We have a very special prayer request to be lifted up. We have been approached by one of the local pastors to help begin a new ministry for his church. The church is working to start English classes and English worship for their church. The ministry would be teaching English to its members and the local students. Then after English class, we will have a time of worship. The worship service would be in Japanese and English.
Many church members are willing to help (which is an answer to our prayers!) and some of them are the ones we had met at the youth retreat last month. We are very excited as this is an opportunity to meet many of the college and high school students in the area. There are a lot of logistics to smooth out as we work to hammer out the details. Please pray for unity within the team as we help coordinate this new task and also pray for the people who will be attending the English classes and worship worship as many of them may be unbelievers. Thank you all for your prayers and support. We could not be here serving if not for your help and God’s grace.
This has been an exciting year. This year’s youth retreat included. Last year the youth retreat was canceled for obvious reasons. It was a real let down for Michael because of the chance to meet the youth in our area. This year we had 25 attending the retreat. Many of the youth participated in the worship services by playing instruments. I was a good time of fellowship and for many a breath of fresh air. This being spring break, many of the students were exhausted from the winter semester. It doesn’t matter where you are, students studying to be doctors and engineers have a lot on their plate. We are thankful they were able to unwind and share their hearts with us. Many have a sincere heart for their fellow youth. Thank you to everyone that continues to pray for our ministry. We are glad that many of those who attended are no believers but are eager to get to know the Jesus Way. As we continue our efforts please pray for them while we reach out to them.
Worship:
Sharing Time:
Breakfast:
New Friends:
We look forward to keeping in touch with everyone. Thank you for your continued prayers for these precious young people in Japan!
Last week, we went to Iwate prefecture for the Tohoku Ministers’ Retreat. The ministers in Tohoku area have been having this retreat every spring, but they were not able to meet last year due to the earthquake. When we had a disaster relief meeting back in January, we realized that the earthquake and tsunami had affected many of the ministers emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially. They have been working so hard to meet the needs of the people in the disaster areas and also their church members. They haven’t had any time to get away and rest. But we also knew that it would be difficult for many of them to pay for the retreat. This retreat is not only for the ministers but also for their families. It means they would have to pay for the whole family.
Then, we remembered the sweet faces of the BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas) leaders that we had met back in November. They were concerned about the ministers who were working in the disaster areas and shared their desire to help them. We wrote them and asked if they would be able to help by covering some of the cost of the retreat. They wrote back immediately saying “YES”.
Thanks to their huge help, we were able to host the ministers’ retreat and everyone had a blessed time together. We had plenty of time to worship, to pray, to share, and to rest. As one of the newest families in the area, it was great getting to know all the ministers and their families. We were encouraged to feel their love for God and for people in Tohoku area. Everyone shared about his/her experiences with disaster relief work, and it was evident that God has been using each one of them in many ways. Even though it has not been an easy journey, we all agreed that we want to continue loving and helping those in need.
We took the kids to the nearby snow mountain and we all had a blast! One of the kids was from Fukushima and it was good to see him have fun outside. Please pray for him and all the other kids in Fukushima. Even though they live outside of the evacuation zone, the radiation level is still high and they can’t play outside. Many moms have left Fukushima with their kids, but there are still many more that cannot leave due to different reasons. Please pray for God’s protection and guidance. Also, pray for parents as they make important decisions for their families. We are in the process of planning a new program for the kids that go to churches in Fukushima. We want to invite them to places outside of Fukushima for a week or two during their breaks and give them a chance to be away from high radiation level. It will require lots of planing and money. Please pray for God’s wisdom for us and also for His provision as we work on this.
Here are some pictures from the retreat!
Opening worship service.
Prayer time.
Dinner time!
Getting ready to ski!
Little kids enjoyed sledding.
Don’t you love his smile?
BINGO time!
Please pray for this family from Fukushima.
Luke loved playing with him!
Snowball fight! All the adults had fun, too!
Group photo. There were more people who came after this photo was taken. We all had such a great time together.
Thank you, BGCT, for making this retreat possible! We are so thankful that we were able to be a part of this time of fellowship. Thank you for touching our lives in such a special way! Please continue to pray for the ministers and their families in Tohoku area as we keep ministering to those in the disaster areas.
The past year has brought a lot of people into our lives. We were surrounded by many Christians who took great care of us in South Korea. We were also blessed by those who came to Japan to help with the cleaning, rebuilding, and rehabilitation of this country. We are truly thankful for each and every person that God has placed along our path during this long and often difficult process. One particular courageous soul is Naomi who helped us last weekend. Naomi lives in Hawaii whose grandparents were originally from Japan. We first met her last December when we were in Hawaii to share with Olivet Baptist Church about our work. Prior to this trip, she had taken several trips to Japan to learn the culture and get to know people here. This trip was very special for her because this was her first time to help with the disaster relief work in the tsunami-hit areas.
