Sent March 25th, 2010

Greetings from Tsukuba Science City,

 

The rain is coming down, pollen season is in full swing, and we’ve been kept on our toes by a couple of mild earthquakes in the past week, but apart from that we have many updates to share and would covet your believing prayers for our church plant here in Japan. 

 

To read this month’s update on-line complete with pictures of our family, recent ministry events, and a sumo wrestler on a bicycle, click here: http://www.tsukubagrace.org/prayer

Otherwise read below for the text version of this month’s letter. 

 

If you aren’t signed up for our prayer blog “Extra Wasabi” you’ve missed a dozen updates since January.  Check it out at: http://extrawasabi.blogspot.com/ and if you’re interested enter your e-mail address in the right hand column to get automatic updates delivered to your in-box.

 

If for any reason you’d like to stop receiving our updates, just hit reply and click REMOVE somewhere in the subject line. 

 

Your hands in Japan for the Gospel,

Paul & Jennifer

(Brooke – 13, Evan – 11, Caleb - 7)

 

P.S. You may have noticed a new logo on our letters and web-site (bottom banner).  The reason is that our mission’s name has been changed to Fellowship International Ministries.  What hasn’t changed is our e-mail address. Although we often send our prayer letters from our local address (paulandjennifer@cure.ocn.ne.jp) we continue to use our hotmail address as our permanent address (paulandjennifersadler@hotmail.com).  Either way those and several other addresses are all active so you don’t have to worry about your e-mails not getting to us.

 

A Prayer for the Next Generation

 

One of the most tragic stories I’ve heard since coming to Japan involved a 24 year-old man living in the city next to ours. He set out for a nearby train station with a knife and said he "just wanted to kill anyone." By the end of the day one person was dead, seven others seriously injured and Masahiro Kanagawa was behind bars.

Police were at first puzzled to discover that he carried two cell phones. But when they questioned him they learned the reason: Kanagawa would send text messages to himself with lines like, 'I'm heading home now,' to which he would use his other cell phone to reply, 'Take care then. See you soon.'

 

lt's not hard to picture the loneliness of this young man and his longing to be noticed by anyone, no matter what the consequences.

As in many modern, industrialized nations, family issues abound in Japan. I mentioned in our January prayer update how our after-school children's ministry is slowly bearing fruit and how children's attendance in our worship service has grown. I'd also ask your prayer for two other initiatives we are pursuing to try to bring Christ's love and hope to the next generation.

 

Mom & Tot English

 

Twice a month young mothers gather with their pre-school aged children for a time of English games and songs, a children’s Bible story followed by a Japanese Bible study for the mothers. This little group started fairly quietly last spring without any advertising and now has a dozen children attending.

 

　Pray for God to use us as channels of His love to these children and speak to the mothers through the Bible studies.

　Pray that I would be able to communicate the Gospel clearly, simply and powerfully in our times together.

　Pray for others in the church to join us in seeking to build encouraging relationships with these families.

 

Canadian Junior High Tour

Over the past year we have had a couple of small-scale events for junior high students in our home. Brooke recently gave Manga Bibles to two of her friends who expressed an interest in Christianity. But we haven’t been able to start a regular fellowship. In January we decided to look into the feasibility of doing a Canadian tour for Junior High students. We priced out plane tickets, looked into host organizers, held an information meeting and before we knew it we had 8 students signed up for the trip. They will join us for a week in August involving church meetings, events with Canadian youth groups, home-stays, and plenty of sight-seeing.

Starting last month we began monthly preparation meetings involving trip planning, survival English, and an introductory Bible study.

　Pray for God to speak to the students, deepen our relationships with them, and work through our times together. This Saturday night we’re inviting them for a BBQ and another preparation meeting.

　Pray for the logistics of the tour itself, for enthusiastic Canadian students to participate, and for open hearts in the Japanese students (all but one of whom are un-churched).

Continued Follow-up

　Please continue to pray for the many seekers who now attend services and/or Bible studies and are close to faith.

Earlier this month one man said to me, "I'm finding it hard to believe there isn't a God. I think I understand what you said about that verse on Sunday (from Romans 1:21) that people know God exists but deny His reality. I went outside on my break from work and smelled the fresh crisp winter air. For some reason I was struck for the first time that the air I breathe, and without which I couldn't even live, couldn't just be the chance product of photosynthesis. There must be a God which supplies even the air I breathe!" While he now believes in the reality of a Creator, he has not yet placed his faith in Christ.

　Continue to pray for the growth and discipleship of our believers. I asked prayer for this last time and since then at least two of our people have experienced significant crises. We have seen again and again in our own lives that there are certain lessons we learn in Bible studies and others that we have only been willing to listen to in the midst of trials. Pray for God to work.

Our children came home with report cards yesterday, marking the end of another school year. They now have a two-week spring break before starting a new year in April. Pray that they would continue to grow in their faith, be blessed with encouraging friendships, and know God’s help in their studies.

This year we will return to Canada for a 3-month home assignment and look forward to the opportunity to connect. Thank you for all that you do to see the Gospel extended in Japan!!

Paul and Jennifer Sadler