Summer has arrived in Osaka, and with it come hot humid days. The Japanese put bells in their windows and above their verandas to catch any breezes that might blow through. Our Japanese friend told us that the reason they do this is because the chime of the bell lets them hear the breeze and gives them a sort of Pavlovian effect that tricks their brain into thinking it’s cooler. It hasn’t worked for us yet, but Alishia enjoys the bells anyway. While we may want our bodies to be cool, we want the opposite for our spirits. We want to remain on fire for the Lord and passionate about our calling. Please pray that we don’t cool off in that way.

When it’s not too hot, Alishia has been getting outside with friends from the church. She loves building relationships, and these pictures represent some of the people who bless us each and every week.

Church each week brings several opportunities to connect and minister. It’s amazing to be a part of Abide and worship along these people. Please continue to pray for us as we serve the church and each other. Pictured with Alishia is our friend Miao; she’s a professor at a university here in Osaka. Once a month, a group of missionaries from Abide join her and her husband Matt at her school for what is called a ‘Life Studies Group.’ Like most places, universities in Japan are difficult places to share with people about Jesus. With this group, students and teachers from the university come and share the challenges in their life and we are able to share with them how we use the Bible to navigate the challenges that we face in our lives. Please also pray for this group of students and our meetings with them.

Abide hosted teams from both Hawaii and Chicago recently. Both teams were a huge blessing to us, and it was awesome to meet them. The Chicago team made Chicago-style hotdogs for everyone at our mid-week service and shared their testimonies with us. The team from Hawaii made a couple of meals for the church to share on Friday night and Sunday afternoon. They also put on a Hawaiian theme festival for kids and families and taught hula to anyone who wanted to learn.

We had an Independence Day party on July 5th at our apartment. The young adults group joined us for American summertime foods and a Bible study. As many of you know, Alishia has a great gift for hosting and hospitality, and she outdid herself again with this celebration.

Please pray for our language learning as we continue our studies. Our desire it to be able to communicate with the people here without a translator. The task is very difficult, so we need the Lord’s help to accomplish it.

Please pray for the Lord to meet our needs both spiritually and physically. Please consider partnering with us financially if you’re able.