Congratulations to the junior high and high school students!   We love and admire you so, so much!!!

Life isn’t so easy, once you get into junior high.  There is a lot of pressure from society for students to make high grades and excel in many club activities–in order to get into high-level high schools, universities, and ocupations!  The terrific pressure begins in junior high, and the students don’t have much time left for anything else. 

But, remember, Jesus has the VERY BEST plan for your life!  Even if you are super busy, put Him FIRST in your life!  He will give you JOY that the world can never give, and VICTORY that the world can never give.  He loves you sooooo much, more than you can ever imagine! 

He died for you,  He rose from the grave for you, and now He lives for you!  He will never leave you alone!   No matter what pain or suffering you go through, He is close to you, waiting for you to call to Him for help!  He wants to give you JOY and VICTORY.    We love you too, and we are praying for you!!

 Sunday we had a very special prayer for these precious young people (and others who could not come because of school activities).  We pray God’s protection over them, good health, good grades, and especially a very close relationship with their Heavenly Father!

At the inauguration, we also celebrated 20 years since our first church was started in Japan!  

The first meeting was held in Tim’s small apartment in Noborito, with six people sitting on the floor around his small table.  (This is a recent picture of Tim, in front of the apartment where the church began 20 years ago!  Someone else is renting it now.)

After the first apartment, the church was moved to an apartment in Nakanoshima (one train station away),  for a few years. 

Then we rented again in Noborito, a small house where we stayed for almost 13 years!  In spite of many struggles, God saved many people and raised up many leaders. New churches were begun by different leaders going out.   Seeing God change people so much, from night to day–from not even believing in Jesus, to becoming passionate, courageous leaders…it brings tears to our eyes!   God is amazing.  Our own family and children have many memories there!  I cried as we left.  God has done so much in that place!  But now, we are excited for the next step…    

After trying (and failing) to buy property so many times, and almost feeling like it was never going to happen(!), suddenly in October, 2010, about 5 minutes’ walk away, God gave us a new building!  (See picture below.) 

We are all sooooo thankful!!!  I am still wondering if it is really true!  But it is true!!  God has done a big miracle, and He has used many people to make this miracle possible–Precious people who gave generous donations, Japanese church leaders who organized the buying and renovating process, volunteer builders and many other volunteers–Too many people to count!  Everybody worked together.  We all got tired, but it was soooo exciting to be renovating and moving over!!

The inauguration was on March 14.   It was exciting to have many people come to celebrate with us!    We were so honored to have PAZ Board Member and pastor of Canyon View Vineyard Church, Kirk Yamaguchi and his son Joey, from Grand Junction, CO.  We were also honored to have PAZ Mission Directors, Jeff and Becky Hrubik, come all the way from the Amazon in Brazil. 

Attending also were our pastors in Japan (of Noborito church and church-plants):   Tomo and Meg Kobayashi  (Funabashi) ; Marcelo and Erica Momesso (Zama and Hiratsuka); Mark and Yuiko Blakely (FUSE Jesus Community, Machida);  Yas and Abbie Aoki (Assistant pastor working together with us here in Noborito).  

 In this picture, Jeff Hrubik is leading all the pastors in the prayer of dedication.  He and Pastor Kirk gave powerful messages of encouragement, after an anointed time of worship by Gospel choir members.  Meg Awano and her husband Piano Koji (who helped us start our first Gospel choir 10 years ago) also offered an anointed song of thanks to God!

 We are sooo thankful for people who came to help renovate the building!  Gene and Joyce Galat came from Tremont, IL;  Mike Hren and his son Stephen came from Grand Junction, CO; and Tim Galat  Mike Clark and Zoli Csepe, all from Ohio.  Thanks to everyone who helped make food for them, and also those who helped so much in the renovation and moving–sooooo many volunteers from the church as well as the missionaries. 

We especially thank the church board members–who organized the whole project, and all those who gave very generous contributions to help with the purchase of the building! 

Above all, we give ALL THANKS to GOD!  He LOVES JAPAN, and has give us that same love!  We are so glad that He wants to give SALVATION, ETERNAL LIFE, HOPE and JOY to the Japanese–many who have never even met a Christian, read a verse in the Bible, or ever imagined that God even exists!   But Jesus died and rose again for our salvaton, and He has big plans for Japan!  

