“I want to believe.”

We are thankful that some dear Japanese folks came to trust in Christ in 2009. But two other people that stand out in my mind at the end of 2009 are what I call want-to-believe’rs, individuals who say they would like to believe in the Lord rather than that they actually do believe in him.

One is a high school girl who came to a Christmas meeting with her Christian friend. The gospel was clearly presented, and the Holy Spirit was obviously at work. But she comes from a very strong Buddhist family. She said to her friend after the meeting, “I want to believe.,” implying that she would follow the Lord IF it were only easier for her to do so.

The other want-to-believe’r is a grown man, who has read through the entire Bible in the last two years and came to church for several months. He still comes occasionally, but his position in his family is apparently weak, probably being an “adopted” son-in-law. His daughter, who attended a “Christian” high school, is adamantly opposed to Christianity. So it is impossible for him at home, not to mention at work and in other places, to easily believe in the Lord.

In North America one runs into folks like these commonly in places like Quebec, Salt Lake City, and tight-knit ethnic communities in N.Y.C., L.A., and elsewhere, where opposition to biblical Christianity is up-front and obvious. In other places, where persecution is much less obvious, people often quickly say, “I believe.,” but then fall away later whenever any real persecution comes. In hard places like here, however, it’s can be real progress and a reason to hope, to even hear someone say, “I want to believe.”

Of course, we (and more importantly the Lord) are not satisfied with these “want-to-believe” responses. And we will continue to pray for and work with these folks. The Lord can give them the personal courage that they need (Rev. 21:8) or even change their situation if he chooses. So thank you for praying for our two outstanding want-to-believe’rs of 2009. May they become true believers in 2010!

In Quest of Real Christmas

In some of our many Christmas meetings this year I've been using the "In Quest" method to compare the wise men and King Herod. The approach is to simply describe them on parallel worksheets. What a great contrast this makes! They were wise seekers; he was a wicked seeker. They had great joy; he had great anger. They brought blessed gifts; he brought great sorrow. They were able to find and worship the true King of the Jews; he was unable to find and kill the true King.

The final point in this study is that both the wise men and Herod were real people, and that Christmas is only real to those have real faith like the wise men. Herod, too, "believed" in a way, but a way that did him and others no good. (James 2:19)

Perhaps this can be part of a text titled "In Quest of Christmas" someday. I now have several such studies, having studied and spoken on several questions in the Christmas passages in recent years.

Questions in John Progress

Each week a new lesson on "Questions in John" is written and studied in the adult School school class at our main Japanese church. A friend teaches this class two Sundays a month, when I am speaking at other churches. It's going very well.

Recently a sample lesson, and introduction to the "In Quest" study method was sent out to people on our Japanese mailing list, most of whom have used other material from us in the past. Lessons are being translated as time allows.

In mid to late January, the editorial committee at AMG Publishers in TN will be reviewing this original material, in English, of course, for their possible (Dare I say likely?) publication. At present they have several lessons of the work as samples and several more will be sent in the next few weeks. It's a lot of work polishing up lessons to the level needed for this all important evaluation. (The format and layout has changed some since we first started writing.) And there are, of course, many other things happening, as well, in our other local ministries.

Christmas Meetings & Snow

We've been very busy with Christmas meetings. (I'm not sure just how many, in total, but more than ten for sure.) There are two this week (Tues. Dec. 22 & Wed. Dec. 23) And there is even a big one on the 27th. (for about a dozen high school students), after Christmas!

There's been a lot of snow, about 3' on the ground now; so I've been doing a lot of shoveling. It's good exercise, about two hours a day. Maybe I'll post a photo soon, if the house is still visible to photograph.

Three Peaks in One Week?

It's been a great week, sort of like climbing three peaks in just seven days, in line with our last report and photo below. Only this time, it was three Bible studies in one week instead of three physical mountains.

Two of these Bible studies were "sample lessons" to be used in the introduction to the ("In Quest") Questions in John text. As such, these are really important. Many other lessons have been done for this text (and used in S.S.) over the past year, but these two are special, since they will help introduce the whole set. For months I have struggled with how to do the introduction.* But this week these two special lessons "came together" in a wonderful way and were "tested" in our adult S.S. class and our Friday small TOA group work session. (*Many people don't realize that introductions are one of the last things you write for a book.)

