April Showers of Blessings -- the Sequel

When I thought of the title for this month's blog, I realized that I had already used it in April of 2008. I went back and read that update, and I was really amazed to see how much God has grown and changed the ways that I am serving him in Japan. I am still learning -- especially now that I find myself in a new city, learning about a new church and building tons of new relationships. I am still learning, and I am still feeling overwhelmed, but I am thankful because God has opened my eyes to lots of ways that he is blessing me and the work in front of me (that I see people doing and that I need to do). So I want to share a little bit about that with you.

One blessing in April was the uncountable opportunities to spend time with Mito church members. We have been getting to know several of the Assistant English Teachers (AETs), since they all fall into the "young adult" category (one of the ministries of which Joel will be in charge). Eight new teachers arrived from America, so we have been helping them to get settled into life in Mito, which is sometimes comical, considering that Joel, Gaku and I just arrived in Mito a month ago.

In the month of April, I had many chances to observe what's happening around here. I helped a little with the "Agape" homeless ministry on the 10th -- some members from another church in the city come each month to help serve curry to, sing songs with, and build relationships with some of the city's homeless people in the Mito Church of Christ parking lot.

On the third Sunday, I attended the annual all-church meeting. It was a great opportunity to observe how Mito church, as a body, deals with major changes. I also learned a great deal about the history of Mito church, and was so encouraged by the direction in which this church family is going.

On the 25th, the church hosted a combination welcome/farewell potluck for Joel, Gaku and I/the Hancock family (former missionary family at Mito church). It was a great time of fellowship and celebration of the time that the Hancocks were members of Mito church.


At the end of the month, our friend Akiko (young Christian, who recently married and moved from Sendai to Yokohama) visited Mito to spend a few days with us and attend the All-Japan Worship at Ibaraki Christian University (located a little north of Mito). The morning's worship and the lunchtime fellowship were a great blessing to me, especially a really encouraging conversation I had with Paul and Stacey Herrington, missionaries at Haruna Church of Christ in Gunma prefecture (near Gaku's hometown).

We have also spent a lot of time thinking and praying about the future of Mito church -- the immediate future and hopes beyond this year. This year's theme is "Growing Deeper, Going Beyond" -- we are focusing on Acts 1:8, and hoping that this will help us become to a more outreach-focused church family, while also deepening our relationship with God and with one another. We want to be Jesus' witnesses in "Jerusalem" (here -- in our church, in our families, among our friends), in "Judea and Samaria" (in Mito city, in Japan) and "to the ends of the earth".

I am full of hope for the future of Mito church, and I am so blessed to be here, to have the chance to help and encourage, to be encouraged, to share my faith and to learn and grow alongside my brothers and sisters here.

Please pray with me . . .

~that the Mito church family will continue "growing deeper, going beyond" -- that we will find ways to dig deeper into the spiritual spring and allow the Holy Spirit to flow out into our church, our families, our friendships, our city, the nation and the world. Holy Father make Mito a light in Japan!

~for new leaders in the churches of Japan. The churches are aging; numbers in fellowship are decreasing. Please pray with me for those struggling churches. And please join me in praying that the Holy Spirit will make Mito church into a place for growth, equipping and sending out of new leaders to revive dying churches and plant new ones throughout Japan and even throughout Asia!

~Please pray for Sendai church -- please pray for the Suzuki family, for Yuko and for Toshiko. This is a difficult time, and the future of the church is still uncertain, so please pray that they will have wisdom and boldness in making difficult desicions. And especially pray that their faith will grow strong and not become weak in this challenging time.

~that the new AETs will continue to find their places in Mito -- that they will settle in to their work situations, that they will find a place to serve in Mito church, and that they will receive wisdom and guidance in their efforts to learn Japanese language and culture.

