Well, here we are back in Kagoshima after spending 6 weeks at home in Adelaide…..well actually that is not quite correct as we spent one week in Melbourne and almost a week in Phuket Thailand.

It was definitely a very busy time at home, and not at all hat we were expecting.

It was great to catch up with the family, which is growing larger and larger. Our new grand daughter Olivia is so beautiful. She is growing well and will soon catch up to her sisters Emma and Madeline, and brother, David. They have all grown so much since we have left. It was great to spend time with them. Early next year will see our family grow some more with both Tammy and Soo-Lee expecting.

I was expecting Adelaide to have changed a lot in a year, but it wasn’t really much different.

We had a good time with all our friends, eating and talking….the food was so good! And so fresh and so much!!

We had opportunities to visit Playford Baptist Church and share our work here in Japan. They were very welcoming, and it was good to catch up with people who have been praying for us. We also visited The Little glory Baptist Church, and enjoyed talking to our friends there.

We participated in a ‘Super Sunday of Missions’ at Salt Playford, which was very successful. As this is our home church, it was good to fellowship with our church family there.

The sad part of our holiday was that Peter’s father died during our third week at home. It was very unexpected and disappointing for Peter as he had planned to go across to Melbourne to see his Dad in the fifth week we were at home. We managed to go over and help Peter’s brother Bruce and his wife Paula in organising the funeral. It was a sad time in the ‘natural’ but a celebration in the ‘spiritual’ as we know that Dad is now in the presence of his Saviour, worshipping around the throne of God.

We participated in the Pen Asia Mission Conference in Phuket which was a real blessing. We met many other people who have followed the call of God on their lives and obeyed Him by leaving their homes and families and moving overseas. Listening to their stories and testimonies about what God is doing in different areas of Asia was wonderful. Praise God for all these people who are obedient. The gospel is being spread abroad, but there are so many areas and needs still unmet.
Maybe God should set up a Missions National Service where all christians are required to spend a year on the mission field….wouldn’t that be something. I am sure each one of us would grow in ways that we could  never imagine. Oh but the blessings would surely outweigh the discomfort!

God is such a wonderful and faithful Father. He knows all we need and supplies everything that we need to accomplish the mission that He requires of us.

We are glad to be back here in Kagoshima, and we are looking forward to and praying for guidance for the work that God wants us to do this year. If this year goes as fast as last year, we will be home again soon. But until then, we set our eyes ahead, open our hearts to the direction and movement of the Holy Spirit, and bend our knee in praise and adoration of the one who loved us enough to die for us on Calvary. Bye for now , Lyn

Well, here we are at the end of another month. We thought the weather was beginning to get warmer, but this week has shown us that it was all a  mistake. It is still cold and we are continuing to have a lot of rain. If only Adelaide could get the  regularity of rain that we get here, there would be no need for any drought conditions.

The first three months of this year have flown quite quickly.

We enjoyed our time up in Tokyo and Yamanashi with our friends, although it was extremely cold! Samuel was chopping wood most days so we could have the beauty of a warm fire at night. He was quite excited as when we got back to Kagoshima, it snowed and he had  fun playing in it.

Once we got back here to Kagoshima, the year started in earnest. God has been very good in blessing our time here. The Eikaiwa lessons continued successfully, and our All English service had good months and low number months. March saw 9 people attend which was the most that we have had.

We were also contacted by a Pastor In Uganda who has been praying for Japan for 15 years. Although he had been faithful to God, he didn’t have any contacts here. God prompted him to go on the net and search ‘Japan for Jesus’, and as you know, our website came up. He then proceeded to contact us to let us know of his prayers. We are continuing to keep in contact with him, and are praying that God will bless both his ministry in Uganda, our work here in Japan and our growing friendship.

Our Japanese language studies are continuing, and I think we are making progress even if it is slow. Samuel is certainly leaps and bounds ahead of us, but he needs to be as his schooling depends on it. It was wonderful to attend his Japanese language graduation, and hear him give his speech in Japanese. We were very proud of him. He has finished Year 4 now, and next week begins Year 5 which means new class students as they split the class and mix them with the other Year 4s going into year 5. He will also have a new class teacher and a new Japanese teacher. Please remember him in your prayers.

