Dear Missionary Partner, June
2009
Precious greetings to
you from Japan in the wonderful Name of Jesus. It is our delight to send you this
report and update on our recent ministry activities. We are so very grateful to you for your
prayers and sacrificial giving through which the Lord enables us to do all He
has called us to do. Just last
month, over the period of ten days, we hosted a mission team of five people who
came from one of our supporting UM churches in Ionia, Michigan. Prior to their coming, Mari and I translated
their tracts and testimonies into Japanese, made hundreds of copies, and put
into place a pretty rigorous itinerary of outreach. In preparation for their coming to
Japan, they also worked very hard on the home front, holding church bazaars,
dinners, and prayer meetings to lay the ground work for what the Lord would do
through them. There was great excitement
in both Rev. Den Slatteryfs UM churches, as the Lord pulled together members
from each church, to form their missionfs team to come to Japan.
When the team arrived,
led by pastor Den Slattery, we met them at Narita Airport with our van, and
they met us with ten large suitcases.. filled with gifts prepared by the
churches, five carry on pieces, and lots of over the shoulder bags. Our roof rack and van served us well,
and off we went to our house. The
three guys slept on our rice mat floor, and the ladies slept upstairs. Thank the Lord for a house with two
toilets, most Japanese homes only have one. Friday May 15th came to a
successful close and everyone and everything made it here safely.
Saturday morning the
16th found everyone up very earlycno surprisecand we loaded the van
and drove to Ueno Park in central Tokyo for outreach to the homeless. Rev. Hiruma, who we work with, invited
pastor Den to give the message. 400
men, and a few women came for the worship service, and pastor Den gave a
powerful Gospel message on hope as Mari translated. The team, together with the
staff, helped serve lunch to all who came, and then handed out gifts of
clothing and toiletries from the Ionia UM churches. Seeing the needs here first
hand made all our hearts ache, as scores of people bowed their heads, prayed,
and sang praises to the Lord. It
was pretty overwhelming to us all.
We all returned to the house humbled but with hearts overflowing. [picture
1, picture
2, picture
3, picture
4, picture
5, picture
6, picture
7, picture
8]
Sunday morning the 17th,
we were all up early again, and we drove one hour to the north side of Tokyo to
our church in town of Kawagoe. During
the service all the mission team gave testimony to how they came to know Christ
and their desire to make him known all over the world. What a wonderful time of witness and
fellowship we enjoyed and how quickly we all connected to one another. Following worship and lunch, we took the
team to a nearby orphanage to do arts and crafts with the children. Some of these children had been at our
church for Sunday School earlier, so they helped bridge friendships with us all
to the other children. Home baked
cookies and goodies we had prepared were given out, and the children made and
adorned beautiful crosses from the materials the team gave them. It was another precious moment to share
the love of Jesus with those starving for His touch. [picture
12, picture
13]
The next day on Monday
the 18th, we showed up early at the church again, and all the guys began to
tear off the old deck boards outside the church, replaced the sub flooring materials,
and then began to put down all new surface wood. Meanwhile, Mari and the ladies were
inside the church cutting and sewing together two new banners which would be
given to our church. They presently
adorn our sanctuary and are being enjoyed by all. The following day Tuesday the 19th
another full day was put in on the deck and all rejoiced to see it totally
finished. The deck was subsequently
stained and sealed by our church membersc and does it look great! The team not only left their mark on our
church physically, but blessed everyone personally and spiritually as
well. Later in the day, we were
taken to the heart of the ancient town of Kawagoe where all the team saw
several temples, shrines and the strongholds of Buddhism that permeate the whole
area. It was a solemn reminder how
entrenched the darkness is in Kawagoe.
By the time evening came, everyone returned to the housecand they were
out like lights.
Wednesday morning the 20th
arrived quickly, and with back packs filled, we boarded the local train and
made our way into central Tokyo and Tokyo Station. As we converted rail passes into tickets
for the bullet train (these can only be purchased outside of Japan) we were
shocked to learn that my (Neal) rail pass was invalid. Because of my permanent residency
sticker in my passport, rail passes are not allowed or honored. As our bullet train was to leave quite
soon, the reality struck that, barring a miracle, I would not be going with
Mari and the team to Hiroshima. I
alerted to the team to the problem and we all began to pray. When I returned to the desk, a station
clerk was talking with her boss, and they came to me and said, gwe have a
policy that does not allow thischowever, we will approve your pass this time.h Needless to say, everyone was elatedcand
the Lord opened the door for me to goc hallelujah to His Name!
The ride on the bullet
train was fast and smooth at 217 mph, and we arrived in the town of Fukuyama in
Hiroshima early in the afternoon.
Just adjacent to the train station was two amazing pieces of architectureca
very old Japanese castle and a Starbucks.