~a praise to God for helping me to begin to find my place in Mito church -- of course, I am not completely settled in, and my place to serve is still taking shape, but I feel like the Holy Spirit is guiding me in opportunities to build relationships and chances to learn and serve. And I am so thankful for this time

~that I will hear and follow God's guidance as I make decisions about the future. I have lived in Japan for 2 1/2 years now, and my current commitment will end at the end of this year. I feel that God is and has been leading me to stay, but the obstacles to that seem fairly daunting, so please pray that I won't be led by fear, but will boldly do the work that God has set in front of me, in faith that God will provide in all ways.

Season of Renewal

I feel like everything in my life is new. And this is just the time of year for new things -- I have been enjoying all of the new blooms on the trees, and new flowers popping up in the yard of our new home in our new city. Even my blog needed a new name -- "Sasha in Sendai" would not work any longer for a girl who lives in Mito.

We arrived in Mito last week on Monday, so it has been over a week -- and the past week was full! Full of things to do, places to go and people to see! Sunday morning worship with Mito church was the best part -- but also the most overwhelming for me. Everyone was kind and welcoming, but so many new faces left me feeling a little tired. I am so thankful that the church members are so excited to have us here, and I am hoping that it will soon feel like home.

Since Joel's work for the church does not officially start until the beginning of May, we will have this month to get settled in, learn how to get around Mito city, and get aquainted with the church members and what's going on in Mito Church. I think this sounded much more relaxed than it is turning out to be, so I am thankful that we have the rest of the month to get everything done. I will be looking for opportunities to continue studying Japanese (hopefully Mito has some kind of volunteer programs, similar to ones I joined in Sendai), and also keeping my eyes and my heart open for ministry opportunities that will broaden my experience during this training period.

I can't believe that I have been in Japan for more than two years, and my apprenticeship is more than half finished. I am confident that God has brought me to Mito to enrich this training period, and I am hopeful that it will turn out to be a stepping stone into some kind of long-term work in Japan. I was blessed to begin with a one-year internship that become a kind of "sink or swim" experience in English outreach and cultural adjustment -- I learned so much about myself, my faith and life in Japan. Then I felt so relieved when God brought Joel back to Japan, opening an opportunity for me to be in a mentoring relationship and experience a more team-like mission experience -- I feel like I am starting to find a vision for the ministry that God has planned for me, and, of course, I have continued to learn about Japanese culture.

For the rest of my apprenticeship I will be working with Mito church, so I want to share a little more about this working situation and some of my vision for the remainder of this year. Joel will be working mainly with the youth and young adults to facilitate spiritual growth and encourage leadership. Also, since there are several foreigners (who are mostly English teachers) attending the Mito church who also fall into the "young adult" category, he will have some responsibilities and opportunities unique to serving in a cross-cultural church family. As his apprentice, I imagine that I will be sharing in at least some of that experience. I have felt a pull to evangelism and spiritual development through mentoring relationships, so I am hopeful that God is opening an opportunity for me to be mentored and to mentor others.

Beyond that, I am just thankful to be in a much healthier church situation, partnering with Japanese Christians who are sharing the gospel with their community and working toward their vision to grow spiritual leaders who will be able to take the gospel message throughout Japan. I know that this year will also bring times of struggle, but I am so looking forward to the blessings in store as well.

Please pray with me . . .

~for the Sendai church. They will be making lots of decisions about this year at this month's annual church meeting. Please pray that they will see God's will for the church, make wise decisions and follow God's guidance in faith.

~that Mito church will move smoothly through this season of transition. In addition to three new members from Sendai (me, Joel and Gaku), there will be several new English teachers arriving this month. Also, the Hancock family, who have been members of Mito church for several years, will be leaving. All of these changes will cause the dynamic of the membership and the church leadership to change -- so please be praying that God's hand will continue to guide the church through this season of change.

~for peace and trust in God. I am feeling out of my element in a new place, and unsure of my role at Mito church, which, I have found, makes me a little moody. So please be praying for my human weakness -- I need our Savior so much, but it is so easy to forget that in the bustle of daily life.

