Sweet September

In September I settled into my fall schedule. I have 13 one-on-one English/Bible students. I also get to lead a weekly small group discussion class for three ladies -- we are studying the book of Mark together. It has been such a blessing to see what each of us brings to our time together; God is using each person's strengths to help us all see his glory more clearly. These ladies are not following God yet, but he is drawing them nearer.

This month we had a few opportunities for wonderful fellowship. Akiko, Debi and I went to the street jazz festival that Sendai hosts each year. We saw some really excellent bands, playing all different kinds of music -- there was even a gospel group. Debi and I also hosted a birthday BBQ for three of our friends with September birthdays. It was a lot of fun and felt very good to have a bunch of people in our house again. And Dwight and Josephine Albright visited us for one night as they traveled through Sendai; it was very encouraging to spend time talking with them.

At the end of September, I had a pretty nasty cold, so I have been catching up with work that got a little backe up and finishing the extra tasks required to prepare for extending my time in Japan and for visiting family and friends in the States over Christmas.

This month I would like to ask everyone to be praying for one of my students. He is a retired man, who has lived his life in the traditional Japanese way. He has been very devout to the ways of the Buddhist and Shinto religions, but he also seems a little disillusioned by the religious system and the condition of Japanese society. I have been studying with him for about one year now, and I am still not sure of his level of interest in Christianity. However, I feel very strongly that God is softening his heart. Lately, he has been asking deeper and deeper questions about what it means to follow Jesus. So, please pray that he will be protected as he seeks the truth about God, and that he will hunger for God's righteousness, that he will will receive the gift of faith.

Please pray with me. . .

~that the Holy Spirit will continue to soften the hearts of the Japanese people, and help them to see that he can heal the brokenness of this world.

~for the people in Sendai that are seeking God, that they will continue to seek and that they will be protected from the distractions of Satan.

~a praise to God for all the ways he has blessed and encouraged me this past month.

~for my next year in Sendai -- that God will give me a clear vision of my part in his work and strength to follow him faithfully.

~for the work in Sendai -- that the Christians here will continue to hear and follow God's call to share his love.