Saturday morning we set out to Oshika Peninsula to visit about 80 temporary housing units that would be receiving food, flowers, and time with us and church members from Sendai. Naomi had been planing on this trip for a few months. She prepared gifts for every household and homemade cookies. We had a great time sharing with each other about our lives as we made the two hour trip to the peninsula.
Thank you for coming all the way to Sendai to love and encourage those in need. We enjoyed our time together!
We hope many of you will pray about coming to Japan. There are many ways to serve- visiting the temporary housings to meet people, delivering food, playing with children, teaching English, encouraging Japanese Christians, sharing your testimonies, and spending time with us! We love having guests! Even though we love this country and people, we do get homesick and miss our family and friends in the US. So having our friends here means so much to us. Thank you in advance for praying about coming here in the future. We understand some of you may not be able to come physically. There are other ways to help with the ministries here. Just contact us and we will find a way for you to be involved. We LOVE getting e-mails, letters, phone calls, and packages!!!
Sunday marks the one year anniversary of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. The event began with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in which most of the the buildings and homes survived. They were made for such events. The following tsunami however was certainly not anticipated nor forgiving. This video is a tribute to the people in the disaster areas and the continuing work to rebuild physically and emotionally. We hope you know how much they appreciate your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for the victims’ families and for the Christians who are working with them. We send a huge “THANK YOU” to everyone who has supported us the past year and has unceasingly prayed. You have encouraged us so much. We are so thankful for the friendships built over the past year and pray more to understand and walk the “Jesus Way”.
We want to say thank you to those who prayed for us as we took a trip to Yamagata. We had such a blessed weekend. About 20 children came to the event at the mission church. We taught them English and Michael shared a short story from the Bible. Many of these kids come from broken families. We just wanted them to know that they are LOVED! It was great seeing their sweet smiles and we pray they will remember the story they heard that day.
The kids and moms decorated cupcakes.
They all looked so happy!
Group picture.
On Sunday, we attended the Sunday school and worship service at Sakata Mission Church. Even though this church is small in size, everyone has a big heart for the Lord! We enjoyed our fellowship and learned so much from them.
Children’s Sunday school.
Worship service.
After we left this church, we drove to Zao ski resort. We decided to stay there for one night to have our family time away from home! Even though the weather wasn’t great, we enjoyed staying at the hotel with a hot spring and skiing/sledding on the mountains.
On our way to Zao!
Dinner time at the hotel. Luke loves to eat!
Family photo!!!
View of the mountains and trees. They were so beautiful!
Mommy and Luke!
Daddy and Luke!
This trip made us realize how blessed we are. We have a supportive church family that sent us out, great church family to serve with, and wonderful family that God has given us. Thank you all for thinking of us and praying for us.
Back in October, we were invited by Sakata Mission Church to help with their children’s event. Sakata Mission Church is about 3 hours from Sendai and Yu’s parents helped started it over 15 years ago. Now they have a wonderful pastor and the church is growing. We were so thankful to be a part of their special program. We decided to have a fall festival and it was a great hit!
We are going to Yamagata prefecture this weekend. On Saturday, we are going to host an English class for the kids at Sakata Nozomi (hope) Church. They host a special event for kids in the community twice a month and the pastor asked us to teach them English. We are going to play games, sing songs, do some silly dance, and eat something sweet! Many of the kids are from broken families. We hope they will have fun and feel God’s love through us!
On Sunday, Michael is preaching, Yu is playing the piano, and Yu’s dad is singing in the worship service. We are thankful for the opportunities to serve in Sakata. The pastor’s family ministered to us and encouraged us while we evacuated to Sakata right after the earthquake last March, and we pray God will use us to encourage them this time!
On Monday, we are going skiing! There is a famous ski resort in Yamagata and Yu’s family used to go there all the time. It’s Michael and Luke’s first time to go there and we are all excited! We have been busy ever since coming back to Japan and we are ready to take a short break and have some family time.
Please pray for us as we drive 3-4 hours each way. It has snowed A LOT in Yamagata and the road condition is not good. Pray that God will protect us as we drive and use us in many ways in Sakata! Thank you!!!
Hello from Sendai! It’s snowing outside and we are stuck in the house! It gives me a chance to update our blog!!!
We had an opportunity to go back to America in November. The main reason for our trip home was to take care of my visa, but we were blessed by so many people who took time to see us, to feed us, to give us a chance to share about our ministry, and to encourage us!
As always, I took SO many photos. I am sad that I won’t be able to share all of them, but here are some of our favorites!
We stopped in California on our way to Texas. We stayed with our friend from college and we had fun catching up! Luke had a great time with her kids!
Luke had the BEST time at this play area. Don’t you love his smile?
