Voices from the Field Ken & Rachelle Johnson Get to know Ken & Rachelle

Busy Spring Schedules

Published on May 30, 2017

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Dear Friends and Family,

Spring is here and many things are blooming all around us! We have been blessed with a busy and full schedule, packed with a quick trip down to Okinawa, local spring festivals, many school events, neighborhood BBQ outreach, wonderful Easter and Mother’s Day church services, along with the annual NAB conference, just to name a few! We are thankful for every second we are able to serve the Lord here! We try to maximize each day to the fullest! Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support!

Our Neighborhood:

So many exciting things are happening in our community! We helped our neighbor clean up the empty lot next to our home and we have started having impromptu BBQ outreaches! We have also attended many local festivals and have met many key people in the city who have offered for us to use their building for English lessons or future outreach! We have enjoyed popping into local businesses and building relationships! We also love chatting and bringing pastries to our surrounding farmers while they tend to their crops. Rachelle was given the opportunity to meet with 40 high schoolers from Osaka. They were top in their class in all different sports, including Japan’s #1 dance team! They came to the farm and bamboo hut right behind our house…. it’s amazing that God brings ministry right to your door!

Johnson May 2017

KCS School:

We are so thankful for the gift that KCS has been to our family! This year has been full of many wonderful memories, lots of events, and many new friendships! Rachelle has had an amazing time serving as PTA President and has become very close to many of the mothers. They have planned events like school lunches, a free BBQ day at the end of testing week, a Teacher Appreciation dinner, a community event called Spring Festival which included a flea market! There are also several moms now attending the school chapel and coming to the parents monthly prayer, that we started this year at the school. The teachers have been amazing and like family to us. We have enjoyed building relationships with the families, having them over and also visiting their homes. Ken is always drawn to the fatherless children, and there are several he has been able to invite to the park and over for playdates with our children. There is a single mother of one of the boys we had over for Mother’s Day. We were able to share about Jesus and found out she didn’t have a Bible and she said that was the first time anyone had shared God’s word with her. We were able to pray for her, there were many tears and hugs as the Lord moved on her heart. We were in awe of her excitement and interest in God’s word!!

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Komyo Church & Conferences:

We have had a busy Spring at church, with origami outreach to the nursing home, guest speakers, passing out flyers for Gospel Cafe’, Mother’s Day crafts, and an Easter drama performance by the kids, along with the church’s tradition of eating sushi for Easter lunch. We have also had the wonderful opportunity to attend the NAB annual conference. It was nice to meet other Pastors and the kids loved the children’s church. Ken also recently met and prayed with a Japanese missionary, Pastor Kawai, who serves in Romania. He really encouraged Ken’s heart! Rachelle attended a JEMA regional conference for ladies in the Kansai area. The guest speaker was author Liz Curtis Higgs, she really spoke wisdom and Rachelle left refreshed! It was a great time to network and meet women from other organizations.

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Our Family:

We had an amazing quick 3 day trip to Okinawa to finally meet Ken’s grandparents, and the first time for the family to see where he attended school and grew up! We were thankful for the many free sightseeing places and that his uncle provided plane tickets! Many memories were made during our short adventure! Lily also started pre≠preschool and goes 1-2 days a week to learn Japanese! We are loving our time here and thank God for your prayer and support! This truly has been the best year ever… and it has only been 8 months!

With Love from Japan, Ken, Rachelle, Fuschia, Azalia, Judah & Lily Johnson

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