News from Japan

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Rest is something many seek, but few truly find. It is a marvellous benefit that we receive by being in Christ. We do not need to work to earn salvation but we can rest in the finished work of Jesus. We do not work to prove our worth because in Christ we are already completely accepted and loved. Our fears, worries, and concerns can be put to rest as we lean on the strong and sovereign arms of our Heavenly Father. We hope you enjoy reading our news as we try to focus a bit on the theme of rest.

Holiday

We enjoyed 2 weeks of holiday with our friends from South Africa. They brought a big bag of goodies from South Africa along with messages of encouragement from many of you. Thank you so much! Most of the goodies are already eaten, only Nandos hot sauce remains 😊 Together we were able to travel through Hokkaido and then also a few days in Kansai. Because our Japanese has improved, we were able to have a number of conversations along the way and were encouraged by how we were able to interact. I posted some pics of our holiday online so feel free to have a look if you would like: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DHVv6eDBsL9oQ89t5

Time to hear the Good News

It is quite interesting that Japanese university students have a lot of free time when compared to students in other countries. In contrast, when they graduate and start working at a company, they have less free time than any other new worker on the planet! Additionally, this is usually the time where many of them start families, adding to the busyness of life. About 2 weeks ago I had dinner with 4 Japanese students, asking them about this big change in terms of free time and they all agreed that this is true. This presents a challenge but also a major opportunity. 4 full years in a Japanese student’s life where they have free time to have coffee, barbeque, go fishing, play board games, eat meals, and most importantly HEAR THE GOOD NEWS!!! Pray for more workers to hang out and share the Good News with students, pray for us as we seek to do that while at language school.

Fighting for rest

We know rest is not simply doing nothing, it is a state of mind and heart where we unburden our souls from its anxiety and fatigue. We do this by placing all our burdens with Jesus who gives us true rest. But sometimes anxiety steps in and tries to rob us from true rest, this is where we have to fight by preaching the Gospel to ourselves. I’ll give you some personal examples. We only have about 6 months left at language school. I sometimes panic, feeling that I am nowhere near ready to graduate. I need to fight for rest. I also sometimes feel anxious about not doing enough ministry, not meeting enough people, not being bold enough in my witness. I need to fight for rest. I don’t have this rest completely figured out yet, but I am glad for God’s Word and the gentle presence of the Spirit who helps to remind me that Jesus is my true rest.

Jesus continues to give rest

The last few weeks has been very encouraging in student ministry. While we were on holiday, I was lying in my capsule hotel bed when a message came through on my phone. It was one of the students who said that he had decided to become a Christian. This is a student we had over a number of times and who has been coming to events for about a year. Be encouraged that God is answering your prayers for students! After our holiday, there was a very busy 2-week student ministry period because of a short-term team who came from the UK. There were many outreach events and we were happy to help. We are still praising God that 2 more students committed their lives to follow Jesus. We can rest assured that Jesus continues to give eternal rest as we sow Gospel seeds.

Before you leave!

We made a video of us answering a few common questions that you might want to ask us 😊 If you are interested follow this YouTube link and remember to turn the subtitles ON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WInjQSJ-i6w&list=UUaSH5cQ34nkcX2cLbYE9ktw&index=1

BTW...we noticed afterwards a few little mistakes in our Japanese, we still learning!!! :)

Praise!
For the 3 students who became believers
For a good restful holiday with friends
Progress in language: Being able to share our testimony, lead a service, have a light conversation

Pray!
Growth in Japanese language and culture
Many students who are seekers. May their hearts be opened to receive the Good News
For OMF designation committee and their decision about where to send us after language school (This will be decided on October 2019).
For deep rest in Jesus and willingness to take every burden to him

Forward

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

Thanks for reading!!!

Become a Financial Supporter