We stayed with the Turner family for the first few nights in Texas. Cheryl has served as our lead advocate last year. We love them and thank God for their love for us!
Our friend, Charlie, who let us borrow the NEW car while we were in Texas. He is such a generous man! His company donated money for the disaster areas as well!
With our dear friends and their boys! It was great to worship with our FBCA family!
We were able to share about our ministry in several Sunday School classes.
Sharing with the Panorama group. We went through a weekly missions training with them for over two years and we all became close friends.
Can’t believe we are all parents!
We were invited to speak to the children who were learning about the missions. They were precious!
Luke learned to WALK!
He loved playing with Great grandpa Woods!
Dinner with Yu’s former co-workers and Japanese students.
Luke got to meet his cousin, Carmen and Uncle John!
Visiting friends at DBU!
Fun night with the Steiger family and our new Japanese friends! Can’t wait to see them again in Sendai!!!
Luke had a play date with his new girl friend, Molly! Her mommy is a good friend of mine from college!
Aunt Cathie and her kids took care of Luke while mommy and daddy went on a date! What a sweet way to bless us!!!
Thank you for spoiling us! We love you!
We went to the ICE show at Gaylord Texan with Mimi. We had a great time!
Jennifer’s 80s themed 30th birthday party!
Luke had an early 1st birthday party!
WE LOVE YOU, LUKE KAI! You have brought so much joy into our lives!
We stopped in Honolulu on our way to Japan! We were invited to speak at one of the churches that had sent a mission team to Sendai last year. Thank you, Olivet Baptist Church for having us!
Luke loved playing on the beach!
He just sat there and looked at the ocean for a while. Loves beaches like his mommy!
On Wednesday, we attended the Japanese Bible Study and shared about our disaster relief work. We had a blessed time of fellowship!
Amazed by God’s beautiful creation!
We had lunch with some of the team members (and their families) that had come to Sendai in October. It was fun to see them again!
So thankful for some “family time” to rest and relax!
God blessed our trip in many ways! From the cheap plane tickets (thanks to our friend who works for Delta) to all the places to stay for free, and more than anything, all our precious friends and families made our time extra special!
We love you and miss you all so much! Now it’s YOUR turn to come visit us!
As I checked our draft box, I realized that I had not published some of the posts. I know it is late but I wanted to publish before 2012 comes! Here are some updates on our ministry in the fall.
We took our youth group to go bowling. Many of you have been praying for these two sisters on the right. They lost their grandparents in the tsunami and have been having a difficult time. It was great to see their smile again.
We took them to Michael’s favorite restaurant. Even though our group is still small, we always have so much fun together!
When we had a team from Bangkok, we hosted a youth game night. As you can see, they loved it!!!
We also wrote encouraging notes on the heating cans for people in the temporary housing. The Bangkok team delivered them and many people loved it!
This fall, we started teaching English at our church. We have been having 20-30 kids every week!
We always end our time with a short worship service. Lots of the kids are from non-Christian families. Some of them started coming to the Sunday School.
Mr. Tony taught some English praise songs! It reminded me of my childhood since he had taught me the same songs when I was a child!
The youth learned English through games, songs, and chants! It was great to see them interact with these English speakers!
We hosted the first ever fall festival at our church. Both teams from Bangkok and Hawaii helped and our FBCA family helped by sending us American candies and party supplies! Thank you all!
In the beginning, all the kids who had come to the English class performed in front of their parents.
This class learned the colors and animals. They did a great job!
Bean bag toss!
Pumpkin bowling!
Ring toss!
Fishing game!
Face painting!
Everyone enjoyed American taste such as hot dogs, chili, spam musubi (from Hawaii), popcorn, cookies, candies, and cool aids! One girl said who had a cool-aid for the first time said it tasted like “America”!!!
It was great to meet dads of the kids who come to our English class. Michael hopes to get to know them better!
Michael and the boys. We ordered these pumpkins from the northern island of Japan. The kids loved touching them!
We had a great time with everyone. God has opened so many doors for us to meet and minister to the youth and kids in our community. We look forward to building relationships and sharing God’s love with them and their families.
We came back from America last week after spending lots of fun time with our family and friends. They all made our trip so special! We will write more about the trip soon!!! We had an opportunity to go to Hawaii on our way home and saw our new friends who had come to Sendai as volunteers in October. We had a great time with them!
As soon as we came home, Luke started feeling bad and he ended up going to the local hospital to get an IV. Thankfully, he got better after that and we were able to go to the Christmas Eve service (Michael preached!!!) and the Christmas Day service at our church. What an amazing church family we have!!! We thank God for the people from the community who came to our church for the first time! We pray their hearts were opened and they will continue to come.
The Christmas Eve service- sorry we don’t have any pictures of Michael preaching… Everyone told us what a blessing and encouragement his sermon was! PTL!!! A big “thank you” to those who prayed!
