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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Disaster Relief Update

2

April 19, 2013

Our hearts are heavy as we heard such sad news about Boston and West, Texas.  Many of our Japanese friends have called/written us to let us know they are praying for the people who were affected by those events.  We will continue to pray!

Here is a quick update on our disaster relief work.

It has been two years since northern Japan was damaged by the earthquake, tsunami, and radiation leak.  We made several trips to the disaster area last month to spend time with people in the temporary housing.

We had a great time cooking with these ladies!

We had a great time cooking with these ladies!

We sang many songs together and it was great to see their smile!

We sang many songs together and it was great to see their smile!

We serve with these believers from different churches once a month. It has been great to partner with them!

We serve with these believers from different churches once a month. It has been great to partner with them!

Delivering flowers.

Delivering flowers.

We worked with a group of young people from Kanagawa prefecture. It is always a joy to meet young people who want to serve others.

We worked with a group of young people from Kanagawa prefecture. It is always a joy to meet young people who want to serve others.

We are going back to the disaster area tomorrow.  Please pray for our time with our friends in the temporary housing.   Thank you so much for remembering people in the disaster area!  We appreciate your prayers!

 

 

Categories: Aid for Japan.

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Disaster Relief Update

5

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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Disaster Relief Update

1

September 14, 2012

It has been a while since we posted about the disaster relief work but we are still going to the disaster areas on a regular basis.  Most of the time, we go as a family or with the team from overseas but once a month, we go with the Japanese believers from the local churches.  It has been a blessing to get to know them and to serve with them.  When we go together, we deliver vegetables to more than 150 families.  After delivering fresh vegetables, we gather in a small room and have tea, sing songs, do craft activities, and talk.  We love spending time with these precious people.  They also tell us that they look forward to having us every month.  At one location, there is a sweet old lady who loves to dance and sing.  Whenever we go there, she has the biggest smile and enjoys singing and dancing in front of us.  Thank you for remembering these people in your prayers.  Thanks to your continued prayers and financial support, we are able to go minister to them!

We always start with prayer.

Michael enjoyed playing with this boy!

 

We met them over a year ago and Luke loves them!

Giving fresh vegetables to people in the temporary housing.

We had a group of college students from Fukuoka that came to help with disaster relief. We sang many songs together in the gathering room. Love seeing these ladies smile!

Categories: Aid for Japan.

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Disaster Relief Update

0

October 17, 2011

We continue to visit the disaster zone regularly.  We feel like we have been able to build close relationships with many people (PTL!) and we hope to have deeper conversations with them.  Even though many of them have moved to temporary housing, they continue to have different needs and we are doing our best to better meet their diverse needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited Miyagi Gakuin again and gave them the scholarship funds for the students who lost parent(s) and home.  You can read more on their website (http://www.mgu.ac.jp/home/news/saigai2011/sec99_0506.html).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Saturday, We joined the team from Japan Baptist Convention and served with them.  We took lots of snacks to the tsunami-hit area and let everyone get whatever they wanted.  We used one of the community centers and invite people from temporary housing.  It was a treat for everyone who came!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These kids were so happy! We see them almost every time we go to this area.  They always welcome us with a big smile and they are so sweet to Luke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shuri (older sister) shared most of her friends from her kindergarten had moved to other cities and she feels lonely.  Please pray for her!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also gave them some vegetables.  Many older people had told us that they couldn’t go buy vegetables (either they can’t drive or don’t have anyone who could take them to go shopping) so we decided to get some for them!  There were 130+ bags of vegetables.  People looked so happy and thanked us several times.  Since we have been visiting this area for a while, they know us as “Christians” and most of them seem to feel comfortable being around us. Every time we go there, we pray they see Jesus in us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praying together as we left the place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited our new friend, Emi, who lives in the temporary housing.  She lost her husband and father-in-law in the tsunami (they died while trying to rescue others) and lives with her 4 year old daughter now.  When we asked her what she needed, she said she wanted to have some shelves built in her housing unit.  Our missionary friends and we decided to make her dream come true!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building a spice rack.  It was fun seeing these guys talk about how to put everything together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Putting a dish cabinet on the wall.  We hope this will stay on the wall!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s always encouraging to see Emi’s smile when she plays with Luke.  We hope to get to know her better and share the gospel with her.  She needs your prayers!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo was taken at another friend’s house.  She wanted to have a shelf in the closet and of course, guys did a great job!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a community gathering place by our friend’s temporary housing.  It was brand new but the recent typhoon damaged the entrance area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our friend, Miyuki (in the middle), with two missionaries.  Miyuki is so sweet and we believe she is interested in Christianity.  Please pray her heart will be opened.  It has been such a blessing to be able to work with these missionary friends and I am learning so much from them!

Thank you for your continued prayers.  We are hosting a team from Bangkok (but they are originally from USA and Canada) this week and we have so many upcoming events!  Please pray God will use all of us in mighty ways!  And please pray for our health.  We need to stay strong to minister to those around us!

Categories: Aid for Japan.

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