The third Bible study lesson this week was used in a ladies' class on Tuesday, and is part of a series on "True Happiness," started about a year ago. This makes use of our four step "W.A.L.K." Bible study design. Though we have already done many Bible studies and sermons in this set, for the first time we have designed a high quality publishable layout. This is great progress, sort of like coming up with the final overall design for a new car. The W.A.L.K. Bible study "engine" and "frame" has been there for a long time, but now we also have the design for the rest of the "car." The three other pages that go with the worksheet, are coming together around it. So it's not just a great engine and frame anymore.

Of course, they were good meetings on Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday, as well. And so there are always several appreciative people in "the car" for the test drive with us, so to speak. All of this is being done, of course, as we minister on the local level, each and every week.

Translation of all this material into Japanese is also progressing. And in the near future sample texts of the English versions will be sent to our publisher in the U.S. (Getting the introduction done, has been a major obstacle to doing that until now.) So we praise the Lord for a great week, as we can now finally begin to see "the summit" of this long pre-publishing climb. Please pardon the mixed metaphors in the above, as a sign of our unmixed excitement and praise.

Peak Experience

On Monday, August 17, 2009 I finally climbed Hakusan ("White Mountain"), the highest peak in our prefecture / state of Ishikawa. At about 8,800 feet it is quite a climb, even with the well maintained trails. The climb (up and down, which took about 12 hours in total) was in large part thanks to Nathan and Natsuyo Emery, our good friends who operate an English school and are very active in our church. They were very patient with their older companion, especially on the decent when my knees made the going very slow. It has taken five days (so far) for my legs to get back to near normal. But it truly was a "peak experience," a must (at least once) for a missionary here in Ishikawa.

By the way, it was only 12c on the top, compared to about 28c at the base of the mountain, a cooler day than normal for this time of year. There was even a little snow remaining in a couple spots near the peak. We were in the clouds when this photo was taken, but we had some nice clear skies as well.

Not in Vain!

I first arrived in Japan 35 years ago, on September 1, 1974. There are various people and things that could be counted to "prove" that being a missionary here all these years has not been in vain, and I praise the Lord for each and every one. But instead of doing that, today, I did a little word study on "vain" and "vanity" in the Bible. Here is what I found.

First, there are far more vain things in this world than there are things which are not vain. The ratio shown in the concordance usage is far more than ten to one in favor of vanity. The help of man is vain (Psa. 60:11). Beauty is vain (Pro. 31:30). False teaching is vain (1 Ti. 6:20). And many more verses could also be sited. Likewise, the visible results of sowing the seed of God's word has often not been as I had hoped, such that the work has often seemed to be in vain. So being negative is easy, thinking about unfruitful, "vain" efforts and forgetting the parable of the sower. That's why I believe far more missionaries have quit because they thought their efforts were in vain than for any other reason.

But second, on the positive side, there are several wonderful texts that clearly say that serving the Lord is NOT in vain. These include: Deut. 32:47, Isa. 55:11, Mat. 10:41, 1 Cor. 15:10, 58, and 1 Thess. 2:4. Time and agin over the years the Lord has used these and other similar verses to encourage and keep us faithful. I'm sure it is the same with all His servants. "Therefore . . . abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:58)

Happiness and Handicaps

What a meeting! What a blessing! Last Sunday, June 14, 2009, the service at the tiny Monzen church was different! No, there weren't any extra people present, just the regular six of us. No, nobody was saved, though one unsaved friend did attend. No, the message was not so different, just another message in our ongoing "True Happiness" series.

The difference was, Mr. Hirai, the church leader who had a seriously debilitating cerebral hemorrhage a couple years ago. For the first time in months, he was spiritually "himself" again, though, of course, his physical handicaps remain. With new mental energy, he has renewed zeal for the Lord and has been doing his rehabilitation exercises faithfully, even attempting new things that he feared doing in the past. I could see the difference, his wife spoke enthusiastically of such, and their son, who is not a believer, has surely noticed, as well. What a difference from when I saw him last month! What happened?

A few weeks ago through some BBF friends I finally obtained for Mr. Hirai a copy of an out-of-print Japanese book on the handicapped people of the Old Testament written by Pastor Naito, who is himself seriously physically handicapped. In the weeks since I gave it to him, Mr. Hirai has read this small book through seven times, and the effect of the messages therein has been anything but small. Praise the Lord.

