Fukushima

Please pray for those up in Fukushima as they just had another large earthquake off the coast. There are several thousand workers still working nonstop at the nuclear plant as well as many people who are still living in temporary housing. It's only been a little over 5 years since the big earthquake and tsunami of 2011 and this recent earthquake can unsettle and bring back many old fears and worries. Please pray for the peace of their hearts and that God would use this to draw many to Himself as His people step out to comfort and serve.

Thanksgiving & Church Outing

We spent an early Thanksgiving with Caleb's family in Tokyo and concluded our time with a special church outing to Okutama with ICCS (our home church). For the outing, we went to Okutama Bible Chalet and had our church service in the camp's chapel. Ken Nishiono (a good friend who was also sent out and supported by the church, and is now taking over the pastorship of a church in Fukushima) preached a short message in Japanese follow by my message in English (two separate messages). After service we had a BBQ (Japanese style) and had great fellowship together! I love the Body of Christ and rejoice over this opportunity for fellowship! =D

Open Doors in Elementary School

Rin, the young Japanese man whom we have been training and who is now partnering with us in ministry, is in his 3rd year of college as an Education Major and is currently doing a month of student teaching in a nearby elementary school. He has been praying and asking God to show him how he can share Christ with the students that he is working with despite the fact that it is a public school and, like the United States, such a thing is frowned upon.

Two days ago he shared with us the door that God has opened up in his 4th grade class. He was in the library during recess with some of his students and there was a manga (comic book) about Jesus. So, over the next 3 days, using the pictures from the manga, Rin shared with them about Jesus, sharing the whole gospel, and even asking them their response! The result?

• When Rin told them that the Bible promises that Jesus will return and that we can live forever with Him, their eyes shone!
• One girl immediately repeated the gospel with a friend who arrived late to the library.
• Another girl asked Rin how much he trusted Jesus, to which he replied, "100% How much do you trust Him?" She answered with, "I trust Him 95% and His Father 5%!"
• Another girl went home and shared the gospel with her mother who received it favorably, if not in faith!
• Rin believes that 5 (4 girls and 1 boy) have chosen to trust Jesus and 2 more have received it favorably!

Please pray:

• that God would keep this door open for the remaining 2 weeks of student teaching 
• that God would protect Rin from opposition so that he may continue to share with and even disciple these young kids
• for these kid's faith to proof genuine
• for the salvation of their parents (or at least favor of the parents)
• that these students will be excited about sharing Jesus with their families and friends
• for God to spread this to the rest of the 4th grade and the rest of the school through these students
• that this would be the start of something bigger!

Gifu University Outreach

The outreach on the 29th and 30th was great! Rin and I met at the university entrance at 10:30 and began wandering around looking for people who were not engaged in something. On my iPod Touch we had 2 short films that we were using as a tool. We would introduce ourselves as Christians and ask if they would be willing to watch our short film and answer some questions about it. The films (and the following questions) were designed to get people to think and prepare their hearts for spiritual conversation. Depending on people's responses and interest we would sometimes follow with our testimony and/or the gospel. We had some great conversations and it was great training for Rin. Below are the two videos we used:

On Sunday we tried an additional approach of asking (without the short films) a series of questions that led them to think about what the foundation of their worth is. Following this we shared what God says in the Bible about their worth and for those that were interested, we continued by sharing the Gospel. I spoke in English and he translated which gave him a way to be involved without all the attention being on him, but when we got to the gospel I let him share it as he has been practicing to do. =D

As a great finish to the day, I got together with a Chinese student who I have known for about 4 years and to whom I've shared the gospel on a number of occasions. We got together to play basketball and during our breaks we talked. It turns out that during our time of support raising in the States, God led him to salvation through some visiting evangelists! He's now attending a good solid church and hungry for the Word! Later his friends joined us and during another break time we shared the gospel with one of his friends who seemed to be thinking deeply about what he heard! Praise God!

Please pray for Li-san (pronounced "Lee")(the new believer) and his friend Cho-san

Please pray for:

• Li-san, that he will grow quickly and deeply in the Lord
• Cho-san, that the Gospel would take root in his heart and that I would be able to follow-up with him
• Yuri, Nozomi, Fuuka, Madoka (girls), Kouya, Kato, and Nao (guys) who seemed especially moved by the Gospel or were at least thinking seriously about it
• this coming Wednesday~Saturday as I co-lead a training and outreach time in Nagoya
• for Rin as He continues to grow in the Lord and in boldness

We have a New Partner!

Since coming to Japan 6 years ago I have continually asked God for a partner to work with here in Gifu, and preferably a Japanese man. In the past week God answered that prayer! Rin, whom I've written about before, has been growing greatly in his knowledge of and love for the Lord as well as in his boldness in proclaiming Christ. Last week he told me that although he is studying to be an elementary teacher, he knows that his primary job on earth is to preach Christ! He sees this as his calling and he wants to devote his life to it! Furthermore, he said that he wants to join and help Amy and I in our ministry as well as to help us see a new church start! Praise God! We are so excited!

In addition to wanting to work closely with us and proclaim Christ, Rin wanted to obey the Lord by following Him in baptism! Last Friday morning we went down to the nearby Nagara River and did exactly that! Praise Jesus!

