Is it vacation or remote work? Maybe it’s time with family and friends or is it time to share investment reports with churches? Furloughs, or home assignment, are difficult to explain even for the missionary. We recently finished our first furlough, which means we spent a year in America. Concerning statistics beyond normal school and “office” responsibilities, we drove over 24,000 miles, visited over 35 churches (some more than once), helped with 3 VBS ministries, went to 2 camps, and took part in 5 different conferences. Statistics make it sound rather tiring, so what is the point? Why do we do it?

Sharing God’s Work
Many people, including churches, pray for us faithfully, support us financially, and encourage us regularly. We wanted to express our gratitude to them all, and more importantly, we wanted to share what God is doing here in Japan. It is exciting to hear how God ordains “random” meetings or spurs someone to ask a question. Sharing with others gives the glory God deserves and encourages those listening.; God is answering their prayers and using the finances they have given for His own glory.

Reestablish Relationships
People constantly move, whether across town or to other states. As we travelled to churches, we often met new people who started attending after our last visit. They were praying for us, “their missionaries,” without ever having the opportunity to meet us. We also love getting to know people in the churches  better and learning how God is working in their lives, whether it is children who have moved to opposite ends of the country or health conditions that God is teaching patience and trust through. Relationships require maintenance, and prayer letters can only do so much to help.

​Share Opportunities to Serve
We need more missionaries in Japan. Humanly speaking, the statistics show that the Japanese church cannot continue without missionary help. There are too few Japanese Christians. Part of what we did was share how people can serve God in Japan, whether through English lessons, church planting, or other talents God has given them. We want to provide places for people to serve either short-term or long-term.

Time to Refresh
Living in another culture, country, and language is hard. God calls every Christian to do hard things, and thankfully He helps us do them, but it is still hard. Part of that help is coming up for a breath. During our time in America, we loved seeing our families and friends. It was good to spend time with people who care about us and are willing to speak truth into our lives.  We also attended many conferences, sessions, and classes to help us grow in life and ministry. God even used singing and listening to sermons to encourage and convict us. We are thankful we could let our children spend time with family and friends while we celebrated our anniversary or spent time nurturing our marriage. Even the travel allowed us to take time to make memories and see some of God’s creation.

We are thankful for the opportunity God gave us to spend in America; it allowed us to reset and prepare for future ministry, while tell others what He has done in Japan and what He could do through them. We are excited to be back, refreshed and ready to rejoin God’s work in Japan.

​Forgetting your passport on a bus classifies as a major problem. Forgetting a backpack with your entire family’s passports along with other important government paperwork on a bus may not have a classification. Since we were returning to America for our home assignment, we needed to move from Japan to America, which meant many trips to government offices. Due to caring for a motion sick child, the backpack remained on the seat when we rushed off the bus.
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This catastrophe was during the time we were sorting through our possessions and deciding what we should store, gift, or toss. Flight troubles, including the original airline changing our itinerary to include an extra overnight layover in Chicago, added to the mess as we talked with multiple customer service agents and airlines. To top it all off apartments do not clean themselves once all the things are moved out, and young children do not suddenly become perfect adult helpers. “Overwhelmed” fails to describe the situation.

But God was not surprised, in fact this was yet another one of those trials he likes to use to grow and stretch us. He worked out the flight troubles, including giving us one of the best routes we ever had (Haneda -> Seattle -> Minneapolis). Then, through a Christian friend, God encouraged us to look again at storage, and we found a deal that made it clearly advantageous to store more possessions and office things. He also provided help through friends, both from church and from school, to move out and clean the apartment.

As for the passports, God prepared an honest passenger to discover the bag and an honest bus driver to transporter it safely to the bus terminal that night. A visit to the bus company the next day allowed us to recover everything. We praise God that he protected us and provided for our return for home assignment.
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Now as we travel and share with churches here in America, and then return to Japan early next year, we look forward to seeing how God will work.

One politician famously explained that it takes a village to raise children. The implications and influences of that idea are best left for people with more experience in politics than I have. However, the quote still came to mind as we visited the town and church where we had our one-year internship.
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Eight years ago, we worked at a Japanese church started by Baptist Mid-Missions missionaries. One of our primary responsibilities was English ministries, where we taught English conversation classes and helped start a children’s Bible and English club.

