Nakahara Mission

Michiya & Tomoko Nakahara  9-25 Toyahara-Cho  Shizuoka, Japan 422-8071

Moonlight_creek@yahoo.co.jp

To Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Praise be to God, our Father! Please forgive my lack of communication with you. Although our daily lives sometimes consume us, we think of you often and thank God for you and for your continued support both financially and in prayer.

I would like to give you an update of our church work here in Shizuoka. God is so faithful and His work is evident all around us. He led a family of four to our congregation this spring. Naoji (husband), Wakako (wife), Ayane (daughter) and Haruka (son) Misawa. Wakako became a believer a year ago and is very burdened for the salvation of her family. Naoji is seeking, but due to his executive position at a large corporation, he is required to travel for extended periods of time. His current trip has kept him away for the past three months. Please pray for the salvation of all the Misawa family.

We have started a class on “prayer” mainly studying the book of Psalms. Originally starting as one class, the class has now grown to four classes per week. The preparation and the class is an additional demand on my schedule, but God is blessing me incredibly through these classes. Our prayer is that God will continue to lead those who seek Him to our midst and use me and our church to minister to them

Another member, Kiyono Ymamoto has been a believer since high school but is married to a non-believer, Yutaka. He was recently diagnosed with “Brugada Syndrome,” a serious heart condition. He will be having surgery to implant something similar to a pacemaker this week. Perhaps this difficult situation will draw Yutaka to the Lord. Kiyono is praying earnestly for her husband’s salvation. Please remember them in your prayers. Our God is an awesome God, and we know that He sometimes uses trying situations to lead one to Christ!

It now has been one year since God made it possible for us to purchase the property that you know about. We have been able to return three of the interest-free loans to our members thus far ($30,000). We expected to pay this much later, but God has blessed us and encouraged our church to give joyfully and sacrificially. We still owe $120,000 in interest-free loans to other members, and we are trusting God in this journey.

Last September Shizuoka was hit with an incredibly strong typhoon. The wind blew the majority of the shingles off the roof of our church building which required us to get a new roof. Due to an exceeding amount of damage in the area, we had to wait until January to get our roof work done. The cost was $37,500, but the insurance covered $30,000. Praise God! Without the insurance, we would not have been able to return the $30,000 in loans to three of our members. God is good and “everything is beautiful in its time”! As we continue to experience God’s love and His work around us, I cannot stop praising Him, and am humbled that He allows me to lead this beloved congregation. I pray that I will be the kind of servant leader that God wants me to be.

I will now share some family news. Our oldest son, Kazuma, is preparing for a college entrance exam, and Lynn, the youngest, is preparing for a high school exam (My, how time flies!). When you apply to a college in Japan, one has to know which major or department one desires. You do not switch majors once enrolled. Kazuma is taking his college exam as a Secondary Education Major with an emphasis in English, so his score must meet the requirements of that particular department. Lynn also is looking in that same direction. Both of the boys still have the desire to be in some kind of ministry for the Lord. Please pray that they will continue to walk in the path that God has prepared, and that they will seek His path and commit to studying the Word.

Tomoko was asked to be the principal of the kindergarten where she has worked for many years. But after much prayer, we felt that the time commitment to be a principal will take away from her ministry in our church, so she turned down the offer. Japanese kindergartens are operated differently than ones in the USA. First, teachers have to work all year long. Even during the summer when there is technically no school, the kindergarten stays open for working parents and serves as a daycare facility. The kindergarten teachers are then expected to be the summer daycare workers. They even have over –night camping trips! Tomoko told me in excitement that she gets three whole days off during the summer (not consecutively), but principals must work every day and attend numerous seminars, clinics, etc. which will require out of town trips several days at a time. We feel blessed and honored that they think so highly of Tomoko. The current principal at the final meeting even said to her, “I have not given up on you yet.” But God has given us the answer we were seeking, and for now, that job is not for her. Please pray that the pressure will not get to her.

Tomoko’s family are not believers. Her father, Akira is eighty-two years old. Her mother, Yoshiko, is seventy-five, and brother, Hiroaki is forty-nine years old. We have been praying for their salvation as long as we have been married. I know God hears our prayers, but sometimes when we think about the aging parents, we can’t help but feel “rushed” or “nervous” that the clock is ticking. Although they are not practicing Buddhists, it is expected that they are to be buried among their Buddhist ancestors and have a Buddhist ceremony, etc. We see this as such a thick cultural wall that stands between us. It is easy to get discouraged, but our God is much bigger than this wall. Please pray for their salvation with us!

It is our privilege to pray for you, and we thank God for each of you and for your partnership in our ministry here in Shizuoka, Japan.

Maranatha,

Michiya, Tomoko, Kazuma, Lynn Nakahara

Note: Please direct all gifts and contributions for the Nakaharas to:

Church of Christ Worldwide,  P.O. Box 54842, Lexington, KY 40555

Thank you for your continued interest, prayers, and financial support.

– Bob Yarbrough