 

                   Come and visit us! 

On July 18, Hiroyuki and Akiko were married!  Akiko is a great example to all the single young people who want GOD to choose their husband/wife!  She is an excellent elementary school teacher, and also teaches children about God and His love at J-Kids (Sunday school).  The children love her! 

She was not impatient, but she waited for God to bring her husband to her.   Hiroyuki (an editor for a medical publishing company) believed in Jesus several months ago, and he loves God so much!  Akiko was so touched by his pure heart.  God gave Akiko a very sweet husband who loves the Lord Jesus and is very kind to her.

 On October 3, another Christian couple, Yuji and Tamiko, also promised to remain true to each other for the rest of their lives!  They wrote their vows on beautiful cards, and gave them to each other , so they can repeat their promises in years to come!  Yuji and Tamiko are both very musical, and they sang a duet, worshipping Jesus together.  Both of them are from faraway Hokkaido, (northern Japan) and they both received Jesus recently in Noborito, after they joined the Gospel Choir, and many choir members came to joyfully celebrate and worship God with them!  It’s so beautiful to see JESUS in the middle of their marriage. 

We all shed many TEARS of JOY at both of these weddings!!  All four of these precious young people have been courageous in deciding to follow Jesus, and they are the only ones in their extended families who are Christians.  May God use them to spread His love and joy to many others who don’t know God’s wonderful, amazing LOVE!!

にほんブログ村

After many years,

we are finally being able to buy a NEW BUILDING!! 

We hope many people come to know Jesus here!  It is 5 minutes’ walk from Noborito station.  We hope to be able to move in October.  Let’s pray that all will go well with the sale!

Our present location (below) is a rental, and has served us well for 12 years, downstairs being the church and the two upstairs rooms have been our home.  It is quite comfortable and homey, but it is a rental.  And when it is packed out, it holds about 50 (with some sitting on the floor).  We now have 3 meetings on Sundays, and this helps.

The new building should hold 100 (squeezed in!),  but with overflow rooms, we will probably be able to hold 200.  With multiple services, we will have room for a lot of growth.  We can also use it for English classes, Bible classes, Sunday school, etc., as well as living quarters for us and other missionaries.

We are so thankful for the BAPTISMS this summer, the GOSPEL CHOIR ministries, CHILDREN’S ministries, a visit from Tim’s brother ABE (a very successful missionary in Brazil). 

We also are thanking God so much for the excellent new MISSIONARIES God is sending to help us, and for the Japanese young people who are coming to the new youth Church–the FUSE!   Pray as we light “the Fuse” for an explosion for Jesus in Japan! 

Come and visit us.    Here are a few recent PICTURES– taken this past summer, 2009:

Our first event in the livehouse, June 28, at 11 a.m.!  A never-to-be-forgotten day!!!   Everyone was relaxed, did a great job, and we had fun with our new friends!  Thirty four people were present, and 12 of them were guests.  

The team included:  Mark, Yuiko (baby Hana was home with her Grandma),  Amy, Becky, Brad, Debbie, Hannah, Joe, Kengo,  Kotoi, Matt,  Nozomi, Tim & Christine.

God answered prayer …for Yuiko, who was sick that morning, but God helped her to lead the worship and translate for Mark who gave the message.   At the last minute, we discovered the livehouse owners didn’t have a necessary cord for the video to work, but Tim ran quickly to buy one, and God got him back just in time!  The video still would not work, but we prayed earnestly– and 5 minutes before time to start, it finally worked!! God blessed the worship band, the fun video, the message, and hanging out afterwards. 

Our next event is on Saturday, July 4–we invited another Christian group to sing.  Most of our guests are planning to come again, and others who couldn’t come on Sunday morning (because of  part-time jobs or studies) are hoping to come this Saturday.   During this week, the youth are “hanging out”,  doing fun things and deepening their friendships.

