Blessing Moms and Children

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December 30, 2018

Greetings from Japan.  You may be surprised I am writing a new blog post two days in a row.  This is something that has been in my heart for a while.  However, it always takes courage to write and ask for more help and support. I was not sure if this would be the right timing because of the holidays and everyone is busy around this time.  After praying for several days, God has given me peace to share.

A Growing Problem

In the last month, there were two moms who committed suicide after killing their child(children) in our city. One of these tragedies happened at a house that is about a 10 minutes drive from our church.   It’s called “Muri Shinjyuu (forced murder-suicide)” and it happens a lot here in Japan.  When a parent believes they have no hope and decides to commit suicide, dad/mom will feeling sorry for a child that will be left behind kills him/her.  The frequency of occurrence is numbing people to the point that they are not even surprised or shocked when it happens.

Every time I hear news like this my heart breaks. This time hits me really hard. It happened so close to the community we serve and the child who was killed happened to be my friend’s former student.  Just the fact that a parent believes this is the only solution is very heartbreaking.

After discussing this with my good friend/ministry partner, we wanted to take action.  We wanted to invite our non-believer mom friends and share the hope we have in Christ.  We wanted them to know they can ask for help.  And we wanted them to be the ones to offer help to their friends.  So that is exactly what we did!

All the moms that came shared that they had struggled with marriage/parenting before, and some of them said they didn’t have anyone they could trust to share their needs and concerns.  Everyone agrees with the need and share our vision for “mom’s community”. They asked if we could continue meeting more often and if they could invite their friends.

I have been reflecting and thinking a lot about this community, and there is so much more I want to do and so many more people I want to invite.

A Local Need Revealed

Right after we had one of the fellowships, we also hosted a bazaar (like an inside garage sale) at Hope House to raise money for orphans in India.  My friend, who is a single mom, came with her daughter.  She shared that she would be leaving her parents’ house to move to an apartment.  This is the step that she has been praying/preparing for for a long time.  She has worked very hard to be able to provide for her daughter.

I have been praying for them for several years and I am so happy for their new journey.  When I asked her how we can help, she was hesitant at first (a typical Japanese person wouldn’t ask for help), but she shared that she doesn’t have anything for her new apartment.  Several ladies at our church are trying to provide what we can, but I know the need is great.  This is a mom who hasn’t asked for any help.  And I know her family can’t help her much (this is one of many reasons she is leaving her parents’ house).

How You Can Help

I am writing this because we know there are many needs.  And even though I don’t like to ask for financial help, I know God has sent me here to make Him known and there are many people who love and care about Japanese people.  In order for me to continue ministering to these moms and children, I need your help.

As the end of this year approaches, you may be considering supporting ministries with a tax-deductible gift.  It is an honor that through your support the people of Japan receive the opportunity to hear the gospel and find hope in Christ.  If you would like to give a one-time gift or set up a monthly donation, please go to this link:

https://sending.org/worker/michael-and-yu-towery

We understand that you may not be able to support financially right now.  Please remember these moms and children in your prayers.  They need lots of prayers.  And please pray for those we have not even met yet.  We have many ministry goals for 2019 and we value your prayers.

Please know we appreciate each of you so very much.  May God fill your heart with His joy and peace as you continue to serve Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Prayer Needs.

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Thank you, FBCA!

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May 15, 2012

We want to take this time to say THANK YOU to those who have donated children’s clothes for Japanese children.  If you are new to our blog, you may not know what we are talking about.  Our sending church, First Baptist Church Arlington, has sent many children’s clothes to us, and we delivered them to people in the temporary housings and churches.  A special thanks to Cheryl Turner and Linda Templin who sorted all the clothes and packed them!  Every time we received more boxes, we felt so much love from our church family!  We are sure that the people who received those clothes felt loved, too.

Here are some photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also sent several boxes to children in Fukushima.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These snacks were given to Luke but he wanted to share these with babies in Fukushima.  We sent these snacks along with all the clothes.  We pray these made other babies smile!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Aid for Japan.

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Our time in Yamagata

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March 6, 2012

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.

Categories: Family, Hope for Japan News.

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Children and Youth Ministry

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December 31, 2011

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.

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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