speech by our pastor, and then our students sang English songs!

Russell and Remey did a great job leading the songs.

Then Michael shared a story about Jesus as Lance curved a pumpkin.  He talked about how Jesus removes the bad things from our heart when we ask Him to come into our heart and He puts a light in our heart.  And we shine that light so that others can know about Him.  We pray all the children will remember this story.

Kids were focused the entire time and looked so happy when they saw a light in the pumpkin!

We hope you can see all the excitement from the following photos!

Ring toss!

Face painting!

Ladderball!

Golf!

Bean bag toss!

Cindy with two girls!

Many parents came with their kids.

Photo booth!

Of course, Luke had a blast!!!

Thank you, FBCA team, for making this such an exciting event!  The kids in our English class are still talking about it!

If you are thinking about coming to Japan next year, October might be a good time to have LOTS of fun!

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Day 6- Visiting Oshika Peninsula

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November 26, 2012

Ever since we visited Oshika Peninsula for the first time in May of 2011, it has become a special place.  It’s the area where so many people lost their lives, family members, houses, and everything they owned (You can watch the youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT6TP1uck_4).  As we met people who were living in the temporary shelter at that time and built relationships over the past year and half, God placed these people in our heart and we have been visiting them regularly.

So we were so glad that we could take the FBCA team to this special place to meet the people we love.

At first, we visited our dear friend, Miyuki.  Her husband owns a fishing company and they lost most of their ships.  But they have continued their fishing business and trying to rebuild their home. She has been open to listen to the Gospel and she has put the poster with the scriptures that we had given her on their entrance wall.  She cried as we prayed with her and we pray God will continue to work in her heart.

With Miyuki.

Then we went to Oshika Preschool.  It was our first time to visit them in the new building.  Their school was destroyed by the tsunami so they were meeting in the community center for a year and half.  When we visited them, they were having a special festival.

It was great to see these happy kids!

We made the puppets with them!

After visiting the preschool, we went to our friend, Emi’s house.  She recently built a new house.  You may remember reading about her before, but she is the one who lost her husband and her father-in-law in the tsunami.  And this year, she has lost three of her family members including her father.  Needless to say, she has been going through a difficult time.  But she always welcomes us with a big smile and keeps thanking us for coming.  This time, she invited all of us to her new beautiful house and served delicious fruit and sweets.  It was great to hear about her plans to make her house a bed and breakfast place where people can come and stay.  We look forward to staying with her someday.  We prayed with her before we left and we could tell she was crying.  We know she is still hurting.  Please keep her and her little daughter in your prayers.

With Emi.

We stopped at Mrs. Hiratsuka’s (from the temporary housing we had visited the day before) brother’s temporary housing to deliver fruit and vegetables.  This time, we visited each door (20 units) and handed them in person.  People were so appreciative.  The FBCA team members mastered how to say “hello”, “here they are”, “thank you”, and “see you” in Japanese!

With Mrs. Hiratsuka’s brother.

On our way home, we went to Matsushima that is one of the most famous places in Japan.  The team got to see one of the national treasures.

Can’t you tell they were super excited?

It was a very memorable day.  We pray and hope we will be able to take more friends to Oshika Peninsula in the future!

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News.

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Day 5- Visiting Friends in the Temporary Housing

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November 26, 2012

Day five was a FULL day! We all woke up early to go to downtown Sendai.  The team distributed flyers for the ministry held at Sendai Baptist Church.  This was one of the most challenging tasks!  Even though most Japanese people are kind, they do not take a flyer from a stranger!  But the team worked hard and the pastor of this church was thankful for their help!

 

Handing out the flyers.

We drove to Ishinomaki city on the coastline.  This city was damaged by the tsunami on March 11th and many people lost everything they had.  We have been visiting several temporary housings and building relationships with the residents, and we are so glad that the team had a chance to meet them!

Buying fresh vegetables and fruits for 70 families!

Signing individual cards to let the residents know that we will continue to think of them and pray for them.