Back side of our church’s nativity scene. It snowed on Christmas Eve!
We had a potluck lunch after the worship service on Sunday.
At the Christmas party, we had a church-wide Christmas gift exchange. It is always so much fun!
It was our first Christmas as a family of three and we had such a blessed time together. We received one of the most precious gifts from God this year. Words cannot describe how much joy Luke brought into our lives. As we thank God for Luke’s life, we praise Him for giving us the best gift that anyone could receive. Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Ever since the massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, so many volunteers have come to Japan to help with disaster relief efforts. We have been blessed to host several teams from all over the world! Not only have they helped so many in needs, but they have also encouraged many believers that are trying to minister to Japanese people. Michael and I often talk about the ways the volunteers have ministered to our family. They have gone to the disaster areas with us (it can be overwhelming when there are only three of us that visit 100+ temporary housing units), taken care of our sweet Luke (it’s nice to have extra arms to hold Luke when his parents are busy running around), worshiped with us (God has touched us and spoken to us through reading the scriptures, singing praise songs, and praying as a group), and encouraged us to keep up the good work (sometimes we need words of affirmation).
We have experienced the importance of working as a team and we pray God will continue to send us those who have a heart for Japan.
Bangkok Team- They are actually from Canada and America but all of them attend the same church in Bangkok, Thailand. We had them for a Taco Dinner (which they LOVED) at our house. They helped with our youth group, kids English classes, and Fall Festival! Since Michael lived in Thailand when he was young, he really enjoyed talking about Thai culture and places! We would love to visit Thailand as a family someday!
Hawaii Team- They are from Olivet Baptist Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. They worked so hard in the disaster areas, and they were so gracious to help clean up at my grandparents’ house. During our time together, I found out that one team member’s daughter had graduated from DBU and we had known each other! What a small world! My dad also told me that my parents had visited this church twice as a young couple! We look forward to visiting the church and seeing everyone again!
Thank you all for coming to Japan and touching so many lives!
A few weeks ago, some of our church members and our family went to Misawa in Aomori prefecture. It’s about 4 hours north of Sendai and Misawa is famous for the US Air Force base. I remember going there to see the air show with my family when I was little and I always felt like I was in another country since there were so many Americans.
This time, we went there for the Tohoku (northern Japan is called “Tohoku area”) Baptist Union’s annual meeting. We thought it would be a great chance to get to know people from other churches and to find ways to partner with other Christians to reach out to the lost.
When we got there, we were welcomed by the members of Misawa Calvary Church. This church was established to minister to the people in the Air Force and their families but they also have some Japanese believers. It was such a blessing to meet all of them!
During the opening worship service, I had a chance to play the piano which gave me so much joy. The pastor shared how important it is to work together for the Kingdom of God. During the Tohoku Baptist Men/Women meeting, we all shared how each church had been helping with disaster relief efforts. It was encouraging to know that they are all working so hard to help those in need, but it was heartbreaking to hear about what the kids in Fukushima had been going through after the power plant’s explosion in March. Since radiation levels are still high in many areas, they can’t play outside. Many kids are wearing a mask to cover their mouth. Teachers and parents have been cleaning the schools and parks so that the radiation level would go down. Everyone is tired emotionally and physically. We asked them how we can pray and the first thing they said was to pray for people who live there. Pray for their physical and emotional health. Also, pray that the Japanese government would make the right decisions to help and protect those who are suffering.
They also asked for toys, games, DVDs, and books for the kids. Since they can’t play outside, these items will make the kids smile and help their parents. We will be spending some of the money many of you have donated to send some of these items to one of the churches in Fukushima. We have already sent them some children’s clothes that were sent by our sending church, and they really appreciated them. Thank you all for your prayers and support!!! You are touching so many lives!
Throughout the day, we met many wonderful believers and it was encouraging to see them being excited about partnering together. We have been building a relationship with the pastor and his family in Sakata city and we will be visiting them and leading the children’s program on Saturday. Michael was also asked to preach this coming Sunday. Please pray for a blessed time of fellowship.
Here are some pictures from our trip to Misawa:
The sanctuary was full of people!
These ladies cooked a delicious American meal. Michael said it felt like being in American to see the American sized oven and fridge!
Loved getting to know so many people!
I helped the children’s program. One of the American girls taught them how to decorate a cupcake!
They all look happy!!! The cupcakes were yummy! One of the kids said his cupcake tasted like “America”. We all laughed!
Kids (and one of the moms) from the church in Fukushima. They are so precious! They were super excited to be able to play outside.
