Hi Everyone,

This Sunday the Immanuel Nagoya Church hosted our annual Kids Festival, featuring music, prizes and of course food! 21 kids came, and they all had a great time — and so did the grown-ups. Best of all, 12 of the kids who came were newcomers. Praise God for new connections with the community!

Other than that, the past month I’ve kept busy with Japanese studies, teaching English, and preparations for a short-term mission trip I’m hosting/leading just a few short days from now.

Please pray for my friends Mike and Nick, who are coming here from Canada to travel and do ministry with me for about a week. They’re scheduled to arrive on Tuesday afternoon (May 5), and flying out on Wednesday, May 13. Please pray for safe travel (both to and in Japan), fruitful ministry and for our physical and spiritual strength during this busy time.

Thanks as always for praying!

I thought I’d introduce you to some of the people I’ve been sharing life and ministry with. These pics were all shot in the past month or so in various places.

In early March, I went strawberry picking with the young adults from the Immanuel Nagoya Church. Following are some pics from that day; the first is a shot of our pastor Pastor Uchiyama and me, and the rest are of the rest of the gang. And me again. As you can see, they get some big berries here.

Next up, something from school. We’re into a new term now, so I’m in with a new group. But this is a photo of the the class I studied Japanese with the past six months. The other students came from Brazil, China, Italy, Russia and Spain. With us is one of our teachers (front row, far left). She’s Japanese, of course.

And… Just last week I spent a few days in Yokohama, where the Japanese church (Immanuel General Mission) had its annual conference (Nenkai). The next few pics are from that trip.

First, the speaker, Rev. Harriman, director of World Gospel Mission (WGM), one of our partner organizations, along with his tranlator:

Next, here’s me again, along with Pastor Oda, who is another one of the pastors I’ve been working with. He leads a church in nearby Gifu city.

And lastly, here are some fellow-missionaries, all members of WGM: Dennis and Pricilla Probst; and Zach Motts with his bride-to-be, Esther.

Hi Everyone,

I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying Spring wherever you may be. The streets of Nagoya are lined with Sakura (cherry blossoms) now, which is a sure sign of Spring in Japan.

This month I had a 2 1/2 week break from language school for Spring Break. I wasn’t on vacation, however. Besides spending time reviewing my Japanese, I also continued teaching English, did some music ministry, and helped out with Sunday school here at the Nagoya Church. And last week, I was in Yokohama for a few days for the Immanuel Church’s national annual conference. It was a good opportunity to catch up with some friends and fellow missionaries, as well as to connect with the Japanese church on a larger level.

Thank you for your prayers over the past month. Here are some things you can be praying with me about in the weeks to come:

1. Language studies – I’m back to school for another 6-month term of learning Japanese.

2. English class — My weekly English lessons continue to be well-attended. This month we are making some changes and doing some promotion to hopefully attract some unchurched people to the class. Please
pray that God will use this to help us build bridges with the community.

3. The future — I’m well into my second year of my two-year internship with Global Partners. So it’s time to start praying and planning for what comes next. I definitely plan to continue living and ministering in Japan, but the details of where and in what capacity are yet to be figured out. Please pray that God will lead me to the right opportunities for next year and beyond.

Thanks again for praying!