Mr. and Mrs. Hiratsuka serve as the leaders of this temporary housing. They are so sweet and we always enjoy spending time with them!

The team did a great job preparing for this visit.  They sang Amazing Grace, did a Thanksgiving craft, played BINGO, and more than anything, they shared their love with them.  They also brought LOTS of gifts for the residents.  Our dear friends from Arlington had donated many items as well and it was great to see the residents’ smile!

Everyone loved BINGO!

Singing “Amazing Grace”.

Playing card games with men while ladies enjoyed getting a manicure!

We ended our day by having dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Hiratsuka and their daughter.

 

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News.

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Day 3- Visiting Kindergarten and Teaching English Classes

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November 10, 2012

This was a busy day filled with many exciting events!  We took the team to Sakata Mission Church and Pastor Fujii and his wife welcomed us warmly.  Pastor Fujii came to Sakata after serving at one of the biggest churches in Tokyo 6 years ago.  Ever since then, he and his family have been serving God faithfully even though this journey was not always easy.

They were so thankful for this special gift from FBCA.

Pastor Fujii took us to the kindergarten where his son goes.  It’s actually the only Christian kindergarten in this city.  The team did a great job teaching English, doing crafts, and loving on all the children!

 

Group photo!

The principal shared the kindergarten’s needs and prayer requests with us and we prayed with her.

Please pray these precious children will know how much God loves them!

In the afternoon, the team taught the English class at the mission church.

Kids learning the names of the animals.

The kids heard the story of Noah and God’s promise.

We ended our day with dinner and fellowship with the church members. The young guy we had met at the restaurant joined us.

 

 

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Day 2- Distributing Flyers and Driving to Sakata

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November 10, 2012

On the second day, we had an orientation in the morning.  We could tell that the team had done a great job learning about Japan and preparing for the trip.  Michael shared a little more about Japanese culture, history, and what we have been doing.  We also had a prayer time together.  After that, we went to the new housing community around our church and distributed the flyer that had information on church and the upcoming fall festival (and several families came to the festival thanks to those flyers).

You know who had fun while everyone worked hard?

In the afternoon, we drove 3 hours to the west coast of Japan.  Sakata city has our mission church and we have been visiting there regularly.  We are so glad that the team got to go there to meet all the wonderful people!

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Day 1- 20th Anniversary at Taitomi Church

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November 10, 2012

The team’s first day happened to be the 20th anniversary celebration of Taitomi Baptist Church. It’s the church where we are serving now.  It was so special that the team was a part of this celebration. Cindy, our pastor’s wife from FBCA, shared a greeting during the worship service and many members told us how much it meant to them.

Cindy sharing greetings from FBCA.

After the worship service, we all enjoyed delicious potluck lunch!

In the afternoon, we took the team to downtown Sendai to have Japanese tea and to see the Dance Festival.

Being very “Japanese” and enjoying Japanese tea and sweets.

In the evening, they all helped with our English class/fellowship at Sendai Baptist Church.

Singing “Mighty to Save” with Japanese friends!

Overall, it was a great first day!

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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FBCA Team

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November 10, 2012

It has been a while since we updated our blog.  So many exciting things have happened while we were gone from the blog world!  The highlight was hosting a mission team from our sending church, FBCA!  We got sick after they left (thankfully, we are all getting better!) and it took a while for us to organize 500+ photos!  Hope you enjoy reading about their time here and looking at the photos!  Thank you, FBCA, for sending such an awesome team!

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Newsletter Jul-Aug 2012

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October 9, 2012

Hello from Sakata, Japan! We are visiting our mission church on the west coast.  We are with the mission team from our sending church, First Baptist Church of Arlington.  All the team members are great and it has been a blessing to serve with them! Please pray for all of us as we share His love with many people this week.

Thank you for your love and prayers!

Newsletter Jul-Aug 2012

Categories: Family, Hope for Japan News.

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Missionary Friends!

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October 5, 2012

If you have ever lived away from your family and friends, you know how hard it can be.  Even though we are called to be here and love the people, it gets tough sometimes.  It really helps to talk to someone who’s in the same boat.

