What would you do if 40 homeless families arrived in your neighborhood? What would your church do in a major national disaster? How would you meet the needs of so many who lost their loved ones? This was the challenge for Mr. Hajime Abe the chairman of the Ishinomaki House of Prayer church. He quickly got involved with ministry partners like Dean Bengtson in addressing the distress in his community. Here are just two very…
Last month was bittersweet as John led the last Japan Disaster Response team to Ishinomaki City. The team was 7 volunteers from Grace Baptist Church in Santa Maria CA and one from Bethlehem Baptist Minneapolis. Elaine later joined the team for focused women’s meetings coordinated by Linda Bengtson. The team setup for a gospel concert attended by over 60 Japanese, discussed with many victims, cleaned several properties, and prepared for the July 13th concert venue.…
In one of the women’s meetings Elaine heard many ghost stories from the women. Because over 400 people had died in that neighborhood alone, many survivors are concerned for the wandering spirits (yurei) who died in the disaster. This has resulted in difficulties sleeping and fear of the locations where many have died especially at nighttime. For many the image of Japan is an advanced modern nation; yet Japan continues to have a worldview of…
1. Praise God for the awesome open conversation about the Bible and Christ with Elaine’s Bible study group last month. Many talked about their highlights from studying the Book of Mark together. They had many questions about how relevant the Bible is to our daily life and our future. They are learning well. One learned not to be like a Pharisee, another liked the Parable of the Soils. One said everything is so new every…
1. A key Rengo National Mission Department meeting will be held June 11, 12 in Nara. Pray for God to grant vision, faith, wisdom and joy. 2. A team from California joined by veteran Ritsuko Narita from Bethlehem Minneapolis will form another team to serve in Ishinomaki to help disaster victims. June 16-27th. Elaine will be joining the group from 21st-26th to target women’s ministry with Linda Bengtson. Pray for travel, safety, prepared hearts, and…
JAPAN was privileged to have Dr. Dan Maxton pastor of LifeBridge church in San Diego visit us last month. He ministered at Field Council along with Roger Inouye (from Wisconsin). The rest of the time Dan met with Rengo pastors and stayed at the Mehn guest house. Some highlights were meeting with members of the Rengo National Mission Department, where we discussed assessment processes for church planters including a new tool translated into Japanese on…
1. Thank God for his strength, wisdom, endurance, faith, and orchestrated surprises during “non-stop” April. Again a full schedule of classes, key meetings, events, and projects. Keep praying! 2. John & Elaine are off to Yamagata prefecture on May 24-29th to spend time with Mr. and Mrs. N in her parent’s home. We have been sharing the gospel with them locally for several years. As we have built this relationship, pray for natural opportunities to…
Items for Prayer April 2013 1. Ask for God’s blessing as Roger Inoye and Dan Maxton come to Japan in March and April to visit Rengo churches and pastors. Pastor Dan Maxton from LifeBridge church in San Diego will stay with us April 5-13. 2. Ask God to bless our April 3-5 Field Council with his presence love and vision. 3. Thanks for praying for John’s ministry of training small group leaders. John will launch…
The Unreached of the Unreached The Japanese are the second largest unreached people group in the world. Over 1,500 towns and villages (and 36 cities) in Japan still do not have churches. Because of this burden, a rural church planting seminar was held in early March in Sendai City attended by 25 missionaries and Japanese from all over Japan. John represented CPI by presented two seminars on the Heart of the Leader and Effective Models…
Just returned from Tohoku yesterday. Several memorable items stand out Telling two homeowners that we have some funds for materials to rebuild their homes. Reviewing 2 years of God’s faithfulness to my ministry partners Dean and Mr. Abe. Meeting a man who described how he saw his mother die right in front of him. Praying for peace and blessing with so many disaster victims. Tomorrow we are participating in a 24-hour prayer day for the…