Rogers Rpt – Apr ’10

Dwight

April 7, 2010

A Day in Kojima

The date was Tuesday, April 6. 2010. Some of you will remember the date as being the day when Sheriff Batey of Clay County, AR was killed.

5:55 AM: Sandy usually leaves for Seishin (a school in Okayama that Sandy works with).

10 AM: I have a class with three ladies who have been our students since we came back in 2001. Since 2002, they have been reading Scripture each week after their English class.

They have read with every LST team we have had since then. Please pray for Hisae, Maka, and Akemi. At least one has made it clear she is not interested in becoming a Christian. We leave that up to God.

Life has a way of opening doors.

10:30 AM: I start another class with four senior citizens. They are not reading the Bible yet. At least one has estranged relatives who are Christians in Kojima.

Our intern, currently Charlea, finishes up the earlier class and starts them on Matthew.

Some key events of this day take place in my inbox and on the phone.

Izumi, the school secretary, emails this note from a study to me: The English is hers, probably from an electronic translator?

Hello! Brent and Sandy, We attended a cousin’s wedding on Saturday. That was a church-type wedding. It was a very wonderful church. A minister read the Bible, and sang a hymn with all. I became a very sacred feeling. Then, I thought that it was gentle when you were allowed to study the Bible. I am filled with a feeling of gratitude to Brent and Sandy!

I received another email from RW, a TEAM missionary in Chofu, Tokyo, the same city that our dear seeker, YM, moved to.

Hey Brent – Yoshie (Mi-chan) came to our service on Sunday. … Yoshie sat and talked a long time with several of the ladies in the church and my wife Masako talked with her for a while. … She lives pretty close to us, surprisingly, so I hope we can get together soon. We are praying for Yoshie. … I got the impression she is still a little bit “at arm’s distance,” not wanting to feel pressure to believe. I don’t think we pressured her yesterday, although the message was evangelistic, so hopefully she feels comfortable with us…. RW, Tokyo

Feeling Good About Being Here

So, I was really thinking God is using us to get people started on their way to Him. All of the ladies mentioned above, have an idea of what they need to be seeking for. It is easy to think that if that is all the results God wants here, it is worth it. Whatever “worth it” means.

THEN, THE PHONE RANG!! Because my Japanese is good enough, and because I was expecting it, I understood that the second half of one of our biggest contracts was not being renewed after the end of April. The whole contract was worth over one thousand dollars per month. There are many things I like about being a vocational missionary, but this is one of the drawbacks. The vocation part takes a LOT of time and effort, especially when we are running our own business and have little or no business acumen.

I am still feeling good about being here, but we need to get more students soon or really supplement our work fund. Anyway the cancelled contract will give me, or more likely Sandy, more time for Bible class and other stuff.

And the Day Is Not Over!

4:30 PM: I teach one of my favorite students. Yuto starts first grade this week and is SO EXCITED! He is brilliant, loves English, and Sandy, and tolerates me. When I am dreaming, I see him as one of our first elders in the church here.

BUT FIRST WE NEED TO TEACH HIM THE GOOD NEWS! His family came to Japanese worship one time….In the same class is Kaho, in second grade.

7:30 PM: The 7:30 class is a group class with only one high school senior boy in it, meaning the profit is really small. But I am getting along well with Keita, and who knows God’s plans?

8:30 PM: Then the 8:30 class. This is a Bible class, and Noriko comes at 8:30. She has finished Luke and most of the LST Acts book. She has spent time in the US and helps us a lot at the local electronics store, DEODEO!

She is a very down to earth person and seems to be a serious student of the Word.

9:00 PM: THEN AROUND 9….Yk comes. She is a city employee and is close to dying of overwork. She eats breakfast and lunch while driving and since she works in the sports and recreation department, she cannot get a weekend or holiday off. She has a LOT OF OTHER PROBLEMS and really needs your prayers. She feels betrayed by everyone who ever seemed to care for her, and has NO SPACE LEFT IN HER HEART to believe in God, she says. She REALLY NEEDS YOUR PRAYERS!!

We are reading John straight from the Bible in Japanese and English. When Jesus promises a peace that the world cannot give, it does not seem to make an impression on YK. She can not believe and SHE HATES EVERYTHING! I tell her ,”You have to take some time off,” but it makes no obviuos impression on her.

Please pray for:

All the above
Charlea, our current intern
Esther, traveling soon to work with us for three months
Our students, both in LOGOS and Bible class
New co-workers we hope to announce soon
Financial provision, stronger faith, more wisdom
Workers into the harvest
Continued good health
Our kids and grand kids
Sandy’s mom