Sugoi! It has been quite a year for us living out our faith over here in Japan. This update is going to highlight both the difficulties and blessings this year has brought. Thank you so much to each of you who have gotten behind us and opened your hearts to the lost souls of Japan. It’s been quite a ride so far, but one full of God’s Glory. Learning to walk with Jesus while isolated from a culture that we know and understand has been both stretching and rewarding. We have the opportunity as adults to experience being “cultural infants” as we learn a new way of life and what it looks like to be ambassadors of Christ here in Japan.

December 2023 

After seven long years of waiting and training, there we were, preparing to move. It was Sunday the 10th and Jeff was sharing one last message with our home church in Montana. I distinctly remember becoming emotional and honestly overwhelmed. I was sitting beside my mother and father and surrounded by people who I’d built deep relationships with. I asked the Lord ‘will I know how to love the Japanese people? I love these people you have given me. I feel so sad to not do life side by side with them.’ 

For every missionary there is great cost here on earth, but we each have to ask how much of ourselves is Jesus worthy to have? I had made the choice years earlier that Jesus could have my whole life, but on that Sunday I felt myself put it on the altar again. I sat there thinking about all that the Lord had done in our lives. I listened and watched in awe of the man of God that had been built in my husband. I thought of all the people whose lives had been used by God to get us to this launching point. I was filled with trust once more, reminded that He loves the lost and that the Japanese are lost. 127 million people without hope waiting to hear. “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, “Here I am send me.” – Isaiah 6:8

Three days later would be the most painful experience and also the solidifying event of understanding just how important it is to get the hope of Jesus to the Japanese and give proper discipleship in this empty land. My dear friend who we’d met a year previously committed suicide. I have tried to understand why this happened for a year but to be honest, it is something that I don’t have an answer for. She was a 22 year-old woman that loved Jesus. To us she was a beautiful example of what God wanted for every Japanese soul. And personally my heart loved her so much that it was a terrible loss. We stayed up crying until the wee hours of the morning too confused about how this could happen. And now the excitement we had for moving and experiencing the Lord’s joy was met with deep sorrow. But…“WE know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28. There is still a deep hole in so much that Jeff and I do in ministry as we still feel that she is supposed to be here ministering alongside us. However, her story showed us that the issue of suicide in Japan is very real and we need to be sensitive to the Spirit and I am continually praying about how the Lord wants to use our dear friend’s testimony to help others. 

January-May 2024

We packed our bags and with a team of 9 others coming on a short-term vision trip, we moved and led a missions trip to Japan. It would take us three months to finally find a place to call home and settle into life in Japan. That time was very stretching for us as many of you know I have celiac disease and eating at restaurants is very risky for me and we didn’t have a kitchen so it was a hard way to start our new life. But we are so thankful for having the team come, because out of the 9 people that came, 4 of them are going to be here from this month until April/May. They are praying about moving full time to come over and do ministry together. I cannot even begin to tell you how encouraging this is for Jeff and I, we honestly thought it would just be us faithfully following the Lord, but to have so many missionaries lining up behind us is mind-blowing. The Lord really has His eyes on this country. Over and over again we are reminded how precious they are in His sight.

May-June 2024

We were so blessed to have the funds needed to travel back to America and see Jeff’s daughter Daphne graduate high school. There was so much joy as we saw the faithfulness of the Lord to have the whole family together and see her enter adulthood. 

June-September 2024

We came back to Japan and really dug in. We started our language learning at this time and were able to start understanding how to live as part of the Japanese community rather than be a bystander or a tourist. We also experienced our first summer; wow that was no joke with temperatures of 100+ and humidity of 98%! Plus, there was the noise of the cacophonous cicadas that penetrated every room in our home. 

October-November 2024

We were so blessed to travel to Thailand for the Saving Grace conference. It was seriously so wonderful to be all together from different countries and hear about all that the Lord is doing all over the world. This was so so so faith-building and I can tell you that the Holy Spirit is really moving globally. When we got back, we hosted another missionary as she prayed about moving full time over here too. It was also at this time that Jeff started teaching a bible college class on the book of Acts.

December 2024

We ended out the year totally encouraged as we had outreaches amidst the community that seemed to be very successful. It was so special to be here for our first Christmas. It was nothing like Christmas in America so it was a time of some sadness as we missed our loved ones and traditions. But the simplicity of just enjoying the celebrations of Jesus’ birth with the believers was so special. 

January 2025

As our second year begins, our language learning is going well. Jeff started a 5 day a week language program, and I am still learning with my tutor. We have 4 other missionaries here for 3 months praying about coming over long term so we are blessed by them being with us. We are continuing in the ministry at the church and praying if there is anything the Lord wants us to add in our second year.

If you would like to get behind us and the work the Lord is doing this year, our one-time needs include:

• The ladies’ retreat at Abide coming up that will be an extra cost of $100.
• Funds needed while we are blessed to host the short-term teams that come (for extra train rides and meals we’ll host in our home)
• The ministry trip to Tokyo for the Japan Calvary conference we would like to join (about $860 in total)
• A vacuum for our home
• A dryer machine
• A printer to print Japanese worksheets
  
  We are also still in need of monthly partners at the moment and so if you feel led to partner with us monthly, you can do so through the financial button below. Thank you so much for your prayerful consideration in partnering with us as we reach out and minister to the people of Japan.