17 Hours Later...

They made it safely there! Praise God!

And They're Off!

Arriving in Nagoya on Sunday, July 31st at 8:10 pm (4:10 am California time)!

Prayer Requests

Prayer Requests from Budounoki Church

More than 50 kids have signed up for VBS! More than half have never come to Budounoki church. Because there are not enough church members who can help with VBS, four mothers of participants are helping (three are not Christians).  Please pray that the preparation for VBS goes smoothly and that God protects us from any dangers and distractions.  Please pray that participants will be able to receive the seeds well, and that some of them will continue to come to church after VBS.  The meeting for VBS will take place on Aug. 1st at 11 am.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will continuously work within Sarah, Madison, and Yumi as they interact with students at ballet studios and English classes.

Please pray for God's blessing upon the relationships with Yumi’s students and their        
parents.

Yumi is going to accompany Sarah and Madison as often as she can.  Please pray for her 
to have wisdom and for her ability to communicate effectively with the girls.

Please pray for their safety.  Chise is one of our church members, and she is driving the 
girls from/to the airport and assisting them with housing

Church members (Tomiko, Ayako, Chise) are cooking for the girls.  Please pray that they 
can cook delicious food joyfully and thankfully.

Please pray for Pastor Hiroshi, who is shepherding Budounoki church.  Please pray that 
God will always guide him.

~ Yumi

An Amazing Problem

VBS Planning

This past week Budounoki (the church we are serving in Japan) has been passing out flyers for the VBS. Previously, about 20 children had enrolled just through Yumi (the pastor’s wife) inviting people when God provided the opportunity. Since officially advertising, the numbers have more than doubled. With six days left to sign up, over 50 children are now enrolled! Which has left us with the AMAZING problem of too many kids! Their sanctuary is barely big enough for 20 people, let alone 50 energetic children. Because we are beyond maximum capacity and only the pastor, his wife, Madison, and I will be supervising, Yumi has begun a wait list that is growing by the day. Please pray that God provides more helpers and a facility big enough that we don’t have to turn anyone away! ~ Sarah

Fundraising in Japan

Fundraising is extremely uncommon in Japan (and uncommon may even be an understatement). It is simply not done. In Japan, most people focus on saving for their future. Self-sufficiency is expected and honorable. In the midst of this culture, Yumi challenged her small church body to think of ways to fundraise. Their creativity amazed us!  One decided to offer a make-up class for women while another (Pastor Hiroshi) will offer a guitar class. Another woman at the church creatively thought of offering a class to make a particular Japanese dessert (involving mochi). They also decided to host a mini garage sale. It is beautiful to watch them use and share their talents and skills to create fun fundraising opportunities (in a country where fundraising is rarely/if ever done). Yumi recently shared another exciting aspect of these fundraisers is that it is drawing more people to the church: “I am thankful for the fundraising events at my church because through these events my friends, church family’s friends, my English class student’s family and their friends are coming to the church!”

The Apartment Story & Scheduling Miracle

The Apartment Story

Nagakute Budounoki has hosted an American since last August who has served as an English teacher. However, life is now taking her in a new direction so she will be leaving her position as English teacher at the church. The church had been providing her housing (an apartment) while she worked for them. The timing just happened to work out that she will be moving out shortly before we arrive!!  Originally, we were going to be sleeping and living at the church, but now we will be using the apartment they had rented out for the year round English teacher.  As Yumi put it, “This is just perfect timing by God.”  Their church had been faithfully praying about a place for Sarah and I to stay prior to this all unfolding. “God provided.”

The Scheduling Miracle

The past few weeks, it has been amazing to witness how God is opening doors right and left to engage with more people in the community. While our schedule was already packed fairly full with the church’s VBS and with teaching ballet at two different local studios, this week Yumi was asked by a third studio if we would teach while in town! Yumi thought this was an awesome opportunity to again further build relationships within her own community, but she was unsure how it would fit into the schedule (and she did not have our schedule with her when this conversation took place). They agreed on some possible dates and times for us to teach and agreed to follow up. However, when Yumi checked the schedule, she was amazed to discover the dates and times somehow fit perfectly into the already full schedule. She excitedly shared this with us in our last Skype call. We will now be teaching at three different ballet studios while in Japan (in addition to the VBS).

The Bicycle Story

In preparation for Mission Japan, Sarah, Linda and I have been doing weekly Skype sessions with Yumi (pastor Hiroshi’s wife) and Rina for the past couple months.  It has been great to get to know Yumi and Rina better, and it has been beyond beautiful to watch God move throughout the past few weeks! 

We wanted to share some of these incredible testimonies of God’s faithfulness which we have witnessed while preparing for Mission Japan!

The Bicycle Story

The church in Japan currently owns one bicycle, and Yumi had been pondering how she could get a second bike (bikes are a major mode of transportation in JP). She thought a second bike would be extremely helpful to the church and also to us as it would allow us to more easily commute to and fro while in Nagoya. She thought, “Where could I find another bike?” and “How could I get another one?”  She began thinking and praying about this possibility. 