PLEASE pray for Kengo, (in green, holding little Hana) our lead guitarist, who is a new Christian since May.  He shared John 3:16 with some high school girls who came, and explained how Jesus died on the cross to save us.  He told them  how one day, he prayed earnestly for God to help him find a friend, and the very next day, he met Benjamin (who was here for half a year)!  Then Benjamin took him to a Christian livehouse, and there he believed in Jesus! 

Now he is studying his Bible and being discipled by Mark, the leader of the new church.    We are praying for Kengo, because his father was angry that he became a Christian, and it is not easy for him.  Both of the girls were happy to receive a Concise Bible, and want to come again. 

We sure appreciate Japanese Christians,  like Nozomi (brown blouse, standing on the right).  She is sooo kind and encouraging, helping us in so many ways, we can’t count. 

We are thankful for the new youth church leaders, Mark and Yuiko Blakely, and their little girl Hana!  This is the first church they are starting, and they are great leaders.  We are praying for them and for the Japanese youth!

We know that without God, we can do nothing!!  We pray before going out to invite people around the Machida train station. 

While we entertained the kids with costumes, and while Yuiko sang and the band played, all the rest of us passed out flyers inviting the young people to our first event!  

Some of the team will be leaving in a month, and we are needing more missionaries!  We need someone to play the bass guitar!  We also need more people who enjoy acting and making fun videos!

We welcome you to our house, where we sit on the floor (Japanese style), eat, share our experiences, pray, and plan….             Come and join us!!

May16 was a very happy, long-awaited day!!!   When Isaiah saw his bride coming down the aisle, he cried!  We all cried with joy so many times during the wedding and reception.  Isaiah met Erin in high school here in Japan, about 10 years ago!   (She also grew up in a missionary family here in Japan.)  Even though they were high school sweethearts, after high school they both went their separate ways,  and the Lord led them together again only recently!  We are so thankful that both of them have the same goal to serve God with their lives.  At the present, she is working as a nurse and he as a youth pastor in Los Angeles.  They have already been accepted as missionaries with Project Amazon (PAZ), and by next January, hopefully, after raising support, they plan to return to Brazil to be trained under Uncle Abe in Fortaleza in church-planting.  Eventually, they would like to take a team to Mozambique, Africa.

It was also very exciting to have  our family together for a few days before the wedding.  It was the first time for some of the 6 grandkids to see the ocean and the beach!  (Seal Beach, Los Angeles.)  The little children re-learned their aunts’ and uncles’ names, and played with their cousins again–and of course with the rest of us too!   We saw little Gracie (1) learn to walk!   We caught up with each other’s lives and ministries.  We all thank Andy for all the food he prepared and froze, and brought from their home in Colorado.  I can’t thank God enough for our precious family, spread all around the world!

From left to right: Aaron and Esther and children: Joshua (6), Christina (3), Gracie (1) with PAZ Mission in inner-city Chicago;    Tim, Erin and Isaiah, Christine;    Andy and Sarah and children: Lucas (10), Daniel (8), JoyAnna (5), with Canyon View Vineyard Church in Grand Junction, CO (their pastor Kirk Yamaguchi is a member of the PAZ Mission Board);    Josiah and Jennifer, with PAZ Mission in the Amazon, Brazil.

Erin’s parents have served for many years in Japan with the Japan Baptist Fellowship Mission.  We are very thankful Isaiah could join their close-knit family too.  God is enlarging our family, counting all the precious families he has united through our children’s marriages!

As a mom, I am overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness to His promises!!!  As Tim mentioned in his message during the wedding, God always has the BEST for us–even through the hardest of times!  He reminded us that even though losing his dad at a young age was very difficult, Isaiah has been true to God, and God has been more than faithful to him–now giving him Erin, who is also completely dedicated to serving God!  Her dad took the opportunity to also thank God for leading Erin and Isaiah together.  As a young girl, she dreamed of being a missionary for many years.  PAZ Directors Jeff and Becky Hrubik were present to have a special commissioning prayer over them, blessing them as PAZ missionaries.   May God use their marriage and lives to bring His love and hope to many suffering people!

