The introduction of Aila into our family (see the July 2017 blog post) has caused changes to our sleeping and traveling habits, especially for Janae, but that has not stopped our progress. Since July, we have averaged over 2,700 a month of driving, shared with ten new churches, revisited eleven churches, connected with pastors at two state church conferences, attended and finished our final Baptist Mid-Missions classes, helped with one VBS, and enjoyed both a men’s and a women’s retreats. We have had many opportunities for God to stretch and grow us over the last few months.

​Andrew has been working on Doctorate of Ministry for the last two years. The program emphasizes preaching, and Andrew will focus on preaching in a Japanese context. As of the moment, he has two classes left and continues working on his official dissertation proposal. Andrew also will be ordained at the beginning of November, which has taken up a considerable amount of time as well. We praise God that He saw fit to change the class Andrew intended to take so that he had the semester off from classes and could work on the dissertation proposal and ordination.

Concerning Japan, we are currently at 75% of our committed monthly support, and it appears that we should arrive in Japan sometime early 2018. The main factor holding us back is that BMM appropriately requires us to have 100% of the monthly support raised before we leave.
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On a side note, and a major contributing factor to the delayed post, Andrew discovered that video blogs are not his thing; maybe he will try it again some day.

Sometimes you never know how God may change your plans and “to-do” lists. On May 30th, 3.5 weeks early, we welcomed our second child, Aila (eye-lah) Grace Gonnerman, into the world.  Due to the rapid delivery, the nurses could not administer the required IV for Janae when Aila was born, but the speed also minimized the possibility of infection. The doctors ran tests and declared both Aila and Janae as healthy.

When Aila turned one day old, the pediatrician informed us that one test indicated trace amounts of an infection. They ordered further testing to determine if bacteria on Aila’s skin contaminated the test, but they admitted her into the NICU to begin antibiotics during the forty-eight hour culture test. We praise God that the second test came back clear, so Aila came home with us on June 2nd. During Aila’s stay, the NICU nurses enjoyed taking care of a healthy baby and Aila delightfully surprised them with her eating habits and growth. Over the last month and a half, AIla has grown and has begun learning about this world and has traveled like a champion through seven states.

​We selected the name Aila because it means “Bringer of Light.” We chose this specific spelling, because “ai” in Japanese means “love.” We pray that Aila will bring the gospel light, unconditional love, and demonstrations of grace to the Japanese people until she embarks on her own journey to minister where God leads. For now, however, we will snuggle her, love her, and protect her from her very excited two-year-old brother.

The famous cherry blossoms, known as sakura, draw tourists to Japan, while newscasters report daily on the best places to see the flowers. The blossoms create a cultural event powerful enough to disrupt the everyday life. People enjoy picnics under the trees while indulging in public drinking which is usually taboo. Photographers swarm to capture the shades of white and pink, sharing their pride of beautiful trees and beautiful Japan. Sakura flavored teas and snacks are everywhere. Cherry blossoms permeate Japanese media and entertainment. One old cherry blossom tale weaves the story of two men and a dog.

Once upon a time, there was a man who lived with his wife and dog. The man was kind, but his neighbor was greedy. One day while the kind man was walking, his dog began to dig and unearthed a container full of gold. The kind man praised the dog and hurried home to show his wife. The greedy man, upon realizing the situation, demanded the use of the dog. The kind man consented, so the greedy man and the dog left. During the walk, the dog found another box, but the greedy man discovered garbage inside the container. Infuriated and disgusted, the man killed the dog. The kind man mournfully buried the dog’s body.

Soon after, a tree grew over the dog’s grave. The kind man remembered the dog’s love of rice, so he cut down the tree and formed a mortar for cooking rice. At lunchtime, he discovered that the mortar created gold rather than rice. The greedy man, peering through the window, saw what happened and requested the mortar. The kind man obliged, however the greedy man discovered that the mortar made neither rice nor gold, but instead created garbage. Infuriated and disgusted, the man burned the mortar. The kind man, not wanting to waste the ashes, spread some among his trees.

