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Contents: 1) GHC 4th Anniversary
2) New Steps for the Pfeil
3) Prayer Requests
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2) NEW Steps for the Pfeils
Thank you for faithfully praying for and supporting us over many years in Japan. We shared with you in our our April 2019 Update that we were at a crossroads with how to move forward with Sarah's treatment while also continuing to serve Grace Harbor Church Tokyo and the growing church planting movement in Japan.
Here is a bit of review, along with some NEW details:
- Sarah's condition has been chronically debilitating (level 7-9 daily pain level).
- This past year we have pursued every option known to us in an effort to stay in Japan.
- In early April we sent Sarah to the States to try a few treatment options not available in Japan - and confirmed an option that was very effective for her in controlling her pain.
- NEW: In mid-May it was decided together with MTW Japan leadership, MTW home office, and with our local pastor Seima Aoyagi - that it would be best for us to take a temporary 2-year re-assignment to the US to focus on Sarah's health while still continuing to directly serve the church planting movement in Japan (see below for more details).
- NEW: We will depart Japan soon after the school year finishes for our kids, leaving Japan on June 17th (in less than 3 weeks!) Please pray for this big transition for our family.
- NEW: Our intention is to then return to Japan after 2 years, in the summer of 2021.
Dear Partners in the Gospel,
Since 2010, I have been Jon and Sarah’s MTW supervisor - first in Chiba, and then in Tokyo. They have been precious workers for Christ in Japan: passionate for the gospel, sensitive to the culture, multi-dimensional in meeting and befriending members of the community, and hard working and effective in the difficult work of church planting. Their return to America for a season will be a blow to gospel ministry here in Tokyo. However, we are thankful that Sarah has a good prospect for relief and healing, and we have many tasks for them to perform as they remain integral members of MTW Tokyo Center Team while based in the US.
We are counting on them to reach out to the Japanese diaspora in America, be ambassadors to churches and supporters, and recruiters for the ongoing work of mission to the Japanese - the world’s second  largest unreached people group. In addition, they will be hard at work supporting the work of MTW’s regional hubs. Please continue to pray for and support them as their partners in the gospel during this time of trial and recovery.
Yours in Christ,
Bob Drews
MTW Japan Deputy Country Director
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3) More Details on Our Next 2 Years:
ROLE
While maintaining our status as members of MTW Tokyo Center Team, we are being commissioned on a 2-year stateside mission to fulfill 3 important roles for the work in Japan:
1) Missionary Recruitment and Mobilization: There is a vital need to raise up new long-term laborers for the harvest in spiritually needy Japan - where less than 1% of Japanese are professing Christians. Laborers to pioneer new works in unreached communities, laborers to partner with Japanese church planters, and laborers to support the ministry of existing Japanese churches.
2) Serving as Ambassador for MTW Japan to US Churches and Supporters: After completing his 2-year pastoral internship in a Japanese church, our newly installed MTW team leader Joe Congdon will be leading a new church planting work in Tokyo together with RUF minister Jeff Saunders. I will be advocating for these friends in their new work as well as helping to raise start-up money for this new church plant. I will also be speaking on behalf of other churches in our Grace Church Planting Network in Tokyo.
3) Building Stronger Ties with Japanese who have become Christians in the US: In my personal experience, a large percentage of Japanese Christians I know either became Christians overseas, or were at least first exposed to the gospel while overseas. There are several US based networks that seek to support these Japanese Christian "Returnees" as they head back into their home culture of Japan - that is hostile to their new faith. This is a relatively untapped resource for MTW Japan - for recruiting Japanese lay leaders and future Japanese ministry partners in church planting.
LOCATION
We will be locating in Loveland, CO for this 2- year stateside MTW ministry position. This location enables us to pursue effective treatment for Sarah while also living in close proximity to family for practical support. This also situates us in a good location to serve several of the newly formed MTW Regional Hubs.
(*As an integral part of the 1% Campaign MTW is leveraging new regional hubs across the country to help recruit, equip, and mobilize 1% of the PCA membership into missions by 2026.)
SUPPORT STATUS
If you are a regular financial supporter of our ministry, we ask that you continue your current level of support for us. Of course we've be happy to dialogue with you if you have any questions. Please reach out to us!
Our overall ministry budget need will remain largely unchanged - factoring in transition costs, increased travel expenses for my new role (stateside travel as well as additional travel back and forth to Japan), etc. While away from Japan, we will continue to honor our financial commitments to Grace Habor Church to provide ministry funding for Japanese interns.
TIMELINE
Our desire for this time of treatment for Sarah in America is to address deeper sources of her pain and to discover and refine techniques that will enable her to manage the pain better after we return to Japan. We are hoping to return to Japan as a family during the summer of 2021. Of course, we will keep reassessing Sarah's condition along the way, and adjust our future timeline accordingly.
Please continue to pray that God would provide Sarah with longterm relief from the pain that keeps her from the daily life and regular ministry she longs to be a part of.
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3) Prayer Requests
After first moving to Japan as a family 13 years ago (March 2006) and then to Tokyo city center 8 years ago (May 2011) - this upcoming transition will certainly be a big one:
- Pray for each of us as we face different challenges and emotions in the weeks and months ahead. Many tears have been shed in these past few weeks as we face the sadness of leaving our life in Japan for a season.
- Pray for the many goodbyes that we are saying in these remaining weeks. Many individual and small group gatherings, with a large Farewell Party scheduled after Grace Harbor worship on June 9th. Please pray that these interactions will be meaningful, and that we can communicate gospel truth during these times.
- Pray for the logistics of packing up all our belongings - either to ship to the US or to keep in local storage in Japan. Pray for our travels and for the set-up of our new home.
- Pray for the ongoing work of Grace Harbor Church. Pray for our pastor Seima Aoyagi as he leads the church forward. Pray that God would use our absence as a catalyst to raise up new lay leaders to serve the church and build His kingdom.
- Pray for the cross cultural adjustment for our kids into American life. This will be the first time for Olivia, Annabella, and Calvin to attend school in the US (all previous trips we have homeschooled). They are what is known as TCKs (Third Culture Kids) - meaning that neither Japan nor the US will ever truly feel like "home", because they really belong to a unique "third culture". So many blessings that come with their culture sensitivity and expanded worldview, etc. - but also many hardships that come with each transition. Pray that God would give them authentic friendships early on in our time in the US.
- Pray for the upcoming role Jon will be serving - for clarity, opportunity, open doors, and wisdom on how to best advocate and serve the on-going kingdom work in Japan.
- Please do continue to pray for Sarah's health and recovery. Based on Sarah's experience in April, we are very optimistic that Sarah's quality of life will improve. Pray for continued wisdom for ongoing treatment.
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