We have had opportunity to speak to a few people about God and His love, and have given out 7 Bibles. God’s Word is mighty and we know that wherever it is read, the Spirit of God moves.

Our English Bible study is also continuing, and we have finished the gospel of John, and are now looking at the Epistles of John. It is wonderful to be able to speak to people about the basics of our faith. I think sometimes, when we have been Christians for many years we forget about the wonder and freshness that comes with new faith. To be able to share the love of God with people who know little or nothing is a very joyous experience. We can relive the memories of when we first came to saving knowledge of God. God is wonderful, good, faithful and wanting to bless each one of us. We pray that you all may have the experience of sharing God’s salvation with someone. Don’t hesitate, just speak from the heart.

Life here is still interesting, and we keep experiencing new things. Lately we have been seeing in many ways how clever the Japanese are in technology. There are so many little things that show how they have used their initiative to make their lives easier. Especially for women in their small homes.

Well, Easter is almost here and it will be really unusual for us as it is not celebrated at all. One thing that I have always appreciated in Australia is how everything closes on Good Friday. The only day of the year when that happens.   This year though, there will be no Good Friday service for us, no Easter eggs and things in the shops, Samuel will go to school and I will be working!! But God will see our hearts. He knows how thankful we are for all He has done for us. We will not forget, and we will still speak the Easter message to anyone God gives us the opportunity to. I am having a Ladies Easter luncheon for my Eikawa classes, and as well as telling them the Easter story in Japanese, I will be singing 2 songs. He Lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today, and Because He lives I can face tomorrow. I pray that the ladies will be moved by them both.

I think that pretty much brings you all up to date with us. May God be your portion and may He bless you as He is blessing us.

Well everyone, I just thought I would put a Christmas greeting for all who are reading our website.

The year is coming to a close quickly, and yet our work here is just beginning. It has been an exciting few months, and we have now settled in to our routine pretty well. The Eikaiwa classes have been pretty well attended, but we are hoping that the New Year will see more new students. This week is the last week before we have a two weeks break. We are visiting our friends in Yamanashi, which will be pretty cold as there is snow there at present. We have a few plans on the ‘drawing board’ for an evening drop in/coffee meeting for anyone who just wants to enjoy a bit of friendship. It will be held weekly, with the emphasis on English speaking without it being a formal lesson. AS it will be a casual evening, we are hoping that people will find the time to come and spend an hour with us. We are also looking into some sort of children’s ministry.

Well, we hope that you all have a very blessed Christmas time with your families and a wonderful New Year. Lyn. Peter and Samuel

Well, life is good and so is God. Each day we learn more lessons about His faithfulness and love. The weather here is much better now as we are well into autumn.

Whenever you go to a different country, there is always a settling in time, and that is when funny things can happen, especially if you look at it with a right attitude.I thought that I would tell you of a couple of things that we can laugh about now.

A few weeks ago, we heard a series of gunshots at about 6.45am. We didn’t know what they were, and kept getting ready for the day. About half an hour later, we heard another series a lot closer than the first ones. Peter said he would go down stairs to check it out, and I told him not to be so silly, that we should stay upstairs and lock our doors to keep safe. We waited to hear some Police cars, but they never came. When we saw our Pastor, we asked him if everything was alright. His puzzled look meant we needed to explain more. When we told him what we heard, he began laughing. It was the local school sports day, and because the weather was overcast with rain developing, it was the Principal of the school’s way of letting the area know that the sports day would be held as planned.  Can you tell we are westerners? Crime here in Japan is quite low. Mass shootings are not part of life here!

It is interesting, as there are many push bikes as that is a very common form of transport here. No one locks them as people don’t go around stealing other people’s property here! Samuel left his school sports uniform and books on the tram station seat a few weeks ago, and when he got to school he realized his mistake. The school rang me to let me know, and when I told Shinotsuka Sensei, he rang the tram department, and sure enough, someone had gone there and handed them in. Samuel was very relieved and we were all very surprised.

