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It has been a very full and rich first half of my home assignment year, with many God-directed connections through various conferences and church visits. I praise God for the many wonderful people and experiences of God at work at various places.
In September, I was part of the NAB Global Summit for missionaries in Ireland. We stayed at the YWAM center in Rostrevor and had the privilege of being enriched by the research of missiologist Evelyn Hibbert on the current situation of the missionary movement around the world. We were able to have good discussions in small groups about how missions could change or improve for the NAB in the future. I appreciated getting to know other missionaries who are in other fields and to brainstorm with them.
In September, I also enjoyed visiting my supporting churches in the United States: Magnolia Baptist Church in California and West Hills Community Church in Oregon. Magnolia Baptist Church has an active community presence in their area through a non-profit organization founded by one of their pastors, Nathan Zug, called JMh. This church is in Anaheim, which is in a sister city relationship with Mito city in Japan. Pastor Kawasaki from Mito city wanted to learn more about their projects through “Love Anaheim” and brought one of the elders of his church to see what they could try and do to start a “Love Mito” ministry in Japan. I was invited to also take part in this and was so glad that I could! I was able to see firsthand the various ministries and service projects that the church is doing in partnership with people from the community to literally pour out Jesus’ love to the people of Anaheim through: making gift boxes to share with businesses in the area, gift boxes of toilet paper rolls and hygiene products to lower-income families and prostitutes, painting fire hydrants, beautifying the city with 
painted rocks and painting garbage cans, hand-making cards of encouragement, etc. We were able to actually deliver a few of these gift packages to a few businesses and had a delightful interaction with one of the owners of a new bookstore and also a bakery. It was beautiful to see relationships created through these gestures of intentional care. I was also excited to meet Pastor Kawasaki and an elder he brought along with him, who are really intentional in wanting to do something similar in their own community and city of Mito through the church. The following photos show some of the cards that are made to go with the gift boxes, a group painting rocks, and a group packaging the gift boxes for distribution around the city.
Another recent highlight are the conferences that were held in Alberta. The missions conferences had the theme of “Growing Deeper,” and all the missionaries shared about their experiences of growing deeper through their ministries. I was encouraged by all the other missionary presentations and so thankful that I could learn more about God’s work around the world. I don’t often get a chance to meet and hear all the other missionaries because we don’t have the same home assignment schedules. The prayer warriors who came out to the events were such an encouragement to us all. It was fun being able to connect with so many of you who care about missions during these events.
My schedule for the coming months:
- November 2 – Leduc Fellowship Baptist Church in Leduc, Alberta
- November 9 – Living Fountain Alliance Church in Edmonton, Alberta
- November 16 – Glory to God Christian Assembly in Edmonton, Alberta
- November 20 – Leduc Fellowship Seniors Lunch in Leduc, Alberta
- November 21 –Edmonton Christian Community Church Awana Night in Edmonton, Alberta
- November 23 – Sturgeon Valley Baptist Church in St. Albert, Alberta
- December 21 – Edmonton Christian Community Church, Cantonese and English service, in Edmonton, Alberta
- January 11 – McDermont Avenue Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- January 18 – Mission Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- January 25–28 – Alberta Baptist Ministry Retreat
- January 29 – Dessert Night at Central Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta
- February 8 – Bethany Baptist Church in Richmond, British Columbia
- February 22 – McKernan Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta
Thank you for continuing to partner with me through prayers and support!