In late January, Jarrod, a friend of ours, died suddenly. In his mid-40’s, Jarrod left this world behind to come face to face with his Savior. His Japanese wife and three sons are likely still reeling. Please pray for Jarrod’s family.

For us, this was a new experience. Jarrod had made it clear to his wife that he wanted a Christian funeral, as opposed to the Buddhist ones typical of Japan. She called us from the hospital asking how to proceed. Norman had never led a funeral before, so he was out of his element. We also learned that in Japan, funerals are typically held within 24 hours of the person’s death. Chloe and I scrambled to put together special music, and Norman gathered his thoughts on how to address a mostly unbelieving audience. Several members of our church group attended, since Jarrod and his wife occasionally joined our Bible studies. Most likely, it was the first time in that funeral home, that the name of Jesus Christ was named, that the hope of the gospel was mentioned.

As always, funerals remind the rest of us about the purpose of life. Why am I still living? How should I spend my remaining time? What is important in life? Am I ready to die?

For over a year, Norman has been burdened for the international young men he sees bicycling near our home. We learned that they work at a Japanese construction company, and that they come from the Philippines and Vietnam. He has prayed for God to open a door to meet them. One day recently, while out jogging, he finally met a trio of Filipino young men! Upon talking, Norman found out one is a pastor’s kid from a Baptist church in the Philippines! He had been praying for months to be able to find a church in the area! He came a week later to our international Bible study we hold on Sunday nights. The week after that, he invited some of his friends. We soon had nine guys over to our house for a meal, and seven attended church the next Sunday!

The Filipino man is open to ministry if God should lead him, so Norman invited him to begin learning some Bible school courses. Cameron is joining in, learning hermeneutics (how to interpret Scriptures). Pray for language struggles between English and Tagalog. Norman is studying some Tagalog himself to help things along.

You never know where God might open a door! We have been encouraged to see some spiritual hunger and interest among the Filipinos we’ve met. Pray for God to help them understand truth, respond to it in repentance and acceptance, and to grow in their understanding of Who God is and what He offers them.

Thank you for your prayers!

Missions is like building bridges!

Road into Kikuchi City

Summer has been in the upper 90’s and even into 100 degrees this year (35-40 Celsius!). We’re being careful to stay hydrated!

During the first weeks of August, we had the opportunity to volunteer to help clean up after major flooding. The place is located over an hour away, but Norman made at least 3 trips to dig mud from rooms of an 80-year-old couple’s home. Our whole family went one day. They had to tear up the floor and dig the mud out from under there, too. Water had reached above their first-floor ceiling! Such an overwhelming mess! But the elderly couple had such amazing attitudes! They offered food, drinks, and break times often. They shared the story of their lives. I wondered if I would have such a great attitude if it were my house.

Seeing all that the flood victims have to go through makes me so grateful to have a dry home! It also makes me want to throw away a lot of my belongings! You don’t realize how much stuff you have until you see it all over your front lawn!

The view on our way to church

Rainy season is officially over! We had SO much rain this year! In early July, there was a major flood in several areas, including Sakamoto City, which hadn’t flooded in 100 years. Norman and Cameron volunteered yesterday, digging mud out of the home of an 80-year-old couple, who were cheerful and helping right alongside them!

Homeschool for this year began today! I have a freshman and a junior. We’re considering such topics as algebra, economics, world history and geography, US government, English/spelling/literature, Japanese, and physical science.

We had a new experience last week. Cameron had two wisdom teeth pulled. We had never had any major dental care needs to this point, but we were pleased with the turnout. An interesting cultural tidbit is what Japanese call “wisdom teeth” in their language: oyashirazu. The word literally means “parents” and “don’t know.” As Keiko explained (one opinion of the etymology), in the old days, by the time one’s wisdom teeth came in, one’s parents were already dead and gone… so you didn’t know them anymore. I found it interesting!

With rain pouring yet again, our family decided to do some inside work. Since our coffee shop in Kikuchi closed, we had boxed up and moved all of the things to our coffee shop in Minami Aso. For the past couple weeks, our Bible study on Sundays looked rather like a garage sale in progress!

So today, Norman and I, plus Melodie and Chloe (Cameron wasn’t feeling well), went to the Minami Aso store and started sorting out what to keep, what to give away, and what to toss. While the three of them did that, I started to fill an order for herb tea packets. We made a sizeable dent in the mess! Norman figures another two times like we had today, and things might finally be in place. On our trip home, Norman looked over at me and commented, “We just aren’t normal, are we?” We certainly have experiences few missionaries have! But, it’s all in a day’s work. And we hope to bring glory to our Lord while we’re doing it!

We are past the (first) corona restriction stage and are back to meeting weekly with our Christian brothers and sisters. We have been having very good turnouts, too! We are praising God for some new folks attending regularly. Some still need to know Jesus personally.

July also marks a new chapter for our friend Jonathan. He left this month in order to begin prefield ministry (formerly known as deputation). He plans to return to work in Kumamoto with us after he gathers the support he needs in the States. Please keep him in your prayers.

