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Spring has come! The sakura (cherry blossoms) have bloomed, the weather is warming up and we’ve been able to get out of our tiny home and play as a family together during this spring break.
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April 2018
Spring Has Come
<<Salutation>>
We are thankful for all the wonderful blessings from God in our lives over this past winter. We are especially thankful this past winter is over. Our first winter in Japan as a family definitely carried with it baggage and difficulty. But no matter how dark our surroundings, no matter how lost we feel, no matter how impossible the work we have in front of us, our sovereign King, Jesus is always with us even when we can’t see or feel Him. We can trust Him even in the cold, dark, long winter. He always brings spring to remind us of new life and of our future hope.
We visited a church in the beautiful Japanese Alps a few weeks ago. The air was clean, the views were spectacular, and the fellowship was sweet. Nozomi and I enjoyed helping my Japanese pastor friend, Ruka Tanii, and his family with his English school assembly and taking part in the following Sunday's morning worship service. Nozomi shared a beautiful Easter lesson for Sunday School through which God worked in the hearts of two young people for salvation! I also had the joy of giving my testimony to the church to encourage the believers in their faith.
Please continue to pray for our family as we are still adjusting to the busy Japanese culture.
Pray for the kids. They are struggling and pushing back against us lately. Pray God will give them peace as they still miss their family and friends in the USA. Pray for God to give Nozomi and me wisdom to show grace and love to them as they struggle with such a huge life-change.
Taishi just started 3rd grade on Thursday! (Japanese school years begin and end at spring break not summer vacation.) Thank you for your prayers as he seeks to do his best in school and to show Jesus' love to friends (and siblings).
Keep praying for Kensei's eye problem. Last update we asked you to pray as we look for an eye doctor. We think we found a good eye doctor who can help Kensei. God is good. We had an initial visit and will return in June for a follow up to check if Kensei has had any progress. All the doctors we've visited in Japan mentioned Kensei will most-likely need surgery.
Pray for us as we really need Gospel-centered Christian friends and fellowship. We hope to meet up with another nearby missionary couple in the future for fellowship as it seems they have gone through very similar cultural struggles as we are currently.
Pray for me as I continue in my Japanese studies. I have the goal to finish my first Japanese textbook by the end of this month. I have two more chapters to finish. I am also currently working on writing my testimony in Japanese.
Last time I asked for prayer for like-minded partners and "for more opportunities to practice Japanese and to connect with Japanese men, both believers and unbelievers, to build relationships and to explain the hope of the Gospel." This is how God may be answering your prayers: A few weeks ago a missionary friend asked me to help out with some ministry opportunities he is involved in since he will be returning soon to the States for a year. One of those opportunities could lead to planting a church in the area. Please pray for wisdom to know if God would want us to get involved in planting an international church here in Makuhari while I'm studying Japanese.
Continue to pray for Christian unity here in Japan.
If you haven't already, take 7 minutes to watch our video about the need in Japan and visit our website here. If you would like to partner with us, please click on the "support" button or click here and sign up with a monthly pledge. If you would like to increase your monthly pledge amount, the easiest way is to call our mission board at 603-821-5232 so they can adjust your pledge amount over the phone. Let your friends know about our ministry by sharing our video or website on Facebook.
Thank you for your love and care for us. It is an honor to be working together with you to take the Gospel to the many lost in Japan.
Love,
Jared M. Vanning
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Our entire family enjoyed spending time with the Taniis in Minami Alps. Ruka just became the pastor of the church his father planted years ago.
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We can see Mt. Fuji from our balcony of our home but not like this. The view of the mountains from Minami Alps are breathtaking. I can see why they named their church Hallelujah Baptist Church.
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I was finally able to follow through with our Christmas gift to the kids, a family trip to Tokyo Disneyland. We live 25 minutes from the park and the kids have been asking to go since we arrived in Japan. With money given specifically for our kids for Christmas from our supporting churches we had more than enough to pay for the tickets! Since it's spring break time here in Japan, Nozomi's sister, Ai and her kids were able to go with us.
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