In Japan, there is a public holiday around this time called Golden Week. Unfortunately, Tokyo is in another lockdown so the staff at the translation project will not be able to travel anywhere on their days off (or even go to department stores!). Having both our work and leisure schedules hampered by the ever-changing pandemic situation is a frustration many of us know well by now.
Let us press on in faith that God is doing His work in His own time, even though in our limited view of the world things seem to constantly be delayed and put on pause.
|
|
|
May 1st (Acts 3:19)
Pray for Sora’s request that as the staff has holidays in Japan, they will be able to refresh in the Lord’s peace during this short break from May 1st - 5th.
May 2nd (Romans 4:15)
Pray for the Romans translation team. They have been thinking about Romans 8:27, a verse that shows how God will always do what is best. Also, the rule of law in Romans 4:15 was a difficult verse to translate. They have been working hard to research this verse’s meaning and make it clearly understood in JSL.
May 3rd (Joshua 6:27)
Pray for the Joshua team as they have found Joshua 5:14 impactful in how Joshua shows respect for the Lord’s army commander. The message of Joshua 6:27 also strengthened the team by showing that God kept His pledge to always be with Joshua.
May 4th (Obadiah 1:15)
Pray for the Obadiah translation team members who have been impacted by all of Obadiah as Yahweh deals with Edom and the nations’ opposition but eventually sets up His kingdom. Also, verse 15 reminded the team that His sovereignty is the only authority to which we should bow.
May 5th (Ezra 10:4)
Pray for the Ezra team as they hope to resume work on Ezra chapters 7-10 in May. They are excited to move one step closer to bringing more of God’s Word to Deaf in Japan.
May 6th (Luke 14:28)
Pray for Mr. Yamamoto, who shares that after watching Luke 14:26-35 he’s devoted himself to knowing the parable of “building a tower” and “counting the cost”.
May 7th (Philippians 4:6-7)
Pray for Ms. Yagi who is anxious about having clear and effective communication with the other staff members as she manages a lot of data.
May 8th (Acts 2:28)
Pray for the Fukushima Deaf Church as well as for Pastor Minamida and Tokyo Deaf Church as they worship today.
May 9th (Jeremiah 17:14)
Pray for Pastor Matsumoto’s sister-in-law’s salvation and for her healing from cancer.
May 10th (1 Peter 3:15)
Pray with Mr. Yamamoto that his family can live by the witness of Jesus and share the gospel truth with others.
May 11th (Colossians 4:2)
Pray with Ms. Otsubo that this difficult season of COVID will be over as soon as possible.
May 12th (Luke 8:39)
Pray with Uiko as she hopes the team can reach out to more people so they will learn of the dire need for the JSL Bible.
May 13th (Psalm 121:1-2)
Pray for Mr. Ogata who feels the difficulty of having effective clear communication while working from home.
May 14th (Proverbs 2:6)
Pray with Kohki for God’s wisdom that the team can be flexible and find innovative ways to continue the JSL Bible translation work.
May 15th (Psalm 46:1-2a)
Pray for Pastor Matsumoto and Yamagata Deaf Church as they worship today.
May 16th (Philippians 4:13)
Join Mr. Hori in praying for effective communication with a translator when using Zoom.
May 17th (Galatians 6:2-5)
Pray with Sora for the whole translation team. In the morning team meeting, they talked about Galatians 6:2-5, reminding them of the importance of the work they are doing, how teamwork and communication matters a lot especially when they work from home.
May 18th (Psalm 30:2)
Pray for Pastor Matsumoto who worries about getting sick while his immunity is low.
May 19th (1 Thessalonians 2:10-12)
Pray for Mr. Ogata who is encouraged by 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 that shows how he should share the gospel with others.
May 20th (Psalm 5:3)
Join Uiko in praying that this challenging time of COVID will end and then they can boost their Bible translation progress.
May 21st (John 14:6)
Pray for Ms. Yagi who is encouraged by John 14:6. She is thankful that she is united with God through Jesus.
May 22nd (1 John 1:7)
Pray for Pastor Sakaguchi, his family, and Deaf Bible Baptist Church in Kagoshima as they worship today.
May 23rd (Matthew 6:34)
Pray for Kohki, who is worried about each member of the exegetical team, that they can pay attention to details while also having multiple responsibilities.
May 24th (Matthew 6:8)
In Japan, the fiscal year starts in April. Please pray for Sora’s request that the team will have stable financial and prayer support this fiscal year.
May 25th (John 14:27)
Pray for Uiko who gets anxious that while the staff work from home it is sometimes hard for her to see if everything is going well.
May 26th (Ephesians 1:19-22)
Pray for Mr. Hori, who would like to share Ephesians 1:19-22 because he wants to tell the great truth about Jesus' resurrection and God’s great power.
May 27th (John 1:1-5)
Pray for Ms. Yagi, who would like to share that watching John 1:1-5 on the JSL Bible shows the meaning clearly and these verses touch her heart.
May 28th (Luke 24:5-6)
Pray for Pastor Matsumoto, who wants to share Luke 24:5-6 because he wants to share the great news about the resurrection of Jesus.
May 29th (Psalm 113:3)
Pray for Pastor Kori and for her congregation in Hiroshima as they worship today.
May 30th (James 3:13)
Pray for Mr. Y and his family as he travels and serves many translation projects.
May 31st (Matthew 5:16)
Pray for God to bless the Tokyo office landlady and for her husband to seek Jesus.
|
|
|
These prayer requests come directly from the staff in Japan. Thank you for joining your heart with theirs in prayer. We thank God for all of you who support this project and pray so faithfully! This project would not exist without those who give, pray, and serve.
THANK YOU!
This month 20 of the daily prayer Scripture verses are from books of the Bible available in JSL: Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, James, and 1 John.
|
|
|
|
|
|