Another blessing for me was meeting these ladies. After the opening worship service, one of these ladies asked if I was my mom’s daughter since I looked like her. When I said yes, they all started telling me all the special memories of my grandmother and my mom and how much they had meant to them. I found out that my grandmother was a member of their church over 30 years ago and they all enjoyed the Christian fellowship together. One of the ladies said when she lost her son, my grandmother just sat and cried with her. She said that meant more than any other encouraging words that she had received. Another lady told me that my mom had written her so many letters when their church was going through a difficult time. They all had tears in their eyes. This was truly a gift from God and I thank God for faithful Christians like my grandma and my mom.
The youth worship band led music during the closing worship service. We had missed singing English praise songs so it was awesome to worship with them in English. It seemed like many of the older Japanese Christians enjoyed singing (and listening) together! What a blessing it is to worship together no matter what our race, language, and backgrounds are!
Overall, it was such an amazing day. We enjoyed the fellowship with other believers and we came home being encouraged to go out and reach out to others in our community. It was also a special time for our family to experience a “little America” since we had been missing our friends and family back home! We love you and miss you lots!
Please pray for us as we go to Sakata this weekend. Pray many kids will come to the program on Saturday and God will speak to many hearts through Michael’s message on Sunday. Thank you!!!
We had such an awesome summer camp for kids and youth at our church. While we were in South Korea this spring, we met a Japanese pastor. We had an opportunity to share about the needs in Japan. He told his church members about us and our church and they decided to send a mission team of young adults to our church. We were blessed to have them and all the kids LOVED them. Many kids were still under stress from aftershocks and radiation threat, so it was nice to see their smile as they played with Korean team members.
Sorry for not updating for a while. We have been super busy lately. As our sending church told us that we could go back to Japan, we started to visit our Korean friends to say thank you and good bye. It was so hard since they had become like our family. God truly blessed our time in Korea and we can’t thank Him enough… We know that it was Him who led us to Korea and we are so thankful that He provided everything we needed.
Here are some examples of how He blessed us while we were in Korea (they are in chronological order).
1. Eunpyeong Jeil (First) Church in Seoul and Pastor Sim.
We stayed in their guest room for two weeks.
Pastor Sim made sure that we were comfortable and had everything we needed. We were so thankful for his hospitality!
2. DBU friends who welcomed us warmly.
They traveled from other cities to welcome us. They took us to the cell phone store so that we could buy a phone and also taught us some Korean phrases so that we could survive! We were so happy to see them several times during our stay in Korea.
3. Friends from Arlington who came to South Korea to encourage us.
They spoiled us by loving and taking care of Luke ALL the time! Going on a date (just two of us!) is one of our favorite memories! We never had to buy any diapers for Luke thanks to their gifts! Luke misses Aunt Cathie and Aunt Cindy!
4. Far East Broadcasting Company and Dr. Billy Kim.
One of the reasons that our sending church selected South Korea (under God’s guidance) was because our former pastor, Dr. Wade, knew Dr. Billy Kim, who is a founder of Far East Broadcasting Company. Dr. Wade asked Dr. Kim to help us find a place to stay in South Korea, and that’s how we found Eunpyeong Jeil Church. While we were in South Korea, we were able to visit their company three times. We were welcomed by their wonderful staff, and we truly enjoyed getting to know them. We also had a chance to speak about the needs of Japan and they raised funds for the disaster relief efforts in Sendai. Words cannot express how thankful we are to receive such special gifts! We will be able to help so many people thanks to their generosity.
We had an opportunity to meet Dr. Kim and he encouraged us so much. We are looking forward to seeing him and his staff again!
5. Grandma Wen and her family.
She is a member of Eunpyeong Jeil Church. When we attended their worship service for the first time, she came to talk to us in Japanese. She used all the Japanese words that she remembered to help us and to make us feel loved. The reason why she knows Japanese is because Japan made all the Koreans learn Japanese when they occupied Korea. As you can imagine, that is such a painful memory for many people. However, Grandma Wen never said anything negative. She just told us how much she cares and prays for Japanese people. We learned about God’s forgiveness through her. She also invited us to her house to feed us and to her great-grandson’s 1st birthday party. As we said good-bye to her, she said “Remember that I am Luke’s Korean grandmother. I will never forget about you all.” We can’t wait to tell Luke about her and to take him back to see her again.
6. April and her wonderful home!
April is Yu’s friend from DBU. She took good care of many international students at DBU and when she found out about the situation in Japan, she wrote us and invited us to South Korea! Her friendship meant so much to us and we made so many great memories together.
Can’t you tell Luke loves her? She let us stay with her for a month and her apartment became our second home in South Korea! She taught us how to get to places and we enjoyed exploring around her neighborhood. We are waiting for her to come visit us in Japan!
7. Onnuri Church and Young Adult Community Group.
Onnuri Church is one of the biggest churches in South Korea. They have branches all over the world! Since April goes there, we attended the young adult worship service with her. We could see their hearts for God and for the world.