One of the students from conversation classes found our lifestyle to be counter to the typical American culture of materialism and wanted to know why. The sowing of gospel seeds in his life began a three-year journey of many other Christians pouring time and energy into both sharing about the Bible and showing him God’s work in their daily lives. He is now a growing Christian, faithfully serving at that church.

​The children’s class was successful in bringing in students, but again, only provided planting of seeds. Though averaging over six neighborhood children coming each week, it ended a few months after we left due to a lack of helpers. Over time, some church families said they missed the club and stepped up to run it.  The children’s Sunday School class now uses the auditorium because it is the best room for the number of children and helpers. The club also continues though Covid has recently made meeting in-person difficult.
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Whether or not a village can or should raise a child, I appreciate God’s gift to us, the church. A loving, God-following local church can and should raise Christians to maturity, both through ministries and through daily life with others. To God be the glory, because it is His work, not ours.

Comparing life between living in Japan eight years ago and now, one tool has made life much easier. Yes, a better understanding of Japanese has helped. Receiving regular financial support too. However, Google translate has become the most useful tool for living in Japan. When we first arrived in Japan, rather than taking stacks of papers to church for help, we could quickly translate virtually everything.

As with any tool, there are some drawbacks. For example, a paper from school translated as: “Under the guidance of the Board of Education, we will strive to spread the infection. For more information, prints will be distributed on the 18th for all children.” We do not consider the Board of Education an evil group of villains, so “to prevent the spread of infection” seemed more likely.
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In a text message, one person asked Andrew, “What do you think of Andrew?” Which is quite the reflective question, but rereading the Japanese, we realized it should say, “Andrew, what do you think?”

Usually, we work with Google translate to confirm our understanding of the Japanese. A few rare gems help little though: "Required Documents[for immigration]> Rebirth Food Certificate (for all households including children), Hibiki is a three-way taxpayer Certificate of employment of dependents who have reached the end of their careers Certificate of tax payment Certificate of love, If you go to the Niroko's soldiers, the three of the victims of the stalemate trunk (if any), and the tax change, write down your business policy. Laugh (Ko-no-Rokukyu Pod * --Shinsho Eto) * Please apply for 6 Sport. (* Required documents, etc. should be sent to the Tenshikan. The residence card will be issued by the Neck Management Bureau.” Thankfully, those are rare.
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In the end, we appreciate Google translate as a tool God has provided to help us serve here in Japan. Without it, other translation tools, such as this example from Facebook’s translator, might make life a little more difficult: “In the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the year of the On May th, the English service meeting has been cancelled because the general service was held in online service without collecting at the church during the declaration of emergency.” 

You know in the cartoons when a character’s jaw falls to the floor in shock? I am sure that happened to me as I gazed out our back window one day. I had noticed an elderly lady arrive home. The driver carefully helped her out of the car, handing her a bag and walker. She then crept over to a bench and sat down, as if to catch her breath. I thought, “Wow, she climbs five steps to get to her apartment? It must be hard.” Since the car drove away, I continued watching, partially out of curiosity, partially because I could dial 119 if she fell.
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After a brief rest, she slowly began to climb the stairs. She reached the first landing and I thought, “Glad she made it. Wait. Why did she not go in the door?” I then stared in disbelief as her head poked up on the stairs again. She must live on the second floor! Slowly, she worked her way up. Again, she ignored the door and shuffled towards the stairs. Sure enough, her head crested the wall of the stairs as she continued upwards.
 At every floor I told myself, “She’s home, right?” Every time, this elderly lady defied my logic and continued up the stairs. Her home is the fifth floor, the top of her apartment building.
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​In our area, many people have lived in their apartments for decades. They have raised their children, watched them leave home, and then continued living in the same apartment. That lady has likely lived in her fifth-floor home for decades, walking up and down them carrying groceries, children, birthday presents, letters from friends, and bills to pay. Climbing five flights of stairs became part of her life.
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For me it was a great reminder that doing something hard can become a habit. Struggling to do hard things when we are young (or younger) can provide the habits and strength to continue doing it later in life. 