Small Note on Finances:

As most of you know, this year has been challenging for this ministry in the area of financial support. I am still getting by, and God has provided for April's salary, but there is still about a 50% shortage in pledged funds for the rest of the year. So if you can help in any way, please let me know -- sashainsendai@yahoo.com

Please continue to pray for this need! Thank you for all your love and support!

Obeying God's Call

God decided to begin our year with a huge transition, which we are feeling lots of emotions about -- so let me try to give you all the abridged version of what is going on.

Last fall Joel was offered a position working with the leadership of the Mito Church of Christ in Mito, Japan. Since Joel is my supervisor and I have one year remaining in my apprenticeship, the Mito church agreed to invite me as well. At first, I was not at all convinced that God wanted me to leave Sendai, but in December, He revealed to me a vision for the work that we could be part of in Mito. I was convinced then that God has opened an opportunity to leave to work in Sendai, heartbreaking as that idea is, and join with the Mito church. Joel has been invited to help in the spiritual development of the youth and young adults, work with the leadership to enrich fellowship and worship and, hopefully sometime in the future, partner with the Mito church in their goal of planting more churches in the city and in other parts of Japan. I will continue to study and practice Japanese, and I am hopeful that God will give me a chance to build relationships in which I can be give and receive spiritual mentoring.

In January, we made the final decision to accept the invitation to move to Mito in faith that God's hand is guiding us there. It has been heartwrenching to begin preparing to separate ourselves from Sendai -- we've been telling our close friends individually in Sendai and Hachinohe, and since the Mito church was able to announce the decision last Sunday, I can now share the news with all of you. Joel and I are, of course, concerned about the future of the Sendai church family, but we know that the Holy Spirit is in control.

Debi has accepted a position at the Christian Academy in Japan, an international school in the Tokyo area -- she will be moving there in August. Akiko with be getting married and moving with her husband to Yokohama. Also, Gaku has decided that it would be best for him spiritually to move to Mito with Joel and me. So that will leave only 4 regular attending members here at the Sendai church. They will be faced with some difficult decisions regarding the future of the church, so please join us in praying for them.

We will be moving at the beginning of April, and Joel will be gone to Southeast Asia for most of March. So we have made a few trips to Mito already to look for housing and make other arrangements for our move -- Gaku is also looking for a job, and we are trying to sort through all of the things in our house and pack most things up before Joel has to leave.

Also, God has blessed me with a few new supporters and some people have given one-time donations, for which I am so thankful -- I was able to receive my regular salary for February. However, the monthly support committed for my salary and ministry fund is still only about half of what is needed. So please, please continue to pray about that on my behalf. And if you know anyone at all who might be willing to help, please let them know about my needs. I know God will provide, so please be listening prayerfully to hear if you are part of his plan to provide for this work.

Please pray with me . . .

~a praise for the way that God has spoken so clearly to Joel, Gaku and me. I am so thankful for all the ways that God has worked to show us that we should make this transition now, and for the ways that God has begun to clear the path for each of us, as we maneuver all of the difficult part of moving and changing jobs.

~that God will help Gaku to find a good job in Mito, with Sundays off, so that he can attend worship and have more opportunities to connect with the Mito church community.

~that Joel (and his mom, who will also be traveling to Japan and Southeast Asia next month) will have safe travels and lots of opportunities to be a blessing to the mission work in Cambodia.

~that God will provide financially for me to continue living the life to which I have been called. (And also, please pray that I will have peace in this season of higher financial stress because of this move, taxes and other higher-than-usual expenses.)

~for the Sendai church family -- that they will have wisdom to make the best decision for the church, and that they will continue to feel loved and supported by those of us who are being called away from Sendai this year.

~for Debi, Akiko, Gaku, Joel and I -- we are all excited about the opportunities that God has opened for us in other places, but we are all sad to be leaving our friends in Sendai. Please pray that we will have time and emotional strength to show the love we feel and say the goodbyes that we need to say in order to make this transition as smooth as possible for our hearts and for those of our close friends we are leaving behind.

