May 2009

I feel like I say this every month, but I can't believe how quickly May flew by! At the beginning of the month we had a little bit of a holiday. There is a group of national holidays which gave a lot of our friends a five day weekend in the first weekend of the month. So we invited friends from Ibaraki and one friend from Shizuoka to come to our house and hang out.


We spent the time relaxing and encouraging one another. It was a great weekend, and I think that our guests all left refreshed.

Another special event this month was Young Adult Camp in Ibaraki prefecture. Unfortunately this year none of the Japanese young people from Sendai were able to attend. But Joel, Debi and I did attend the camp -- the theme was missions. The preacher from Hitachi Church of Christ (in Ibaraki) shared with us about his experiences in following (and sometimes failing to follow) God's mission for his life. I was especially encouraged by this talk. Then on Saturday afternoon we went out into the community in small groups to try out different kinds of missions. Because of some challenges (mostly the really heavy rain) our group learned again that God's plan is not always what we imagine it will be.

The other "regular" things that continued this month were my language lessons, weekly one-on-one English Bible studies with Marina and Fukuda-san, Monday night cell group at our house, Birthday Sunday at church, monthly preacher's meeting in Ibaraki and a weekend visit to the church in Hachinohe. The Sendai church has also continued making preparations for the Let's Start Talking team that will arrive on June 20th. We have about 45 participants registered so far (with about 30 spaces still available), so please continue to pray that God will lead people to this program to hear his Word.

Also I have decided to try to take the Japanese proficiency exam in December. The level that I would like to try to pass will require me to learn how to read about 300 new characters, in addition to working even harder on my vocabulary and grammar. I think this will be challenging, but I feel like it will be a good motivater in my studies. Thank you for covering this part of the work in prayer -- it is so important to be able to communicate!

Please pray with me . . .

~a praise for the time we had at the beginning of May to host and encourage our friends.

~that God will prepare the hearts of this year's LST participants to hear his Word and desire his Truth. And please pray that God will continue to guide the LST workers as they come to share their faith and the love of our Saviour.

~a praise for the amazing ways God provides for us physically and spiritually -- our God is so good!

~that God will continue to guide me as I study Japanese, that he will give me confidence to use what I know and help me to overcome my fear of making mistakes.

The Amazing Flying April

It felt like April flew by here, maybe because it was a very full month. I have, of course, continued in my language study. And I am encouraged by how much I am able to understand, but frustrated that my listening skills are improving disproportionate to my speaking skills. I still struggle to have confidence to speak and find it very difficult to shape my thoughts into the Japanese grammar that I can remember. I know that it will eventually come, but I am having trouble being patient with the learning process. So thank you for your prayers about this and please continue to pray for me in this matter. I know that even the process of learning is a blessing to me and hopefully through it I can be a blessing to all of the people who are helping me to learn.

The April Birthday Sunday at church was also Easter Sunday. Joel and I prepared a delicious lunch, which facilitated an enjoyable time of fellowship and celebration.



Also, Joel and I traveled north to Hachinohe and on the weekend of the 26th. We were able to spend Saturday afternoon and evening with one of the church members, and help a little bit with some of their preparations for the Hachinohe Let's Start Talking project. On Sunday, after Joel preached in worship time, we had a meeting to discuss the three church retreat that the churches in Sendai, Morioka and Hachinohe are planning for September. (These are the three Japanese churches of Christ in this northern region of Japan.) It was decided that the theme will be Family, and we are excited to be designing this camp to be especially welcoming to all ages and all family members and friends, whether they are Christian or not.

Near the end of April we started hosting a cell group Bible study and worship time at our house on Monday evenings. We eat dinner together, then we have a short game, praise time, brief Bible study and discussion time. The idea of this gathering is to work together to find out more about God and what it means to have faith in him. The agenda is set up so that we can all take turns planning different parts of the evening. We have only met a couple of times, but I am hopeful that God will work in great ways through this.

Also this month, we said goodbye to one of the members of the Bible study that Debi and I attend on Tuesday evenings. Stephanie, who has been teaching English in Japan for several years, is back in Texas now. Her goodbye dinner was a fun opportunity to see old friends and make a couple new ones; since we are usually spread all over the city at different churches it was a rare blessing. We will miss her!


