Summer is here! This time of year is always packed with activities and contact with new people. There is always a group of people at the church and God is blessing conversations! Lord, thank you for the opportunities you are providing for people to make connections with each other! As summer activities continue to bring people together, please allow for and bless opportunities that we have to teach and encourage people through your Word.
LST Team: At the beginning of this month, our 8-week full-time Let's Start Talking team from York College arrived in Sendai. Each person on the four-person team will have reading/discussion sessions with about 16 different Japanese people one-on-one. It's been good to see how the team is starting to the bond with their new friends and have conversations full of God's rich blessings. Also, the church is hosting two Missions Apprentice Program interns from York that help with reading sessions, shadow the missionaries in different activities and responsibilities. One LST team member shared tears with her reader recently as they discussed the different types of soil described in Luke 8. As the two talked about the different "heart conditions" that each kind of soil represented, the need for life change became obvious for this reader, and God lovingly planted a seed in her heart. Lord, please allow Marina meditate on what she learned about having a noble and good heart. As she hears your word and retains it, nourish the seeds that have been planted in her. Thank you so much for all the conversations that are happening now because the LST team is here.
English Playmates: This summer, I began a class called English Playmates for young children that also come to the church building when their parents have reading sessions. Usually Erica or one of the MAP interns helps with the class. We start with a short English lesson, followed by a craft. We have also gone to the nearby park to play and have read Bible stories in Japanese together. It's always a great time to practice Japanese, teach English, and enjoy the kids' personalities.
Cell Group: Take a look at this picture. Now double the number of Japanese people, add Erica and I, throw in some songbooks, Bibles, and a few hard-hitting discussion questions relating to God's grace. What you end up with is our Monday night cell group! This small group comes over to our apartment for worship and time studying about and discussing the Bible: Chihiro, Kazuh
iro, Yui, Yuko, Michiaki, and Haruna. Yuko is one of the young Christians at Sendai church of Christ. The other five are university students that have a great deal of interest in finding out more about Christianity after studying with us individually this year. Every Monday during June and July, we meet to share a meal, have worship time, and discuss our topic for the night. The first two nights, we talked about a story that parallels the God's gift of grace from the book "In the Grip of Grace." The third night we read from Genesis together about sin putting distance between man and God. Last time, talked about what sin looks like in our lives today and how God gives us grace to overcome that sin. This Monday, Jonathan will give a presentation about the history of the Bible for a combined group (the group that meets at our apartment and the group that meets at Joel and Ben's house). What a good opportunity having this small group has been for Erica and I to see where our friends are in their search for truth and to answer their questions individually. Michiaki is especially fascinated, confused, and searching in the midst of our discussions. He is definitely asking guestions and thinking deeply about grace. Would you please keep him and all of our friends in your prayers? Please ask Him to make their hearts ready for His message of grace. Thank you!
LST Team: At the beginning of this month, our 8-week full-time Let's Start Talking team from York College arrived in Sendai. Each person on the four-person team will have reading/discussion sessions with about 16 different Japanese people one-on-one. It's been good to see how the team is starting to the bond with their new friends and have conversations full of God's rich blessings. Also, the church is hosting two Missions Apprentice Program interns from York that help with reading sessions, shadow the missionaries in different activities and responsibilities. One LST team member shared tears with her reader recently as they discussed the different types of soil described in Luke 8. As the two talked about the different "heart conditions" that each kind of soil represented, the need for life change became obvious for this reader, and God lovingly planted a seed in her heart. Lord, please allow Marina meditate on what she learned about having a noble and good heart. As she hears your word and retains it, nourish the seeds that have been planted in her. Thank you so much for all the conversations that are happening now because the LST team is here.
English Playmates: This summer, I began a class called English Playmates for young children that also come to the church building when their parents have reading sessions. Usually Erica or one of the MAP interns helps with the class. We start with a short English lesson, followed by a craft. We have also gone to the nearby park to play and have read Bible stories in Japanese together. It's always a great time to practice Japanese, teach English, and enjoy the kids' personalities.