About bikes…..as I said, they are very common here. It was interesting to watch a young woman who had just completed her weekly shop, she had 7 full plastic bags, load them onto her bike. She was really struggling, so I went over to hold the bike till she could balance everything on it. She could hardly get it moving, and we were feeling very sorry for her. She rode off and stopped about 200 metres at another shop. She got off her bike and went into another shop leaving all her shopping just in the car park. We watched to see if anyone would take anything, but of course no one did. When she came out of the shop, she only had a small paper bag with obviously something to eat in it. I couldn’t believe that she would get off the bike once she had got going, just to go and get something else.  We had begun walking home then, so I just suppose she was able to get her bike going again without us……I did feel sorry for her though!

One day when I was shopping, I noticed that there were hot dogs on special, so I bought some, and then went and bought some hotdog rolls. When I got home and began preparing them, I opened the rolls and they had chocolate in them….well, we couldn’t use them for hotdogs. When I had heated the hotdogs, we found out that they weren’t hotdogs, but fish sausages!…Not a good combination….but we had a good laugh about it, and Peter ate the sausages anyway!!

Life is interesting,  and the best thing to do is always have a smile on your face. It will brighten someone else’s day.

Well, it’s time to start a new day, Have a good one, and God bless you.

Greetings and blessings to you and all your families. Well, here we are almost 3 months into our time here in Kagoshima. It is really flying! This month has been a blessing in many ways. Samuel is coping well with school, although making friends is still a bit difficult. We narrowly missed our first two typhoons as at the last minute they turned and we only caught the edge of them both. The weather is becoming more bearable as autumn is upon us. My English classes are going well, and slowly building up numbers. Friendships are beginning to form which is great. We are beginning to feel more part of the Church here each week, and regularly provide lunch for the 5 single men in the fellowship after church.Our second English service was attended by 9 people. At the end of the service in which Peter preached on Faithfulness, everyone came up and said they enjoyed the service and would be back next month, so we were very encouraged. The presence of the Holy Spirit was evident.

Pastor Shinotsuka returned safely from Tanzania and out-lined to us what God spoke to him about, and his plans for the direction of the Church. We were very blessed as the direction is what Peter and I had been praying for. There is an excitement building here between the Assembly of God churches as they unite together to pray and seek God’s guidance and blessings.

We attended a Gospel Praise night that was open to all churches, and although in Japanese, it was good to worship with other Christians. We are meeting people from other churches, and discovering God’s blessings and people’s visions for the future. It is exciting to be part of it.

We also attended a meeting of people who went to Tanzania and brought home videos and testimonies from people who have been raised from the dead. It was interesting to hear their stories, and to see what God is doing over there in that nation.

We are still looking into a university outreach, and a more comprehensive outreach for the children. Our church is the only church that has a group of children each Sunday attending church. The work is an important one as they are the next generation of Christians.

PRAYER POINTS

1. Please pray for Samuel, his schooling, language studies and the need for friends.

2. Please pray for our language studies.

3. Please pray for our next English service on 19^th October.

4. Please pray for the churches and God’s guidance for the future evangelism programmes.

5. Please pray for the single men as a few of them have depression problems.

6. Please pray for safe travelling for our daughter Debbie as she travels over here in October for a week visit by herself. She has an extremely bad chest infection that needs to be cleared up before coming.

7. Please pray for the English classes and opportunities for me to share Jesus with them.

8. Please pray for the church members as we begin Prayer Partner program.

9. Please pray for F*** and M*** and their reluctance to make a decision for Christ.

10. Please pray for opportunities to witness as we meet new people in our language classes.

11. Please pray for Peter as at this time he hasn’t much to do. He needs to get a good hold on the language for Pastor Shinotsuka to be able to use him in counselling.

12. Please pray for a breaking down of satanic strongholds over this area, and for an awaking in their spirits of the people surrounding the church.

