New Earthquake

Please Pray for Japan!

Please Pray for Japan! New earthquake retraumatizes millions According to recent news updates , Japan was rocked by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake near Sendai Thursday night. While there was no tsunami this time, there was still a tsunami warning for an hour and a half, and many, many people were re-traumatized. One of the most important emotional needs that a person who has been through trauma needs is a feeling of stability, a sense that … Continue Reading →

Fukushima Crisis

Urgent Prayer Needed for Fukushima Daiichi Reactor Crisis

Urgent Prayer Needed for Fukushima Daiichi Reactor Crisis Our dear family & friends, According to recent news updates , although the Japanese government’s evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant is still officially 12 miles (20km), the U.S. government recently issued a recommendation that Americans stay 50 miles away. This is extremely troubling news, since most (or all) of those in the direst need are well within that 50m radius. Also, while the … Continue Reading →

Crying

Please Pray For Our Beloved Japan

Our hearts break for Japan. Never in all our years have we ever imagined that this kind of apocalyptic destruction could happen again in our hearts’ country. Japan has always been the safest, most disaster-prepared country we have ever known. And in one day, we saw how flimsy and powerless human security truly is. Whole towns were washed away; tens of thousands of people missing or dead. Our eyes are filled with tears as we … Continue Reading →

URGENT: MIKE GOING TO JAPAN

Our dear family and friends, An opportunity has presented itself for Mike to go to Japan along with Danny Iverson (son of missionary Dan Iverson) to help out with relief efforts in some of the hardest-hit areas. We have heard first-hand reports from the missionaries there about how desperate people there are for water, and one of our purposes in going is to deliver water-purifiers to coastal towns like Iwaki. But we also are going … Continue Reading →

Our Winter Break, Part I: Kyoto

For months now, Pastor Tajima (our pastor from Koriyama Baptist Church) has been encouraging us to visit his sister, who lives in the historic city of Kyoto . Apparently, she loves to host folks from out of town, especially if they have never seen the city and its world-famous sights. So on December 26th, we embarked on a long-awaited journey to see the ancient capital of Japan. Our hosts, the Haras, were incredibly generous and kind, … Continue Reading →

Recent Highlights and an Urgent Prayer Request from Koriyama Baptist

We’ve been thinking for a while now that about posting brief update on what God has been doing recently at Koriyama Baptist Church (our “home church”). This church has truly been a blessing to us in ways that we never could have expected. In fact, notwithstanding our Team of fellow English teachers (who are like our family), it’s hard to think of a more worthwhile investment of time and energy, both right now and for the future of our ministry in Japan, than … Continue Reading →