Recently, we invited our missionary friends, the Qualls family (from Texas!), to our house for dinner.   We had a great time with them.  We were encouraged by them as we shared our joys and struggles of ministering in Japan.  The Qualls have been serving in Sendai for a while and we met them when they came to a special event held at our church. They are with another organization and go to a different church, but we asked them to be a part of the new ministry called “LIFE” which offers a free English class and ends with a worship service and fellowship in English every Sunday night.  It has been a blessing to serve with them.   They are also helping with disaster relief work in Sendai and it is always helpful to share our strategies and get ideas.  We have learned a lot from them!

Of course, Luke loves playing with their four kids!  We really want Luke to learn English and playing with English speaking kids is the best way for him to learn!

We thank God for the Qualls and the ways they have blessed us!  We look forward to serving with them and encouraging each other as we minister to Japanese people.

Group photo after dinner.

Kevin leading worship at LIFE.

Luke’s big sister! He keeps following her wherever she goes!

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Newsletter May-Jun 2012

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August 12, 2012

The past three months we have seen a lot of action.  We are so thankful for the great people who have helped us.  The prayers, emails, Skype calls, care packages, and support have helped keep us grounded and going.  Thank you!

Below are the links to our May-June Newsletter and for the Disaster Relief Activities Report issued by the Japanese Baptist Convention.  We included it not because our pictures are in it but because of the information it offers over the past year’s relief efforts.  Please feel free to share the newsletter and report with others as needed.  We would love to hear from you!

Newsletter May-Jun 2012

Disaster Relief Activities Report


Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Tohoku Baptist Retreat

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August 3, 2012

Last Friday we woke at 3:30am to begin the five hour trip to Aomori.  It was time for the JBC Tohoku Baptist Retreat.  About thirty of us from churches throughout Sendai rode a bus to the retreat.  When we arrived at the hotel on the beautiful north shore of Japan, we were welcomed by the believers of the north side of Tohoku area.  There were more than 130 attendees. We attended several worship services during the retreat.  This year we helped with the children’s program.  We took the children to the local aquarium, played games, made crafts, and the children helped lead worship services.

We also took the opportunity to give gift bags to the children including those from Fukushima.  The BGCT team left gift bags for us to hand out to children.  Pastor Suzuki was overjoyed to receive the duffel bag full of gifts for the children in his church.  We pray that the generosity of Texans will bring a smile to the faces of children who receive a gift bag.  They still deal will stress and anxiety daily as Fukushima continues to deal with contamination.

As always, we were so glad to see familiar faces and make new friends.  Everyone enjoyed the time of fellowship.  The churches of Tohoku are blessed to have so many wonderful members.  It may be a year before we see many of them again but we know they are working hard to serve.  We thank God for the way we were encouraged by others through this retreat.

Prayer time.

The gospel choir from Texas came to sing.

Can you see his love for dolphins???

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

The kids singing praise songs.

Luke enjoyed playing the guitar.

Game time! They had a blast!

As always, Luke was loved on the whole time!

Breakfast with kids from Fukushima and Sakata.

Yu led worship on the second day.

Craft time!

Luke made lots of new friends.

Group photo in front of the hotel.

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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The Higas Visit Sendai

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August 3, 2012

Last week we were pleased to meet DeShannon and Rocky Higa.  They are a couple who live in Honolulu, Hawaii.  They are friends with several of the Hawaii team members who helped last April.  When we visited the churches in Honolulu in June, DeShannon and Rocky expressed their desire and God’s call to help us in Japan.  We were of course ecstatic of their desire to help.  They helped us with our Wednesday night kids English class.  They blessed the children through their music.  DeShannon played the piano while Rocky sang.  They are wonderful musicians and we all enjoyed their music.  They also taught the kids a great praise song!  Afterward they handed out gift bags for the children.  They told us that many friends, family, and church members helped put everything together.  Their niece wrote a sweet letter to all the kids.

