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After spending two summers in Canada, the heat and humidity of Japanese summer hit me like a brick! My body has since adjusted, thankfully! This summer has heated up, not only with the temperatures but also with many events going on. The Tokyo Olympics started with much uncertainty and with many of the citizens of Japan expecting it to be cancelled due to the high COVID-19 cases. Despite the declaration of the state of emergency and the daily rising COVID numbers, the Olympics has continued despite typhoons and difficult conditions. I admire all the athletes who have trained hard and competed here. Vaccinations have been slow-going, but I will hopefully get them this month. There is an expectation that the COVID cases will rise very high and the hospitals will be overrun. There is a prayer movement for Japan
On a more personal note, my summer has been very busy with my colleagues all back in the States and not returning until mid-late August. I have learned to make video recordings of the Komyo Christian Church worship services and put it on YouTube. I am thankful that so far I haven’t made a huge mistake or error. Pastor Saijo and the leadership of the church decided to have in-person worship services every other week, pending on the COVID case numbers. The seniors in the church have almost all been vaccinated, and they feel much more comfortable about gathering together. On July 25, we were able to gather together for the first time since Easter, and all who came expressed so much joy in gathering!
during this Olympic time through September 5 in hopes of raising one million hours of prayer for Japan. More info can be found through www.japan1million.com.
Other “hot” events have been creative and safe ways to meet together in smaller numbers for encouragement and connection. In particular, I’ve had delightful get-togethers with the youth. We spend time in God’s Word and share and pray together, as well as have some fun. With two of the girls, we had an Anne of Green Gables theme tea party. With another, we had an Olympic watch night. The Komyo Church youth normally gather together once a month, but due to the other missionaries gone and the pandemic, the fellowship had been postponed, so having more intimate fellowships has been good. Please pray for Shan Reed, who will speak at the 
next summer youth event on August 13 via Zoom from the States, and that the youth would be encouraged by fellowshipping together in the Spirit.
I continue to make progress with contacting more pastors to discuss women’s ministries and am learning much about each church’s situation and their needs. My prayer times with the women leaders in the JBC have also been mutually encouraging.
A “hot” discussion topic in the last Japan Evangelical Association Women Zoom talk was on how to have a joyful marriage. We had 84 women sign on to listen to Ms. Kurihara, who is President of a nonprofit organization that helps women who suffer from domestic violence. There was a lot of positive feedback from this session.
Thanks for being part of God’s work via your prayers! May God’s Presence heat up the hearts of many!
Yuri Nakano
JAPAN: SHINHINOODAI 2-CHO 2-5-613, MINAMI-KU,SAKAI-SHI, OSAKA-FU, JAPAN 590-0143
NABONMISSION.ORG/MISSIONARIES/YURI-NAKANO