Hello Friends and Family!
If you are reading this, it is because you received my letter regarding our mission trip to Japan this coming summer! Thank you so much for all your prayers and support! I don't think I can adequately put into words how important this work is, but I'll do my best!
Last year, when I went on the LST mission trip I was surprised by so many things - the culture, the English abilities of the people we were working with, and the faithfulness of the struggling church we were working at. I have been on many different kinds of short-term mission trips throughout my life, but it wasn't until I went to Japan this last summer that I felt called into long term mission work. With 127 million people but less than 600,000 Christian believers, Japan remains one of the LEAST evangelized countries in the world. The people I was reading with last year were GENUINELY seeking truth and searching to see if the Bible might offer some answers.
All of us from the team last year (me, Ian, Jeanette, and Sarah) feel called by God to do long term mission work in Japan. Let me explain what this means for each of us so that you can keep us in your prayers.
Jeanette and her husband, Brad, are currently looking to move to Japan to be vocational missionaries. Because of visa laws, it is best to be employed than to be a traditional missionary funded by a home church. Jeanette has already had offers of jobs as an English teacher in the schools. Brad, on the other hand, currently works for American Airlines and needs to keep a job within the airline industry. They have been taking Japanese language lessons from a private tutor for three months now.
They actually flew to Japan this past Thanksgiving (above is a pic from that trip) - Jeanette visited our readers from the summer and Brad did some work at Narita airport and investigated the possibility of still working for American Airlines. They did not have any open positions for him to transfer, but now there is a Boeing position open that he is planning on applying for. Please pray that God's will will be done regarding their job search and all the details - housing, etc.
Ian and I recently became engaged, as many of you already know! The current plan is to get married in a year and a half, right after Ian graduates. I will be in school one more year and Ian will work that year to save money. Then the plan is to get jobs as English teachers and move to Japan! Ian has been independently learning Japanese for 4 years now, and this last semester he began official classes at ACU. It was amazing because this year is the first year ACU has ever offered Japanese, and the class is taught by a native speaker. I will begin those classes next year. Please pray that we will be diligent in learning Japanese!
Sarah is also planning to move to Japan after she graduates. She is not sure yet in what capacity she will work, but she also began taking Japanese classes this year at Baylor. This summer she will be leading a team from Baylor to the church in Numazu where we worked last year. We decided to do two separate teams in order to be able to bless two churches and cities this coming summer!
I don't know how to put this into words, but there is an underlying sense of hopelessness that permeates Japanese culture. Buddhist and Shinto religious practices are largely ritualistic without relevance day to day life. And, with traditions that emphasize the group over the individual, the Japanese culture often uses shame to remind people of their responsibilities to society. This sense of condemnation combined hopelessness helps to drive both with the extreme work ethic that has produced Japanese wealth as well as the desperate behaviors that have led to high suicide rates (33,000 each year, and the number is rising by 3% annually), alcohol addictions and shut-ins (hikkomori- withdrawing syndrome).
We all see an enormous need for Christians to go and share the love of Christ with the Japanese people. God has already done incredible things in the hearts of the people we read with last summer, and we pray that the seeds we planted are even now being watered and grown. I have kept in touch with many of my readers through e-mail this last semester, which has been so wonderful. This semester, Ian and I have become friends with many of the Japanese students at ACU. At a party last month, Ian was able to meet the sister of the girl he did LST with two years ago! It was an amazing moment to realize that this girl is a Christian now because her sister became a Christian because of LST! One of our friends, Lindly, will be moving to Japan in February to teach English in the schools and to be a vocational missionary. Please pray for her to have a smooth transition and for her to be a blessing where God places her.
Thank you all so much for your help in this effort. We pray for God's blessing on you as you are a blessing to us and the Japanese people we are ministering to.
Arigato Gozaimasu!
(Thank you so much!)
Marabeth