These next couple of months will continue to be very busy and very full of packing, goodbyes, cleaning, planning, praying and traveling. I need your prayers!

Blizzard of Blessings

Because I didn't get my November report out in the midst of the holiday craziness, I am going to combine it with my December report. So much good stuff has been going on here though, so I am going to do it a little differently, in order to share with you the highlights without writing a novella.

First, the best parts:

Joel and I attended the Church Planting Institute conference at the beginning of November. When we arrived, there were conference staff members at the door to welcome us -- the first thing that they said to us was, "thank you for serving in Japan." Maybe that seems small, but I still feel so grateful and touched, even now, by the commitment the conference staff had to encouraging and loving all of us and to supporting God's work in Japan.

Another main focus of the Church Planting Institute is that, as Christians, we not only need to preach the gospel to those who have not heard it, but we also need to preach the gospel to one another -- Christians need to hear the gospel, too. I was really touched by this idea. One of the most nourishing things that I heard at the conference was a talk about our ministry of reconciliation (from 2 Cor. 5:16-21). I was especially moved by the realization that in verse 20, Paul tells us that it is our job to "be reconciled to God" -- we, ourselves, cannot reconcile others to God and we cannot share the message of reconciliation without it being written in our own hearts.

Another highlight was the weekend mini-retreat that our cell group hosted on the weekend of November 21st. We invited the Hitachi cell group up for some fellowship and some time to focus on prayer. On Saturday evening we had a prayer stations activity at the church. I think we were all blessed and encouraged by our time together. Since it was a three day weekend here, a couple of our friends from Hitachi stayed through Monday to do some sightseeing and extra hanging out.

In December, the main highlights were, of course, the holidays. Joel and I spent a ton of time preparing to host several friends for our Christmas celebration. And it was totally worth it! We had an excellent Christmas, which I think was as much of a blessing for our guests as it was for us. On the 26th, we traveled down to Mito to attend a worship workshop led by Keith Lancaster, and we worshiped at the Mito church on Sunday before heading back to Sendai.

And to close out 2009, Joel, Gaku and I traveled down to Gunma prefecture to spend a couple of days with Gaku's family. We got to visit with his parents and his three younger brothers (his two older siblings didn't come until after we had already left, so we hope to meet them the next time we visit). It was a great blessing to have such a relaxed New Year's celebration, as well as an opportunity to build relationships with Gaku's family -- they were wonderful hosts!

Some of the other things that happened in November and December:
(Click on the underlined ones for pictures)

November 2-4: Visited our friend, Yoshinori, in Shizuoka
November 6-8: Visited Mito Church of Christ
November 9: Combined preachers' meeting (our region and the Tokyo area) in Tachikawa
November 28-29: Visited Hachinohe Church of Christ
December 1-16: Joel traveled to Southeast Asia to do some more work and planning for the work going on in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and to serve at a retreat that the Bedok Church of Christ held in Malaysia
December 6: Took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (results will come in February)
December 20: Christmas worship and church Christmas party
December 21: Debi's parents (Ron and Cindy) arrived in Sendai to visit for the holidays
December 23: Christmas party/Reception for Debi's parents



Please pray with me . . .

~a prayer for Gaku's grandfather and the rest of his family. Gaku's grandfather is in the final stages of lung cancer. Fortunately, he can be at home, because Gaku's mother, who is a nurse, can go to his house often to care for him and handle his pain management; however, this is also a difficult burden on her and the family.

~a prayer for the Sendai church. It has been a challenging year for our church family -- please pray with me that, as we all make decisions that will effect the future of our family this year, we will be full of God's wisdom and discernment.

~a prayer for my financial support. I was blessed this past summer to receive enough funding to last the rest of the year. However, as that money is just about used up, God is challenging me again to trust in him -- I feel strongly that he still wants me working in Japan, so I am asking you to pray with me for my faith in his provision, and also pray that those who are called by God to support this work financially will respond faithfully, swiftly and generously.