After we shared our stories and prayer requests with the young adult community group, they took time to pray for us and for Japan. We were encouraged by their powerful prayers. Their church sends several groups to Japan to help with disaster relief efforts, and we are looking forward to working with them in the future.
8. Luke’s 100th day!
We are so grateful that Luke was healthy during our time in South Korea. He was such a happy boy and smiled at everyone he met. Whenever we were tired, we just looked at his cute smile and that gave us strength. We thank God for Luke’s life and we pray God will help us to be godly parents.
Even though we missed our family in Japan, our friends from DBU made Luke’s 100th day VERY special! We had a party for him and they came to celebrate with us! They all took turns to hold and entertain him so that his mommy and daddy could relax and enjoy yummy food! We ended our party with a prayer time and God answered all our prayers in amazing ways. We can’t wait to have another reunion!
9. Suwon Disciple Baptist Church, Pastor and Mrs. Lee, and Young Adult Group.
This is a church where our friend’s father serves as a pastor. It was just like our church in Sendai (everyone knows everyone and it’s like a family!) and we just loved being there. They gave us several opportunities to share our hearts for Japan and many people told us they would be praying for Japan.
On our last Sunday in South Korea, Pastor Lee led a special prayer time for us. Mrs. Lee was so sweet to Luke. We knew he was safe in her arms!
We just fell in love with these young people! We became good friends so it was difficult to say good bye. But they promised to take a group to Sendai this year so we know we will get to see them again! What a blessing it is to be able to pray for each other even though we are far away!
10. Choi Family and Easter in Daejeon.
Mr. and Mrs. Choi lived in Sendai and attended Taitomi Church when Yu was in high school. When they found out that we were in South Korea, they invited us to their house to celebrate Easter with them. We had a nice visit and Luke had fun playing with their kids!
Seven people were baptized on Easter Sunday. Needless to say, it was an amazing Easter! Luke even got a Korean traditional egg and he was so happy that he shared it with his parents!
11. Esther and her mom.
Esther was one of Yu’s student assistants at DBU. She invited us to her home to have dinner. Can you see all the delicious food that her mom cooked for us? Everything was SO yummy!
We enjoyed hearing about her memories of DBU and her life in Seoul. She is preparing to go to the Law School and we know she will do great!
12. Time with Yu’s dad.
Yu’s dad visited us for a week. Since he had been super busy with disaster relief efforts in Japan, we had hoped that he would be able to relax, but we had something to do every single day! We were happy that we didn’t have to carry Luke everywhere since her dad volunteered to hold him all the time. We also enjoyed sleeping in while he took care of Luke in the mornings! Thank God for grandparents!
It was nice to spend time with him and to find out what was going on in Japan. We are so thankful for our friends who helped us by buying food and delivering them to people in the temporary shelters on our behalf. We look forward to going there to meet and help them in person!
13. Central Christian Academy in Suwon.
This is where April teaches and the headmaster of this school is Dr. Billy Kim’s son. We had an opportunity to go to a few classes to talk about Japan. They listened so well and told us that they had been praying for Japanese people.
Praise God for children who love and care about those in need. We hope to tell Japanese children that someone they don’t even know is praying for them and we pray that they will feel God’s love.
14. LOTS of family time!
We were supposed to start our new ministries in April, and everything changed after March 11th. At times, we were discouraged since we were looking forward to our new journey. However, God gave us another journey to take. Instead of being busy trying to figure out what to do, God gave us time to reflect on our lives and enjoy our time as a family of three. He also gave us time to reunite with our old friends and to make new ones. We know everything was in God’s plan and we give thanks to Him. Our experiences in South Korea will be something that we will always treasure. We can’t wait to tell Luke Kai where he has been and whom he has met. We want to say a huge “THANK YOU” to everyone who made our time in Korea so wonderful! We pray God will give us a chance to see you again.
We also want to say thank you to those who prayed for us from all over the world! Your prayers meant so much to us. Thanks to your prayers, we were able to come back to Japan safely. We are happy to be back, but there is still so much on our mind. There are so many needs here and it is overwhelming. We are also doing everything we can to keep our son safe. We are trying to process everything and prepare for what God has for us next. We don’t know where this new journey leads us, but we trust that He will guide us wherever we go. Thank you for taking this journey with us! We love you all!
Last week, we were blessed to have two special friends from Arlington, Texas! Cindy serves as the director of our sending organization (GCPN) and she is also our pastor’s wife. For about two years, we spent our Monday nights at her house to have a training session to learn about missions. It was such a great learning experience for both of us, and we also made some close friends who all have hearts for the world. After we found out about the radiation leak, Cindy and Dennis (our pastor) spent several nights without sleeping in order to come up with our evacuation plan. We are so thankful for their leadership and wisdom. Another friend, Cathie, has been such a blessing to Yu ever since she first met her. When we were still in Arlington, she invited Yu to her house to have lunch or take her to nice restaurants, and it was always a special time for her. She prayed for us as we went through difficult times and also encouraged us as we prepared to become parents. She has an amazing husband, two sweet kids, and a precious mom from Japan. Please pray for her mom as she is away from her family in Japan.