  About 200 friends and relatives attended the wedding, some coming from far away.  It was so fun to have so many come to celebrate with us together!  Those pictured here include:  My very precious and highly admired mother,  Estelle Bunney (87), formerly a missionary to the Apache Indians in AZ.  My twin sister Emilee, my brother Loren and Joan and family– Adam, Audra, Anita, and Andrea;   PAZ directors from Brazil Jeff and Becky Hrubik, Paul and Debbie;     Brazilian pastors Risonilson and Heloisa;   and PAZ Japan and PAZ Chicago website designer, Tim James Hodel!  We know many others were with us in prayer and thought!  Thank you so much to you all!

We were so honored to have my mother, Grandma Bunney,  come to the wedding.  She rarely goes anywhere for health reasons, but because she is such a loving person, she made the difficult sacrifice to come for one day, brought by my sister Emilee from Phoenix.  We will never forget that, Mother!!  (and Emilee!)  May God bless you!!!

Now we are back in JAPAN, gearing up for our new YOUTH church plant in Tokyo at the Machida station.  While we were gone, a young man Kengo (19)  received Jesus, through the help of a short-term missionary named Ben, from Colorado.  Kengo is excited about helping our new missionaries from the USA, (some have already arrived) along with the new church pastors, Mark and Yuiko Blakely.  We are “coaching” them,  and are so thankful for such dedicated people to work with! 

Another single lady also received Jesus from the Gospel Choir!  We were so excited to get the news.  She came to my Bible study this morning, and also to Tim’s Bible study on Sunday.

The baby’s mother ReyRey was diagnosed with a very serious blood illness, and it was not advisable for her to get pregnant. But ReyRey, who is one of our Gospel choir leaders, trusted in God through many difficult days. All the church people were praying for her, and even the nonChristians were praying!

When it was time for her baby to be born, they also went through some very serious problems, and called on all of us for special prayer again. Now finally a couple months after the baby’s birth, ReyRey was able to bring her little baby to church and even to the Easter Celebration! We all are rejoicing in God’s amazing power to hear and answer prayer!!

I get so amazed, every time I watch Japanese Christians! I can remember the “before and after” they believed in Jesus, because most of them have believed recently. I remember how long it took, and how even their faces changed. Even their eyes are different.

This Easter was the first time that some of them actually believed that Jesus rose from the dead! And many visitors came who still don’t believe it, but they can feel so much joy when they come.

The Japanese Christians have worked for over three months to prepare for this Easter celebration–they do nothing “last minute!”

The Gospel Choir, the Gospel “Singers”, and the children all sang joyful songs of praise, and then our Japanese assistant pastor Yasu gave a message using flannelgraph with figures, so that the children and those who have never heard the Easter story could understand that Jesus is Alive!

Even though evangelical Christians make up only about 0.4 percent of the Japanese population, it is exciting to see the “mustard seed” growing. Sometimes I think, “Is this really Japan?” when I hear the worship and profound Bible messages!

Well, there was also a lot of delicious free food for everyone, served with generosity, and lots of cleaning up to do too.

We all went away super tired–I could hardly walk! (Well, dress shoes don’t help much!) But wow, we are all extremely thankful for all God is doing!!

J-Kids means “Jesus Kids!”  They all belong to Jesus!

“J-Teens” have entered a challenging age!

They all love Jesus too!

Meet some of the babies!

Mothers are learning to train their children the Bible way!

“J-Kids” meet on Sundays to worship God, pray, and learn about Jesus in the Bible.  They also have a lot of fun together!  The “J-Kids” staff members are very dedicated and love them as their own children!

Before joining the “J-Teens” the 6th graders are learning the Bible from loving and dedicated youth leaders!

Some children and teens are singing in the Gospel choir.  The girl in back is also in the professional orchestra (below), and plays the French horn!

In Japan, the competition is tough for the kids.

In junior high and high school, the students are so busy with studying, “cram schools”, and required club activities, they don’t have much free time left over!

The goal of our church is to help each one of our “J-Kids” get through this age, depending on Jesus!  He can help them and give them the Victory!!

We have our “J-Teens’” pictures posted on our church wall to pray for them!  We are proud of our “J-Teens”!  We honor them for their amazing accomplishments!

Three of our J-Teens are part of this professional Japanese orchestra.

He plays the oboe, and was just accepted into a top musical high school.

He plays clarinet in the professional Japanese orchestra, and is only in 7th grade!