Soon after, the kind man and the greedy man gasped as cherry blossoms bloomed months early. The prince of the land heard the news and called for the kind man. The prince wanted his cherry blossoms to bloom early, so he requested the kind man’s help. The kind man climbed up the trees, spread the ashes, and then watched in amazement as the flowers bloomed. The prince rewarded the man with a new title, “Sir old man who makes trees blossom,” along with much gold. 

Like any story, the cultural assumptions and lessons inhabit the tale. Kindness, for example, remains the great virtue, while greediness, violence, and snooping are disdained. Overall, the story teaches the lesson “You reap what you sow,” yet this leads to further questions. What is the standard for good and evil? Is there any point of “no return?” Can someone break the chain of deeds? This is where the gospel conversation takes place.

How do you protect a castle? Armies, weapons, and strategy of course. Part of that strategy involves the town’s layout. While driving around Iwatsuki, a castle town, it became apparent that only a handful of roads were straight. The remaining roads curved, looped around, split into dead ends, and kept to a cardinal direction seemingly by accident. Despite sounding like poor design, the roads actually served as a defense strategy against invading armies. The maze slowed down and frustrated the opposing army (and future foreigners).
Iwatsuki castle no longer stands in Iwatsuki, because the castles represented the samurai. The Meiji government (1868-1912) desired to Westernize Japan and to update the country. Most of the samurai rebelled and fought against the changes, though ultimately losing. Since the castles held the rebellious groups, the Meiji government destroyed virtually all of the fortresses.

​Later, the government realized the historical and aesthetical value of the castles, so they restored the most famous ones. These castles became popular tourist attractions and created fun ways of learning Japanese history. Many of the castles also include signs with English translations, so that foreigners can enjoy the museums.
Inside those museums, the signs rarely emphasize one important detail. When the Meiji government took over, toppling the samurai and castles, they included freedom of religion within the constitution.  The persecution of Christians ended with the Meiji government, allowing the name of Christ to spread once again.

What do you do with twelve eggplants? The reason for the gift complicated the predicament: we said, “Hello!” A woman in her garden responded to our greeting by walking towards us. After a brief conversation, she grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with eggplants. We left baffled by the generous present.

Gift giving is rooted in the foundation of Japanese culture. Yes, they celebrate customary gift giving holidays, but that is only the beginning. When we moved into our apartment, the culture expected us to give presents to our neighbors and the proprietor. When traveling, people expect you to bring back small gifts (“omiyage”) for friends and family. Often these treats consist of ingredients famous in the area of travel. The presentation of the gift also matters.

Events such as weddings add further obligations. Wedding guests traditionally give money, which typically consists of hundreds of dollars of an odd amount (10,000 yen, 30,000 yen, etc). The catch is the expectation of returning half. Traditionally, when the couple honeymoons, they bring back a souvenir for each person that costs half the amount their gift. At some modern weddings, guests choose an item from a catalog as a return gift.

​This expectation of paying back for gifts permeates the whole culture. Periodically, we would bring souvenirs and baked goods to one of our neighbors, and she often returned with a gift of a greater amount. One Japanese person informed us that gift giving sometimes becomes a burden since each person feels obligated to give a gift after receiving one, even if the gift was in response to an initial gift.

Now, what does this mean for a Gift so incredible and costly that people cannot repay? When Japanese people hear that God has given them a gift, they understand the term differently than Americans. Yet they immediately understand that such a great gift requires an action in return. They may better understand Paul’s explanation that the purpose of the gift of salvation is accomplishing good works (Eph 2:8-10). The tricky part stems from doing the good works out of gratitude and love, rather than obligation.

Illiteracy is awful. We knew stepping foot into a new culture creates difficulty, but the inability to read labels in the grocery store caused frustration. Do you know how many types of spinach looking greens exist? Japanese grocery stores have at least four, because it took four tries to buy spinach. Add the frustration of illiteracy to the frustration of difficult conversation, different customs, and new manners to learn and life becomes difficult. “Culture shock” refers to the challenges of living within a different culture. Thankfully, culture shock wears off with time and exposure, but some transitions have permanent effects.
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The Bible explains that God became human, specifically that God the Father sent the Son to be born as a human. The One Who created the galaxies willingly became a baby, dependant on human parents to care for Him. How embarrassing, and yet what great humility He displayed. From that point on, the essence of humanity became part of the Son. For all eternity, He will be both God and man in one person: Jesus. 