We are so taken away when people contact us offering to help.  They were a huge blessing to the children and we loved hearing their testimonies.  They were such a joy to be around and little did we know, DeShannon, is quite the accomplished Jazz musician.  They are truly humble and God filled.

DeShannon and Rocky, thank you so much for your willingness to serve.  We look forward to serving with you both again very soon.  We also pray that more people will hear God’s call to serve with us as the months and years progress.  God Bless and the children send their thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Thank You FBCA Team

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July 31, 2012

We have had a lot of teams come and go over the past year.  We are abundantly thankful for our home church in Texas sending such a wonderful group of ladies.  Not only did they minister to the kids but they ministered to us as well.  Luke often takes a moment to get to know people before warming up to them but he truly took the the team right away.  He was sad to see the team leave and so were we.

We are blessed to have served with Martha, Lindsey, and Kristen.  We pray you take what you learned and experience here and share it with others back home.  We will miss you but we pray we get to see you all very soon!  Thank you so much FBCA for sending them to us.

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News.

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Teaching in Sakata

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July 31, 2012

The FBCA team did a lot to help with our ministry.  One place that we took them was Sakata.  Sakata is the port town we evacuated to after the March 11 earthquake.  There is a mission church that was started by the churches of Northern Japan.  The pastor, his wife, and their children have lived there for six long years.  I say long because they are ministering in a city that has a very strong Buddhist history.  Pastor Fujii and his family have been working hard to reach out the their community.

One of the ways they minister is through their kids program.  They open up the church in the afternoons for kids to do homework and learn English.  Many of the children that attend are from single parent homes.  The majority of them live with their mom and have little to no contact with their dad.  As you can imagine this is very hard on the children.

We have felt the need to help the Fujiis with their ministry especially because they are so isolated.  We love this sweet family so much!  The team from FBCA was a huge help.  We got to help with the English programs and spend a lot of time playing games with the children.  One of the highlights the team had was visiting the only Christian kindergarten in Sakata.  The principal and staff were so gracious and a pleasure to be around.

We continue to pray for the Fujiis and their ministry.  Thank you so much FBCA for sending a team to bless the children of Sakata.

On our way to Sakata, we stopped at one of the beaches on the west coast. The girls got to put their feet in the Sea of Japan!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first class they taught.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching at the Christian kindergarten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids were so sweet. Please pray for this kindergarten! They need more students!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Lindsey’s birthday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third class they taught.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all helped the pastor with the church flyers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please pray for Pastor Fujii and his family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way back to Sendai, we stopped at this place where some Japanese old movies had been made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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FBCA Team

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July 30, 2012

July started a little different for the Towerys.  A great group of ladies from our sending church, First Baptist Church of Arlington, was sent to spend a week helping our ministry.  We were so enthusiastic to have these ladies come and spend time with us.

Martha, Lindsey, and Kristen were so full of energy.  They came ready to serve and had a can do attitude which was great because we kept them busy!  Teaching English is a great way to get to know people here in Japan.  Lots of people are eager to learn English.  And wouldn’t you know it?  All three of the team members are teachers.  Hurray!

Every Sunday night we teach English at Sendai Baptist Church.  They ladies did a great job teaching the adults how to order from an English menu.  Martha gave her testimony during the worship service and everyone loved talking with the three during the fellowship time.

We also got to share the ladies with our Wednesday night Kids English Class and Summer Party on Saturday.  The Saturday event was extra special because many of the parents attended.  It was a good chance for them to practice English and also hear a message from God’s Word.

Thank you so much to the three team members.  You have a huge heart for kids and the Lord!

English class at Sendai Baptist Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They used a menu from Jason’s Deli to teach how to order in English! Great idea!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martha sharing her testimony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kids English class at our church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the kids enjoyed playing the game!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids learned to say “I am excited!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids loved getting to know these sweet ladies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also helped with the youth English class. Thank you for making our class enjoyable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing with water balloons!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having so much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like American children, Japanese children love watermelons!!!

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News.

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Trip to Hawaii

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July 20, 2012

Hello! Hope you are all having a wonderful summer.  We have been super busy hosting mission teams from America! It has been fun to spend time with them!

