Ministry Update (October 2009)

Yes, we know. We have not updated our site in a while. But I can assure you that it is not due to negligence or busyness. We have had a lot of uncertain circumstances that have prevented us from making certain information public. But now the timing is right, and we can let you know what God has been doing in our lives.

Since I returned from Japan in mid-August, we have visited 14 churches. We traveled across 11 states and tasted pizza and fast food from every town we’ve visited. Needless to say, traveling from one place to another constantly was physically and mentally taxing, not to mention the unpleasantness of a lifestyle of eating and sitting in the car all day long. However, making new friends in Christ and being able to share our passion and vision to a different audience every time we moved has certainly made our tour worthwhile.

As most of you know, last month we needed close to an additional $3,900/month support in order for us to be in Tokyo by November 12th. It looked very unrealistic and discouraging at the time. But God has once again proved Himself to be faithful by bringing the right people in our lives at the right moments.

Let me give you an example of how God has been confirming our ministry by meeting our needs. During the first week of this month, we visited a church in New York City led by Pastor Tim Keller. We both acknowledge that no one can impact the city alone, and therefore a need for partnership with other like-minded people who are Gospel-driven is needed. This church has been very effective in reaching the young professionals in Manhattan, more than any other church that I know today (about 4,000 members and attendees). Since they were interested in reaching Tokyo with a strategically sound ministry, we agreed to meet with one another and share our thoughts. After a few meetings with the leaders of their church-plant team, we recognized that we shared much in common (e.g., the strategic focus on the city, the need to “do church” differently from traditional methods so that the Gospel is communicated not only faithfully but also relevantly into the Japanese urban context and culture, etc). While our new partnership with them is immensely valuable, the best blessing came from God allowing us to meet a family that we’ve never met before.

During the week of our visit in NYC, we had an opportunity to share our ministry at one of the small group meetings sponsored by the aforementioned church. After our presentation, we started to talk to the hosts of the small group. Providentially, the husband, David, is married to a wife, Asako, from Japan. His wife was from Tokyo, and they both understood the challenges we were up against. They were sincere and were able to add insights to our discussion that can only come from those who knew what it is like to live in Tokyo as Christians. While meeting a mature Christian from Tokyo was surprising enough, the greatest surprise came after the meeting, when they offered to allow us to live in their house in Tokyo, which is not being occupied by anyone at this time. The house is located about 30 minutes away from our church by bicycle and is far bigger in size than what we could have afforded. Also, the house is fully furnished, which will help us to postpone our spending until we need to move to a new location. The obvious benefit of this is that it helps us to keep out outgoing expense under control. It is so encouraging to see God affirming our ministry by providing our needs so extraordinarily.

Over the last two months, we experienced God’s work in our lives again and again. We continuously experienced Him taking away our confidence in our own ability yet providing sufficiently in order to remind us that our true source of security and success is solely Him. By God’s goodness, now we can joyously announce that our monthly need is down to $889. That means just 36 friends and family committing to partner with us by pledging $25/month will get us to our goal! We still hope to leave on November 12 (less than three weeks from now), and we are confident that God is going to bring in the rest of our support before we leave to Japan.

It is our aim to be financially independent by 2017. Will you support us in the meantime to make this essential ministry in Tokyo possible? If you are willing and capable to become our partners, please let us know by e-mail.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We are so excited to see what God is going to accomplish through our service in the near future in Tokyo. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and keep in touch with us.

Kazu & Amy