At many stores in December, we hear Christmas carols in Japan. Amazing! But, many do not know the true story of the Lord’s birth and saving work. Some Japanese people think Christmas is Santa’s birthday! So, at our Bible study Christmas party we shared the account of Jesus’ birth by lighting Advent candles, reading scripture and singing Christmas carols. Each year I learn (or re-learn) something new. Here are my top 3 lessons I’ve learned this Christmas 2020:

Our prayer is to return to Japan in 2021 to serve for 5 more years. Recently, we received some generous funds for a matching gift. This will help us toward reaching 100% of our support which is required before we can return to Japan.

We give thanks to God for all He has done for us in Jesus Christ. And we praise God for all of you and your partnership with us. In Japan, they have a “thanks for labor” holiday, on November 23rd.  We usually celebrated American style Thanksgiving near that day. For the last 15 years, we invited our fellowship group students and friends to our home for food and stories. The food highlight was our barbecued turkey!

Join us for a virtual visit in the midst of COVID19 travel restrictions! Interested in Japan? Lots of people are! The Short-Term Mission Team is hosting this virtual visit with Gordon and Lee Ann Hwang, IM Global servants in Yokohama, Japan. They have been serving in Japan for the past 15 years. They will give you a taste of their ministry and give you food for thought on what you could do to share your faith with young people in Japan. Join us September 22, 2020 at 1pm(EDT). 

If you weren’t able to tune in to the IM World Mission Conference (WMC) Live Stream 2020 event in July, you still have the opportunity to watch us! Our WMC video (30 min.) was uploaded to YouTube.

The International Ministries (IM) Monthly Matching campaign was a huge success for us!  The Lord answered our prayers again. Firstly, we are grateful to God and IM staff who worked so faithfully to provide this boost in support. Secondly, twelve people helped us to receive over $800 per month in new or increased pledges toward our ongoing support! May the Lord continue to bless all our supporters in this difficult and challenging time.