Why go through such embarrassment? For the sake of God’s glory. God created this world for His glory and majesty. Humans were given a special place within the world, yet they chose to rebel against God. Rebellion deserves severe punishment, yet amongst the punishments, God made a promise to restore everything back to perfection and to destroy evil. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. In order to bring everything back to perfection, including humanity’s relationship with God, Jesus was born as a man so that He could die an undeserved death for the crimes we commit. When Jesus came back to life and ascended to sit by the Father’s throne, it sealed the fate of this world: He will return to destroy evil and reign as King.

Christmas is the time we celebrate the beginning of God fulfilling His promise: the coming of Jesus as a human baby. We hope each of you has a joy-filled Christmas, knowing that God’s plan will come to fruition and the King of kings and Lord of lords personally advocates for each of His own. Merry Christmas!

“Wait... Didn’t the map say this was a short road?” While in Japan, we frequently scoped out our destinations and took pictures on our tablet to follow later; our trip to Kyoto was no exception. Each location, including our hotel, was ready for efficient travel with the help of our tablet. When our tablet decided to remain behind, apparently afraid of the night-bus we took, a problem arose.

We realized that our faithful companion stayed in Iwatsuki too late to retrieve it. A major inconvenience? Yes, but thankfully we had looked at the map enough to help us reach the hotel. With luggage in hand, we grabbed some breakfast and then set out for our short trip to the hotel.
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​In Japan, there are occasionally city maps along the walkways to help with directions. We spotted the general location of the hotel on one and counted four streets to cross before our turn. We strode down the street counting four roads and then turned. Twenty minutes later, we finally reached the block that curved the way we were looking for. “That seemed farther than it looked on the map,” we thought, but shrugged it off. We began looking for the hotel, but it was not there. We spread our search out a bit, but still came up short of either the hotel or a map. We finally broke down and began asking people for directions, yet no one knew of the hotel.

About an hour later, we finally found a security guard who was willing to search the internet. We learned that the hotel rested in a neighborhood about two miles south of our present location. We got specific directions, thanked him, and left to walk back. Confused at how far off we were, we finally arrived an hour later, luggage in hand, but exhausted.

Later we walked back to the station (this time only a ten-min walk), and tried to figure out what went wrong. Apparently, it was actually six streets between the hotel and the station, but two streets were too small to be on the city map. The moral of the story? Listen when your friend says, “Be cautious when using city maps.” Meanwhile, back in Iwatsuki, our tablet probably laughed.

Why does God allow tragedy to strike? Last month missionaries heading to Japan died in a car accident, yet we cannot help but ask, “Why?” We never met the Pals, and due to their proposed location in Japan, we might never have met them. We wanted to know about these fellow missionaries, so we began reading their blog. We were captivated by a section from their Feb 2, 2016 post:

Over the course of what must have been a decade, the brown spot on our slanted concrete slab grew.  Not only that, but the occasional dripping of water over many years was sufficient to wear away at the concrete.  A small crack grew and began forming into a mini pot-hole.  As a teenager, I came home from school on a memorable day and saw the concrete had cracked through.  The brown spot was divided in two.  Through the crack, I could see dirt.  Surprisingly, something green was already sprouting up.

At some point, the final drop fell and split the concrete.  More than a decade of dripping–perhaps millions of droplets–prepared the way.  As soon as the concrete was thrust aside, life began growing...  In places like Japan, it seems that God works like a slow, persistent drip.  I believe there will be a day when the final drop lands.  Concrete will crack open.  Laborers will be surprised to find a soil that yields growth, instead of the persistent hardness that has characterized Japan for decades.  God may do a new thing among the Japanese people.
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That is my prayer for Japan.  Perhaps it’s already begun, and the early signs of life are already sprouting up.  Or, maybe we’ll be one of a million drops that must fall, leaving an imperceptible mark while preparing the way for others.  Would that be a waste?  Would we be better used somewhere else?  I don’t think so.  