They came all the way to South Korea to encourage us and to take care of our baby! As you can imagine, Luke LOVED spending time with Aunt Cindy and Aunt Cathie! They blessed us and encouraged us so much. We had an amazing week together and words can’t express how thankful we were to have them with us.
Here are some pictures!
They arrived in Seoul safely! The girl on the far left is Yu’s high school friend who lives in Seoul. She took care of us last week (another blessing from God).
Clothes, diapers, wipes, toys, food, towels… It was like having another baby shower!
So excited!
A huge “THANK YOU” to those who gave these gifts!
Happy to be together!
We took a cable car to go up the hill.
With the guard in front of Seoul Tower.
We got to see an awesome show (Koreans really value their traditions).
City of Seoul is huge!
We had to take this picture!
Our favorite tea room. Luke was spoiled by these beautiful ladies!
We visited this place called “Secret Garden”.
Such a beautiful palace where Korean kings and queens used to live.
Love this photo!
With the pastor, deacon, and translator at Eunpyeong First Church. They were so kind to us.
At Far East Broadcasting Company. It is a Christian radio station that Dr. Billy Kim started. These girls are his assistants and they welcomed us so warmly. They invited us to share our story at their company.
So comfy in her arms!
Look at his smile! She took care of him while we had a meeting with Cindy. We had a devotional and talked about our plans. We are blessed to have a church family that cares about us and prays for us. Even thought we don’t know what will happen, we know His plans give us hope and a future.
One of the deacons of the church took us to have a feast! Cathie and Cindy were so brave to try some seafood that they had never seen.
We tried on the traditional Korean dresses. It was such a neat experience.
We learned so many parenting skills from these experienced moms! They babysat Luke while we went on a date! We had such a great time but we sure missed our baby boy!
We had lunch with our friends from DBU.
We also had a special prayer time for Japan.
Saying good bye (and see you again) at the airport.
Doesn’t he look sad in this picture? We already miss them both!
Cathie and Cindy, thank you so much for loving us, encouraging us, and ministering to us. Both of you are such blessings from God. We are also thankful for FBCA for sending them to see us. We are blessed more than words can express! Thanks be to God!
On Saturday, our friends from DBU (where Yu graduated from) came to visit us! What a fun time we had with these precious friends! Gracie brought her husband and their sweet daughter and it was Luke’s first play date with his new Korean friend. They also helped us to get a cell phone.
After having delicious Japanese food, they all came to our guest house to have some desserts! They all helped us learn some Korean greetings and how to use the subway system! We are learning SO much. Three of them are teachers and they asked us to come speak at their schools. We were praying that God would give us opportunities to share about the needs of Japan, and He answered our prayers! Praise the Lord.
We are so blessed to have these friends who are so willing to help us. We are grateful for God’s provision.
Greetings from Seoul, Korea! We arrived safely and are doing well. It has been a long journey but we are thankful that God led our way.
After leaving Sakata, we took a train to Niigata. Luke slept the whole time and we were able to get some rest.
On Monday, we flew to Okinawa from Niigata. It was Luke’s first flight and once again, he did great! He was smiling at everyone around him. Our suitcases were overweight (we packed everything that would fit in two suitcases, yet we had to leave so much stuff that we needed), but the airline staff didn’t charge us any fee since they knew that we had evacuated from Sendai. Thank you, God!
When we arrived in Okinawa, we rented a car and drove to our friend’s apartment. She is our friend from DBU who became a believer while studying there. She is teaching at Okinawa Christian School. We are thankful for her hospitality. We talked a lot and were able to encourage each other. We also attended the chapel service at her school. We had an awesome time of worship and God reminded us how great He is. When we sang “Our God”, our hearts were filled with our prayers for the people of Japan. We want them to know our God who is greater, stronger, and higher than any other.
While we were in Okinawa, we went to the US Consulate to apply for Luke’s emergency passport. They closed the regular services due to the recent earthquake, but they were willing to help us after we told them our situation. We applied and waited for a few hours. Thanks to God’s provision and your prayers, we were able to get his emergency passport! Praise the Lord.
After we got his passport, we were able to visit some of the famous places in Okinawa.
When we saw the beautiful ocean, we could not help but think of the same ocean that took so many lives. There are so many that are still missing. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” This verse means so much to us right now. We pray that we can praise God no matter what the situation is.