As for our own Bible study and message last Sunday, that was on David and Mephibosheth in Second Samuel ch. 9, and the first one in the "True Happiness" series to deal with happiness and handicaps. The Lord blessed that study also. In July we will again be on the same topic, next time in Second Samuel ch. 19. And our long-term plan is to develop this series of studies into a new in-print text titled "In Quest of Happiness and Healing" as part of our growing "In Quest" series on questions in the Bible. The Lord has greatly used Pastor Naito's out-of-print text; may He do likewise with this yet-to-be-in-print "In Quest" text, as well.

Key TOA Coworker

Excellent progress is now being made on the "In Quest" Bible study text on questions in the Gospel of John, with new lessons being written every week. 

One of the main reasons for good progress is our key coworker, Philip Durrell, shown here. Phil, a retired high school teacher of German and English has been working with us, from his base in Calais, Maine, for about two years now.  Recently with some help from us, he was able to upgrade his computer and page-layout software, making it possible for us to collaborate even more closely, though located on opposite sides of the world. 

Please pray for Phil as he works diligently on Bible studies and as he gathers a small group of TOA ("teach others also") Bible students and "coauthors" around him there in his area.  High quality, interactive Bible studies can not be written alone! 

Also please pray for the finances involved in these efforts. Phil works some as a substitute teacher, and his dear wife, Karen, has short-term work on the U.S. census. But finances are still always tight.  Phil's excellent work on Bible studies is worthy of support, if more project funds were only available. Those wishing to support this ministry can do so through our "TOA Ministries" project at Fellowship International Mission.  A few individuals and churches are already doing so, and we are most grateful. 

House for Sale!

Our house in East Machias, Maine will be up for sale starting in June.  Despite poor market conditions we have decided to list it with a realtor (Sunrise Realty) in hopes of having more funds available by next year for our two daughters who are both now in college and for our growing number of Bible study projects. 

The house was made possible originally by my (Jon's) parents and was a great blessing to us all during my mother's illness and our time together there in 2007-2008. We also had many guests from Japan during that period.  However, we probably will not be needing such a large home again in the future.  

Some renovations and repairs have been made since last summer in order to make it more attractive to potential buyers. It also is located in a wonderful area for those who love the outdoors (hunting, fishing, snowmobiling. kayaking, etc). Still it will take a miracle of the Lord to sell it in these difficult financial times especially in the beautiful but economically depressed area of "Downeast Maine." Thanks for praying. 

Sunday School for Adults?

Adult Sunday School classes are rare in traditional Japanese churches, as also is the opportunity to ask questions and openly and systematically discuss a Bible passage. Nearly all teaching in Japanese churches, as in traditional Japanese education, is done from the top (the teacher) downward with very little student interaction. So it is with great excitement, and a bit of fear, that we begin our first ever adult Sunday school class at our main church tomorrow (Sunday, May 24th). 

We will be interactively studying selected questions in the Gospel of John using "In Quest" worksheets, working our way from 1.) the question(s) asked in the passage, to 2.) the answer(s) given therein, to 3.) personal applications of insights gained therefrom. In addition to directly learning from a passage in John in each study, the goal is also to train those in the class in the "In Quest Bible Study" method so that each one can continue to use such for themselves and with others in the near future. 

Until now this John material has been developed and used in our Friday TOA home Bible study and work-sessions, but this is the first time for it to be used in a Japanese Sunday school setting. The method, more than the material, will be new to most of the five to ten people expected to join this new group, as sermons from John's Gospel are common. 

The class may be a challenge because many Japanese believers are accustomed to listening much and speaking very little. Therefore many are also not used to thinking much for themselves. I believe this is one reasons there is a great shortage of pastors and prospective pastors for our Japanese churches. How can anyone discover and develop a speaking gift (1 Pet. 4:10-11) if they never speak themselves? Thus, this small class may be of great importance, especially for the men of our church. We may very well be without a pastor in another year!  (See a future article about this.) 

Calligraphy for Christ

     We recently helped a Japanese Christian artist friend with a new English language website featuring his Japanese Bible calligraphy and art. Please check out samples of his wonderful work at calligraphyforchrist.net. (His testimony is also included.) 

    These artistic Bible texts in Japanese make great conversation starting tools to help you witness for the Lord in your home or place of business. Your friends will naturally ask you what the beautiful Japanese texts mean, giving you a great opportunity to explain the Bible message.  Each piece of art and calligraphy comes with an explanation in English to assist you in doing so. 

