Nagoya Update

Thank you for praying for us as a family last week. The trip to Nagoya was great. The travel all went smoothly and I was able to access a great deal of information for Marcy and I to move to the Nagoya area in our next term. Marcy’s time with the kids went well and the all pregnancy sickness and vertigo were greatly eased while I was away. God is gracious…

I spent most of my time with the Shimizu family. Talking over meals and getting to know them was a great opportunity for me use some Japanese, learn about Sakae church and start building a friendship with the Shimizu’s. The Shimizu’s were gracious hosts and made me feel very comfortable in their home. They have even invited us back to Nagoya, so Marcy and I are beginning to make plans to visit with them once again in July as we return to the States. Katsutoshi & Yukiko Shimizu are pictured at the right.

I was able spent a good deal of time with Pastor Suematsu and we enjoyed each others company. Some of the things we talked about were the roles of missionaries in modern Japan, challenges in the church and Sakae’s desire to partner with an American church. He reported to Shimizu’s that he was happy with our discussions and wanted to pursue the next steps and deepen the relationship between the churches. This was an answer to prayer!

Next Steps…

Mr. & Mrs. Shimizu are coming to Grace Fellowship from April 23 – 28. Pray over this trip as it may determine what the next steps will be as Grace Fellowship and Sakae seek to build a relationship together. While at our home church, our new friends from Nagoya will see the children’s ministry along with a visit to the Creation Museum and other sites at home. They will meet with the Pastors to talk about partnership, missions, small group ministry and discipleship ministries. I am most excited that our Barnabas Team will get the chance to begin building a new relationship with the Shimizus. It is a very exciting time to watch God move, increase our faith and put together all of these things for His glory.

I believe the Lord is certainly in all of this and Marcy and I agree if all goes well with partnership building between churches, that Nagoya could easily be our next location in Japan.

Check out the strange food article at the right...if you have the stomach for it!

Thank You for your prayers….