We all viewed the city from the top of the castlecand we pointed out to
them the house and lodging center where Marifs father, Rev. Akasaka, together
with E. Stanley Jones, held their AHSURAM meetings. Graciously, Marifs sister and her
husband, president and CEO of the Glory Printing company there in Marifs home
town, put us all up in their home.
We all slept on futons on the floor, but we had a hard time getting pastor
Den out of the space age massage chair in the living room setting in front of
the big flat screen TVcseems pastor Den greatly enjoyed that kind of gpressure.h [picture
14, picture
15, picture
16]
The following morning
on the 21sth, Thursday, we borrowed the family van, and I drove us
all around to the three Christian Kindergarten schools, founded by Marifs
fathercand later Marifs oldest brother, who also became senior pastor of the
church. All the team was concerned
that we might not be able to interact with any of the children, and give the
gifts of books and goodies they brought from the States, because in nearly by
Kobe, a big outbreak of Swine Flu had broken out. We all agreed to wear white masks while
interacting with about 350 children and their teachers. It was a marvelous time, as Marifs
brother welcomed us and led us around. Peeking in on the two, three, four and
five year old Kindergarten classes was a precious experiencec and I had to keep
reminding the team thatc NOc they couldnft take just a couple of them back home
with them. [picture
17, picture
18, picture
19, picture
20]
The same afternoon on Thursday,
we again boarded the Bullet Train with our wonderful USA purchased rail passes,
and made our way to downtown Hiroshima and to Peace Park. Seeing the actual place where the Atomic
Bomb was dropped, going through the Memorial Museum, and watching the film
footage of the bombing and aftermath, is an experience that permanently sticks
in your mind. Most of the time, the
team just moved about the memorial saying few words. Everyone needs to see this placec at
least once in their lives. Later
that same day we returned to Fukuyama by train, had a good Japanese meal, and
tried to sleep. [picture
21, picture
22, picture
24, picture
25]
When Friday morning the
22nd came, the weather cleared a bit, and we surprised the team with
a quick trip out the pier at the inland sea. Again our host blessed us all, as he had
his cabin cruiser lowered into the sea, and took us for a zippy ride throughout
the Seito Naikai islands. This area
is a designated National Park and is truly beautiful. By noon we were back for lunch and then
dropped off at the Bullet Train Station, said our sayonaras, and made our way
back to Tokyo and to our house. Everyone
was very tired, but all pitched in and helped preparing for our upcoming
International VIP Business Menfs fellowship and Bible Study on Saturday. [picture
26, picture
27]
As Saturday morning
came to pass, we had a late breakfast and put the finishing touches on the
house for the VIP meeting at 2:00 p.m.
All the team again helped and I made my usual run to the station to
provide a lift to those who came to attend the VIP meeting. We had a very blessed time of interacting
with Japanese business men and women, and pastor Den Slattery and Dick Simington
gave their testimonies and handed out their personal tracts and business
cards. Nearly twenty people came
for that event, and many who attended came with the expectation of speaking
with the team in English. [picture
29]
By far, the real
highlight of Saturdaysf events, came at devotion time just prior to receiving
VIP guests. Our unofficially
adopted daughter, who lives with uscMiss Kozue Ebanac after six long years of
prayer and witness to her by her adopted parentscMari and me, received baptism right
there in our kitchen. I had the
privilege of baptizing our daughter as she knelt on the floor with the team
around her. Initially I was just going
to sprinkle her with water as she confessed her faith in Christ, but instead I
dumped a whole cup of water all over hercKozu got pretty wet with water in that
momentc but so did other members of the team who got wet with a bit of their
own waterc salt water. They all
said Kozufs baptism was a highlight of their trip to Japan. It was another miracle God did right in
our midst and we all rejoiced greatly in the Lord! [picture
28]
Before we knew it, it
was Saturday evening the 16thc and Sunday was the 17th - D – dayc departure day. It was hard to believe that ten days of
non-stop ministry had suddenly come to a close, but as everyone loaded into the
van with their suitcases, they knew God had done wonderful things in and
through their lives, because they prayed, prepared, and obeyed His voice to
come. Although nearly a month has
passed since the team was here, everywhere we go everyone is still talking
about the difference their presence made while here.
To conclude this
report one thing remains to be said.
In our twenty eight years of ministry here in Japanc and nearly 19 years
serving with the Mission Societycand with a host of over 40 supporting
Methodist Churchesc this ministry team from two small UM Churches, was the very
first one to come and personally join hands with us here on the field to reach
out to the lost Japanese. We truly
hope that as we continue our work among the needy Japanese people, that those
churches who partner with us, will not only continue sacrifice and give to
reach Japan with the Gospel, but will also commit to come and personally touch
lives. [picture
30]