A few days before Jonathan left

You may have heard of all the rain and flooding Kyushu has been experiencing. As of today, we are all safe and fine, though others south of us have not had it as easy.

Thank you for your faithful prayers!

Life keeps changing. In some ways, our lives haven’t changed so much. We can still homeschool, cut our own hair, work in the yard, and Chloe can continue her online classes..

In other ways, life has changed a bit. We no longer meet on Sundays; instead, we’ve crafted a system of each Christian in our group calling 1-2 people each week to share thoughts on the designated Bible passage and our prayer requests. In some ways, we are more connected than usual!

One other big change involves our coffee shop in Kikuchi (Michishirube). It’s looking very likely that we will shut it down permanently. Our main purpose for creating the coffee shop was to test the idea of being able to pay for a meeting place for church. That was a success! Over the past year, Norman and I have discussed how long to keep it in business. Though we haven’t been concerned about making a profit, it would be nice to stay out of the red. At this point, money comes from our own pocket every month. We were hoping to hang on to the business long enough for the McVicker family to have the option to decide if it was a ministry they would be interested in after their language school. But, perhaps God is giving us the direction we need.

Closing the coffee shop will affect Keiko and Chloe, who have been working there part-time. (Norman and I work there, too, but we don’t pay ourselves.) We can transfer our inventory over to our coffee shop in Minami Aso. Norman’s stress will decrease without this added responsibility, and that’s worth a lot right now with his recent appointment to Field Team Leader of ABWE Japan.

Thanks for your prayers during this time. God is at work in Japan and in our lives. We know He is working in your section of the world as well. We pray that we can all be lights in our communities and share the love of Jesus and the peace that passes understanding.

We have a gigantic praise! Tom, Amy, Veronica, and Abigail McVicker made it safely to Kikuchi, Japan, and are currently in their new home! God smoothed the way for them in truly amazing ways. Thank you all for praying!

As they left the States, certain state borders were closing along the way. Flying from Kentucky to Chicago, then on to Toronto, Canada, we prayed they would be able to leave Canada, whose borders had been shut days earlier. I received an update from the Tokyo Embassy, saying that as of March 26, anyone coming from America would need to be quarantined at a designated place and wouldn’t be able to leave Tokyo. Norman worked hard to find a place they could stay (if they had the option), but the place he found fell through at the last minute. We had to wait until the McVickers landed in Tokyo around 5 p.m. on the 26th to learn what they would be told.

Tom called us from Tokyo, saying they would need to stay 2 weeks at a hotel in the area. He was still explaining this to Norman when Tom was interrupted by an airport employee, stating that things had changed, and they would be able to take their last flight to Kumamoto! Ending the call immediately, they were rushed through immigration and onto their plane, arriving here at 8:45 p.m. as planned.

Praise the Lord! Norman took them to their home, and they have been staying indoors now for one week. Only one more left before they can start shopping for themselves, walking around their new neighborhood, and getting acquainted with life in Japan!

Thank you for your prayers! Praise God for His grace!

As of this writing, Tom & Amy McVicker and their two girls are still planning to travel to Japan. They have bought tickets for March 25 (arriving in Japan March 26). Please pray for smooth travels, and if it’s God’s will, they actually are able to leave the States, enter Japan, and arrive safely. Some of the interns are not being given permission from ABWE to travel because of COVID-19 concerns. Keep these young people in your prayers.

Amidst the many cancellations around us, we were still able to put on our Training Run Day, during which we expected eight people from the Kumamoto Running Club to join us. Fifteen showed up! It ended up being a cold, rainy day, but Norman had company during his 36 kilometer run. We are planning the next running day on April 18, and hope the weather is much nicer!

Though schools are canceled until some time in April (at present), life continues on mostly the same. City-owned places are shut (libraries, gyms, pools), but people are out and about. We have plenty of toilet paper back on the shelves, though face masks and hand sanitizer are still unavailable.

Norman reminded me that, since we Christians are prepared for eternity and unafraid to die, we should be the first to volunteer to help those who are sick with the virus. To live is Christ; to die is gain! That puts it all in perspective for me!

In other family news, Chloe is now a real author! With her father’s help, she has self-published her first book. She has others in different stages of writing, editing, second drafts, etc. Keep a look-out for more books on the way! (You can check this one out at amazon.com). Good job, Chloe!

Book name: Survivor

Here’s an update on the McVickers. They now have most of their O&P funds! They lack around $5,000 before they can buy plane tickets and hop the ocean to begin the Japan chapter of their lives! Keep them in your prayers as they make adjustments along the way. Pray especially for their two girls accompanying them. There will be lots of new things to encounter.

Also, Norman has organized a Training Run Day on Saturday, March 14, as a way to run 38 kilometers not just by himself! He and Cameron met some members of a running club nearby, and up to eight runners plan to attend the event! Pray for good weather, first of all. Then, pray for new relationships to begin. We look forward to making new acquaintances and letting our lights shine! (You can pray for Norman, too. That’s a long way to run in one day!)