Cell Group: Take a look at this picture. Now double the number of Japanese people, add Erica and I, throw in some songbooks, Bibles, and a few hard-hitting discussion questions relating to God's grace. What you end up with is our Monday night cell group! This small group comes over to our apartment for worship and time studying about and discussing the Bible: Chihiro, Kazuh
iro, Yui, Yuko, Michiaki, and Haruna. Yuko is one of the young Christians at Sendai church of Christ. The other five are university students that have a great deal of interest in finding out more about Christianity after studying with us individually this year. Every Monday during June and July, we meet to share a meal, have worship time, and discuss our topic for the night. The first two nights, we talked about a story that parallels the God's gift of grace from the book "In the Grip of Grace." The third night we read from Genesis together about sin putting distance between man and God. Last time, talked about what sin looks like in our lives today and how God gives us grace to overcome that sin. This Monday, Jonathan will give a presentation about the history of the Bible for a combined group (the group that meets at our apartment and the group that meets at Joel and Ben's house). What a good opportunity having this small group has been for Erica and I to see where our friends are in their search for truth and to answer their questions individually. Michiaki is especially fascinated, confused, and searching in the midst of our discussions. He is definitely asking guestions and thinking deeply about grace. Would you please keep him and all of our friends in your prayers? Please ask Him to make their hearts ready for His message of grace. Thank you!Ministries as a Team: Recently, Joel, Ben, Jon, Erica and I were asked to sing at the wedding of Fusako, a friend that the team met one of the first times they were in Sendai as an L.S.T. team. We also have opportunities to sing at the other events, like the Gospel meeting at the church tonight. The preacher at the Mito church is coming to be a guest speaker. We are also singing at chapel service for Shokei College, a school in Sendai where we have several contacts through L.S.T. Jonathan continues with coffee shop, which is an excellent relationship-building oppotunity because readers stay around after their L.S.T. lesson to enjoy a cup of coffee and more conversation. Many readers feel that this is a safe environment for them to ask more questions about God and faith in Him. Joel and Ben go to Watage every week for a group Bible study and for sports day. Joel oversees all the details that go with being the L.S.T. coordinator and is in close contact with the Friendscamp team for this year, making preparations for them to arrive and host camp in late July. Thank you for your prayers for all of us! Lord, thank you for the blessing and the testimony this team is. Give us strength to continue to glorify you in all we do.
From Intern to Kindergarten Teacher! The end of the Asia Missions Forum (Bali, Indonesia) in August marks the end of the internship here for Erica and I. After that, I plan to continue living in Sendai for at least one more year. I recently accepted a teaching position at a language school in downtown Sendai. In mid August, I will become the teacher for the English kindergarten that is run by this school (Abroad Language School and Learning Center). God really provided for me with the timing and amazing working environment that I've experienced so far with this company! Please thank Him in prayer with me! He is good!
Transitions: This year has flown by so quickly! In a few short months, our the team will be making transitions into different areas: Ben, Erica, and the Straker family are returning to the USA and Canada for a furlough and then work/school; Joel will also return for furlough and then travel to several countries in Asia for short-term internships and missions equipping/training; Crimsen will be returning to Sendai from her one-year furlough in September; Sasha, a former Sendai L.S.T. team worker planning to do a one-year internship in Japan, will be joining Crimsen and I here after she raises funds. As all of these transitions are happening, would you please keep all of us in your prayers?
THANK YOU!!! I look back on this year and am humbled by the kindness and support you have all shown. Erica and I have always had everything we needed and never had to worry about having prayer cover or enough money for everything we needed. What a blessing from God! Lord, I lift up your name, convicted that you are the Giver of good things. Father, thank you for your grace and love and power. Thank you for the support we've received from so many people, making it possible for us to be in Sendai for this year. Please continue to water seeds that have been planted in your name. We love you, Lord! In Jesus, Amen.
