Short-term ministry opportunities in Japan.
Dawson Melancen, our second grandchild was born on September 19th. Elaine has been busy helping out Beth with the two kids. We visited two churches in Hawaii for a few days in October. Both churches have sent two teams each to help in Disaster Response ministry. We met with one pastor and then all the team members that served in Japan. We also gave presentations at Calvary of the Pacific church a Converge Church where…
Uplift John as he grieves the heavenly home going of his dear mother Alma on April 14th. Especially pray for strength as he preaches a Mother’s Day sermon. Thank you for praying for travel safety out west and please continue. Ask God to give us His words as we speak both in public forums and in private conversations. Pray for wisdom and creativity as we seek to get up to full financial support. Pray that…
This is a great story of one victim of the disaster struggling in his life and how a group of serious Christians can cause him to think about his life. A great story of really sharing Christ, a changed life, and the power of prayer. These are the kinds of relationships our volunteers and our partners are in everyday we minister. 荒木英夫 Hideo Araki – My Story of Hope (English Subtitles) from Jesus.net Japan on…
If you have not already you will hear a lot in the news about the recovery efforts after the triple disasters in Japan last March 11th. Much has been done but this is a 10 year project to rebuild the 86 communities affected in the greatest disaster for Japan since WWII. From a Christian perspective of missions – Japan has even farther to go. Before 3.11, for the Church of Jesus Christ Tohoku was…
This video to us has very familar faces. Besides the families of victims there are people we worked side-by-side in Urayashiki with Dean Bengston. Some notables in the video are Paul Suzuki, SEND Japan director, Warren Janzen, SEND world director, Jonathan Wilson head of CRASH and a few people we worked with mudding out the Watanbe’s house. You can even catch a photo of our dear friends the Fujinos with Southern Baptist. Scenes are also…
One year after the triple disasters finds nearly 20,000 dead, 400,000 displaced, over 1 million buildings destroyed, and very little rebuilding. Much of the debris has been removed, equivalent to 120 years of the whole nation’s garbage. Encouragement has come as where Ishinomaki City had 7 churches before the disaster, now it has four more, and counting! Converge Disaster Response ministry is now focusing on long-term help for people and building community. The Samaritan Purse…
March will be a busy month with 13 people coming on Converge Worldwide teams. Yas Yoneda, Team Coordinator, along with Craig Nasson from Ludington MI arrive on March 16. A team of 5 from Canada arrives March 23 for two weeks. After Field Council, Asia Director David Jahnke, Nate Jahnke and Chloe Milhous will join the gang working in Ishinomaki. These teams will wrap up their work around April 15th. Pray that they would be…
Though there is much work to be done, disaster victims do have time to thank those who have helped them. If you donated funds, worked as a volunteer, or prayed for disaster response ministry this video is especially for you. Thank You for praying and caring for Japan!
We are Back in the US. Thanks for your prayers for us as we made the transition from one home in Japan to another home in the US. It is good to be back. We were greeted by friends, family, and the flu on arrival. We are settling in, got reliable transportation, and set up our respective offices. Of course, the highlight was being with all our extended family for Christmas. All four generations were…
Just before Christmas Yas Yoneda and John and Elaine Mehn went to Tohoku to visit families who have received Converge Worldwide help since the earthquake and tsunami. Here are the highlights from each of the team members. Yas – The trip to the Ishinomaki city with John and Elaine to visit some 20 families stricken by the tsunami was a rewarding experience. We prepared to bring these dear friends a grand Christmas greeting with Elaine’s…