Prayer Request

August 12, 2013

We are hosting the youth camp today and tomorrow.  Many of you have been praying for the youth ministry and God has heard and answered your prayers in many ways!   We have been wanting to host a camp at our church for a long time and God answered our prayers by sending a wonderful team of young adults from South Korea.  We visited their church in February and shared our prayers with them, and God has selected great and talented young men and women to work with our students and children here.

Please pray many lives will be touched and changed by God.  Many students are going through a difficult time and we want them to find strength and peace in Him.  Also, please pray for health of all the team members and our family.  Several team members are not feeling well and Luke has a fever.  We are praying God will heal them so that they can be a part of the camp.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  Thanks to your prayer and financial support, we are able to host this camp.  We believe God will do amazing things at this camp!

Categories: Prayer Needs.

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Spring Events Part 1

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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Summer Camp

September 8, 2011

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening Worship Service

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at their smile!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had barbeque for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone loved Michael’s ribs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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On our way home…

June 5, 2011

Hi, this is Luke!  Thank you for praying for me as we stayed in South Korea.  God protected me and I am doing great!  I made so many new friends there and everyone smiled at me!!!  When we left South Korea, my parents took me to Hokkaido (northern island in Japan) on our way home.  As you may remember, I only had my emergency passport so I had to go to the US Consulate to apply for the real passport.  I also needed to get my birth certificate.  My mommy told me there is a lot to do to become an American citizen!  Hokkaido is a beautiful place and we had such a relaxing week.   My parents were happy to be away from their busy lives.  We enjoyed God’s creation and our family time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By now, you may already know that I love to smile.  I had my own bassinet on the plane.  I entertained my parents during the flight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First time to be in the pool.  I look confused in this picture but I loved playing in the water!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First trip to the zoo!  I think daddy had more fun than I did.  I didn’t know what to think about some of the animals I saw, so I fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got to meet my parents’ friend, Masa.  He became a Christian in the US and he is helping a Christian band in Japan now.  My parents enjoyed hearing about his ministries in Hokkaido.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mommy loved all the pretty flowers.  She asked daddy to plant more flowers in our garden.  We will see if that happens!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a cable car to go up the mountain.  It means I have already taken a cable car twice in my life.  I think my parents really love mountains…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you see snow on the top of the mountains?  My grandpa loves skiing (did you know my grandma was a ski racer?) and he wants to take me skiing next winter.  I think it would be fun but my daddy doesn’t think so…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had fun looking at my daddy’s sun glasses!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited one of the oldest houses with a beautiful garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I fell asleep again!  I can sleep anywhere and it makes my parents happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daddy and I!  As you can see, I LOVE my hands!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mommy and I!  I smiled really big because my daddy was trying to make me laugh.  I love his funny faces!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last picture- I was so bored on the plane to Akita so I decided to learn how to read.  I love it when my parents read books to me.  I hope I will be a good reader!

I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip.  We had a wonderful time there.  But we kept thinking about people who lost everything because of the tsunami.  It is really hard for them to go somewhere to have fun right now.  Please continue to pray for them.  Please pray that all the babies will be as happy as I am.  My mommy says I make everyone around me happy.  Thank you for praying for everyone in Japan!

Categories: Family.

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DBU Reunion

March 28, 2011

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Our Journey to South Korea

March 25, 2011

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…

Categories: Hope for Japan News.

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Update on March 17th

March 17, 2011

We are sorry we could not update yesterday.  It has been a very difficult few days.  As we monitored the threat of radiation, we realized that it was getting worse.  After much prayer and counsel with our sending church and organization, we decided to evacuate.  As much as we want to help the people of Japan, God has entrusted us to take care of our son.  And we have to be healthy and well to be able to continue our ministry in Japan.

At first, we didn’t have enough gas and all the buses were full so we didn’t think we could get out of  the city.  However, my brother waited in line for 6 hours to get enough gas to get to the west coast of Japan.  He also waited in line to buy enough food for us to eat.  As much as he needed a car and food, he said our job is to take care of our son.

Another concern we had was my 81 years old grandmother who needed help.  She has been so gracious to provide a place to live and everything else we needed.   We told her that we would be leaving and asked her if she wanted to come with us, but she said no.  She told us that she would be praying for us all the time and waiting for us to come back when everything is safe. We could tell that she had tears in her eyes.

Before we left the city, we stopped at my dad’s office.  My dad has been so supportive from the beginning, and he kept reminding us that God would take care of us.  We know our son has brought so much joy into his lonely life without my mom.  It broke our heart to take away his joy.  We had a short farewell in front of his office.  He wanted to pray for us, and he cried as he asked our Father to protect us.  He reminded us of I Corinthians 10:13, “And God is faithful; he will not let you be temptedbeyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  He held our baby boy one more time and we left with such a heavy heart.

We drove to Sakata city which is on a west coast.  We are about 230 miles from the power plant, and since the wind is blowing to the south, we believe we are safe for now.  There is a mission church that our church has been supporting for a long time, and my dad asked their pastor if we could stay with them.  His family welcomed us warmly and it has been such a blessing to spend time with them.  They have treated us like their family and told us that we could stay as long as they need to.  Their three children take such good care of our baby.  We have been having meaningful conversations about the ministries in Japan, and it has been such an encouragement for all of us.  Once again, God is faithful.

So what’s next? We are working on getting Luke’s passport to evacuate to South Korea.  Our pastor and his wife have good friends there and they will be taking care of us.  We also have Korean friends that we met at DBU and we know we can rely on them as well.

As of now, we are hoping to come back to Japan when it is safe enough.  We don’t know when, but we pray that God will bring us back here to make Him known in this darkest place.  Even though this situation is devastating and hopeless, we believe he will use this time of challenges to bring a revival to Japan.

We know so many of you are praying for us.  We apologize for not being able to write/call you back, but please know we feel your love and prayers all the time.  Our church and sending organization have been so supportive and helpful.  We know they are not getting enough sleep because they have so much to do to help us evacuate.  We are blessed to have such a strong and wise leadership.  We know they are praying for God’s wisdom as they help us to make important decisions.  THANK YOU!

We are leaving soon to apply for an emergency passport for Luke.  Please pray that they will be understanding and helpful.  Also, pray for our baby boy as we take a train for 2 hours.  He has been such a trooper and we can’t ask for more.

Before I close, I want to ask you to spend the next few minutes to pray for the people of Japan.  Many people are still fighting to survive.  Many people are still crying because their family members are gone or missing.  Many people are still trying to get enough fuel to evacuate. And there are others like my dad and brother who are staying in the dangerous areas to ensure the safety of other Japanese people.  Please keep praying.

We are heartbroken to leave the people we love so much.  God has called us to love and minister to the Japanese people, and we still believe it is His calling for us.  We trust that He will bring us back here so that the people of Japan will know that He is the only God and He loves them so very much.

Many of you have already donated, and we want to thank you.  Please be assured that it will be used to rebuild this country.  The country that needs Jesus.  Please pray that He will bring us back here soon.  We love you…

Categories: Aid for Japan.

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