Elaine and John head back to Japan this month. This will be Elaine’s first trip back since 2020 (John was in Japan briefly this May for about 1 week). This trip to Asia will be a full and busy schedule. Probably emotions may be the most difficult as we are going back not to our home of 35 years but to visit as mere tourists. Ask God to help us navigate the various feelings of being in Japan with our friends and ministry partners. We have lots of appointments scheduled with Elaine’s Bible study members, craft class friends, and those we evangelized and Converge and CPI ministry partners. May we listen as Jesus would and point them to Him. John is recovering well from full knee replacement surgery in September. With much walking pray for stamina and dealing with pain and swelling.
Week 1: John and Elaine will be attending the Church Planting Institute (CPI) conference November 8-11 where John will be presenting a seminar on church planting multiplication. Elaine will be presenting as part of the Gospel Track on Christ-centered Relationships. We expect to meet many old friends and partners. Pray for a listening ear, encouragement and spirit-filled hearts.
Week 2: John will then fly to Bangladesh to take part in the Global Church Planting Network Global Facilitators meeting, November 14-18. There John will work with other leaders from East Asia to formulate goals for the future. Pray for God’s wisdom and deeper faith. Elaine will then visit her Bible students, Christian friends, and then head home before John.
Week 3: After his trip to Bangladesh (via Singapore) John will then return to Japan for the Church Multiplication Vision Festa. Here over 150 Japanese leaders will be contemplating how to plant 50,000 churches throughout Japan. Pray for a great sense of purpose, practical goals, and that John would be a great encouragement. Then John will arrive in Chicago in time for Thanksgiving.
FOCUS ON PRAYER
- Praise as fellow Converge Asia Impact Team members had a blessed time at the Lausanne Asia meeting.
- Elaine has a Japanese cooking class on Friday November 18th. She will be in jetlag from the trip.
- Please pray for a wonderful time of gathering for Thanksgiving with our families.
- PTL the book was completed to mobilize more mission efforts and prayer to Japan. See it at Amazon Japanese as an Unreached People Group: Focusing the Task.
New Converge Bank: Due to a changing business environment, we have a different bank near our Orlando, Florida, national office. Effective November 1, 2022, those who give by mailing a check (or use bank autopay to send a check) will need to update the address to which payments are sent. The new address is:
Converge, PO Box 850001, Orlando, FL 32885-9930.