On the 29th (a national holiday), 7 adults from Sendai traveled down to Ibaraki for the annual all-Japan worship time on the campus of Ibaraki Christian University. In the morning we had a worship time and sermon. Then we all ate lunch together outside, enjoying fellowship and the blessing of a very beautiful day. In the afternoon there were a couple of choices of activities -- I attended the presentation about the March "Angkor of Faith" mission to Cambodia (the same mission that I went with last March). My favorite part of that day was at the end of the Cambodia presentation -- in small groups we prayed for the children in Cambodia and for the people of Asia. I was moved deeply by realizing once again that God has the power to bring all the people of Asia into relationship with him; and as I work in Japan, I must always place my faith in God's faithfulness, desire and power to restore his children.

Coming up in May, we will be continuing our preparation for the upcoming Let's Start Talking summer program. The team will be arriving on the 20th of June; we opened the registration in April and we already have over 35 people signed up to participate in one-on-one English Bible study for 5 weeks.

Also, in May we will attend the annual Young Adult Camp in Ibaraki prefecture. Please pray that God will make a way for some of the young people from Sendai to go to that event. It is an excellent opportunity to gather people together in a time of worship, fellowship and learning.

Please pray with me . . .

~that God will reveal himself to us in our cell group; that he will touch and stretch our hearts.

~that God will work through me as I continue to study the Bible one-on-one with two people this spring.

~that God will bless the LST program in Sendai this year, that he will bring people to the church who have hearts that are ready to hear the good news of Jesus' love.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for the ways that God has encouraged me and lifted me up this past month. I am less discouraged and am feeling God's peace and joy grow stronger in my heart. He is so faithful and patient!

~a praise for the improvements in my funding situation -- I am still in need of more funds, but God is slowly opening the way for me to continue working in Sendai.

The Ending of Seasons

Recently, I have been experiencing a spiritually dry season. Looking back on March, I am struggling a little bit with how to report about it; I don't want my temporary melancholy to shade the good things that God has done.

I continued most of my language classes, but, as it was the break between terms in the Japanese school year, my study schedule was a little more relaxed than usual.

I also was blessed by the opportunity to meet with the ladies with whom I studied the book of Mark last fall. We met for coffee and were able to catch up and enjoy one another. They are all excited for this summer's Let's Start Talking program.

Another blessing this past month was the chance that I had to go to the Sendai Junior Orchestra Spring Concert -- my friend's daughter is a member of the group. It was a great concert and a good time to encourage my friend, Tomomi. So God is blessing me, and I believe he is working through me despite my feeling dry.

Joel and I are beginning to really dig into preparations for the summer Let's Start Talking project. We have started to distribute advertising, and are talking it up to everyone. We have also been trying to prepare the local church members to be as involved as possible in the project. So please be covering that in prayer.

Another blessing that came at the end of the month was the news that there were several people who sent in one-time donations in March that were able to cover my April salary -- praise God! Even though it was a difficult month for me, I am so thankful for the continuing opportunity to serve God in Japan and still feel his call to be here. Almost daily God calls my attention to evidence of the void that is left in the lives of people who don't know God's grace -- he has given me such a wonderful chance to serve him in ways that I could not serve him in the States. That is why I will continue to ask God to help me to overcome the feelings of discouragement that try to creep in, and ask once again for your financial support. I still am receiving only about $1100 in monthly commitments. My current budget calls for $1600 monthly, and this budget is barely enough to cover basic personal and ministry needs. The elders at the Cheyenne Church of Christ approved a new budget of $2250 monthly in January, but I have not been able to begin receiving that amount yet. Please prayerfully consider supporting me financially. I know that the current condition of the global economy may make this kind of support a great sacrifice or even a complete impossibility, but I am asking in faith that God will provide for this work through your generosity.

Please pray with me . . .

~that God will speak through me as I continue to study the Bible with two of my students from last year, and that God will soften their hearts to hear his voice and desire his righteousness.

~that God will bless the summer Let's Start Talking project in Sendai. I pray that he will be with our team as they prepare to come and share their faith. God also please send our advertisements into the hands of the people most ready to hear your Good News.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for the way that God moved in the hearts of the young Asian Christians and seekers who participated in this year's Angkor of Faith mission to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Please continue to pray for the street children there who are so hungry for God's perfect love.

~that God will continue to regrow his joy in my heart and draw me out of this season of dryness.

~that God will continue to bless my language study, help me to remember what I learn and guide me in more and more disciplined study. Also please praise God with me for all the opportunities he gives me to grow and share his love as I depend on so many people to help me to learn Japanese.

