Our family wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We never know what God has in store for us when the new year rolls around. I’m glad He has control of all that! When our Commander is reliable, trustworthy, and caring, we have no reason to fear the future! The best part is that He walks along beside us every step of the way, guiding, comforting, encouraging, and empowering us.
What a blessing it is to be God’s child!
Jesus told His disciples, “You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy” (John 16:20 CSB). He said this relating to His coming death and return to the Father. Yes, His disciples would be sad when they witnessed His crucifixion, but later, after they understood its purpose, they would be joyful. They’d be SO joyful, in fact, that their sorrow would be all but forgotten, like a mother after giving birth forgets the agony of labor (verse 21).
In life, we, too, feel sorrow from time to time. I think of my friend who is facing cancer and a life-changing surgery. We grieve a loss (of many kinds). We sorrow over life change; we find new physical limitations; we are treated poorly or betrayed; we hurt in all sorts of ways. But having faith — we will understand the purpose later — we can access that joy even in the sorrow. That is a work of God! Only divine help supporting our faith can enable us to see past the sorrow of today to embrace the joy of the future.
“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 CSB)
“Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross . . .” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a).
Oh, Father! May this kind of faith be true for me! When difficult news comes my way, help me look past the temporary discomfort to the joy awaiting me, understanding that You have a divine purpose in every sorrow You allow into my life. Increase my faith! Help me lift up my eyes to the joy ahead. Amen.
Our family is on a two-week trip, staying one week in Minnesota and one in central Iowa. On Monday, we were able to meet up with our Japanese friend, Ritsuko, who lives in Minnesota. She set out an astounding amount of food for us! We took half of it home with us and are still eating it!
As I think back over how we met Ritsuko, I see God’s amazing hand in each part of the story. First, Ritsuko’s parents live in Kikuchi, the town we live in. It’s the same town where we opened our first coffee shop. Ritsuko was the first person to attend our first Bible study there. She was visiting Japan for an extended stay, and our family got to know her then. Her husband grew up near where I grew up in Wisconsin. And her MN home is right on the way between two of our supporting churches. We keep running into each other!
This week is sort of a “breather” for us. We are camped out in the lovely basement apartment of Mrs. Merrill in SE Minnesota. Good timing, because our kids caught colds and needed a quiet place to take it easy. The fall colors are gorgeous here this week!
We will visit Calvary Baptist Church in Rochester, MN, on Sunday. Following our time there, we will attend the Global Reach (missions) conference at Faith Baptist Bible College. We hope to be able to speak with college students and share the need in Japan. We need more workers!
We are enjoying cooler fall temperatures as autumn comes to Iowa! We have had a busy schedule, but we are being encouraged as we fellowship with our supporting churches around the area. What a blessing to sing together, hear testimonies, and share how God is working.
This coming week will be busier than usual. We’ll visit three churches, fellowship with old friends, tour a dog trainers’ school, and travel hundreds of miles!
Last night Melodie and I helped the church here to put labels on 4,500 water bottles in preparation for a parade event . . . which got rained out today! The event continues into tomorrow, so maybe they’ll have another way to distribute them! They each say something about Jesus being the Living Water. How wonderful to know Christ and have our deepest thirst quenched! I am grateful for God’s life-giving sustenance.
After brief stays in Oregon, Alabama, and Wisconsin, we have now relocated to Iowa. We plan to be here for almost three months. (Take deep breath!) Whew! We have been wonderfully blessed by our supporting church in Creston, IA. We are staying in their mission house, which is perfect for us. We even have horses next door to admire!
We’ve been enjoying visiting with a variety of supporting churches so far this furlough. Some of these have been supporting us for over twenty years! We are so grateful for our church families sending us to Japan with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We praise God for each one of you!
This weekend, Norman and Cameron plan to take in a men’s retreat. A couple weeks later, Susan and Chloe are looking forward to a ladies’ retreat. In the meantime, we look forward to Wednesday nights together with the church body here in Creston. After being in charge of running Bible studies and church services, it’s nice to sit back and not be in charge! The encouragement of being together with brothers and sisters in the Lord is not something we take lightly. What a blessing!