     In addition, our artist friend is not in the best of health and so we hope the sale of his work may help he and his family financially in a small way, as well. In this, please realize, however, that much of the price of each calligraphy work goes to pay for high international shipping charges.

Toa Wedding Bells

      On June 27th our TOA Ministries coworker, Sotomi ("Tomi") will be marring Lance Little, a math teacher at the Greater Houlton Christian Academy in Houlton, Maine. We greatly appreciate Lance and Tomi as they both are very active in the work of the Lord, sharing a great interest in, and burden for, Bible studies and Bible study texts. Lance is the adult class Sunday School teacher in his home church.  

     Tomi and Lance will continue to work on TOA Bible study materials, especially together on a new set on youth questions in the Bible, titled "In Quest of Identity." Though we will miss Tomi here in Japan we will continue to work with her on TOA projects.  Computer technology makes long distance collaboration easy today, compared to in the past. Tomi and her children will be moving to the U.S. after their visa is approved, hopefully before the new school year begins in late August.  (Please pray for the visa!) 

     Also, in connection with the June wedding here in Japan, there will be a "summer missions team" of six students from the Greater Houlton Christian Academy and one college student from California with us between June 23rd and July 15th. Various outreach programs are in the plans, as well as work on, and experimental use of, the new youth questions text. 

      

Yumi in Med. School

     By God's grace and to our happy surprise, in March Yumi was accepted into the six year M.D. program at the Toyama University medical school.  The entrance competition was very competitive, with few students being admitted (as Yumi, was) without two or three years of intensive prep. school study. Her year of study in North America undoubtedly helped her a lot in a similar way, as her ability in English improved a lot during that time. (She was a high school senior for two years, one year in Maine and the second year here in Japan.) Her university classes started a couple weeks ago on April 8th. 

     Thankfully for her dad and mom Toyama Univeristy is a national university with much lower tuition costs per year than medical schools in the U.S., such being on a par with normal state universities like the University of Maine. Still six years is a long time, and there will be two years of internship after that. This first year will probably be the easiest. An inheritance from Jon's mom makes this all possible financially, as we certainly could not pay for her tuition (as well as Amy's at Chiba Univeristy) from our missionary salary. 

     In other happy news, Yumi was baptized on Easter Sunday, having saved that great event until after the year long entrance exam struggle had ended. Her desire is to serve the Lord as a doctor wherever He may lead her in the future. As we have seen over the years Christian medical doctors can have a tremendous testimony and impact in highly vertical Japanese society. Moreover, Yumi also signed up for two optional foreign language courses this first year as she realizes the Lord may also eventually want her to serve somewhere else around the world. 

Form Free - Diagram Rich

     Though, as I wrote yesterday, "I hate forms . . . even [form like] traditional Bible study worksheets," conversely, I love to use diagrams in our Bible studies. Thus, each lesson in our "In Quest" series is to have at least one page (one of six) with a diagram or two. The sample in the post below is from the "In Quest" study in John 1:19-28. (You can view it full size with one click.) We just revised this page today and sensed the Lord's leading as Mitsy and I worked together on it. The connection between the heart and spoken words is very clear in this simple design. (Cf. Mat. 12:34.) Now Mitsy and Tomi will be able to translate this page into Japanese. 

      Since we make use of diagrams and other special design elements in our material, designing a Bible study is much more than simply "writing" one. Thus, we need the Lord's special direction in such day by day, diagram by diagram, and lesson by lesson.  Thank you for your prayers! 

      By the way do you like diagrams, especially Bible diagrams?  There are a few websites concerned with such, which you can find by doing a search. One of our dreams, is to have a Toa Ministries homepage with a section of Bible diagrams.  Over the years I have made many, at least some of which are worthy of wider distribution. Like the one posted below, many of the best designs are profoundly simple.  

A Bible Study Diagram

Form Free Bible Study

      Recently, I had some unpleasant paperwork to do; so I'm going to "rant" about such for a few lines.    I hate forms; income tax forms (U.S., Japanese, & state), annual and quarterly report forms, questionnaires, and even typical Bible study worksheets! Is there no escape from the endless questions, blank lines, and empty boxes? Don't we have enough to do without all this "extra work"? (end of "rant")       Sadly, there is little we can do about most of these forms, except pray for a better attitude, so that our "form-itus allergies" do not become chronic or even fatal. BUT there really is something we can do about typical Bible study worksheets.