We heard the crash from the other room. Our then one-year old daughter, Aila, began to cry loudly, and worse of all, soon began going in and out of consciousness. Our stroller had fallen over, and Aila hit her head hard on the entrance floor. We called the Japanese ambulance and tried explaining in Japanese. Thankfully, Aila returned to normal before the ambulance arrived, and the paramedics said she was okay.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). What a difficult command. We praised God that Aila was okay, but are we really meant to count it joy when we are calling an ambulance for our child?

One night nine months later, Andrew went into the ER with possible appendicitis. This time, our pastor helped due to our lack of understanding the ER system here, and he called multiple hospitals to find one who would see us.  After a few hours, we returned home with a diagnosis of kidney stones and a recommendation to see a urologist in the morning. The urologist however had an emergency come up while Andrew filled out the paperwork, so the nurse said to return in two days or go to another hospital. When the doctor looked at the tests, he concluded that the first doctor incorrectly diagnosed the problem. They sent Andrew to a gastrologist down the hall, who classified the problem as an intestinal virus. Over the last year, Andrew has returned many times as they work through stomach issues. Do we also count that as joy?

Meanwhile, Janae’s father was battling cancer 6,000 miles away in America. Last summer, he passed away a few days before Janae’s flight to America. How can we count this as joy? Do we focus on the people who heard the gospel at the funeral? Do we rejoice at the time spent with family, some of whom had not gathered in years? The answer: Yes and no.

​Anytime we receive the opportunity to meet someone new, reconnect with others, or share the gospel, we should rejoice. However, James had something else in mind.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

We can react with joy to these difficulties because we know that our faith in God is being refined through the trials, and our character will be changed to be more like Christ through it. Is it easy? No. Yet, the more intimate knowledge of God and watching Him work in our family, church, and community make it worth it.

As fear of sickness, government power, and violence spread. As loss of loved ones, jobs, future plans, and even safety pile up. As truth becomes nearly impossible to determine in this world, we ask ourselves, “What is God working on in my life? How can I mirror Christ in this situation?” Usually, it is through praying, reading the Bible, and talking with trusted friends that the answer becomes clear and in time, that is a joy.
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We do not find joy in the difficulties. Instead we find joy in how God is glorified and how we are grown and changed in the process. This is faith that God knows what He is doing, and that He genuinely desires to make us better.

Life often takes shocking turns and living abroad definitely has provided many surprises. God has faithfully enabled us to live in Tokyo for two years now. As we reflect on living in Japan, a few things have stood out.

• Various unknown grandmas on the train may give your children gifts because they talked to her. At times those gifts may include fireworks she pulls out of her purse.
• Not knowing how to properly end a phone call makes conversations with delivery people awkward.
• Realizing that from down the street you can hear your child throwing a fit inside your apartment, even when the windows are all closed, is horrifying.
• Learning Japanese is difficult, frustrating, and time-consuming, but realizing that God helped you have an entire conversation in Japanese with someone makes it worth it.
• At other times, making an agreeable or “I’m listening” noise goes a long way in helping you through a casual conversation when you are struggling to understand the current topic.
• Trying a new restaurant or shop can be very intimidating, especially when you realize you are the only ones there, but it can be a terrific opportunity for developing a relationship.
• Mold grows easily on walls that face north due to condensation. In the winter. Inside the house.
• Giving gifts or even speaking English with someone may result in receiving a bigger gift in return.
• Love is universal, but how that love is communicated to others is sometimes different in Japan.
• Using American inch-based dimensions on Japanese metric-based printers can cause problems.

• Double check that the arriving train is the train you want. A train that arrives “early” may be a different train that takes over an hour longer to reach where you want to go. The same is true for buses.
• If everyone else gets off a train and no one is getting on, you should too, because you missed an announcement.
• The train station employees use long gripping tools to pick up wallets, umbrellas, or tickets that fall by the tracks.
• The words for “graduation” (sotsugyoushiki) and for “funeral” (soushiki) should not be confused.
• Neither should “South Korea” (kankoku) and “prison” (kangoku).

