Confession Time
Hi, my name is Jack. It’s been 4 months since my last blog. (come on now, that’s funny)
I subscribe to a few blogs where my friends post updates of their journey/mission/life’s work/where God is leading them and I am like… damn, another blog post? Is all they do is sit around and write? I know that is NOT the case, in fact they are world-changers… but come on now, my goodness!
Needless to say, I am not a fan of writing. Do you know how many times, in my life, I have started journaling and after a few days… stopped! Too many to count! Am I against writing or journaling? Heavens no, but I seriously struggle with this habit forming concept. Help! I am open to insight, motivation, prodding… whatever form of therapy to get me to the point of doing so, especially with all that is happening around family and mission here in Japan!
Okay… enough ranting!
Latest Happenings
Community
Hey friends, thanks for taking interest and following our family on mission. To our prayer warriors, God has had his hand all over our family and our mission. We covet your prayers! To our financial partners, you fuel our work daily allowing us to expand our reach among the second largest unreached people group in the world!
Relatives of neighbors we call family! 
Community volunteering with neighbors. 
Annual community softball tournament. 
Preparing for our annual community summer festival on July 20th!
Since our arrival 18 months ago as full time missionaries and church planters, we have focused our efforts on making our home a place where people know they are welcome anytime and by being actively involved in our local community. Various neighbors have exercised the freedom to stop by for conversation and share various fruits and vegetables from their garden. We also jump at opportunities where we can learn from our community through annual events and competitions. We have hosted a few social events and BBQs at our home with different groups we are engaged in. Our first one this year was in May with school mates and their families from Chloe and Ethan’s bus stop.
Home BBQ with Chloe and Ethan’s pre-school bus stop friends and family.
Feeding Our Friends
In conjunction with building relationships, Reachout is how we share the gospel and invite others into community… by serving and inviting our friends to serve with us. This naturally opens the door for our friends to ask questions as to why we do what we do.
Meg and Hamilton serving up meals for our friends in need. 
Sharing his story with us after receiving Jesus! 
Lunch meeting at our home with Kagoshima Food Bank Director.
We launched Feeding our Friends a year ago, partnering with the Kagoshima Food Bank and the Kagoshima Homeless Society, where every Wednesday we prepare and feed those less fortunate mostly single males in their 60s and 70s. To date we have served over 500 meals. Not only do our friends get a much needed meal, they also hear about the love of Jesus. This has led to several hearts softening and one gentleman accepting Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior!
Community English House
January of this year, we launched Community English House using English to connect with children and their families in our community. We currently have 15 students and their families here throughout the week.
Movie night with students! 
Movie night with students
Church
These efforts have allowed for our Church Plant to flourish with an average of 10 people attending on a weekly basis and we had one of Chloe and Ethan’s teachers and their family attend last weekend.
Teaching 
Worship 
Fellowship
Combined efforts of your prayer and financial support and us being the boots on the ground, together we are directly engaging and building into over 40 people on a weekly basis. We are so encouraged by the deep bonds that are forming with various relationships in and around our community and we hope you are too!
Legacy House Japan Launch
Lastly, we want to share some exciting news…
We have recently gained access to two of the 14 state supported orphanages here in Kagoshima which is a well hidden social stigma in Japan. Laws have been put in place to appease the international community but are NOT strictly enforced. Also, Japanese culture plays a hand in cutting off a pathway to foster care or adoption. Japan has some of the lowest foster care and adoption numbers compared to other developed countries. There are 38,000 children currently living in 600 state sponsored orphanages throughout Japan. We strongly feel it is the Church who will fight for these children and we are leading the charge! We will start by loving on these kids and building relationships with the orphanage directors in hopes to become recognized by the local government as we start advocating for foster care and adoption.
BBQ fun with orphanage staff. 
Sharing a message of love. 
A day full of play!
One of the ways we can make a difference, right now, and gain a foot hold in fighting this social injustice is through launching our first Legacy House.
We are proud to officially announce the launch of the first Legacy House in Japan. As a Legacy Housing Network Member, we provide free, quality housing to aged-out orphans who are at a high-risk of experiencing isolation, depression often leading to suicide (the leading cause of death in Japan for kids between ages 10-19). Another dead end path for these children is homelessness and also the highly overlooked sex industry here in Japan. We have a house and a live-in coordinator, (a missionary from Cincinnati, OH) to oversee the house, where we will welcome young men into safe community, develop life skills and Christian discipleship.
We celebrate the fact that Legacy House Japan is at 50% funding for this year through the generosity of some of you who have said yes early on and we invite those of you who feel led to join us in fighting for these children to do so by clicking here!
Praise and Prayer Request
We have experienced God presence throughout our mission and ministry from logistics to relationships to provision in every form and we would love you to join us in praising him for all that he has done, doing and will do!
We also ask for prayer concerning:
- protection over our family
- provision for Legacy House Japan
- for God to continue to reveal his plans for Japan and the role we have
- Visa approval for our missionary, Hamilton
- Travels back to the U.S. and provision for Hamilton
- For the 38,000 children stuck in institutionalized care.
Gratefully Yours,
Church Plant Japan Team