This update comes with a WARNING: If you know my mother do not tell her! We removed her from this update because…
Unexpected Trip to the U.S.
We are coming to NKY/Cincy from July 11 – July 25 (oh my, NEXT WEEK!). We are blessed with an opportunity to attend a big event with our home church, Crossroads the weekend of July 21st and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We have been running hard as a family and we have lots more running planned this year so this two week break is a much needed aid station for us all. Also, my mom celebrates 80 years on July 5th, so we will be able to drive down to Louisville on July 12th for a surprise visit. Are unexpected trip obviously comes at a cost we did not include in our annual budget creating a shortfall to make up. With my ticket already paid in full, we found tickets for Meg and the kids totaling for $1,650 each, roughly $5,000 total. We were elated to get tickets at this price.
For anyone willing to help offset our travel expense, we would be totally grateful!
VEHICLE NEED: If someone has a vehicle our family can use from July 11 – July 25 that would be a HUGE BLESSING! If you are in a position to loan us a vehicle, please email us at jamscommunity@gmail-com.
Hard Reality…
I have not completely let go yet and not sure I ever will, is – I feel guilty over the sacrifices (or what I view as sacrifices) we, especially our children endure. Indulge me for a moment (thank you in advance for your generosity in allowing me to share this) especially to most of my American friends.
I still hang on to the “rich” comfortable lifestyle we left behind and I feel guilty (especially for our kids) at times. We don’t have separate bedrooms, or beds, or a couch or that we haven’t done some of the renovations to make our place a little more cozy according to “my world” standards. When gathering people, hanging laundry, watching a movie, sleeping at night all happens in the same 10′ x 20′ room (not all at the same time) it sometimes weighs on me.
You see, it’s all a reference point. If I can completely let go of “my world” standards maybe I would not feel guilty but again as a father and a husband raised in the U.S. how we identify caring and providing for our wife and children include these simple pleasures. I still struggle. I don’t feel sorry for us at all and don’t want any of you reading this to either. I am just being real with some of the thoughts that cross my mind more often than it should. So, it is going to be nice to enjoy some of these luxuries for two weeks while in the U.S.! Or it’s going to make me feel even more guilty! Please laugh with me!
Running Hard
We are overjoyed in the opportunities God has afforded us, the relationships he has brought us, visions he continues to project ahead of us and how He continues to move in and through our community on the day-to-day.
BIG SIDE NOTE: talking about community! Last month, our friends Dom and Jodi, from Florence, KY made the long journey totally blessing our family and our entire community.
We are experiencing answers to prayer, authenticity in deeper relationships, people stepping out of their comfort zone and life transformation.
A throughline we are witnessing is suffering from ISOLATION. Over the past few months we have had almost every member share with us individually about their own individual struggle, or with a husband, a brother, a parent that is battling depression and isolation.
Through these times where we have felt mentally or emotionally drained in the process, we are reminded that the joy of the Lord is our strength and that his peace surpasses all understanding.
I am just now getting to a place where I can fully embrace that being on mission God has called us to is not something we can turn on and turn off, clock in and clock out, flip the open and close sign – NO, it’s 100% all of the time. We embrace the intermittent down time but our mindset is GO all of the time. The ONE thing that has allowed us to embrace this attitude is REST – Shabbat or Sabbath (the way God intended, instructed and commanded). Chloe wants to spend all day at the public library in the comfy reading spots next week for Shabbat. I said “deal, let’s do it”. I might be looking more forward to it than she. Hope the library staff doesn’t mind if I get too comfy and dose off while reading! 😂
Celebrate with Us
In case you missed this. We know you did because we have been terrible about posting on our social media pages.
On April 10th, Ayumi publicly shared her faith in Jesus in front of her family and our church community.
She first came to our community gatherings through her daughter attending CASA, our after school program for our local elementary school.
She has a heart for service. She does not hesitate to jump in and help others. She has been a huge blessing serving our Ukrainian friends with providing rides, helping at the doctors, sharing Japanese culture and food, enrolling their eldest daughter in a local Japanese pre-school her kids also attend.
Pray for Us
Summer Camp July 31 – August 4: We have 12 kids from CASA attending our summer camp that will be held less than a week upon our return from the U.S.. Please pray over our kids, volunteers, our planning and prep.
Run Japan START sometime the middle of August: We ask you to pray God’s providence over this event that will officially launch and promote our initiative Not Alone Japan with hopes of rallying the Big C church in Japan around the cultural epidemic that plagues the nation of Japan – ISOLATION. Pray for divine appointments with the right people of position and influence along the way and people who need encouragement and/or healing. Pray over my body and my family as this will be a 2 month long journey.