"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

The Beautiful Feet Project team has arrived in Shingu, a rural fishing community 6 hours south from Tokyo. Yesterday we spent a day of rest with the Kinoshita Family (Masa, Tomoko, Jonathan, and Katie) at a zoo in Nanki Shirahama. 

We have partnered with this family and their church for the past years. When we arrived in Shingu five years ago their church consisted of 4-7 elderly woman, with no "workers" to reach the local community. We ended our first trip in Shingu with a new kids church English bible camp that had roughly 8 children in attendance. 

Since then God has continued to grow Shingu church. Recently three woman from the Philippians accepted Christ and were baptized. This year's kids church English bible camp will have 21 students in attendance. This is because Tomoko encouraged Masa to  continue to lead an English ministry with an average 30 children in attendance. 

Few long or short term missionaries visit these communities to teach English to families and preach the Gospel. This makes English a vital means of reaching rural communities with the gospel.This is our largest camp at this church, and we trust that children and parents will be able to take their next step towards following Christ. It's time to work for the Lord.

Please pray for God to send a full time English speaking missionary to partner with Masa's church. We will see fruit at this year's camp because a missionary family sustained weekly English actives but had to return to America last June. The Kinoshita family has been severely under resourced to meet the needs of their community. Tomoko is working a part time job and leading children's ministry. Masa is pasturing the church, on-boarding/mobilizing short term missionaries, leading worship, being a father/husband, and leading weekly English curriculum. It has been a challenging season for their family, that will yield fruit in this summer's camp.

That being said, please pray for God to send additional short term and full time workers to Shingu church, so Masa can minister at a more sustainable pace. 

Today we will teach English at a public nursery school (pre-school). Please pray that we can be a blessing to the children and make positive relationships with the teachers, parents, and general community because of our work. 

We will then have a large beach day outreach event with a few families. Today it is supposed to rain, so please pray that God holds back the rain so we can build new relationships with young families. Unlike America, the Japanese do not enjoy activities regardless of rain, so the weather is a ministry obstacle. 

Finally we will have an English Cafe with a few adults from the community. One of them is Masako, who we have been friends with for the past 5 years. She has been a participate of Shingu's ministries for 5 years, but still has had challenges committing her life to Christ. Pray for God to meet her where she's at and for her to be the first person in her family to live a new life for Jesus.  

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

The Beautiful Feet Project team just finished our Tokyo ministries. Isaiah shared a powerful message on 1 Corinthians 9 at Futakotamagawa church (seen above). His message was directly linked to his testimony as a runner, encouraging our friends to push forward in their faith despite the discomfort. 

Meanwhile Lily and Preston shared their testimonies at Niiza church. There they met a church member who recently accepted Christ and was baptized. He told them, that his decision to follow Christ was in part due to the testimony Lily and Preston had shared at Niiza church a year prior. This is incredible, as Niiza church fluctuates between 2 and 12 members. Thus it was so exciting to see a fruit at Kishio's church. 

At Futakotamagawa church, pastor Fukui's sermon focused on the vision of The Beautiful Project. He discussed the challenges that the Israelites faced when rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. God had given them direction, yet circumstances seemed to work against his vision. Yet God was still faithful to complete the work. Fukui has experienced this in his own life. 

He planted Futakotamagawa church 30 years ago, with a bold vision. Yet ministry was often challenging, and it took 30 years for his church to grow past 30 people. His encouragement to us was to live into the vision God has given us, even when it is messy. Even if we don't see fruit. He explained that The Beautiful Feet Project will likely have "muddy feet". 

He then proceeded to honor Felicia and I with a glass trophy commending our 5 year partnership that has been focused on advancing the gospel in Japan. It was an incredible honor, and completely unexpected. God's dedication to reaching the Japanese is humbling, and its a privilege to serve this beautiful people group every year. Fukui then joked that in four years, Isaiah would get his trophy. 

We are excited to nurture our deep partnership with Futakotamagawa church, by sending a team next year. Fukui has already sent me his vision for next years trip which will be shared in a future blog. #Tokyo2020Team. 

Our team is now traveling to Shingu, a rural fishing community. Please pray for God's favor over our ministries during the next week. Our first day in Shingu we will do English at a preschool, a beach outreach with families, and an evening English cafe/bible study with adults. 

"​Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:13-16

Yesterday, I learned that five women from Futakotamagawa church have met every week for the last five years to pray for The Beautiful Feet Project. 

It was so humbling, and awe inspiring. James 5 tells us that the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective. I believe that the miracles we've seen in Japan over the years are in part due to the prayers of these five amazing women. From left to right, their names are: Naomi, Jenny, Mikako, Sumiko, and Mika. I thought it would be appropriate to honor them, and I would encourage you to pray for the unity of their team for years to come. 

The Beautiful Feet Project will send them weekly prayer request, so we can directly partner together in prayer moving forward.

The last 48 have been fast paced and full of blessings. Lily did a phenomenal job directing a one day TamaYuriShiki  camp at Futakotamagawa church. She lead Felicia's English curriculum with excellence, and the children were really engaged. This year we had 12 children ages 4-12 and 2 high school students. Many of these children had never been to church so we did an immersive bible activity called "walking with Jesus". 

There were 8 key locations from the bible numbered on the floor: Creation, Galilee, Samaria, Jerusalem, etc. Children would run to a station and hear a mini sermon describing a key aspect of Christ. For instants, at the Sea of Galilee we discussed Jesus calming the storm. This depicts that Jesus is in control, everything submits to his will, and we can trust him with our lives. 

This was a great opportunity for children to become aware of who Jesus was and why he came. This camp was very short, so these children will need more positive interactions with the gospel before accepting Christ. Pastors and parents we're impressed with the quality of the English modules and the biblical content, so the children are likely to return in years to come. 

Please keep these kids in your prayers. 

This morning we finished our Futakotamagawa ministry with a new ping pong tournament. This was a great way for the members of church to connect with one another and the community through playful competition. Check out one of the final matches between Hikaru Kishio (niiza church pastor) and his son (Reiya Kishio):

photos.app.goo.gl/94BeRxJ2RKw1AGA18

I concluded the ping pong session with a teaching on John 20:24-29, discussing Jesus's response to doubting Tomas. I was excited to share this message as Japanese Christians often struggle with pressure to have "perfect" faith. The Spirit brought peace through the message, allowing those who have had doubts to feel empowered to ask God to reveal himself more in their lives. 

Tomorrow (Sunday) morning Isaiah will share his testimony at Futakotamagawa church. Lily and Preston will share their testimony and sermon at Niiza church. Please pray for Lily and Preston as they write their first 30 minute sermon. Pray for God to give Lily, Isaiah, and Preston wisdom and influence as they speak God's word. Pray for someone to believe in Christ as a result of their message. 

We've added pictures and videos from the camp at this link:
photos.app.goo.gl/jWkCrLPKM7Y5r4fV8