Fine February

This February was a month of settling. I settled back into life in Japan after being in America for six weeks in December and January. I settled into my language study routine. I have continued to attend a group class twice weekly at my neighborhood community center. And I also have 4 other volunteer tutors who help me to study and practice different aspects of the Japanese language. Since returning I have increased the amount of time that I spend in language study, because I feel that it is very important for me to work towards being able to build relationships with people in Japanese. The church members and several other friends here have blessed me greatly by their great patience and grace as I attempt to communicate. I also settled back into the friendships that I was able to build over the past year. Together with my supervisor, Joel, I met with several friends for lunch or coffee to reconnect.

In addition to settling into previous routines and relationships, I had a few new experiences this month. On the 10th I attended my first monthly regional preacher's meeting. Now that I have decided to stay in Japan longer, Joel recommended that I do more to connect with other full-time workers in Japan. I was a little nervous to introduce myself to the group of 15 or so preachers in Japanese, but they were gracious and kind. It was truly a blessing to be with them as we had a short devotional time and discussion about different upcoming events and other concerns.

Also in February Joel had the idea to host a monthly Birthday Sunday at church. So I helped him by baking a couple of yummy cakes. We invited LST readers and other church friends that had birthdays in February. Then we honored them during worship service by praying for them. Then we ate lunch together and enjoyed some fellowship time.


Please pray with me . . .

~a praise that we have found a new roommate. Our friend Gaku will being moving into our house this month. Also please pray for Gaku as he transitions out of university and into his new job (beginning in April), and as he moves from his apartment into our house.

~a praise for the opportunities that God has blessed me with for building friendships and showing love to my friends in Japan.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for the church family in Sendai. Please also pray that God will continue to grow and heal his children here and help them to be bold and brave to share his love and grace.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for the generosity of my financial supporters. Please be persistant in pray for my funds situation as I continue to plead for more support to meet the needs of my life in Japan. And also pray that I will have wisdom and faithfully seek God's guidance in the decisions that will be influenced my current budget situation.

~that God will grant save travels to all the young people that will be going to Cambodia this month for the annual Angkor of Faith mission exposure trip. And that he will bless them and the street children of Siem Reap during their time there.

Familiar Faces and Familiar Spaces

For most of January I was traveling around America. At the beginning of the month my mother took our family to Florida for our first family vacation in several years. It was a great week of relaxing, enjoying each other and soaking up the sunshine.

Then I traveled to Wyoming to visit my sponsoring congregation, the Cheyenne Church of Christ. What a welcome I received there! I was so thankful for the hugs and smiles, and for the blessing of worshiping with my brothers and sisters there. It was an encouraging time for me to see familiar faces and to make some new friends too. I was given the opportunity on the 18th to talk to members of the congregation about the work in Sendai. It was so great to share about the people I have grown to love so much this past year and the need for God's love and grace in Japan.

During my visit in Wyoming, I met with the elders to talk about my experience in Japan this past year and plans for the next year. One of the concerns that we all shared was for my support. Right now the support that is coming in is several hundred dollars short of my monthly budget. As the Cheyenne church is unable to cover the deficiency any longer, I am hoping that God will provide that support from other sources. So again, I am asking in faith for you to be in prayer about that -- I still feel that God has work for me in Japan. If you are willing to become a financial supporter, please send your donation to:

Cheyenne Church of Christ
Attn: Sasha's Support
PO Box 2847
Cheyenne WY 82003

or email me at sashainsendai@yahoo.com for information about setting up a direct deposit into the church account set aside for my support.

I also visited York, Nebraska during my time in America. I was able to connect with some of my supporters and other friends while I was there. I was blessed by the encouragement and support that they gave me.

I have just returned to Sendai after being in America for about six weeks. Over the next several days I will hopefully be getting back into a routine and starting up my Japanese study again, as well as other activities. Joel, one of my supervisors, is back in Japan after a year of rest, learning and training in Southeast Asia -- he and I will be working together on a plan for how my responsibilities and goals will be changing for this second year in Sendai.

Please pray with me . . .

~a prayer of thanks for the people who encouraged me while I visited the States, especially those who welcomed me into their homes and the ones who listened while I talked on and on about Japan.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for safe travels.

~a praise to God for giving me the opportunity to continue sharing his love and grace to my friends in Sendai; and a prayer for support -- that God will provide for me financially so that I can stay here this year.

~that God will continue to work in the hearts of the lost in Sendai, and that he will protect those who are seeking him -- that he will draw them nearer.

~that God will give us wisdom as Joel and I talk about ministry plans for this next year.