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Dear Family and Friends,
Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him! Psalm 147:1
One of my great joys is singing praises to God with others and I enjoyed being part of Sonshine Gospel choir at Komyo Christian Church. This choir started back in 2013 and we ended it with a great Live Gospel Café concert back in May. I was so happy that my neighbors could come and see the church for the first time via this event at our last performance. Gospel music is still a great avenue for us to share the good news of Jesus and my neighbor commented that she could sense the joy we had as we sang. She also enjoyed the positive message of love that was conveyed through the songs. One positive first visit to the church can lead to a greater openness to come again, so I pray that this would be the start of many more visits in the future. I continue to be part of Wings Gospel choir and hope to continue to convey the message of Jesus’ love through our singing.
A highlight in June was getting an outreach event going in the Heijo church. The church had not had an event to invite non-believing friends for quite some time. One of the ladies in the church LOVES Anne of Green Gables and we decided to host a tea party around this theme. It was a small gathering but the church ladies really enjoyed participating and hopefully it sparked a catalyst for further events like this. The neighbor closest to the church came out and she enjoyed it.
A huge thank you to those who prayed for my mom’s health! I was able to visit home for a couple of weeks and spend some time with my parents in the beginning of July. My mom is recovering well from her long and painful battle with septic arthritis. I was able to have good quality time with my family and also with many friends. A highlight was participating in a friend’s wedding and a wonderful bonus of witnessing the baptisms of two young ladies from my home church that I had been praying for for many years. I came back from my vacation encouraged and refreshed by these God moments.
More recently, we had our 3rd Ladies Seminar at Komyo Christian Church on July 26th which was well received. Shan Reed and I took a course in Thailand called Developing a Discerning Heart last year and we decided to focus our next Ladies Seminars based on what we learned. The seminar focussed on the importance of knowing our own hearts and the capacities of our hearts to thirst, to think, to choose and to feel. The key verse we used is from Proverbs 20:5, “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.” The more we understand our own hearts, the more we can be filled with God’s lifespring and then share the outflow with others. After studying Ruth chapter one as part of an exercise, one of the ladies shared that unlike Naomi who came back to Bethlehem “empty,” she came to the seminar “empty “and is returning home “full!” Praise the Lord!
Last, but not least, we are excited that Ken and Rachelle Johnson and their 4 children will be coming to Japan towards the end of this month! We praise God that we were able to find a house for them in Nara, very close to the Kansai Christian School where their children will attend. Please pray for them as a family as they say “goodbyes” and prepare and pack up to come. There will be lots of adjustments to be made. Pray that their transition to Japan and their new home and new school and church will go smoothly. Please also pray that all of their financial support will come in.
Pray also for the Ewings as they also pack up, say “goodbyes” and say “hellos” to life back in the States for their one-year home assignment. Pray that their adjustment and transition will go well.
Thank you for your prayers for our mission family here in Japan. It is in transition and it is growing!
Blessings,
Yuri Nakano