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Hey Friends!  A lot has been happening since our last update.  God continues to put people in our path allowing us to share the love of Jesus with our friends in Japan!

Here in Kagoshima, rainy season is finally over.  It starts mid June and ends around mid July.  30 days isn’t long but when you don’t see the sun and the rain is non-stop, it feels like forever.  Rainy season can cause some of the most devestating disasters as you may have heard of the wide spread flooding and mud-slides across Southern and Central Japan (areas in and around Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, and Nagoya) where the death toll surpasses 200.

Check out this recent news clip!

We are waiting to see how we can respond once the initial brunt of volunteer aid subsides.  The impact will be long term and we hope to be apart of a long term relief effort.   Please pray for those suffering from this disaster.

6 MONTHS AND HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

  • Completely settled in our home (Thank God!)
  • Weekly service (English) for our friends to be in community growing in faith
  • 4 high schoolers attending our High School Ministry each week
  • 6 volunteers serving for our first annual GO Local community outreach
  • 2 volunteers with Feeding our Friends ministry (launched in July)
  • 1 short-term missionary helping us build and grow relationships
  • Partnering with Kagoshima Food Bank
  • Partnering with Kagoshima Homeless Support Group

Feeding our Friends Ministry:  We provide meals to the less fortunate in our city every Wednesday.   Check this out.  When we decided to commit to this, we didn’t have the financial resources.  The very next week, we were blessed with a tithe (that had been stored-up) that funds this ministry for the next 12 months!  Come on now… God is so GOOD!

HOST A STUDENT FROM JAPAN

Here is a great opportunity to get involved in loving on our friends from Japan from the comfort of your own home!
Summertime is placement season for Ayusa Foreign Exchange program.  They are searching for Host families for 16 Japanese students who are anticipating an arrival in America this August should a family be willing to host him/her.
Facts:
*Student must have his/her own bed
*Student May share a room with same sex child within a 5 year age difference
*Student will attend local public school where transportation is provided
*Potential families can view all student profiles at Ayusa.org
Anyone interested in hosting for the upcoming school year, or who have questions, may reach out to Stefanie Zachery at szachery@ayusa.org.
NOTE:  Please share this with anyone you know who may have a heart for the Japanese.  I know the Boone County School District and schools around Georgetown/Lexington area are very familiar with accommodating students from Japan because of the presence of various Japanese companies.

TENTMAKING ENGLISH MINISTRY

For those of our friends who are not familiar with the term “tentmaking”, it has become a common term for Christians who engage in a money-earning activity/profession as a means to support their mission/ministry.  Read Acts 18:1-4.

Movement is happening on our next ministry (projected to begin in January 2019) allowing us to reach 80 elementary students on a weekly basis and extend our reach to Junior High and High School students in our community.  We are converting our storage building into a classroom style room where children can come and learn English in a fun, creative environment.
3 reasons we are using this ministry as a tentmaking ministry
1.  The Japanese culture has not embraced “free”.  Anytime anything is given for free such as a gift (even for birthdays),  it is understood to give a return gift.    There is this feeling of being indebted to the giver when a service/gift is received.  We will charge a nominal fee to alleviate this cultural tension and in turn it will add fuel to the mission!
2.  It will allow our family to meet our financial budget.  We are so blessed with the support of our partners that have entrusted us with their financial blessing to “go and make disciples”.   They have given us the ability to commit 100% of our efforts to do what we have been able to do in our first 6 months here.  And will continue to impact the lives of many in our community.  In combination of using our personal money we are able to sustain our current efforts until the end of the year.
3.  In January, we have a friend, currently teaching English in Japan, joining our mission team!  We are excited about Hamilton coming on board.  He has been apart of our mission from the beginning stages volunteering to help Japanese children with their homework in Northern Kentucky in 2015 and 2016.  He had a desire to go to Japan and teach English and did so in 2017.  We often discussed, “what if… what if we were to join up in the future”.  Wow!  Let God grant what is in your heart and fulfill all your plans. (Psalm 20:4)
We ask you pray for this ministry, the build out, and smooth transition for Hamilton as he makes his move in December/January time frame.