Please Pray For...
As we venture on our third trip this July we will again be looking for financial support. This year we are planning on taking a group with us. I (Felicia) and Joe will be taking our 1.5 year old son Hezekiah along with us. Additionally, we are welcoming to our team Preston, Lily, and Brandon. Please pray that we can get our whole team to Japan.
- Pray that we can get our whole team to Japan through the power of radical and extravagant giving!
- Pray that the hearts and minds of the Japanese people be softened and prepared for our arrival, so that way they may be open to hearing the gospel and the good new of Jesus Christ.
- Pray for the health and wellness of the Isosaki family, we have been battling many health issues lately and need to be physically and mentally prepared to serve in our mission field without distraction.
- Pray for our new team members Hawi and Preston, that they continue to seek the Lord and his guidance in preparation for this trip. That they trust God's calling to bring them to Japan.
As we begin our new trip this July we will again be looking for financial support. This is our main concern and what our team will need the most prayer for as we are cutting it a little close to purchase plane tickets.
Another prayer request would be to pray for my (Felicia) continued health. As some of you may know, I am pregnant and during my time in Japan I will be about 7 months along. I have been talking with my doctors giving them regular updates and have been told that it is safe to travel as I am not high-risk. What I am asking for prayer about is simply that I am able to keep my pregnancy as stress free as possible while I travel.
Additionally, please pray that the Lord will be preparing the hearts and minds of those that we will come in contact with. That the holy spirit will soften them and hear our stories.
Another prayer request would be to pray for my (Felicia) continued health. As some of you may know, I am pregnant and during my time in Japan I will be about 7 months along. I have been talking with my doctors giving them regular updates and have been told that it is safe to travel as I am not high-risk. What I am asking for prayer about is simply that I am able to keep my pregnancy as stress free as possible while I travel.
Additionally, please pray that the Lord will be preparing the hearts and minds of those that we will come in contact with. That the holy spirit will soften them and hear our stories.
These prayer requests are still valid for the churches that we will be seeing for coming July.
Updated Prayer Requests by area:
Machida Church -Pray for Kano Sensei and her congregation to be strengthened and encouraged. They do so much work and rarely have breaks. Pray for the impact of budonokodomo (children of the grapes) for kids to come to know Christ. Pray for Hiro that he will find Christ through Kano Sensei's English Ministry.
Niiza Church - Pray for Kishio Sensei and his congregation. Kishio is a bi-vocational pastor, so pray for God's provision in his life. Additionally pray for the ripple effect of our American Party to start a thriving youth group of high school and College students.
Misono Church - Pray for Maruyama Sensei and his congregation. Pray that God will multiply this church which has a burden for engaging lost Christians in Japan (People who were baptized in America but couldn't find a church in Japan). Pray for the development of their worship team as well.
Tamagawa Church - Pray for Fukui Sensei and his congregation. Pray for the church as they prepare for their kid's summer camp which has 40 people registered. Pray that they will come to know Christ and that God is working in the hearts of the parents and children that are attending.
Shingu Church - Pray for Kinoshita Sensei and his congregation. Pray that our English ministries will be fruitful and cause lives to be changed. Pray that God opens doors, and that we can encourage many people during Sunday services as well.
For Us - Pray that God can encourage us and give us rest while in Shingu. Pray for our health that we can take the time to be physically active as well. Pray that God uses us daily! Additionally, our school work that it would be finished on time and that we are able to manage being homesick, some days are good and others are challenging.
Machida Church -Pray for Kano Sensei and her congregation to be strengthened and encouraged. They do so much work and rarely have breaks. Pray for the impact of budonokodomo (children of the grapes) for kids to come to know Christ. Pray for Hiro that he will find Christ through Kano Sensei's English Ministry.
Niiza Church - Pray for Kishio Sensei and his congregation. Kishio is a bi-vocational pastor, so pray for God's provision in his life. Additionally pray for the ripple effect of our American Party to start a thriving youth group of high school and College students.
Misono Church - Pray for Maruyama Sensei and his congregation. Pray that God will multiply this church which has a burden for engaging lost Christians in Japan (People who were baptized in America but couldn't find a church in Japan). Pray for the development of their worship team as well.
Tamagawa Church - Pray for Fukui Sensei and his congregation. Pray for the church as they prepare for their kid's summer camp which has 40 people registered. Pray that they will come to know Christ and that God is working in the hearts of the parents and children that are attending.
Shingu Church - Pray for Kinoshita Sensei and his congregation. Pray that our English ministries will be fruitful and cause lives to be changed. Pray that God opens doors, and that we can encourage many people during Sunday services as well.
For Us - Pray that God can encourage us and give us rest while in Shingu. Pray for our health that we can take the time to be physically active as well. Pray that God uses us daily! Additionally, our school work that it would be finished on time and that we are able to manage being homesick, some days are good and others are challenging.
- Financial blessings. Joe and I bought our plane tickets, which is a huge blessing AND we're basically fully funded!! Thank you so much for praying about this aspect of our trip! It is a huge weight off of our chest knowing that we are going to adequately serve the Japanese people because of the generosity of our fellow believers! We are still about $230 dollars short so if you've been thinking about giving to the trip but haven't yet there's still time!
- Patience. Joe and I are trying to learn a language that is not native to us. Japanese has many different forms as well as multiple written languages. Communication is going to give us many opportunities to shine the light of Jesus on the people of Japan and we want to be as respectful and intentional as possible. Patience would be great so that we can continue to put effort into learning more about the Japanese language and other cultural nuances. If you want a brief overview of how the Japanese culture functions as a society you can click on the Our Trip tab and Under that there's a tab that says Japanese Culture. A special shout out to Ray Swatkowski for giving us these tips!
- Time Management. Joe and I graduated from the University!! Which is a huge weight off of our chests. But, I(Felicia) still have some summer courses to take while in Japan, so please pray that I can manage this as well as performing all of my duties as a missionary for Japan. We recently moved to Cincinnati Ohio and we're currently in Sacramento California so we're still moving around a lot which is a little hectic, since we're leaving for Japan in 16 days. We still have a lot on our plate as well as making sure we are putting time into our relationship with God, each other, family and the pastor's in Japan. As well as getting prepared for the desires and needs of the Japanese people.
- Wisdom. Pray that God grants us the wisdom we need in order to be effective and change lives in Japan. We have an incredible opportunity to stay with some people in their homes while in Japan. One pastor has also asked us to preach during some services, Joe and I have very little experience doing this and we are very excited about the opportunity but we want to make sure God is the one leading our hearts and putting the right words in our mouths. We will be preaching in Japanese as well as English so this will be quite the endeavor.
- Pray for a safe flight and that we can make a good impact while we're there.
Keep on the lookout for more prayer requests! And thank you for being our prayer warriors during this exciting time in our lives!