Tim had the opportunity to speak at Kansai Independent Baptist Bible School (KIBBS) this week. KIBBS is located about three hours southwest of Nagoya in the Kobe area near Osaka.

In their heyday, they had upwards of thirty students but these days they are fortunate to get five or six students and a graduate or two every year or two from their three-year program. They currently have five students (three men and two ladies). Good Bible schools like KIBBS are very few and are where good pastoral candidates come from. The lack of students accounts for the lack of pastoral candidates and therefore the increasing number of churches without pastors.

They have a ladies’ dorm wing and a men’s dorm wing with room for several students in each room. They currently have more rooms than students so each student has his or her own room and some to spare.

The buildings are quite old, but they are trying to remodel and update things as they have the resources. They recently renovated the dining room where Tim and the men enjoyed a simple lunch prepared by the staff. The classroom area is still in great need of renovation. Looks like you stepped into the ‘60s with old paneling and worn carpet.

Please pray that the Lord will burden the hearts of young men to serve in the ministry and give them the desire and ability to endure the difficulty of the time-consuming, expensive training. The president of the Bible school who invited Tim to speak in chapel told him that most students work for two to three years to save the money to attend the Bible school. The school is supported by churches and individuals so the students only have to cover about half the actual expense of running the school. Most of the faculty are pastors of area churches and not full-time teachers so their salary from the school is minimal.

Last week, twenty-two Independent Baptist missionary women from all over Japan gathered for a retreat at Camp Raphayada.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement.  I (Kim) have had contact with many of these ladies, but have never had the privilege of meeting many of them in person until last week.

Instead of a speaker, each lady shared a ten-minute testimony during our meeting times. These were such a blessing.  It helped us learn more about each other and we gained encouragement as we realized that we all have the same struggles unique to our field of service.

One afternoon, we took a “field trip” to a nearby town famous for its udatsu roof lines.  I have visited this town many times, but it was fun to share it with ladies who have never been there.  I also saw some things that I have never seen before!

My sister-in-law was able to make it back from her stateside trip in time to be with us.  My mother-in-law came for a few hours to meet the ladies and share a little of her experiences. She came to Japan in 1965.  It took them two weeks by boat to arrive! She had four boys, five years old and under! Tim is the oldest. He well remembers that boat ride!

Thank you for your continued prayers for us as we serve in Japan.

~Kim

This picture is such an encouragement to us. For years we have had very few faithful men in the church.  This is very typical of churches in Japan.  Most churches, especially in the early stages, have women and children, but very few men.

This picture is of the men’s fellowship this month. Eight men attended. One of the men shared a challenge from God’s Word. Afterward, the men spent time in prayer. What a blessing to see these men and their desire for fellowship around the Word!!

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

~James 5:16

Before the pandemic hit, we were no strangers to wearing a mask.  Until the pandemic arrived, we were able to avoid it for the most part.  This is a mask-wearing culture.  They wear them to avoid illness or to help with seasonal allergies.  It was only natural that there was no resistance when the mask-wearing requirement came down from the government.  We are guests in this country, so we comply as much as possible.  The youtube video posted here gives you a glimpse of what the last two and half years have been like for us as foreigners living here.  We appreciate your prayers.  We are thankful for the opportunity to serve here and will do whatever is required in this current climate for the sake of the gospel.

The picture meme below pretty much sums up Japanese grammar for the English speaker.  Kim saw this recently on Facebook.  She often describes Japanese grammar as being backward and twisted.  For example, if Kim were to say, “I went to the store with my husband yesterday.”  In Japanese it would be, “Yesterday I store to husband with went.”  The verb is always at the end of the sentence.  Sometimes when Kim gets to the end of the sentence, she can’t remember what she was trying to say!  HA! Now you know how to pray for her and her language ability. She struggles with the language and finds it very difficult to have any kind of extended conversation with someone.  Tim does not have this problem since he grew up speaking Japanese. If someone is talking with him on the phone and then meets him in person, they are always surprised to see that he is a foreigner!  

Some people have had trouble reading Mr. A’s testimony. It is written in Japanese.  Each paragraph is translated into English below the Japanese.  If you have a translator set on your computer you may see the English twice.  If so, please turn off your translator to avoid confusion. Thank you!

To read the testimony, please click here.

This week is a series of holidays that make up what the Japanese call Golden Week. We usually take a few days during this week to visit Tim’s parents. They live in the country, so it is always a relaxing time.  The river is about a five-minute walk from their house, so early morning walks there is a must.

If you would like to know more about the Golden Week holidays, click here.

Photo note:  This picture was taken along the river where Tim’s parents live when the cherry trees were blooming.  This week, the farmers should be flooding their fields to begin planting rice.

Thank you for your faithful prayers on our behalf.

Please see our latest prayer letter here: 

http://timmelton.japanforchrist.com/timmelton/Prayer_Letters_files/March_April%202022.pdf

In this prayer letter, we mentioned a young man that has just come to Christ. His testimony is one of God’s amazing grace. “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:23) With his permission, we have posted the translation here: 

https://meltonministryupdates.wordpress.com/testimonies/mr-as-testimony/

It is written in Japanese.  Each paragraph is translated into English below the Japanese.  If you have a translator set on your computer you may see the English twice.  If so, please turn off your translator to avoid confusion.

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It was a wonderful day to be in the house of the Lord! The service included God-honoring special music and a message about our Saviour’s glorious resurrection.  At the end of the Easter service, we had a a baptismal service.  There were 3 candidates for baptism.  Each one shared their testimony and answered questions before being baptized.  After that, we had our monthly potluck fellowship.  People stayed for hours enjoying the fellowship and talking about the special events of the service.

It is such a privilege to be part of what God is doing in Nagoya.  You, our supporters, are part of that.  Thank you for prayers and financial support that make it possible for us to be here.  We will be including more details in our next prayer letter that is coming soon.