Have you ever felt like you were being led down a path you didn’t want to go? Lee Ann loves the country! Gordon, not so much. You see, Gordon has allergies. Allergies to dust, pollen, mold, mildew, animals, working in the yard 😉 . . . So,

It has been cooler in Rifu than Tokyo, however, the record breaking summer heat is draining our energy. And the fish are dying in this pond! God is good to give us AC (air conditioning)! We were kept quite busy with volunteer groups (New Ohio Friends) and guests and cleaning the camp dorm (Shalom House). Then . . .

We had a fabulous time with 2 volunteer teams in July! The team from Gardena Valley Baptist Church, left us July 3rd. Then, the team from Purpose Church (Team Purpose), arrived July 9th.

Have you ever waited a long time for something good? About a year ago, Rev. Sandra asked, “if it would be possible to do an IM Discovery trip to” Japan? The original team of nine became five people. Maybe God allowed us to be together so we could learn about being devoted to one another?

Did you hear that the Hwangs returned from their home assignment? Some of our partners have asked about our trip. One requirement of International Ministries (IM) Global Servants (formerly known as missionaries) is home assignment. This was formerly called “furlough.” Furlough sounds like a break, and it is a break from the work done as “missionaries.” However, the work done visiting supporters and speaking about our work on the field, is mostly not restful. It requires teamwork to do thorough planning, with flexibility, and good execution to be successful.

How was your New Year’s? Ours started with worship at Morigo Chapel with a “countdown” service. Then, everything changed. Early that morning we discovered our co-worker, Vincent, unconscious in his apartment. We called for help, prayed for a miracle, the EMTs came, went to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead!