Michiya & Tomoko Nakahara – 9-25 Toyohara-Cho Suruga-Ku Shizuoka City, Japan 422-8071 — Greetings from Shizuoka, Japan! Tomoko and I are very grateful for your faithful support both financially and in your prayers. I was especially thankful for you gracious hospitality during my recent visit to the states in August, 2009. It is comforting to know that so many of you are remembering us in your prayers as we labor for the Lord in Japan.
Items of Praise
- Our son, Kazuma and I were able to come to US for the first time in nine years this summer. We were blessed with encouragement and love shown us everywhere we went. The Apostle Paul said, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy….” This is exactly what we experienced during our visits.
- We had five young people who came to know the Lord and were baptized during the past year. They are growing in their faith in Christ. While I was in the states this summer, one these young men, Kouki (age 17), took the responsibility to lead in the worship services. Our younger son, Lin (age12), did all the preparatory work for the services.
- We are anticipating in the 50th anniversary of our church next year. We have been discussing how we can honor God in our celebration—both from our past blessings and in our future goals as a church. We praise God for His faithfulness.
- We have five members that are in their upper seventies. God has blessed them with good health thus far. “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:32). We are truly blessed to have these seniors in our congregation.
- We are now in the fourth year of our Reading Club with its subsequent outreach program for the neighbor children. Around Christmas time, we have many more that come to join this club. As yet none has come to know the Lord, but the seed has definitely been planted. The harvest is the Lord’s. We are only the laborers and we praise the Lord for the privilege.
Items for Prayer
- Continue to pray that our new believers will have a strong spiritual walk and growth.
- Our son, Kazuma, and another boy, Misaki, are both fifteen years old. They are preparing for their high school entrance examinations. It is an extremely stressful time in their life studying and attending after-school tutorial sessions daily until next March. Please pray that they will be encouraged and sense Lord’s leading as they prepare.
- Please continue to pray for our church as we want to be a light and witnesses in our town; especially with the new age Buddhist temple having been built right behind us.
- Pray that the kids who attend our Reading Club will come to know Jesus as Savior.
- Pray for a possible land purchase and all the issues surrounding it (there are many). We need the Lord’s leading as we prepare for the future of our church in Shizuoka.
Moto & Yoriko Nomura – Bethany Home, 1381 Koarama, Nagasaka-Machi Hokuto-shi Yamanashi-Ken, 408-0031 Japan motofish@eps4.comlink.ne.jp I am grateful for being able to be supported by our brotherhood so patiently well for the past 55 years with whom we share the “Blessed Hope”.
Items of Praise
- For His placing the two of us in the seemingly extremely difficult Buddhist community in the mountains here away from big cities. For a very few faithful believers who come to our house church to serve Him while enjoying mutual fellowship to grow together in His grace and Blessed Hope.
- For His making me available to finish a series of books on Thomas Campell, Book Four, plus on Barton Warren Stone and his 1801 Cane Ridge Camp Meeting. I am on the Book Five on Thomas Campbell to the Declaration and Address. Quite a lonely work that requires lot of patience and historical knowlege.
- The City of Seoul, Korea, has recognized my hidden slum ministry in the worst slum in their capital city, Seoul, between 1968 to 1985, and honored me twice. Special slum photo exhibitions were conducted based upon film I recently donated to the city. This is an area no Korean Churches has done, and yet their most hated Japanese minister served the least people with a glass of cold water, about which Jesus talks about.
- Pepperdine Univ., my third almamater, sent Jerry Rushford to my library to collect all of my history related books to transfer them to the newly established Churches of Christ Heritage Center in Malibu campus. Next time he will ship all of my history related materials written in Japanese.
Items for Prayer
- We two are gradually fading away due to age. Yoriko suffers from an extreme low blood pressure. She still serves good meal to those who come to our way. I am with a hardening liver due to hepatitis. I recognize that my remaining days are getting rapidly shorter. I am serving churches in Japan as a senior preacher, for which I am grateful.
- I wondered often if God would send younger helping hands here to carry on the torch to the next generation.
- The late O.D. Bixler’s greatest contribution to Japan was to produce a finest minister, and his son is another finest young minister. I have encouraged him to go to America to get his doctor’s degree for a brighter future churches in Japan. He is currently studying at Fuller Theological Seminary. He hardly has any regular sponsor. Please pray for him and his wife and family with two growing children with him.
Special Note: Katsuko NOMURA, my mother has gone to be with the Lord August 21, 2010. Please go and visit Google Japan for Katsuko Nomura. The average cost of a Japanese funeral is $35,000 but we have found a funeral company that would help us for around $2,000. There will be an inheritance tax on the property at Bethany, which is in my mother’s name. With these additional funds, it is unclear as to the future of our work in this area. Due to a serious recession, no one would buy the land and an old house. Thanks you for your prayers. The Almighty Gracious One is still with us.” (Moto)
Jinei Tomura Warabi Church Tokyo, Japan tom525@hotmail.co.up Our Thanks and Praises
1. Brother Sumio Akiba who had a deadly accident May 2002 spoke a message during our worship service on Sept. 20th for the first time. It is a great testimony for many that God loves and uses his children for his glory.
2. There was one baptism on Aug. 31. A woman of around fifty years old stepped forward to follow Jesus. We were all encouraged by her faith.
3. There will be wedding on Dec. 12th from our body. We are thankful for this Christian couple who are always faithful to the Lord.
4. On Sept. 27 the, one Christian family decided to worship with us. They were looking for the body where they could commit their Christian life. We are glad to have them with us. We praise God for his guidance upon this family.
5. We have finished our two nights three days retreat focusing on the discipleship. The members eagerly learn the topic in three days. All things went very good and enriched on our discipleship.
6. There are increased young adults. We are thankful for this since churches usually has a difficulty having young adults in Japan. Our prayer is to let them grow into leadership role of the body.
7. I thank you for your unceasing prayer support for the mission of Christ in Japan.
Items for Prayer
- Our numbers of the body has been increased gradually. We must be ready for this increase to minister each one of them young and old.
- We have adult Sunday school every Sunday morning but not for children at this moment. We used to have Sunday school for children for many years. We of course see importance of Sunday school for children. We are now considering starting children’s Sunday school so please pray for this move.
- There are 5 people who seek to follow Christ among us. Please pray for them and us that God uses all situations to lead each one of them to himself through the cross of Jesus Christ.
- We have newly opened our home page in order to share the message, devotional thoughts on each Sunday by internet. Please pray for this activity that the page will be used to contact people with the gospel. HP address: http://church.jp/warabi All contents are in Japanese.
- I am corresponding with one prisoner for months. He is trying to find the true life from the bible so he is asking many questions from the scripture. He has to be in a prison for about 15months. Let God speaks his truth and love to this man. We are continuously praying for people in various sicknesses around us that they may be kept each day under the mighty hands of God. May God bless you always with his immeasurable Grace,