With our move to Japan only weeks away now (Lord willing!), I (Leslie) have been doing a lot of preparation work for sermons that I will preach when we arrive. Getting to Japan is only part of the process of moving. Once we arrive, there is a lot of extra paperwork to do, plus things that need to be set up like utilities, etc., not to mention the issue of getting over jet lag. I’ve been trying to prepare a buffer of sermons so the transition will be a bit easier for everyone, and allow me to focus on helping with those tedious odds and ends that need to be…
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February 2020 Trip To La Grange
With our family’s departure coming within the next month (Lord willing) our family recently took a trip to La Grange, TX, to visit our sponsoring church here in the states. Since we have been planning to leave soon, we knew this would likely be our last opportunity to visit them before beginning our mission to Japan. Our biggest desire was to spend some time in prayer with them and to receive encouragement for the work before leaving. That goal was certainly achieved! We arrived on Thursday night and then spent some time with Scott Elliott and his wife Laura that evening. We grabbed some local Mexican food together, and then…
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What We’re Focusing On In Year One
As the months have marched on towards our return to Japan, we have been considering our upcoming work and thinking about what our plans are moving forward. We want to approach this work with a vision supported by plans and goals. Nehemiah sets the kind of example we want to follow. He prayed for God’s blessing and provision (Neh. 1:4-11; 2:4), he set a vision (Neh. 2:5), he considered and prepared for the work (Neh. 2:6-16), he cast the vision before others and gathered help (Neh. 2:17-18), and he got to the work (Neh. 3-6). This is applicable to our upcoming mission. It’s useful to not only have a vision,…
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Moving Forward
With the new year well upon us and things moving forward for our return to the work in Japan, we wanted to take a moment to update everyone on what we are currently doing, and what the process looks like as we look towards our upcoming transition. First, earlier this month, sister Sanpei and brother Aikawa did us a huge favor by putting together our paperwork and submitting it to the immigration office in Tokyo so that we can receive our work visas. This first step actually only gets us what is called a Certificate of Eligibity (there’s a fun Japanese word: 在留資格認定証明書 [zairyushikakuninteishomeisho] – say that three times fast.…
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Sowing With Tears, Reaping With Joy
Over the course of this year, the importance of prayer has become ever more apparent to me. I think it’s safe to say that I have prayed more this year than I have ever prayed in my life. Of course, I still have plenty of room to grow in this spiritual discipline, but I have learned to lean on God in prayer throughout this year like never before. I am thankful for the challenges that have led me to that deeper relationship with him. Part of what has helped me focus in prayer this year has been reading through a daily devotional book on the Psalms by Tim Keller called…
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What We Are Thankful For
With this likely being our last Thanksgiving in the U.S. for at least several years, we’ve been trying to make the most of this year’s special day by tuning our hearts to the many things we have to be thankful for. There are so many blessings we have experienced this year and have much reason for gratitude, but there are a few special blessings connected to our Japan mission for which we would like to take a moment to give thanks. We’re Thankful For Our Partners We started raising funds for our Japan mission sometime around July or August. In less than half a year, we have already secured 83%…
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Excited For Service
Not too long ago, our dear sister Sanpei wrote about why she would like for our family to return to Matsudo. Here’s a translation of what she said: “Although the Matsudo Church has been around for over 50 years, at the moment we have no preacher and are relying on speakers from various other churches to help each week. We currently have less than 10 people on Sunday, and we hope from our heart that Leslie and his family will be able to return to Japan and to their mission work here. We feel certain they will be able to reach out to young families and children in this area.…
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Seven Things To Pray For
Our family believes in prayer – we believe God hears and cares and answers. This is especially relevant when it comes to work for the kingdom. God has made promises to us related to prayer and we would be foolish not to avail ourselves of those promises! Not only do we believe these things, but we also believe that prayer is not intended to be a solitary endeavor. Rather, prayer is something that we do with and for each other (e.g. Rom. 15:30; 2 Thess. 3:1). So, while we are certainly in continual prayer about our upcoming work, we desire (indeed we need) for others to be in prayer for…
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Be Ambitious (For Christ)
The name William Clark probably doesn’t ring a bell for most Americans, but he’s big in Japan – or at least, a few of his words are. William S. Clark was a native of New England, born in Massachusetts in the first half of the 19th century. He went on to join the Union Army and had a meaningful influence in the Civil War. However, perhaps his most meaningful influence came not in physical warfare in the United States, but in spiritual warfare in Japan. During the late 1800s, Japan was intent on modernizing the country and invited a variety of academics from across the globe to help towards that…
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Rainbows And Promises
How many rainbows do you see each year? I think it’s safe to say I’ve gone whole years without seeing one, or at least without seeing a colorful one that stood out. However, within the past few months I’ve seen at least four, all of which were very colorful and memorable! I’ve seen several more earlier this year as well. I am thankful for this seemingly small grace. It’s been a tough year for our family in a number of ways. God has been pruning us. Sometimes during those times of pruning I need a reminder of God’s promises, and those rainbows have been a vivid reminder. We normally think…