While we have a short break, we will try to catch up with our posts! This one is about our time in Hawaii.  You may remember that we hosted a wonderful team from Hawaii in April.  We really enjoyed getting to know them and kept in touch with them after they went back home.  They invited us to visit them but we didn’t think we would be able to go so soon!  God provided everything we needed!  We were able to stay at the beautiful mission house provided by the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention, and our friend who works for Delta let us use the buddy pass which allowed us to fly super cheap! We were there for two weeks and it went by so quickly! We enjoyed EVERY SINGLE DAY!  Our friends in Honolulu and Pearl City blessed us so much!  They planned a dinner with all the mission team members who had come to Japan and we had so much fun sharing our special memories!

The main purpose to visit Hawaii this time was to speak at several churches about the disaster relief work.  Many Hawaiians have already given so much to help the Japanese people in the disaster areas.  We wanted to thank them in person and ask for their continued support and prayers.  The church members welcomed us warmly and we felt their love!

Here are some photos of our trip:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as we arrived in Hawaii, Yu was asked to be on a radio show to talk about Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Worship service at FBC Pearl City.  The lady on the right, Lynne, was one of the mission team members that came to Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking in their Japanese service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke had so much fun at the Children’s Discovery Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, he enjoyed playing on the beautiful beach!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restful time with our little family!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke was spoiled the whole time!  Mommy and Daddy were happy to have a break from holding our BIG baby!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandpa got to come!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were invited to speak in our friends’ Sunday School class at Waialae Baptist Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking at their worship service.  It was great to see our friends again!  We had a meeting with Pastor Robert and we look forward to partnering with their church!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reunion with all the mission team members.  We had such a special time together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael enjoyed hiking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We thank God for this wonderful opportunity!  A big THANK YOU to all of our Hawaiian friends! Thank you for making our time VERY special.  We miss you all!

 

Categories: Family, Hope for Japan News.

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Update

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June 20, 2012

This is a quick update to let you all know that the team from Texas has arrived here safely.  After such a LONG trip, they got here around 2 AM this morning!  We know they were tired but they were up early and ready to start a new day!

It has been fun getting to know them and serving with them!  We hosted a Texas themed party for the children this afternoon and so many kids and their moms came!

We have a lot more to share, but will end this post with one photo so that we can get ready for our trip to Iwate.  We are leaving early in the morning to visit the disaster areas in the north.  Please pray for our safe trip and fellowship with those in the temporary housings.  Thank you for your prayers!  We will post more when we come back!

Categories: Hope for Japan News, Prayer Needs.

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We are back!

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June 17, 2012

Hello!!! We are sorry we haven’t been able to update our blog for a while. We just came back from our trip to Hawaii. We visited our friends who were on the mission teams to Sendai and spoke at their churches. We had a wonderful time meeting people and sharing about Japan. We will write more soon! Please pray for us as we get ready to host the mission team from Texas that will arrive tomorrow!

Categories: Hope for Japan News, Prayer Needs.

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Newsletter March-April 2012

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May 5, 2012

Mar-Apr 2012 Newsletter

The past two months have been so exciting.  We’ve been very busy.  Thank you everyone who help make our ministry possible.  Your messages of encouragement, prayer, and support have sustained and energized us during our hard times, long nights of preparations, and as we continue to serve beside the Japanese and volunteer teams.

All blog and newsletter updates are distributed through Mail Chimp.  If you know anyone who would like to subscribe please be sure to tell them about us and our ministry.  We would love to meet them.  To read the newest newsletter go here:  Mar-Apr 2012 Newsletter

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Blessed by the Hawaii Team!

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May 4, 2012

Last December, we stopped in Hawaii on our way from the mainland to speak at the church that sent a mission team to Japan last year.  During our stay, we were invited to meet people from another church who were interested in coming to Japan as volunteers.  When we met them, we could tell that they all had a huge heart for Japan and Japanese people.  We shared about our ministries and needs of people in the disaster areas.  We kept in touch, and they decided to come to Japan!