~a praise to God for all ways that he blessed me at Christmastime. If blessings were snowflakes, we would have had a white Christmas -- I was overcome with thankfulness for the blessing of being surrounded by friends, and the opportunity we had to rejoice together, encourage one another and bask in God's love, while we enjoyed our holidays.

~a praise to God for the time of worship we had in Mito with the Lancaster family. I felt so filled and refreshed by the worship as we all put our whole selves into the worship on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday morning. Thank you God for giving us a way to praise you, because you are so good and so mighty and so worthy of praise.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for 2009. Personally, I have experienced more challenges and blessings than I can count or remember in this past year, but mostly I am just thankful for another year walking with our Father.

May God bless you and guide you through this new year!

Thank you, as always, for your faithful love, support, encouragement and prayers!

All About October

October was a blessed month, mostly full of regular, routine things, but I still would like to try to share some of the highlights and the ways that I could see God working here.

At the beginning of the month, I took and passed a language test at the community center in our neighborhood. It was only a short test to determine whether or not I could handle moving up to the intermediate level class, but I was encouraged by some kind of landmark to help me see that I am actually making progress as I study Japanese. I also decided to join another language class at a community center downtown -- I am thankful that I was able to pass the test to enter into the intermediate level class there as well. I am also very thankful for so many free resources to help me to study Japanese.

This month I celebrated my birthday, and I am reminded of how grateful I am for my friends here. (Also I can now say, from experience, that being 26 feels very much like being 25.) Our Monday night cell group threw me a birthday party. Debi took me out to Matsushima Bay and, of all things one can find in Japan, a Belgian music box museum. And Joel treated me to dinner at one of Sendai's especially delicious Italian restaurants. Hooray for birthdays!


On the 19th and 20th, Joel and I attended the monthly regional ministry workers' meeting. Usually the meeting is on Monday mornings, but once each year the meeting is an overnight retreat-style meeting. I was very blessed by our time together. In addition to the regular business, we discussed discipleship training, after hearing a recap of things presented at Mito Church of Christ by Rich Little, a recent guest speaker, when he visited the congregation to share on that topic. And the highlight for me was a meditation on Psalm 62.

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
his is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."
Psalm 62:5-8

We also visited the church in Hachinohe on the 24th and 25th. As usual, on Sunday, Joel preached. Then after eating lunch with the church members, we helped them with their LST follow-up, by leading a short English lesson and Bible study with two of the this summer's LST readers, one of the reader's high school aged daughter, and one of the church members.

At the end of the month I was blessed with the opportunity to help with the Halloween party for Debi's kindergarten class. The kids were extra cute in their costumes, and I was so thankful for the opportunity to be able to bless Debi with an extra pair of hands during the festivities.

Free time in the last week of October was spent preparing for our travels. The main reason for our ten day trip was to attend a Church Planting Institute conference, but we decided to stop by a couple other places along the way. More on that in my next update . . .


Please pray with me . . .

~a prayer of thanksgiving for the ways that God communicates his love and grace through us and our lives without words. Also please pray that as I continue to learn Japanese, that God will give me wisdom as I learn about how to express my faith and God's truth in another language and culture.

~a praise to God for the gift of the church -- let's praise God for his wisdom in giving us a community in which we can worship him together, seek his truth together and partners with whom we can work for his glory. Please also pray for the church in Japan -- pray that we will cherish one another and work together to be a blessing on the nation of Japan.

~for wisdom and faith -- as I start to reflect on this year, please be praying that I will see God's perspective on the things that I have done, and that I will be able to recognize the Holy Spirit's guidance as I start to think about how to continue serving God and the people of Japan in this next year of my apprenticeship.

~for the Sendai church family -- we have had struggles and joys this year. Please pray for the brothers and sisters here, that we will be brave to listen for and follow the Holy Spirit's leadership, and that we will be able to find a shared vision for our church.