Report 3 – October 23, 2013
Our bags are packed and we are just about ready to go down three flights of stairs to begin our trip back to Memphis. But this last week in Japan has been filled with many blessings.
This past Monday, October 21, we returned for Okinawa. Dwight shared lessons Friday and Saturday evening and Sunday morning. This was their fall evangelistic meeting. He preached from Acts. The meetings were well attended and several came for the first time.
The Naha church in Naha city, Okinawa, was established in the early 1950’s. Brother Tomoyose was minister there for 40 years. He retired three years ago and moved further up on the main island to Ishikawa. He is working with a congregation there.
The church installed a new minister, brother Kinjo, this past April. He is studying at JSE and also with brother Tomoyose.
Monday we returned to Tokyo and went immediately to Matsudo to be with the monthly Tokyo west ministers’ meeting. Steve and Debbie Carrell work with this congregation. Leslie and Sara Taylor, missionaries for one year, also attend there while Leslie is in language school.
Debbie was diagnosed with leukemia a few years ago and went into remission for a while. The condition returned last year and she has been in chemotherapy for the past year. She expects to have a bone marrow transplant sometime next year.
As we vacuum and straighten up the dorm here, we are truly thankful to all the brothers and sisters here in Japan who have hosted us and been so very kind to us on this trip. We are also thankful for those in the states who have encouraged us and supported us in this effort. We pray that God has gained the glory through all of this for without His protection and strength we could not have done what we did.
We never know what the future holds for us, though our Father already knows. But we look forward to the opportunity to minister in Japan once again. We already have three requests to speak and Dwight has been assigned a special lesson series for JSE which will celebrate 25 years next fall. The family of God is well in Japan and are letting the light shine.