Monthly Archives: March 2018

Letter from Keiko

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Konnnichiwa! Hello. My name is Keiko Sesaki. I’m a Japanese Christian. I live close to the Smith family’s house in Japan.

Thank you for supporting the Smith family and other missionaries. It’s because of people like you that I’m a Christian. I am the result of your support.

This is the story of How I heard the Good news. One missionary family came to Japan about 50 years ago. The missionary told the Gospel to the Japanese people. Mr. & Mrs. Kishimoto were saved. God led him to become a pastor. God led him to Nagashima. Nagashima is my hometown. He started a church in my hometown. My mom and my dad heard the Gospel. My mom and my dad were saved and then got married. Then I was born! I grew up with Christian parents. I was saved when I was in high school. I’m so thankful you and your church support missionaries.

I have a prayer request. Matthew 9:37-38 talks about new workers. Japan needs many more workers. I’m praying almost every morning for God to send more workers to Japan and other countries. Please pray with me that God would send more workers in to the world and to Japan. If you know someone interested in foreign missions, please tell that person about Japan.

I asked you to pray for new workers. So if you have a prayer request, I want to pray for you. Please let me know!

Thank you! God bless you.

Keiko

Psalm 113

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My mom has a neighbor who is difficult to be around. Why? Because 95% of the words coming out of her mouth have a decidedly negative spin on them. Her daughters-in-law are hateful; her children never come to visit; she has nothing to live for, and on and on it goes. After a few hours of that, it makes her listener feel as negative and down as she is!

As we read through Psalm 113, we see the psalmist’s focus on praise to the Lord, the unique God of the universe. It convicted me of my own tendency to point out the negative aspects of my situation. Why do I focus on what I don’t like about something? Why not focus on what’s positive and wonderful? This is a part of my personality that I may always struggle with. But with God’s help, and a right focus, I believe I can improve my outlook on people and circumstances.

Today as we speak to others (or to ourselves in our thoughts), let’s center our words on the Lord. With God, there is always hope. There is always reason to praise and be grateful. No matter what the situation, God brings light into the equation.

“Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:1-3 ESV).

Time to Move On

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Our time in Iowa is coming to a close. We have greatly enjoyed our stay at the parsonage beside the First Baptist Church here in Waverly. The church family (whom we met only after moving in) has been so gracious and kind. They have been a huge blessing.

After this coming Sunday, we will be driving down to Norman’s family in Alabama, visiting one last church before flying home to Japan on March 28-29.Norman is the packer-extraordinaire. He has been packing up boxes to mail to Japan of stuff we have bought here and can’t buy in Japan. We’ve already shipped a few boxes. So much stuff!

One of the joys of furlough is discovering good Christian books. Norman is reading Gaining by Losing, Disciplines of the Godly Man, among others. I have been reading Running Scared, and True Womanhood 101. There’s some good stuff out there! Another blessing of furlough is experiencing vibrant, thriving churches here. To know people are loving and serving God in our old homeland is encouraging. We’re all on the same team with the same goal! Let’s keep up the good work. (Matthew 28:19-20)