Yumi recently shared that she had an Indian friend who was moving back to America on July 1st because of her husband’s work. This friend’s son is good friend of Yumi’s son and used to take guitar lesson from Hiroshi (Yumi’s husband and the pastor). Yumi shared with us, “One day I saw him (the son) coming to the church by bicycle so I asked him about his bicycle then he said, ‘I don’t need my bicycle after June 29th. Do you want it? You can have it.’ I gave thanks to my Lord. He answered my prayer!” 

Praises and Prayer Requests

Prayer is, first and foremost, our greatest resource, encouragement, and assurance. We covet your prayers more than words can express. Thank you for joining in this good work God has brought before us here at For His Glory Community Church! 

Praises

• God is on the move! God continues to open doors to serve more people. We so look forward to engaging with those He puts in our path while on this trip
• Two churches on two different continents heard God’s call to reach the people of Japan and have partnered together to be His hands and feet.
• A place to stay has been provided! This was a huge answer to prayer. God continues to show His faithfulness, time and time again, as we prepare to embark on this mission.
• We are thankful and excited that we will be able to share the gift of dance in addition to teaching English!
• Travel arrangements have been solidified.

Prayer Requests

• Prayer for Japan! Prayer that God would be readying hearts to hear and receive His truth. Prayer for open hearts and open ears amongst all we meet.
• Prayer for encouragement for Yumi and Hiroshi (and their church body at Nagakute Budounoki) whose very small church is doing big things! Living in Japan as a Christian is challenging. Yumi has shared some find it isolating and discouraging.
• Prayer for wisdom and discernment as we minister in a foreign culture.
• Prayer for safe travels.
• Prayer that financial needs are met.
• Prayer over dietary limitations: In Asian diets, soy is extremely prominent; however, due to thyroid problems Madison is not allowed to eat soy.

We have been deeply humbled and encouraged by the faith of our Japanese church family. It is truly an honor to witness God move so beautifully and powerfully in bringing two congregations on opposite sides of the world together to further His kingdom. Thank you for joining the mission! ~ Madison & Sarah

Pastor Hiroshi and Yumi San

Pastor Hiroshi

Pastor Hiroshi's favorite verse: "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" John 8:12

His wife, Yumi

Yumi's favorite verse: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

Her prayer request: "Many great happenings right now. I really need many prayers for all those events here in this summer. Nagakute is getting hot and humid. We might have very hot summer. We all need God’s strength, wisdom, and unity with the spirit for the battle."

The Potential Impact

What is the potential impact of an English ministry in Japan? Many Japanese parents want their children to learn English and, regardless of their religious background, will send their children to a church offering classes. Knowing this, Pastor Hiroshi and his wife Yumi - with whom we will be partnering - started a VBS (in Nagakute) which incorporated English classes to further share the gospel message. They have seen God work effectively through this ministry. Last year more than 40 children flooded the small church for VBS*. They hope to continue to reach more children and families in their community.

Although teaching English was the original mission, it has become clear that God has much more in store. He has opened doors beyond those we ever envisioned. Yumi was ecstatic when she learned we both teach ballet. She immediately thought of her friend who owns a nearby ballet studio. Without skipping a beat, Yumi reached out to her friend who was equally excited to learn of our visit and asked us to guest teach at her ballet studio. We are thrilled at this door God has opened to build relationships with another student body in Japan. 

Through talking with Yumi, we are continuously learning more about the Japanese culture. For instance, Japan is less than 1% Christian. The need for fellowship with God and an understanding of His truth is evident. Their society heavily emphasizes the well being of the community over that of the individual. There is one ideal of success, and deviations from this standard are not appreciated. Unfortunately, personal failures to meet societal standards have deep and serious repercussions. In a culture which values reputation, suicide is seen as “a way of taking responsibility.” According to the 2014 World Health Organization report, in Japan suicide rates have been 60% higher than the global average. Even more sadly, suicide was the leading cause of death for Japanese school-aged children. In the midst of these staggering statistics, we hope and pray they would ultimately come to know the Source of hope and healing and His peace which surpasses all understanding. ~ Madison & Sarah

*VBS: In the United States, VBS usually stands for "Vacation Bible School." However, in Japan, the word "school" often has a negative connotation to kids as they experience tremendous pressure to excel. Because of this, the Budonoki church decided to have VBS stand for "Vacation Bible Special" instead. 

An Exciting Opportunity

Madison

Sarah

Pastor Tony recently approached us with an exciting opportunity to prayerfully consider. He shared that a church in Japan was seeking two individuals to teach an English ministry this August (though it is now evident that God has much more in store). We immediately began praying about whether God would have us go. Weeks later, here we are - flights booked, ready to go. We are hoping you will partner with us by covering us in prayer (praises and prayer requests to follow), as we embark on this adventure with God. ~ Madison & Sarah

Pray for Japan

Welcome to the blog of Mission Japan! Follow Madison and Sarah as they venture to Nagakute, Japan, to serve at the Nagakute Budounoki Church. They will teach English to kids during VBS and teach ballet in local studios. God has already begun a work there. Let's pray for His continued blessing and favor!