"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them." Joshua 1:5-6
Moses faithfully led the people of Israel through the wilderness for over 40 years. In the conclusion of Deuteronomy he transitions leadership over to Joshua, imparting wisdom and direction. God then affirms Joshua's leadership, promising to walk with him as he claims what has been promised to his ancestors.
Yesterday The Beautiful Feet Project had a similar experience. We traveled from C-on Kinshuko to Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church in central Iwate. There we met Peter and Renate Yonge who have been missionaries to Japan for over 40 years, mainly through OMF (omf.org/). Peter is from England and Renate from Germany.
During our time together they shared countless stories of the successes and challenges of their missions work. The community of Hanamaki is still in desperate need of Christ and the Yonge's have devoted themselves to reaching this town. This summer they walked the streets distributing 12,000 leaflets advertising kid's English camps and cooking classes.
The Yonge's church has out grown their current facility and they're seeking God's provision of a larger building in the coming months. Their current tenant has made known his intentions to sell their current church, so they will need to relocate in the coming months. Acquiring new property in Japan is very difficult, expensive, and quite political.
It was invaluable for our team to have an evening of fellowship with them, as their experiences can help us find the next Gospel movement in Japan. The Yonge's shared their plans to retire in England in the next two years. They we're encouraged by our work as we are the next generation of missionaries committed to sharing the Gospel in Japan. The Yonges have sacrificially worked the soil of Japan for 40 years, and this next generation may be the one to reap the harvest.
Yesterday we also met Sara Kwee who is a short term missionary from Singapore serving Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church. She has one month left of her 6 month trip, and then she will return to Singapore to find a job as a preschool teacher while completing seminary at night. Her home church shares her passion for Japan, and they who would like to send more congregation members to Japan under her leadership.
We discussed a potential partnership between her church and The Beautiful Feet Project in Sendai, Iwate, Tokyo, or Shingu. A future collaboration with mission sending organizations from Singapore could be vital to reaching the Japanese, as their short term trips to Japan are more cost effective: plane tickets are $600 rather than $2100. This allows Singaporean missions groups to send larger teams more frequently, increasing the Gospel's saturation into the local community.
Concerning prayer request:
Please pray for God to provide land or a new church facility to Peter & Renate. This would be a huge win for the kingdom of God as there are many obstacles that need to be moved to accomplish this.
Pray for God to bless Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church's outreach ministries. These include English cafe, cooking classes, women's lunch, men's dinner, and futsal (indoor soccer). Pray for deep friendships to be made in these spaces which eventually lead to a personal relationship with Christ.
Pray for God to leverage Peter and Renate's experiences to pass wisdom to the next generation of missionaries as well as the future pastor of their church.
Pray for Peter and Renate to experience a new time of refreshing from the Lord as they plan to retire for the missions field of Japan.
Pray for God to give Sara new giftings and influence as she finishes her last month in Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church. Pray for God to bless her with a new job when she returns Singapore and for her studies in seminary to go well.
Pray for future partnerships between The Beautiful Feet Project and mission sending organizations from Singapore such as OMF and EP Japan Mission (www.facebook.com/EPJapanMission/)
Pray for God to send missionaries to Japan, both long and short term from around the world to reap the harvest of the next generation.
Moses faithfully led the people of Israel through the wilderness for over 40 years. In the conclusion of Deuteronomy he transitions leadership over to Joshua, imparting wisdom and direction. God then affirms Joshua's leadership, promising to walk with him as he claims what has been promised to his ancestors.
Yesterday The Beautiful Feet Project had a similar experience. We traveled from C-on Kinshuko to Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church in central Iwate. There we met Peter and Renate Yonge who have been missionaries to Japan for over 40 years, mainly through OMF (omf.org/). Peter is from England and Renate from Germany.
During our time together they shared countless stories of the successes and challenges of their missions work. The community of Hanamaki is still in desperate need of Christ and the Yonge's have devoted themselves to reaching this town. This summer they walked the streets distributing 12,000 leaflets advertising kid's English camps and cooking classes.
The Yonge's church has out grown their current facility and they're seeking God's provision of a larger building in the coming months. Their current tenant has made known his intentions to sell their current church, so they will need to relocate in the coming months. Acquiring new property in Japan is very difficult, expensive, and quite political.
It was invaluable for our team to have an evening of fellowship with them, as their experiences can help us find the next Gospel movement in Japan. The Yonge's shared their plans to retire in England in the next two years. They we're encouraged by our work as we are the next generation of missionaries committed to sharing the Gospel in Japan. The Yonges have sacrificially worked the soil of Japan for 40 years, and this next generation may be the one to reap the harvest.
Yesterday we also met Sara Kwee who is a short term missionary from Singapore serving Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church. She has one month left of her 6 month trip, and then she will return to Singapore to find a job as a preschool teacher while completing seminary at night. Her home church shares her passion for Japan, and they who would like to send more congregation members to Japan under her leadership.
We discussed a potential partnership between her church and The Beautiful Feet Project in Sendai, Iwate, Tokyo, or Shingu. A future collaboration with mission sending organizations from Singapore could be vital to reaching the Japanese, as their short term trips to Japan are more cost effective: plane tickets are $600 rather than $2100. This allows Singaporean missions groups to send larger teams more frequently, increasing the Gospel's saturation into the local community.
Concerning prayer request:
Please pray for God to provide land or a new church facility to Peter & Renate. This would be a huge win for the kingdom of God as there are many obstacles that need to be moved to accomplish this.
Pray for God to bless Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church's outreach ministries. These include English cafe, cooking classes, women's lunch, men's dinner, and futsal (indoor soccer). Pray for deep friendships to be made in these spaces which eventually lead to a personal relationship with Christ.
Pray for God to leverage Peter and Renate's experiences to pass wisdom to the next generation of missionaries as well as the future pastor of their church.
Pray for Peter and Renate to experience a new time of refreshing from the Lord as they plan to retire for the missions field of Japan.
Pray for God to give Sara new giftings and influence as she finishes her last month in Hanamaki Megumi Christ Church. Pray for God to bless her with a new job when she returns Singapore and for her studies in seminary to go well.
Pray for future partnerships between The Beautiful Feet Project and mission sending organizations from Singapore such as OMF and EP Japan Mission (www.facebook.com/EPJapanMission/)
Pray for God to send missionaries to Japan, both long and short term from around the world to reap the harvest of the next generation.
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The Beautiful Feet Project
The Beautiful Feet Project