Latest news from our work in Sapporo Japan

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. Psalm 126:5-6

October Greetings
Autumn foliage has graced Hokkaido with its beauty. Along with with-it hordes of yukimushi (snow bugs) who come to proclaim winters imminent return. We are approaching the final stretch of our time in language school and I feel that this last stretch will be the toughest. However, we are reminded of our unchanging God who empowers us for doing His work through every season. Although the work can be very difficult at times, and progress slower than we expected, God is the one who makes things grow. And they do grow; beautifully, in His time.

Church Life
We are feeling more and more at home at our new church and are starting to get more involved in different ways. After the morning service, we join in small groups to discuss the sermon and pray for each other. This has been a good way to practice Japanese conversation and especially practising how to pray in Japanese. We still make silly mistakes, like when I accidentally prayed and asked God to help us disobey Him instead of obey Him…oh dear!
Recently a number of international people started coming to church. A Chinese student and workers from Myanmar on temporary working visas. Their Japanese is very basic and they don’t speak any English. We were asked to start a group with them since our Japanese is also bad lol! I never thought I would be engaging with such a group in Japanese. Please pray for these internationals, especially the workers from Myanmar who do not have the easiest conditions. Please also pray that our church would continue to persevere in evangelism and discipleship.

Student Ministry
Through our involvement with students we are hearing more and more stories and with that more and more reasons to pray. Many new Christians come from non-Christian homes where parents are fiercely opposed to their decision. There are also situations where a student in a relationship becomes a Christian and then the boyfriend or girlfriend decides to dump them. We have seen and heard of other strange forms of spiritual attack within the student ministry. Please pray that the power of the evil one will be broken and that students will continue to come to know Christ. Please pray for wisdom as these young students are discipled and counselled.
We will be starting an English class with Bible study on one of the campuses very soon, meeting every Wednesday evening. Pray for good attendance and that we will make good use of this opportunity. Please pray as we continue to meet up with students and share our lives with them. Pray that we may be good witnesses to them.

We hosted a rugby viewing party and had players from Fiji and Australia share their testimonies to some Japanese students.

We joined a Hokkaido pastors and wives fellowship and were encouraged with the fellowship and opportunity to network.

On a off day we climbed the highest mountain in Hokkaido and happened to meet South Africans at the top!

I need to practice my psychic powers
During one small group session, we were talking about values and purpose in life. The Christians in the group all spoke about God’s leading and guidance, testifying how God has helped them understand life better and make better choices. Afterwards, a non-Christian was asked what he thinks and his answer was quite telling. He said that he feels like he needs to practice his psychic powers or that he needs to find the missing antenna that seems to connect Christians to God. We have been casually assuming that this young man knows what we know. It is so easy for us to say: “God called me to be a missionary” “God led me to talk to you today” “God encouraged me through this difficult time” etc. It was eye-opening when I realised how weird this must sound to someone who does not have a Christian background. How do we do it!? Antenna? Psychic powers? We know that this guidance comes through prayer and consistent Bible reading but the non-Christian in the group didn’t. This is one concrete example of a particular area we need prayer for.

Support level update
We have completed our budget for 2020 and for a number of reasons our support needs will slightly increase. 1. The VAT in Japan has increased from 8% to 10% making everything a little more expensive. 2. We are finishing at language school, therefore, our ministry expenses will increase as we start doing more ministry. 3. We have budgeted for the possibility of children in 2020. We are not expecting but we are praying and hoping for God to bless us this way in 2020. Our support needs are slightly increasing, but sadly our support income has dropped down. This is mainly to do with the exchange rate but also due to about 4 supporters who are no longer able to give. We are not in any kind of crisis but please be in prayer for God’s continued provision.

Future events we involved with. Please pray
26 October – Youth Outreach Event at Church
27 October – Music Outreach Event at Church
2 November – Sharing our testimonies in Japanese at Hokkaido Bible Institute
6 November – English Class and Bible study at Hokudai University
13 November – English Class and Bible study at Hokudai University
16 November – FMZero Student Outreach Event
20 November – English Class and Bible study at Hokudai University
27 November – English Class and Bible study at Hokudai University

Summarized Prayer Points
Pray for refreshment from study fatigue
Pray for faith-filled outlook regarding our life and ministry in Japan
Pray for continued financial provision
Pray for fruit from English classes and Bible studies on campus

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"Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will". AW Tozer

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