• In some places, including some churches, people will think a couple has a troubled relationship if they sit together.
• On rare occasions you might be asked, “Oh, you are a missionary? What percentage of the Bible do you have memorized?” (For the record, even if you memorized the entire New Testament, that is only 25% of the verses in the Bible)
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We have been told that it takes learning from a million mistakes to acquire a new language, and we guess that it takes another million mistakes to learn the culture. Sometimes it feels like God is having us get those mistakes out of the way quickly. However, we have seen Him with us each step along the way, which gives us confidence that He will faithfully watch over us for the years to come as well. Along with that, we are thankful that His faithfulness to us is yet one more example of His faithfulness to you, even if you briefly lose sight of Him in times of deep darkness.

When the doors to the train opened, I paused in surprise at the few masked people staring back at me on the train. Usually the train is nearing full by our station. Following the government’s request, many offices shifted work times or allowed remote working to alleviate rush hour commuting. Except for a few extreme cases, everyone dons a face of calmness and normality while facing the threat of COVID-19.

The supermarket tells a different story. Masks have been scarce in stores for a while, stores limiting purchases to one box when shipments arrive. This has not stopped some from making a profit by selling masks on the internet. Next, after a reportedly false Facebook rumor about manufacturing issues, toilet paper and tissues flew off the shelves and remain difficult to find. Finally, this past weekend, we found many of the dry goods shelves to be empty, though thankfully shelves were partially stocked again during our next trip to the store.

Underlying fear and panic seem to have grabbed hold of Japan, yet the church seems different. Churches are taking appropriate steps for safety, even canceling events or services where necessary. However, people seem to be trusting God to protect and control the situation, which gives off a calming feeling.
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This calming feeling could be one of the greatest advantages for engaging people here in Japan. A voice of reason, not based on scientific hypotheses or government decisions, but founded in the character of God and the power of the Gospel is powerful. The peace of God that surpasses all understanding is one of the aspects of grace that can be observed and felt. The question is, will the church step up and be the light in a dark, scary world?

When I saw the phone call, I knew his struggle was over. Janae’s father had cancer, and we knew that he would pass soon, but it still surprised us. Since the diagnosis, Andrew often confirmed, “We can get you back to see your dad. Are you still wanting to wait?” Janae always responded, “We have things to do here, and it would be difficult to go alone. Besides, I am available to talk or video chat during his night from Japan.” As time passed, his condition grew worse until we finally decided to buy tickets for Janae and Aila to visit and stay long enough for the imminent funeral. Two days before she left, her father passed away.

​​Many people have written or talked with us, explaining their similar experiences. Others have offered their condolences and expressed their grief in our behalf of our not seeing him before he passed. “I can’t imagine…” frequently was a phrase they uttered. However, arriving too late to see Paul was not the unimaginable part for us.

The Bible frequently attributes peace to God. The Bible describes God as the “God of peace” and the “Lord of peace.” At that moment, when we learned the news of Paul’s transfer from life on earth to standing before the throne of God, God gave us the unimaginable peace that surpassed our understanding.
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When God calls us to walk through tough times, He offers us everything we need to glorify Him, learn, and become more like Christ. Whether a tragedy or a change in life, the incredible part is watching God work and experiencing the peace and strength that only He can give.

Glancing out the train window as we came to a stop, I noticed a man walking down the road while looking at his phone. Suddenly the man looked to his side, stopped, and turned. Following his gaze, I realized he was looking at a neighborhood Shinto shrine.  The man proceeded to bow his head towards the shrine, and then turned back to walking while looking down at his phone. Curious, I watched the shrine a bit longer and saw no one else around the area. He most likely prayed to the god(s) of the shrine.
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This scene struck me, because he was bowing his head the whole time, once to the shrine and twice to his phone. Sure, his motives differed between the shrine and looking at the game or emails on his phone, but from the train, I saw a man bowing his head towards two things in worship.

In this beautifully created country, we observe people praying regularly to physical, man-made idols, images with mouths that cannot speak and eyes that cannot see. We also see men and women who have made idols out of objects, careers, or people.
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Then the convicting through struck me: often I am focused on studying flashcards on my phone, coordinating my daily plans, or completing my to-do list, so I forget to contemplate the true God during my day. The walking man at least paused his activities on a busy weekend morning to say a prayer to the god of the shrine as he passed. Imagine what the living God could do with a heart completely dedicated to Him throughout the day.