We do not know why God would choose to take the Pals home to be with Him, yet we ask God that the Pals were not simply a drop, but instead the beginning of a torrent ready to break through and reach the Japanese people for the sake of God’s name. Right now, we travel to raise awareness and recruit missionaries, but we yearn to raise our full monthly support so we can move and serve full-time in Japan May the Body of Christ overflow the void left by this family’s death and take up the mantle of prayer, financial giving, and work in Japan. Is God leading you to pray regularly, give monthly, or dedicate your life to go?

​“I’m not sure about forgiveness and my relationship with myself. I have done many things in the past that I cannot forgive myself for,” a middle-aged man explained in English. The man, Mr. Tanaka [a fake name], participated in a lesson about forgiveness, based on the account of Peter’s denial and Jesus’ forgiveness, and then he returned a few days later with questions.  The thought of true forgiveness baffled him. The world operates through grudges and keeping track of offenses, even against ourselves, but we present the message of the Bible: restored relationships with God, others, creation, and self through the forgiveness found in Jesus.

The concept of a relational, forgiving God is difficult for Japanese people. When speaking with one woman, we hardly explained that God is the King and Creator who made the world before she looked puzzled and explained, “This is very difficult.” This difficulty originates from the animistic view of deity found in traditional beliefs. Kami, the Japanese gods, are temperamental beings in nature who are untrustworthy and require continual appeasement, which is different from the One True God. The woman could not understand the concept of the God of the Bible, which means there is no way she could understand about sin or Jesus.
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This dilemma of completely different foundations requires thought and planning to work through. Our goal in speaking with people is to discover their understanding and work on the next step in helping them intellectually understand the gospel. Once they understand who Jesus is and what He has done, they are ready to decide if they believe and trust, which is something only God can accomplish. Sometimes He uses a narrative of betrayal and forgiveness to prick a man’s heart and to develop a desire for understanding. We now pray and see if God makes the power of the gospel effective for Mr. Tanaka.

Why sit in a confined space for twelve hours? Why transition through a time zone change of fourteen hours? Why spend three weeks in a country where we are essentially illiterate? It’s for that college student wrestling with academic pressure. It’s for the young girl entering some of the most influential periods of her life without any knowledge of who Jesus is. It’s for the man whose life and existence are tied to the company he works for. Missions is about people; encouraging those who believe in the Christ and sharing God’s plan with those who do not.

On July 12, we begin a three-week trip to Japan to show a small group of young people God’s work in Japan. Initially, a student from our church will join our family. Later, another couple and more students arrive. We will have a number of opportunities, both structured and unstructured, to share our lives with Japanese people (and other foreigners). Here are some of those opportunities (with American dates), so you can pray:

English Cafe - July 16, 19, 20, 21, 22 
English Cafe is an English outreach of Bethel Baptist Church (Iwatsuki) to a local business college.  The Japanese people will converse with fluent English speakers. The goal is to introduce Biblical ideas and principles that Andrew will speak about during a chapel time.
Our team will learn to introduce specific spiritual discussions gently in conversations.

Youth/Singles Retreat – July 16-18
The retreat is an encouragement ministry. A handful of young Christians will gather to learn from God’s Word, sing, and fellowship together. Many of these young people have few Christians their own age in their churches and towns. Andrew will speak at the retreat.
Our team will learn the importance of Christian fellowship and interaction, both of which transcend cultures.

English Outreach (Joined by the second group) – July 23-28
During this time, we will join Japanese Christians to reach out to their communities through English.  Teaching classes, working with children, and street evangelism are all possible activities. The focal cities will be Koriyama, where people were affected by the aftereffects of the 2011 tsunami, and Karuizawa, which formally contained a number of thriving churches.
Our team will learn flexibility and service.
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English Camp – July 28-30
Busy Japanese schedules make traditional vacation Bible schools difficult, so Bethel does a two-day “camp,” where students spend the mornings and afternoons learning about English and God. We will take a variety of roles as we work alongside church members.
Our team will learn that ministry takes different shapes and we can fill a variety of roles depending on the needs.

We will return on Aug 2, having completed a number of events in Japan. Events, such as these, are tools used to reach people. We ask God to keep our focus on Him and the Japanese people, not necessarily on the plans and events. We pray that God will use us to bring men and women living in Japan to Himself. Please pray with us for changed lives through our time in Japan.