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!)

Tom & Amy McVicker and two of their children hope to arrive in Japan this month! They have visas in hand, they will be packing up their shipping container this week, and all that’s left is one final amount of money to complete their Outfit & Passage (O&P). Praise God!

A note about O&P: The amount left to raise is around $30,000. These funds will go toward initial house set-up, two years of language school, a vehicle, and other start-up costs involved with relocating overseas.

Please pray that this money will be provided in God’s timing. We really need help over here! We’ve been asking God for co-workers for decades. You have, too! They’re so close to getting here! We are excited!

Christmas is always a great time to share the true meaning of Christmas. In order to make the best use of the opportunities, we tend to have very busy Decembers!

On Dec. 9, Chloe, Keiko, and I hosted a Christmas event for my English conversation class. Melodie helped me make a flashcard story of how Christmas fits into God’s plan for mankind. It started with the very beginning . . . to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection…and to what this means for us as humans. We pray that the planted seed takes root and sprouts.

This coming weekend, we have two special days planned. Dec. 21 (Sat.) in Minami Aso, we will have a Christmas event with our church people and the people they invite. We plan to have a short concert (by our family), portions of the Jesus film (especially revolving around Jesus’ birth), Christmas carols, and dessert/coffee.

The next day, Dec. 22, we will do a similar event with our brothers and sisters and invited friends in Kumamoto City. Please pray that those invited will attend, that they’ll understand the message of salvation offered freely to them, and that they’ll accept it . . . or at least want to know more.

Over December 24-26, we plan to spend Christmas with the singles in the area. We look forward to being a family away from home for them.

We have a note of PRAISE! Norman was able to submit the initial paperwork to start the visa process for Tom & Amy McVicker who hope to join us in Kumamoto in January 2020! It was quite the runaround for Norman to obtain various signatures, documents, and correctly filled-out forms, but it’s now out of our hands and in the immigration office! We pray for a speedy visa approval. The latest news is that the McVickers have over 95% of their monthly support needs. They have that last 5% plus their one-time outfit and passage needs (initial start-up costs, airfare, vehicle, language school, etc.). Please pray that they could arrive in Japan soon! We are so ready for helpers!

Thank you so much for your interest in the ministry here. Your prayers and support in many ways is so encouraging. Merry Christmas to you!

Are you having a far-fetched, fun, frivolous, fantastic fall? Frankly, we hope so. Let’s focus on some fall facts from the field of Japan!

Fall Retreat

First, we enjoyed meeting with our church family from various groups with whom we fellowship. We met at a local resort/meeting area, discussing how as a church we are like a three-strand cord that is not easily broken. With Japanese churches being so small (as well as few and far between), we find that meeting together can be a huge encouragement to fellow Christians. The church is so much bigger than simply our small group of believers!

Falks’ Visit

Dakota and Ashley Falk from Michigan visited Japan on a survey trip, considering missions here. They were able to attend the Fall Retreat, as well as spend time with each of the three ABWE church-plant areas. Thank you for your continued prayer support for the Lord of the Harvest to raise up new workers for His harvest field. We are still praying for more help! If the Lord leads, we will gladly welcome the Falks to our team!

Folk Music with a Family Flair

Our family – all five of us! – have participated in three different concerts in the past month or so. Mostly, we do this to generate funds for our coffee shops (and to pay our employees!). But we also sing and play to cross paths with new people and old friends.

Finally, I am finished. Farewell! (Aren’t I funny?)

Norman and I visited the USA (Chicago and Baltimore) for two weeks in July. Our main purpose for going was to attend the Missionary Enrichment Conference with ABWE. (We are required to attend every five years, and it had been six years! And flying in July of 2020 from Tokyo for our normal furlough time would be super-expensive with the Olympics.)

In Chicago, we attempted to recover from jetlag and visit my family. I got to see both my sisters, my brother, their families, and my mom. We were also able to meet up with Blake, whom Norman had mentored some years earlier in Japan. Blake is now leading a multi-cultural Bible study in downtown Chicago. What a blessing to see one of our “children” walking in God’s paths!

My mom and me

In Baltimore, we were happy to be able to meet up with Tom & Amy McVicker (and their two girls) who will be coming to Japan to work with us as soon as January 2020, God willing. Please pray that the McVickers are able to gather the remaining portion of their monthly support to be able to come.

Tom, Veronica, Amy, and Abigail

Norman and I had a great time together during this trip. It was a chance to really reconnect and remember what it was like back before we had kids and so many responsibilities!

A special thanks to Keiko for gifting us with money for good coffee in America!

Our son Cameron has this new venture of taking shelter dogs home and training them to walk on a leash, to respond to a human’s commands, and, in some cases, to allow them to be petted by a human. A month ago, Cameron took in two dogs for the first time. Today, he and his dad planned to return them to the shelter, in hopes the dogs will be more adoptable now.

But. . . .

About two hours before they were to return them, Cameron and Melodie took the two dogs out for a walk together. Somehow, Kay (the dog pictured above) got loose and ran for the hills. Her leash was still attached, but, being out in the country as we are, she took off into the tall weeds and disappeared into the woods. Melodie returned to the house in tears, and I joined in the effort to try to find the dog.

As I walked behind them, I started talking to God, realizing that maybe this happened to build the faith of my kids. I said to God, “Lord, just as You helped the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, You are the God of the Impossible. Though this situation seems impossible to me, this is the kind of time that You like to use to bring Yourself glory. Please help us locate this dog. Nothing is impossible for you.”

We brought the other dog, hoping he could help sniff out his friend, but the underbrush was so thick, his leash was getting tangled up too much. Cameron spied a bit of a trail through the weeds, and he followed it for a way without coming across Kay. Not knowing what to do, Cameron remembered how he was able to see better through corn fields when he squatted down. He tried it, but he saw nothing. But hunching there for a few minutes, he was able to hear some thrashing a few yards away. Swaying bushes alerted him to the right area, but Kay was down a steep valley from him. Together, we found a way down to her, and then I heard these wonderful words: “I’ve got her!” Her leash had gotten tangled in the underbrush. This all happened within a forty-minute time frame.

I took the opportunity to share with Cameron and Melodie (and everyone else I have told this story to today!) how God can do the impossible. How He hears our prayers and answers.

There are so many lessons in this! When we face trouble, we should definitely pray and trust God for His help. But it doesn’t mean we should sit home and wait for Him to work! We can do what we can, and leave the rest to Him. Praise the Lord! We are very grateful for God’s help today!