It was such a blessing to serve with them the last two weeks.  They did such a great job with the preparations and we were all amazed by all the things they brought for people in this area.  More than anything, we were so blessed by their willingness to serve God and His people.

Here are some highlights of our time with them:

Visiting Sendai Kita Baptist Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barbeque Fellowship at Yoshioka Mission Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Distributing flyers for our event at one of the temporary housings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visiting one of the kindergartens in the disaster area.  Out of 220 students, more than 140 of them were affected by the tsunami.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They sang some English, Hawaiian, and Japanese songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giving a gift from Hawaii to all students and teachers.  Hawaiians are SO generous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke was a big helper!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were so happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First temporary housing we visited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doing craft activities.  These girls were precious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the second temporary housing we visited in Oshika Peninsula.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They loved spam musubi (Hawaiian food)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at these beautiful leis they made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We delivered fresh fruit to people in the temporary housings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We worked with these wonderful missionaries.  We have learned so much from them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect time to see cherry blossoms!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lynne’s beautiful hula at the third temporary housing we visited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They enjoyed hula dance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guys talking to people outside while ladies led the craft activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These ladies seemed to have a great time making all kinds of stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship with the community choir (non believers) at our church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next few photos are from the Hawaiian Festival.   We decided to host a fun event for the kids (and their families) in the community.  Even though our area did not get much damage from the earthquake, many kids went through a difficult time due to continuous aftershocks and radiation threat.  All the kids seemed to have an awesome time!

In the beginning of this event, the kids in our English class did a presentation in front of their parents.  They did a great job and we are so proud of them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone enjoyed their songs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hula time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frog race!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fishing game!  We were happy that Luke caught some American snacks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golf!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the cool prizes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying Hawaiian food such as teri burgers and spam musubi.   The Hawaii team brought SO MANY cookies and other homemade desserts.  Of course, they were a great hit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group photo after the worship service on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Church-wide picnic after the morning service.  We all enjoyed singing together.  We are ready for Luke to learn how to play the Ukulele!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke had fun playing with all the girls!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night in Miyagi.  We had a delicious meal and shared about our experiences.  We were touched by their stories and desire to continue being involved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo of Masa and Luke makes us smile!  We are SO thankful that everyone loved on Luke the entire time.  It gave us some break from holding/chasing him!  Luke was thrilled that he got lots of attention.  He is blessed to have many Hawaiian grandpas and grandmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last group photo.  We were so sad to see them leave.  We thank God for such a great team!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, they did SO MUCH!  They touched and changed countless lives.  We have already heard lots of positive responses from the people they had met.  Many of them asked when the Hawaii team would come back!  We look forward to hosting more teams.  Not only the Hawaii team encouraged many people in the disaster area, but they also blessed us! Hawaii has become a very special place for us.  They invited us to their churches in Hawaii and we hope to visit them soon!

A big thank you to all the team members for sharing God’s love in so many amazing ways!  We miss you!

Categories: Aid for Japan, Hope for Japan News.

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New Sister in Christ

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May 1, 2012

We are so happy to let you all know that we have a new sister in Christ!  One of the young girls, Maria (Mary in Japanese), was baptized on Easter Sunday.  After the Christmas Service last December, she told our pastor that she wanted to be baptized and she has been in the preparation class.

If you have been reading our blog for a while, you may recognize her sweet face.  After the earthquake/tsunami, we asked you all to pray for her and her family.  Her dad is in the Japanese Defense Army and was gone for a while.   It really affected her and her family, but we know God heard your prayers and protected this family.

In Japan, a person who will be baptized shares his/her testimony before being baptized.  Maria’s testimony was very touching.  Her honest desire to follow God reminded us of the importance of being like children.

After her baptism, we all had a celebration lunch with her.  It was such a sweet time of fellowship.

Please pray for our new sister in Christ.  Also, pray for others in our church that may be thinking about becoming a Christ follower!

Here are some photos:

Maria sharing her testimony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her baptism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maria and her mom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the kids at our church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebration Feast

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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