September Prayer Letter

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelations 3:20

A door is an important part of any building. Without a door, one can not enter or leave. There is no access. Jesus Christ is the door to eternal life and salvation. (John 10:1-9) In practical terms, a door is an essential element in a church building. Our church door after 20 years of salty rain and snow was rusting away. Recently the Lord opened the way for us to get a great deal on residing our church building. With the economy in bad shape, even worse than the USA, companies are offering deep discounts just to get business. God opened a way to get a loan to cover the cost of the siding that we can repay over the next three and a half years. What we didn’t plan on was having to pay for a replacement door in that loan. So we need to come up with that money in cash by the first of November. We are challenging our few believers to raise the money for this with special offerings. Please pray with us that the funds will be raised in time to meet this need. We have had great witnessing opportunities with the workers for this project.

We asked prayer for Vicki as she underwent gall bladder stone removal (including the gall bladder). Although she did react to the anesthesia drastically the surgery itself went well. We praise God for His hand in protection while waiting for that surgery and for another opportunity to witness to both patients and staff alike at the hospital. Her stay was short by Japanese standards (4 days) but she was very glad to do her recuperating at home. Thank you for praying for this need. The eye doctor also feels that Vicki’s eye is stabilized now but she will have to remain on some form of eye drop for the rest of her life. We are thankful for good care in this country. Lord willing, we will both remain in good health for awhile.

We asked last time for prayer for two of our contacts facing health difficulties. Dr. Mitsu will be taking a month off from work and from study with us here as he undergoes surgery to find out how extensive his cancer is. We continue to pray for his eyes to be opened to the truth of the Gospel before it is too late. Mr. Mino has been moved to a hospital closer to his home in southern Hokkaido. We have not heard from him by email for some time. He did not look good when we last saw him. A tumor had started in his brain that had caused paralysis on one side. We got in contact with a Japanese pastor in his area who we trust can have contact with him. Again time may be short for this man who so desperately needs Christ.

We had an unexpected event this last month. We were contacted by a Hokkaido TV station who wanted to include us in a special they were doing on Teshio. The local city offices had told them about us. We were able to give tract packets to the 4 men that came to do the filming and Ken was able to give them a 2 or 3 minute sermon when he showed them the ‘church’ area of our building. Although they did not include the preaching part in the segment they showed about us, we are thankful for the opportunity to give the Gospel to these men. At the end of the segment about us, they also showed a map of where we are in town with our address and telephone number as a church in Teshio. Vicki and her music was also featured in the segment. We praise God for any little piece of information given out so others may know!

Bible studies and teaching opportunities with the Assistant English Teacher, Christopher Collins, continues to go forward with great joy. He is an eager learner. Ken is meeting with him during the S.S. Hour, then he is here for the a.m. Service, sometimes having one more study in the afternoon before he goes home as well as a separate one on Tuesday nights in Enbetsu before Ken begins classes there.