Our flight to Seoul was smooth and Luke even had his own bed! We were welcomed by the staff of Dr. Billy Kim’s Broadcasting Company and he brought us to the church where we are staying. The guest room is beautiful and we are so grateful that they are letting us stay here. The church staff are very kind and we are enjoying our fellowship with them. The pastor even brought rice, kimchi, and delicious dumplings for us!!! We are extremely blessed and thankful.
The director of GCPN (our sending organization) and our amazing friend are coming to visit us from Arlington this Sunday. Words cannot express how thankful we are for their willingness to come help us. Please pray for them as they travel this weekend.
As we stay in Korea until it is safe to go back to Japan, we pray God will use us in many ways. Right now, we are planning to visit local churches and schools to share the needs of Japan and to ask them to pray for Japanese people, especially for their salvation. We also want to find out if there are any Japanese people who evacuated to Seoul. If so, we want to meet them and encourage them.
We will write more updates on the situations in Japan. As we close this post, we will share one more photo (if you are wondering why we are taking a picture of him with Pluto, we take this every month to see how much he has grown). His smile kept us going during our journey. When we were overwhelmed and tired, we looked at our precious son and were reminded that our responsibility is to protect him even as our hearts remained in Japan. We know God brought us here for a reason and His plans give us hope and future. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We love you…
We are sorry we could not update our blog sooner. We just got internet at our house and we will try to update it more often! We are doing great and enjoying getting to know people here. We still have a lot to do around the house, but we are ready to welcome our baby boy anytime!
We are blessed to be a part of two wonderful churches! One is our sending church in Arlington (we miss you all!), and the other one is in Sendai, Japan. Yu grew up in this church after several believers including her parents planted this church. Even though it is a small church, everyone knows everyone and it’s like having a big family! The members of this church have been praying for us for a long time. Their previous pastor left in the summer of 2009, and they have faced many challenges. However, they kept serving the Lord and the community faithfully. When the assistant pastor (who is in his 70s) handed us the letter to our church in Arlington, we were amazed because we had not shared with him about our desire to come to serve in Japan. In his letter, he wrote that one of the biggest needs in this area is the student ministry. Again, we were surprised because that was what we had been wanting to do in Japan. Many Japanese young people are living without hope. The need to reach out to them is so great. We know that it was all in God’s plan and we are excited to be a part of this!
As soon as we arrived, the members of the church welcomed us warmly. We shared our heart and vision with them, and many people came to tell us that they had been praying for us. Some of them said they want to help with the student ministry which is an answer to our prayers. We know we can’t do this alone. We know the importance of being a part of the church body and we are thankful that God has given us this church. We are planning to visit the local churches to get to know them and to see the possibilities to partner with them. In April, we are going to start visiting the local universities to meet students.
We made it safely to Japan! Thank you for praying for our safe travel. Everything went smoothly and God provided everything we needed! Yu was able to use 4 seats to lie down. All the luggage made it safely as well. Praise God! God has filled our hearts with peace and joy as we landed, and we are excited to be in His will.
As we left Texas, we prayed for this new journey. We thanked God for all of you who have touched our lives and supported us in so many wonderful ways. We are so thankful for this opportunity and we can’t wait to share all the amazing things that God does in Japan. We miss you all and would love to keep in touch. We want to know what is happening in your life and how we can pray for you. Please write us anytime! Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to our new life here. We have a little over a month until our baby comes and we have a lot to do! Thank you again for lifting us up. We love you all!
November was missions month at our church. We always love this time of year when we learn about all the amazing things that God is doing in the world. This year, it was more special to us since we were commissioned to be sent out to Japan. The church hosted special commissioning services for us where we stood before the church body and read our covenant. We promised to represent Christ and His body in Japan. As we stood in front of the church, we thought of all the people who have prayed for us and supported us. We cannot thank you enough. Thank you for being there for us throughout this journey.
Our church also had a special service called “CRAVE” to conclude the missions month. We gathered for a night of worship and prayer. Our church is committed to the power of prayer as we seek to make God known among the nations. During the prayer time, many people prayed over us. It was such a meaningful experience. We are blessed to be a part of a mission minded church. We also want to thank everyone who is praying for us from all over the world. Your prayers mean so much to us! Please let us know how we can pray for you.
One of the things that our sending church and sending organization value is the importance of an advocacy team. Advocacy team is our home team who will be supporting us from our sending church. They will provide personal prayer cover and bring encouragement. They will give us security, stability, spiritual counseling, mentoring, and accountability. They will serve as the bridge between us and the church. They serve as an advocate for the Japanese people that we are called to minister to. We are so thankful for this group of faithful believers who are going to help us in so many ways.
As we prepared to move to Japan, so many people prayed for us and encouraged us. We are blessed to have many family members and friends who love us and care for us. Some of our close friends hosted farewell parties for us, and we had such a special time together. We will miss them so much! We thank God for all our families and friends.
