One of the babies in the Tarumi Mothers and Babies Class
Glory to God
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church in and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV).
There’s no way that we could ever improve upon Paul’s eloquent expression of praise and glory to God, expressed above. But what we can do is to join him in lifting up our own praises to God for many wonderful answers to prayer in the past month. We thank you as well for joining us in the work in Japan through your faithful prayers. Let us share some recent answers to prayer so that you can praise God along with us.
New SAM arrival
We’re praising God that Millie Michael arrived safely in Japan on August 21. It was a joy to meet her at the airport, along with nine people from Kobe and Osaka who represented the three churches in which she will teach English-Bible classes—the major part of her special assignment missionary responsibilities for the next two years.
Due to the lateness of her SAM appointment, it wasn’t possible to get Millie’s missionary visa prior to her coming to Japan. So she entered on a three-month tourist visa instead. Our plan was to apply for a change of status for her from within the country once she arrived. Little did we know that the Lord was preparing to do “immeasurably more” for all of us. Two days after she arrived, Bernie and Millie went to the Kobe immigration office and walked away shortly with the missionary visa stamped in her passport! What we’d hoped was only that they’d accept the application, assuming that we’d have to reappear at a later date to claim the visa. Never before, in all the visa processing work we’ve been part of, has it gone so smoothly and easily. Isn’t God good!
Because the visa came so quickly, Millie was also able to get her alien registration taken care of that very day. With that in hand, she was certified as completely legal and thus able to open her bank account. All this red tape for getting settled generally takes a lot of time, but Millie had most everything done in a very easy two days. And, the icing on the cake was that she also found a used motor scooter for a great price. The owner came down $50 in his asking price and threw in the cost of licensing and taxes, in addition to putting new tires on the scooter, changing a brake part, and even filling it up with gas! The phrase “immeasurably more” just kept resounding in our heads as we helped get Millie settled in Kobe during our nearly three weeks there last month. Praise the Lord!
Tarumi Church
Thank you for your prayers for us as we served Tarumi Church for three Sundays in August. In addition to preaching, we participated in several church programs. Among these was the monthly Mothers and Babies Class. Five mothers and their babies (ages 10-14 months) attended, learning baby massage and actions songs to sing with their infants. There was also a cake/coffee time in which the women shared personal concerns about being mothers and heard a short devotional message by Cheryl. Even without a pastor, this class meets regularly month after month. In fact, it was started by a lay person AFTER we moved to Tokyo. How good it was to see a tangible example of what we keep reminding Tarumi Church—that God has not forgotten them and is still at work there, giving visions and outreach ideas, and bringing new people into their midst. Nevertheless, we do ask for prayer that God will provide a Japanese pastor soon.
We were thrilled to hear of yet another vision God has given Tarumi Church—that of comforting mothers who experience miscarriages, stillbirths, or the deaths of their very young infants. Atsumi Nijuken has a plan to make doll clothes-size baby gowns in which to dress these little ones for their funerals—something basically unheard of in Japan, where the tiny bodies are only disposed. She also wants to provide a venue through which grieving mothers can share their anguish and questions. Please pray that God will open the door for Nijuken-san into a hospital that would avail itself of the gowns and allow her to promote Ayumi, the support group she is forming. Pray also that the new website will lead many mothers to Ayumi, and ultimately to Christ, as Nijuken-san herself was led to Christ after the tragic death of her seven-month-old baby in utero.
National church convention
Thank you for your prayers for the national church convention, August 3-5. Ann Smith shared such encouraging messages! We believe that God brought her back to Japan last month for specific conversations she had with specific people, in addition to her preaching responsibilities. There was a spirit of joy and enthusiasm at the convention that we’ve not felt for some time, something also noted by many other participants. Praise the Lord for doing “immeasurably more” in that setting, as well as for all he will do in the coming month as you continue to pray faithfully for us and the church in Japan.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church in and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV).
There’s no way that we could ever improve upon Paul’s eloquent expression of praise and glory to God, expressed above. But what we can do is to join him in lifting up our own praises to God for many wonderful answers to prayer in the past month. We thank you as well for joining us in the work in Japan through your faithful prayers. Let us share some recent answers to prayer so that you can praise God along with us.
New SAM arrival
We’re praising God that Millie Michael arrived safely in Japan on August 21. It was a joy to meet her at the airport, along with nine people from Kobe and Osaka who represented the three churches in which she will teach English-Bible classes—the major part of her special assignment missionary responsibilities for the next two years.
Due to the lateness of her SAM appointment, it wasn’t possible to get Millie’s missionary visa prior to her coming to Japan. So she entered on a three-month tourist visa instead. Our plan was to apply for a change of status for her from within the country once she arrived. Little did we know that the Lord was preparing to do “immeasurably more” for all of us. Two days after she arrived, Bernie and Millie went to the Kobe immigration office and walked away shortly with the missionary visa stamped in her passport! What we’d hoped was only that they’d accept the application, assuming that we’d have to reappear at a later date to claim the visa. Never before, in all the visa processing work we’ve been part of, has it gone so smoothly and easily. Isn’t God good!
Because the visa came so quickly, Millie was also able to get her alien registration taken care of that very day. With that in hand, she was certified as completely legal and thus able to open her bank account. All this red tape for getting settled generally takes a lot of time, but Millie had most everything done in a very easy two days. And, the icing on the cake was that she also found a used motor scooter for a great price. The owner came down $50 in his asking price and threw in the cost of licensing and taxes, in addition to putting new tires on the scooter, changing a brake part, and even filling it up with gas! The phrase “immeasurably more” just kept resounding in our heads as we helped get Millie settled in Kobe during our nearly three weeks there last month. Praise the Lord!
Tarumi Church
Thank you for your prayers for us as we served Tarumi Church for three Sundays in August. In addition to preaching, we participated in several church programs. Among these was the monthly Mothers and Babies Class. Five mothers and their babies (ages 10-14 months) attended, learning baby massage and actions songs to sing with their infants. There was also a cake/coffee time in which the women shared personal concerns about being mothers and heard a short devotional message by Cheryl. Even without a pastor, this class meets regularly month after month. In fact, it was started by a lay person AFTER we moved to Tokyo. How good it was to see a tangible example of what we keep reminding Tarumi Church—that God has not forgotten them and is still at work there, giving visions and outreach ideas, and bringing new people into their midst. Nevertheless, we do ask for prayer that God will provide a Japanese pastor soon.
We were thrilled to hear of yet another vision God has given Tarumi Church—that of comforting mothers who experience miscarriages, stillbirths, or the deaths of their very young infants. Atsumi Nijuken has a plan to make doll clothes-size baby gowns in which to dress these little ones for their funerals—something basically unheard of in Japan, where the tiny bodies are only disposed. She also wants to provide a venue through which grieving mothers can share their anguish and questions. Please pray that God will open the door for Nijuken-san into a hospital that would avail itself of the gowns and allow her to promote Ayumi, the support group she is forming. Pray also that the new website will lead many mothers to Ayumi, and ultimately to Christ, as Nijuken-san herself was led to Christ after the tragic death of her seven-month-old baby in utero.
National church convention
Thank you for your prayers for the national church convention, August 3-5. Ann Smith shared such encouraging messages! We believe that God brought her back to Japan last month for specific conversations she had with specific people, in addition to her preaching responsibilities. There was a spirit of joy and enthusiasm at the convention that we’ve not felt for some time, something also noted by many other participants. Praise the Lord for doing “immeasurably more” in that setting, as well as for all he will do in the coming month as you continue to pray faithfully for us and the church in Japan.