     You can replace typical Bible study forms with easy-to-use Bible study methods, with creative designs that eliminate the common, boring Q&A strings. In this way our "In Quest" and "W.A.L.K." Bible study designs are truly unique. In both, strings of questions have been replaced by simple Bible study steps. So you can do your own Bible study, following three or four steps, instead of filling in the blanks to answer someone else's string of questions. There are still worksheets, for those who want them. But such are optional. Thinking through and applying the Bible passages systematically, step by step, is what really counts. Some do this mentally, step by step, in their minds alone; others do so verbally, sharing thoughts with others in a small group setting; and still others, who enjoy writing, use the simple worksheets to record their thoughts with pen and ink.

       There are, of course, many typical, yet helpful, Bible studies available in English (but not Japanese). I praise God for all such. But if like me, your "form-itus allergy" has flared up recently, with more and more forms to fill out at this time of year, why not try out our "In Quest" and "W.A.L.K." approaches for "Form Free Bible Study*" in 2009. Down with the tyranny of forms! Up with the freedom of real Bible study! Does anyone need a sample lesson?

 

   * The "In Quest" and "W.A.L.K." Bible study designs also could be called "Free Form Bible Studies," since with their systematic steps they have good order and form (using the term in a different sense), as well as, great personal freedom in how they can be used. (This material is copyrighted, but available for local use to those who ask.) 

Six Ducks with One Shot?

     My dad once shot six or seven ducks with just one shot during a Maine "noreaster" blizzard in the 1930's.  It was not because he was a super marksman, however, for ducks become an easy target when they bunch closely together to keep warm under such special weather conditions. Similarly, the Lord on rare, special occasions causes everything to be just right so that there can be a tremendous living harvest of souls, as on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. Again it was not that Peter himself was special, but that the Lord placed him in the right place at the right time with the right message. May it be so with us all, as well, whether we are evangelists, Sunday school teachers, or a small group working on a new series of Bible studies. 

     No, there were not three thousands saved as three* of us met today for our Toa Ministries work session on the upcoming "Questions in John" text. But something special happened, nevertheless. For the first time, today, I realized that most lessons we are now working on, not only will be part of our text on the fourth Gospel, but also will be great as parts of several other future topical texts. The lesson on the Samaritan woman will fit wonderfully in a future text on evangelistic questions in the Bible. The study on the blind man in chapter nine will be part of another text on divine care for the handicapped. And the lesson on the questions to Peter in ch. 21 will be a key study in a future text titled "In Quest of Genuine Love." Thus, suddenly, today, I realized that the Gospel of John is surely "the right place" for us to have begun our "In Quest Bible Studies" series, it being especially rich in inspired questions on many topics. It is as if the Lord has gathered so many "ducks" into one place for us, that we can hardly miss.  In John, six or seven "ducks" with just one shot really are possible. 

     *A fourth key member of our Toa team, Phil, is collaborating with our Japan group each week by long distance from Maine. Also a fellow missionary in an unnamed "closed" country just sent some very helpful material. Does anyone else in "blog land" want to join "the hunt"?  It's always open season for Bible studies no matter where you live, in the frozen north or on burning dessert sands! 

Software Help Needed

     Computers have made our work much easier; and as the technology has improved so has our ministry potential. Thus, in general, it was a great blessing to recently upgrade our computer hardware and software. This included a huge jump up from version 3.1 to version 8.1 of QuarkXPress. What a difference this has made in our page layout ability for our Bible study texts! Likewise, our blog is now possible because of recent upgrades. Not everything has been easy, however.

      I love to write using database software that I customize myself. Thus, for example, most of my extensive work on Psalm 119 is in a custom database, material that would require over 1,000 pages if it were all in printed form. But since it is instead in a database program I can search it easily to find just what I want, whenever I want. 

     Over the years, I became an expert using an old Mac only database program, Helix Express. This, however, does not work well on our new system. Thus, I am switching to Filemaker Pro Advanced version 10. This is a great program that will eventually allow me to do more work and even produce material that others can use on both Mac's and PC's. However, since this is a new program to me, it is hard work adjusting. Whereas I was an expert with Helix yesterday, today, I am just a beginner with Filemaker. 

      It is important that I get up to speed as quickly as possible, to move forward with projects large and small. Putting our mailing list into Filemaker should be easy, though time consuming, as there are templets readily available. However, creating a custom database for topical studies on all the questions in the Bible will be much more difficult. Even so, having such a database is the key to not being "hit and miss" in our great "In Quest Bible Studies" series, for theme studies on evangelistic questions, messianic questions, youth questions, and many other topics.

