A June Jammed with Joy

June began with the National Ministry Workers' Workshop. Rich Little came from the Naperville Church of Christ to share with us about spiritual disciplines and discipleship. I felt convicted and enriched by what I learned and encouraged by the great fellowship.




Then we were very blessed by a visit from Crimsen and Saprina. They spent about 10 days in Mito with us (they also visited Sendai for about a week). We enjoyed showing them around Mito and introducing them to many of our new friends. I am so thankful for how encouraged I was by their fellowship -- it always wonderful to have good friends visit Japan!


On the weekend of the 18th, Atsushi (Mito church minister), Joel and I planned a one night retreat for the foreigners at Mito church. We had time for prayer and worship, discussion and planning for this year, and fun and fellowship. I think that everyone is excited for some of the changes we will be making to the focus of the group in our times together. I feel like God has great plans for the members of Mito church, and a portion of the potential that I see in Mito church is in this group of vocational missionaries. I feel so fortunate and exited to be working alongside them in God's mission in Japan.



Also, we assembled our "Flocks" (small groups, a little like host families) in June. Our hope is that God will use these cross-cultural groups of Mito church members to build deeper spiritual relationships in our church family. We are focusing on unity within our church in order to strengthen one another as we go out into the community, the nation and the world to glorify our Heavenly Father!

Joel and I continue to visit the Ibaraki Christian College campus every Tuesday with the intention of building relationships and looking for opportunities to serve the spiritual needs of the students we meet. This is difficult for me because I am not naturally outgoing, and even more shy in Japanese. But God is opening doors for me to slowly build relationships with some of the students. I am thankful for this opportunity, even though it takes me outside of my comfort area.

And this month we began making preparations for the English Bible Class (EBC) ministry, that Mito Church of Christ hosts from September to March. People interested in studying English (using the Bible) can attend small group conversational English lessons taught by the native English speaking members of Mito church. Joel has delegated the organization of this ministry to Kendon (one of the AETs) and me -- so, with the help of the other foreigners, we will be writing the curriculum, preparing the teachers, running registration and seeking God's wisdom in this outreach ministry.

The last weekend in June, we began hosting a cell group in our home on Sunday evenings for the young Japanese members of Mito church. Please pray for this group! The devotional times are led by the members, who all want to work on growing spiritually together, share testimonies of how God is working in our lives and spend more time devoted to praising God. These young adults are the future leaders of the Lord's church in Japan, and I am so blessed to be growing, praising God and serving with them.

Please pray with me . . .

~that we will find times of rest, times to just be with God. Mito church has a lot of ministries and other activities going on -- so please pray that each one of us will continue to find and protect times of quiet to renew our spirits and spend time with our Creator.

~a praise to God for the Mito church family's desire to be a church united by the Holy Spirit, despite the challenges that come from being an international church. Please pray that the Flocks within the Mito church family will be protected and blessed, as those relationships grow.

~that God will continue to open the way for me to build relationships with the students of Ibaraki Christian College. Please pray that I will be confident to build new relationships, and that God will work through me despite my weaknesses.

~for the EBC ministry. Please pray over the students that will come to learn English. Please pray for the church members who will lead the small group discussions. And please pray for all of us who are working to prepare the materials that will serve both as a tool for practicing English and a stimulus for spiritual discussion.

~a praise to God that Joel is getting some time to rest and enjoy his family reunion. Please pray that his family will be blessed, and that he will have safe travels back to Japan.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for all the provisions that God has made for Gaku in his life in Mito. Please pray that God will bless him with rest within his difficult work schedule, and that the Holy Spirit will continue to protect and grow his new relationships and continue to bless him with spiritual mentoring and opportunities to serve.

The Many Mighty Blessings of May in Mito

Friends, May was an excellent month in Mito!

We started the month off with some great fellowship time during the national holidays in the first week of May. And that set the tone for a month of building deeper relationships with many of the church members. Joel, Gaku and I were blessed to be able to host one of the church member's parents in our home while they were visiting from America (because God blessed us with a guest room). Chris and Sharon were a great encouragement to us!

On the 5th we got to spend some time with the Tsuneki family, Chelsea (a new AET) and Yayoi-san (who has been joining Bible studies at the church lately). We visited Hitachi Seaside Park together.


We also stretched the seams of our house to bursting one night when we had a Pizza night with the AETs and several other friends. People were spilling out into the kitchen and hallway, but I think we all enjoyed the fellowship.


We invited Olive Cell, a group that has a Bible study at the church each Monday afternoon, to meet at our house on the 17th for a potluck lunch and Bibly study/singing time, so we could have a chance to enjoy their company and get to know each of those wonderful friends a little better while we fellowshipped and worshiped together.

On the weekend of the 22nd, we went to Tokyo on Saturday with a group of nearly thirty people to worship with the Passion World Tour. I know that we were all blessed by that time of praise! And I was pleasantly surprised to meet a friend from Sendai and a friend from last year's Church Planting Institute conference there -- that definitely gave me the perspective that we were worshiping together with the whole nation. Five of the Ibaraki Christian College students that went to worship with us also stayed overnight at our house and worshiped at Mito church on Sunday morning.


On the last Sunday of May, Mito church was blessed by a message from Rich Little (minister of the Naperville Church of Christ in Naperville, IL) -- he came to be the guest speaker at the National Ministry Worker's Workshop (June 2-4), but was able to share a little time to be an encouragement to Mito church too.

Also, at the end of May we said goodbye to Tammy, one of the AETs who had stayed on to cover for the newest AET, who could not move to Japan until the beginning of June. We miss you Tammy!

We have been trying to invite the church members one by one to have dinner with us at our house -- it has been a blessing to get to know them better. And I am so excited for the opportunities I have seen for us to grow together spiritually.

I don't know if this "laundry list" of times of blessed fellowship adequately communicates the ways that God is working here, but I can say that God is moving in and speaking to Mito church. I feel like I have so many opportunities to serve, love and encourage. My prayer is that God will use me (and the church leadership) in whatever way he can to help Mito church grow spiritually, become more unified and shine even brighter in this city.

The best blessings of the month were the baptisms of Saki and Ayami -- two of our friends that are students at Ibaraki Christian College. Please rejoice with us over their decisions to commit their lives to God.

Saki's Baptism

Please pray with me . . .

~that Mito church will experience more unity among the young people, across the generations and between the foreigners and Japanese members. I think we all want this, so please pray that we will have wisdom as we work toward this goal with the Holy Spirit's blessing and guidance.

~that the members of Mito church will grow in spiritual maturity, and the Holy Spirit will raise up new leaders in the church to strengthen and grow Mito church into the future and also for Mito church to be able to send leaders out into the rest of Japan to help in the growth of new churches.

~that Saki and Ayami with overcome all of the obstacles to having faith in Japan as they continue to walk with our Savior.

~a continuing prayer for my language study -- I think that I am slowly improving, but feel like I have hit a wall with the new challenges to my study in our new living/working situation. Please pray for this, because without adequate language skills my ability to serve and build relationships with Japanese people continues to be very limited.

~a praise for the new support I am receiving (bringing my monthly support up to about 75% of my financial needs). I continue to be amazed at the ways that God provides! Please continue to pray that God will find that last 25% for me.

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!