I am reading 2 Samuel this month. Today I read about several armies uniting against Israel. Joab, Israel’s military commander, led the charge against the enemies. The attacking armies divided, some on this side of Israel, some on that side. Joab told his brother Abishai, “You go attack that side, and I’ll fight over here. If the Aramaens are too strong for me, then you will be my help. But if the Ammonites are too much for you, I’ll come to your aid” (paraphrase of verse 11).
What a great picture of the Christian family, the church! When times are tough for me, I’ll look to you for added strength and support. I will allow you to help me. (This is not always easy!) When the tables are turned, and you are in a bind, then I’ll be ready to jump in and give you a hand. We’re in this battle together. Together, we can be stronger. We’ve got each other’s back.
I love this imagery. Too often, it feels like it’s every man for himself, but God never meant it to be that way. I’m guilty of trying too hard to do everything myself. And I am hesitant to “push” myself into someone else’s life. I’ve experienced times when others have come to my rescue, and it’s been wonderful. Why is it so hard to admit the need for help? Pride, I suppose.
This week, let’s look around and see if a brother or sister looks like they could use some support. And if it’s you or me who needs extra help, let’s be brave enough (and humble enough) to reach out to a brother or sister and request a hand. Let’s encourage a Together relationship with our church family.
Our family began our furlough journey in Oregon. We then moseyed down to Alabama to visit Norman’s side of the family and pick up our vehicle. About three weeks after that, we took two days to drive up to Wisconsin to see my side and celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday. (Happy birthday, Mom!) This past Thursday, we headed to Creston, Iowa, where we plan to settle in for about three months. Our supporting church here has graciously offered us the use of their missionary house. We are so thankful to be able to rest in place (during the week anyway!) in one location with just our family!
By way of update, we have had some terrific news from home in Japan! Elijah led another Filipino friend to the Lord! Please pray for Charlie as he takes steps along the road of discipleship, and for Elijah as he leads Charlie.
Also, Stephen Clemans made it to Japan! He plans to help Jonathan cover for us while we’re in the States. Currently, Stephen is sick and had to see the Japanese doctor. Not a fun way to get started, but God’s doing something!
Our family of five made it safely back to the United States on June 15th. An added blessing was that just days before leaving Japan, the PCR test requirement was lifted! We traveled from Kumamoto to Tokyo (Narita); then on to Vancouver, Canada, and Portland, OR. Pastor Craig Slaughter came to get us, and we spent about 2 weeks in Oregon getting over jetlag AND covid! Double whammy! The church family (Faith Baptist in Salem) bent over backwards to help us out and meet needs during our illness. Thank you!!
We flew then to Alabama to recover more at Norman’s parents’ home. We had to postpone or cancel 2-3 Sundays during this time. Cameron came down with covid in Alabama. We had a forced rest, which wasn’t such a bad thing. 🙂
On July 19-20 we traveled in our packed car to Wisconsin and are currently hanging out with my side of the family. We plan to visit three churches here before moving on to Iowa for about 3 months.
We hear that Jonathan is doing well back in Japan, meeting weekly with Elijah and the international church group as well as brushing up his Japanese speaking level. Keep him in your prayers, please.
Norman has begun a podcast in the last several months called Run With Horses, 30-minute episodes on topics such as discipleship, family, and marriage. He made a new website for it, as well — runwithhorses.net. I add my two cents on the marriage edition of it, and both Chloe and Cameron chime in on Family Fridays. This podcast is also aired on an internet radio program each week, potentially reaching a larger number of people. This is a new ministry for us, and we hope it will encourage many Christians around the world.
Here are a few tidbits of news for those who have been praying for specific things in our lives!
Thank you for your faithful prayers! We couldn’t make it without your intercession. We praise God for your help.
Thank you to those of you who have been praying for Jonathan to receive his visa for Japan. He has it in hand! Praise the Lord! He has bought his plane tickets to arrive June 7th.
Please continue to pray for Jonathan. We will be dumping a bit of work on his capable shoulders! It will probably feel a little overwhelming at first. Our time together is only about a week (overlapping time), since the Smith family plans to return to the States on June 15.
Please pray for Stephan as he has also applied for his visa to come help Jonathan in our absence. His plan is to be in Japan for a short-term assignment for now. But having both of them here is a huge weight off our minds! We are so grateful for their willingness to come help.