     I have a couple Filemaker "how-to" books. But personal, hands-on  instruction from an expert, would be far better. Also, I would love to have a like-minded, Christian programmer to work with long-term on this and other projects.  Does anyone have any suggestions? 

In Quest of Usefulness

      For many years Mr. H. has played a key role in keeping the ministry going in the small Monzen church, speaking two or more Sundays a month and writing a monthly Bible study and news letter. (The church does not have a pastor.) He especially enjoys writing for the Lord, and has been looking forward to retirement so that he can do such even more. (On average, more Japanese people love to read and write, than Americans.)

     Then, three years ago, dear brother H. suffered a brain hemorrhage which left him paralyzed on one side, and even adversely effected his eyesight. He is, of course, no long able to work; but, worst of all, he is unable to write much, at least not, by himself like he did before. Thus, I have been praying that somehow, someway, his ministry might be restored, at least in part. 

      As I was preparing to speak at the Monzen church last week, the Lord gave me an idea.  Why not develop, along with Mr. H., a set of "In Quest Bible Studies"* based on the many questions* in Bible passages having to do with disease, physical disabilities, and divine healing? Such passages are numerous, but often neglected in conservative, evangelical circles because of how they are abused by some charismatic groups. Yet, the message of divine care and hope found in such texts is as much needed today as in biblical times. This set could be titled "In Quest of Usefulness" or "In Quest of Healing."

      Therefore, after church last Sunday I asked Mr. H. what he thought of the idea.  Not only was he very positive about it, but he also named several passages he thought should be studied, including the story of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9, 16, and 19. (I had not thought of that one.) So, though it may take a year or two to develop this set of Bible studies enough for it to be passed on to others, we have already started in a small way. May the Lord be pleased to restore, and even magnify, Mr. H.'s usefulness for the Lord through this project, despite his weakness (2 Cor. 12:10)! Mrs. H. is also a believer and undoubtedly will be helping, too, though her health (heart) likewise is not especially good. Perhaps you also would like to help. What Bible passages on this subject, which also contain questions, would you suggest? 

* In Quest Bible Studies" is our ongoing series of expository, and in some cases topical, Bible studies focused on questions in the Bible itself, rather than questions that people have about the Bible. Our main project for the past year has been on Questions in John. 

    Though we are copyrighting this "In Quest" material to protect it from abuse, we certainly also wish to share it and cooperate with others in its development. 

Welcome to our First Blog!

   We are finally on-line, thanks to this new free (!) blog account. Eventually we hope to have our own homepage, but this simple blog will help us get started in that direction. Our basic goal for now is to simply help keep our friends and prayer supporters more up to date with the latest news about our ministry in Japan, especially the "Toa Ministries" Bible studies aspect. Via the net we will be able to share much more basic and current information week by week than is possible in our printed news letters or even our e-mails. 

   We hope you will not be bored if, like today, January 13, 2009 (Japan time), the biggest news may be merely that we got 14" of snow last evening and so spent an hour shoveling. News like this, actually, may be important because (1) I certainly can use the exercise and (2) thankfully, the snow did not come on Sunday morning when I was traveling to a meeting at a distant church. (There was only 3" last Sunday. This time of year it often snows every night of the week.) 

     We also will be sharing some more important personal prayer requests. Probably our "biggest" one this week is for Yumi who will be taking the first round of college entrance exams next Saturday and Sunday, January 17th and 18th, (yes, two whole days, and that is just the first round). As we shared in our recent printed letter the exams in Japan are very competitive, especially for her as she is trying to get into med. school to study to become a doctor. 

    The up-to-the-minute Toa Ministries news today is that Mitsy just mailed the very first direct-mail advertisement for the new "Women of the Word" Bible study text. There will be hundreds more such going out to churches all over Japan in the next couple weeks. Although in English there are various Bible study texts on the women in the Bible, until now there has been nothing else like this in Japanese. 

     This mailing also includes a Japanese "Toa Update" news letter. In this, our current project on questions in the Gospel of John is mentioned for the first time.  Please pray that we will be able to finish this by summer 2009. 

      Thanks for prayerfully "blogging" with us!  By the way, any advertising included with this blog is placed by Google, over which we have no control.