We’ve had an eventful week. On Sunday, we had a guest speaker from a Bible college visit our church. Tim translated for him, as it was a bilingual service. We enjoyed the fellowship with Pastor Murakami and his wife at our monthly potluck. He has recently retired as a pastor due to health issues. I know that he and his wife would appreciate your prayers.

On Monday, Tim went to the children’s camp. This was the second-highest attendance on record, with approximately 136 people at camp. A father and son have begun attending church at the invitation of another attender. They continue to come because the son wants to be in the children’s class. He went to camp and had a good time. He hated to leave. Please pray for the salvation of K and his father. It was also some of the hottest days of the summer with temperatures around 100 degrees every day!  This camp has no air conditioning. As you can imagine, water games are the favorite!

On Wednesday, July 30, Russia had an 8.8 earthquake near northern Japan that resulted in tsunami warnings for most of the coastal area of Japan. We did not feel the quake where we are located. We live in a harbor city, but we were far enough inland that we were ok. There was a rise in water levels in some parts of Japan, and a river in Chiba that runs into the ocean was flowing the wrong way. That was quite interesting to see on the news.

Thank you for your prayers!

Our latest prayer letter is out. You can click here to read it. We also encourage you to print it to share with your church. Thank you for praying for us!

We have some exciting news. Tim had his three-month follow-up with the heart surgeon, and his heart is still in regular rhythm. He monitors it on his Apple Watch regularly. His Apple Watch gave him his first warning that something was wrong, and now it is telling him that all his well. We are praising the Lord for this answer to prayer!

I apologize that we have not been doing brief updates here. It has been a busy spring and I have had some illness thrown into the mix. We are doing much better, except for seasonal allergies, which is to be expected. Each year, we get a yellow cloud from China. Thankfully, that has passed.

You can click here to read out latest prayer letter.  We are so excited for all that the Lord has been doing!

You can read our latest prayer letter by clicking the link below. Thank you for your prayers for us in recent months. God has been working and we are thankful!

Jan_Feb 2025 Prayer Letter

Tim’s surgery is over and we are thankful that for the last 24 hours, his heart has been in regular rhythm. We are hopeful that it appears that this time the surgery has been successful. The doctor did say that they don’t consider it a success until the three-month mark, so please continue to pray!!  Thank you for the notes of encouragement that we have received from many of you. We are grateful for each one of you, our prayer partners!

We returned to Japan January 15 after our daughter’s wedding. It was an uneventful trip for which we are grateful.

You may remember that Tim had a heart ablation last year. It was successful for about 7 hours. We understand that it is not uncommon to need a second one. Tim had an appointment with his doctor last week and as a result is scheduled for an ablation next week, Thursday, February 13 at 1:00. That would be Wednesday evening at 11:00 p.m. EST. Please pray that this surgery will be successful with long-term results. Thank you!

Our latest prayer letter is now available. You can read and print it here.

Thank you for your prayers!!

It’s been a few weeks since we wrote an update.  A lot has been happening. First, on October 10, Kim flew back to the states to be with our daughter while she is planning her December 28 wedding. She has been busy with dress fittings, altering bridesmaid and flower girl dresses, attending showers and all the things that come before a wedding. Rachel and Kim are both very grateful to be able to be together during these special days.

On the day that Kim flew back to the States, Tim was meeting for Bible study with a young man that has been attending our church. During that time, he trusted Christ as his Saviour!  We are so thankful to see God working and bringing men to salvation. It is very rare to have a good base of men in the church in Japan. Please pray for spiritual growth for Mr. Y.

Tim is currently at a missionary men’s retreat in Okinawa. Pray that it will be an encouraging time for all the missionary men that are attending.

We were thrilled to be able to add a couple to our membership this past Sunday. Before we voted on this couple, they each shared their testimony of salvation. This is always such an encouragement to the people and to us to hear how God brought them to salvation. God is at work seeking and rescuing the lost!

Kim had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to travel to Kushiro, Hokkaido for a Baptist missionary women’s retreat. There were 18 women from all over Japan. It was a great time of encouragement for all that attended. She also enjoyed the much cooler temperatures than what we have been having in Nagoya.

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. God is answering!