This coming Saturday & Sunday (October 29&30) is the yearly Gifu University Festival. During the weekend the campus will be opened up to the community and there will be booth after booth of foods, as well as music and dance performances and more as all the various university clubs contribute to the festival. This is probably the biggest outreach opportunity in the year as the campus will be teaming with many of the roughly 10,000 students plus people from the community who will have lots of free time on their hands. It is a great chance to get to know students in a natural way and talk and share with them.

Rin and I will be spending most of Saturday and Sunday on the campus in outreach. So please pray for these two days. In preparation for the weekend, Rin and I have been meeting together daily on campus to pray.

Please join with us in praying and beseeching the Lord 

• for wisdom and insight in knowing how best to engage people in conversation 
• for boldness in proclaiming Christ 
• for open eyes to see opportunities and the wisdom to know how to handle them for sensitivity to the Spirit's leading 
• for open and receptive hearts for salvation

Takayama (高山) Training

Thank you for your prayers for this past Sunday's training. The Lord had prepared much in advance of my arrival and it was so wonderful to be a part of what God was doing in these people!!  As review, Makiko, who went to one of the disciple trainings that our partners did in Tokyo, wanted someone to come and train her family as well (she is not confident yet to train by herself). Also, by training I mean, training how to share one's testimony/gospel and how to turn around and train the next person to do the same.  This was in Takayama city (about a 2 hour drive north of where we live). Below are some of the highlights from the training:

• I asked Rin (one of the young men I've been discipling) to come along with me and he agreed without hesitation! As an English major he was a great to help me when I got stuck in Japanese and a blessing is so many other ways.  It was also a great opportunity for him to grow in his leadership skills.
• In addition to Makiko's family (father, mother, and two sisters), there were also a man from their church, a young mother (less than a year old in Christ), a young Chinese Christian lady, and a not-yet-Christian friend who stayed for nearly the whole time! (which was from 3:30 until about 8:30, with breaks and dinner) A total of 9 adults and 2 kids (not counting Rin and myself)!
• Everyone responded positively and were excited by the vision and passion of the Father's heart
• During one of our break times several were talking about wanting the rest of the church to hear this as well!
• Afterwards, Miho (Makiko's younger sister) asked many questions in regards to sharing the good news of Jesus with her friends
• Also, Miho and Aika (the youngest sister) help lead the youth (20's and 30's) group of the church and plan to train them how to share their faith and be disciple makers! This is exactly what we want to see happen!y!
• At their request, I will be going back next Sunday to continue training them and also to help Miho & Aika to prepare for training the youth group
• On the 2 hour trip up and back, Rin and I had great fellowship and further discipleship time and he wants to come back with me on Sunday!

We are excited to see what God will do in Takayama and praising Him for increasing the laborers in the harvest there! 

• Please pray for those trained to have the boldness to share with their friends, family, co-workers, etc.
• Pray for Miho and Aika to effectively train the youth group to become harvest workers and disciple-makers
• Pray that the pastor agrees for the rest of the church to hear and be trained as well

rejoicing in Jesus,

Caleb

(a few people had already left when we took these pictures)

September Update

Thank you to those who have asked about Amy.  She arrived back in Japan about 10 days ago, and recovered from jet lag very quickly and is doing very well both physically and emotionally.  We are thankful to all be back in Japan again as a family and praising God for his miraculous provision in so many ways! 

We just finished up a 6 day planning and focus retreat with our partners in Tokyo.  It was a wonderful time of renewed vision, prayer, looking at the scriptures, goal-setting, and considering the social and demographics of our specific locations. 

We also had a two day visit from the couple who founded CTEN (Commission To Every Nation). It too was a very encouraging time!

Please PRAY:

• for Caleb as he drives up to Takayama on Sunday (a city 2 hours drive north of us) to train some believers there in evangelism and disciple making. This will be a group training all in Japanese.  Please that the Spirit would enable Caleb to speak clearly and to effectively "infect" the hearers with the passion and heart of the Father.
• for Enoch as he continues to re-adjust back into Japanese pre-school
• for us as we renew contacts among the lost as well as the saved, that we would be prayerful and purposeful 
• for Caleb as he seeks to build relationships with pastors in the hopes of partnering with them for the sake of the kingdom and training believers in their churches

rejoicing in the goodness of our Father,

The Ebys

For extra update reading:

Here are some thoughts that God laid on my heart during the retreat:

"As I sit here on the mountain side overlooking the cities of Gifu, Kakamigahara, Ichinomiya, Ogaki, Hashima, and Nagoya, God is telling me, 'Ask for these cities, and I will give them to you. Seek my will and my way for them and I will open your eyes to see them. Knock on the doors of opportunity and of the community and they will be opened for you.' Do I want to see Gifu and the surrounding cities reached for the Lord? Then ASK for it!!! Do I want to find ways into the community and the hearts of the Japanese? Then SEEK for it!!! Do I want open doors into various parts of the city? Opportunities to proclaim Christ in various locations and institutions? Then KNOCK!!! I need to spend more time asking, seeking, and knocking!"

Our target mission field the greater area of Gifu city, consisting of 1.2 million people (with only about 1,400 believers). And our prayer and goal is to see 10% of this reached for the Lord, living and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that the entire population will hear the Good News!  Please join us as we pray for this.  

our team picture in Gifu - minus Enoch who was at Yochien (Japanese pre-school)