Once again, thank you for your prayers and support for us. We appreciate knowing that there are people at home holding us up in prayer, and are partnering with us in the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hi and blessings to everyone. We hope this prayer letter finds you all well. We have had a good month and would like to say we appreciate so much all your prayers for us. Each day makes us feel more settled.

I have been teaching just a couple of English lessons per week, but they have been going well and I am happy with the response from the students. Tuesday (2^nd) I start all the other lessons, 22 per week. I am sure I have prepared well. We have another 3 new students starting then.

For those that haven’t caught up, our first English service went well, even though numbers were small. It was a good practise for the coming months. We are praying that word of mouth is effective here. We will be continuing with the service, as Pastor Shinotsuka believes there is a need there that we are meeting.

We also attended a monthly Jesus Praise Night put on by another Pastor from a different area. We recognised the songs even if we couldn’t sing in Japanese. Mrs Shinotsuka is now typing out the songs for the morning services in Romanji (English lettering for Japanese words). It is great as we can now join in singing in the church services in Japanese!!

Samuel has now started school, and when we met him at the tram station after the first day, he walked off with a smile on his face, so we knew his day had gone well. The students were very welcoming toward him, if not a bit over enthusiastic in pushing him around showing him where everything was!

Plans are underway to have a focus in October on Prayer. We are encouraging the fellowship to form prayer partners. We are also having some sermons on Prayer to ready ourselves for this exciting month. We are believing for a breakthrough in people’s lives and situations, as well as a bonding and uniting of the church members. Our church has quite a few children, and we are also looking at the best way to teach them about the love of God. A new program is in the wings.

We are also discussing and praying about ministry in the University to students. One of or church members who attends the University has joined with Pastor Shinotsuka in praying for opportunities. Peter is praying about joining them for ministry.

PRAYER POINTS

Please pray for………….

1. Opportunities to minister into people’s lives.

2. English Church Service on 21^st September. Peter will be preaching again, so please pray for his preparations.

3. Prayer focus in October. That all members will support this initiative.

4. English students and a softening of their hearts. That the love of Jesus is evident in us as we teach, and that we will use all opportunities given to us to share the Gospel.

5. Samuel and his schooling. That he will learn the language quickly and settle into his studies. All his books are in Japanese, so he needs to understand what needs to be done.

6. The University Ministry. How we can best reach the students.

7. The Church Children. How we can encourage them in their walk with Jesus.

8. The ladies that have been doing English Bible Study. That they will come back this term and make a genuine commitment to Christ.

9. Wisdom and discernment as we meet with Pastor Shinotsuka and we all pray for God’s direction for the Church.

10. Friends……just to share normal living with. People are reluctant due to language difficulties. Please pray that our language studies help in this area.

Once again, thank you for your support and prayers for us. We are all in this together, even though we are miles away.

Love and blessings,

Lyn, Peter and Samuel

Well, here we are in the first week of October. Time is really flying. The weather here has finally broken, and the days are much cooler now. We survived two typhoons, that although they were heading straight for us, turned at the last minute, causing us to just get the  edge of them. It is incredible how much rain can fall though. It rained non stop for 4 days before the typhoon even came close to us.

Samuel has settled into school really well. Although he still doesn’t understand very much, he is coping with the work he is being given. We took him this week to the Science Museum which had a lot of hands on experiments that children could take part in. He thoroughly enjoyed that.

Our second all English Church Service went well also. There were 9 people who attended, and all commented at how blessed they were with the worship and sermon. It was a real encouragement for us. We are hoping that this month will see another increase.

The English classes are also going well. There has been a slight reduction of students that never returned at the beginning of the term, but we have also had about 4 new people start.

We are both continuing with our Japanese lessons…..slowly but surely……

We are eagerly awaiting a visit from our daughter Debbie this month. She is coming over for a week in the middle of October. It will be good to show her around the area so she can ‘report back’ to everyone in Australia!! I am sure she will enjoy it here. We are hoping to go to Mt. Sakurajima as well as local areas of interest. Maybe a visit to an ‘onsen’ will be on the cards also.

Well, it’s time to go, bye for now.