Christmas in Japan

It seems that life just keeps changing. But, why should that come as a surprise. God says in Isaiah, "Behold, I do a new thing." He's still doing new things. All we have to do is be willing to allow Him to do fresh and new things in our lives.

During training meetings in Bangkok in April, I was taken aside by Steve, the One Mission Society field leader in Japan. Steve said that the Lord had woken him at 5 am with the message to "ask Bob Warren to fulfill this ministry." The ministry is to begin a church planting ministry in Tokyo as he assumes the pastoral position at OMS Christian Mission Church. Bob was shocked.

Later that day, Bob spoke with the director over One Mission Society's work in Asia. John-Mark related that God hard done the same thing with him. Thus, the challenge for Bob & Suzanne was to discover whether this was God's plan for them. It's nice hearing from others, but it's critical to have a personal word from the Lord. The conclusion was, yes, it is God's plan.

We're going to spend most of December in Japan making preparations for our new ministry. We'll establish our residency, begin to form relationships and look for leaders who can form the nucleus of new churches. Our goal is that every man, woman, boy and girl can hear the Good News about the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

Blessed Beyond Measure

"My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my salvation." Isaiah 51:5

Hi,
How blessed we are who have the privilege of being raised in a land that has heard the voice of God. So much of the world has yet to hear of the Loving Savior who can change their lives now and give them hope for eternity. As I read this verse, I'm struck by the islands looking to God and waiting in hope. Oh God, don't make them wait longer! Let your salvation be seen.

Suzanne and I got to spend last week with Michelle and Glen with their twin sons: Luke and Micah. We had a great time and got to celebrate their second birthday with them, but the time was way too short. We don’t know when we’ll get together again, but through the wonder of technology we have the privilege of video conferencing with them – and we’ll do it as often as we can.

We anticipate traveling to Japan the first of December and spending the Christmas season there. We’ve not completed our funding for a long-term stay, so I’ll have to return in January to continue establishing partnerships for our ministry. The month-long stay will enable us to get some of the residency require-ments taken care of and, more importantly, cultivate relationships with the people we’ll work with in the years ahead. Some of these are fellow missionaries, but most will be Japanese Christians and pre-Christians.

Praise note: I had word today that our missionary visa was approved and our passports should be returned to us tomorrow. PTL! These are for three years and will allow us to establish our residence in Japan (a BIG issue for a number of reasons) and leave and return to Japan as necessary.

Please pray for:

• All the packing and sorting we have to do. Some things (a few) need to go with us. Some things need to be packed for our return. Some things need to be disposed of.
• Travel arrangements for this trip. Suzanne needs to return for school in January. I’ll follow later.
• God to raise up ministry partners for prayer and financial support.

Thank you for your faithful prayers. We’re convinced God is doing something special in Japan and that He has more things in mind.