It’s that time of year again!
CCSI will put be putting on “A Living Nativity” tonight and tomorrow, twice each evening. Please pray that the Lord would use this to show many people the miracle of Christ’s birth and the salvation available through Him. Please also pray that it wouldn’t rain tonight. The weather says 70% chance, but we know our God isn’t a God of chances, right?
Eric shared in our prayer requests that the church plant we’ve been attending, in the next town over from ours, has just rented a building after meeting in a home for the last six years. How exciting is that?!?! It has been thrilling this last month and a half as the members of this body have seen years of prayers and hope and waiting on God’s timing come to fruition.
While it has been awesome to worship together in the Tomita’s home, in recent months there have been some space issues. Also, as a cultural thing, Japanese are not as comfortable coming into a stranger’s home as they are to a meeting place. So, we are hoping this will be a more comfortable location for seekers and friends/family of church members to come.
In the last several weeks there has been a buzz of excitement among Christ’s body in Toke. Members have stayed for hours after worship to talk and plan and pray together. People have met to pray at the new building, and work on it, or plan for new ministries. It is an exciting time for these faithful saints, who are the only church in this town of 15,000 people. I am so excited as we physically move to a new building, and also, I pray, move closer to Christ and further out in reaching the people of Toke for his kingdom.
I am particularly excited to partner with two other dear women in this body to start a moms and kids’ club. As a stay-at-home mom myself I know how important it is to get out of the house to be with other moms, and for my kids to be with other kids. I am praying that this group, which will meet twice a month at first, will become a community for moms and place to talk deeply about the joys and struggles of parenting. I pray that there will be many opportunities to share with these women the great hope for them and their families found in Christ. I pray that as they come for a big ‘ol play day, they will leave having seen Christ.
Would you praise the Lord with us for this great blessing of a new place of worship and work? Would you also pray with us for His Word to go out from this place into the homes and lives of the lost? Pray that his people would continue to trust God to lead, guide, and provide for this church? Pray for the many new programs and ministries that are starting now with a new place, that many would step foot into Toke Chapel and encounter Christ (most for the first time in their lives!). Pray for our first Moms and Kids’ on the 25th of this month. I will post a little bit more about this later
Thank you for your prayers and, through them, your very real partnership in the Gospel here in Japan.
First worship service at Toke Chapel on November 2, 2008
This is a quick prayer request update. Thank you for your prayers!
1. Our house church has rented a building, and it is an exciting time for the church. Please pray for the transition, that God would bless and grow the 20+ worshippers in Toke. Also pray for Sara-Beth as she is starting a “Mom’s and Kid’s Club” there this month.
2. Please be in prayer for the students at CCSI. Pray for their minds and souls as Eric educates the children. Please pray for the upcoming X-mas program and all the preparation and details for this great outreach to the community.
3. Please pray for college ministry. There are numerous students that have shown interest in Christianity at different times, however many of the students are very busy and it is difficult to have consistent time together. Pray that God would reveal himself to these students.
We had a fabulous evening on Saturday night with three families from the house-church we attend in the neighboring town of Toke. We have loved getting to know these saints, and praise God for their friendship and fellowship, and their welcoming our family into that community of believers.
This is during family worship after dinner: 
And here are Noa and Noa. 
Noa Nagata was born when I was in highschool and even then, I loved the name “Noa” for a little girl. It is so fun for our Noa to enjoy time with “big sister Noa” and her two other sisters, Mana and Mikuni, and her little brother Yoshiya.
And here’s the whole group! 
Please pray that the Lord would bless the efforts to begin a weekly worship service in the town of Toke. Please pray that He would provide a place to meet and that he would draw many to himself from that town.
In the left of the photo, you will notice our newest teammate and housemate, Andrew. We are thrilled that God brought Andrew to Japan in time for the new school year. He teaches with Eric at CCSI and has been an incredible blessing, even in his first week here. Andrew is living with us for one more week until Eric comes to the States, then he will move in with the Stewart family permanately. We have loved having him here and so enjoyed getting to know him better. Noa has double the excitement when Daddy comes home from work, because Andrew comes too! We are excited for a lot more time together in the coming year.
We had a fabulous day at the beach yesterday with several friends who are students at Chiba University. Isaac and Eric had been planning to take several guys surfing, and it worked out well for the families to join them. While taking small children to the beach isn’t easy per se, it was fun and a great chance to be together.
Yuya’s surf school:
orange smiles:
taking a break from surfing and entertaining the little girls:
All the little girls enjoyed having all the big guys to take them in the water to brave the waves and fight the undertow. Noa with her daddy:
Annabella with Tsuguru:
We had a great spot with beautiful surroundings and good waves for beginner surfers. The weather was wonderful, with a lot of cloud cover and a nice breeze to cool us off. The biggest problem for me was that the sand was black and hot and really fine. I still haven’t gotten it all out of Noa’s swim suit. 
Everyone decided to dig a hole to bury someone. Eric lost in “jan-ken-poi” (rock, paper, scissors) so he had to be burried. 
Noa thought it was great!
a kiss for the buried man:
group picture, minus babies Calvin and Martha, Sarah and Sara-Beth, and the rest of Eric’s body
friends
Sweet Martha spent most of her day under the umbrella in her sand-free seat. She did better than I expected, sleeping well and entertaining herself with her toys and looking around. We did dip her feet in the water a bit and she managed to get a little wet and sandy while being held a few times. She did great, though, and was such a trooper.
surfer girl!
it was a long hike from where we had to park the car to where we set up. I was proud of Noa for walking the whole way back. She is really growing up!
You may notice in some of the pictures that one of the guys’ head is bandaged. Early in the day he had an accident with the surf board that led to he and Eric leaving for a few hours to find a clinic and get him checked out. Thankfully, he is fine and it wasn’t serious. Eric and he had a great time in those several hours one-on-one and were able to talk deeply about Jesus and the Gospel. We’re so thankful for God’s orchestration of the day. He protected us and allowed for us to enjoy Him in our fun and fellowship. I pray that the young men who joined us also saw Him, and are drawn into relationship with Him very soon. Would you pray with us for them?
… ARE OFFICIALLY OVER!
Well, I hope they are. I am finally feeling good today and the girls, though they both are still coughing, seem to be back to their normal selves. Thank you for your prayers for our family. It’s been over 3 weeks that we’ve been battling this sickness and we are ready to be healthy. Though it’s been hard, I am thankful for some sweet times at home with my girls, just being together. I’ve also had some time to do some reading. A book that I am almost done with and have LOVED is “Don’t Make Me Count To Three – A mom’s look at heart-oriented discipline” by Ginger Plowman. It has been a tremendous encouragement to me as I feel like I have so much to learn about training my children for the glory of God. I highly recommend it to any mother.
Anyway, I just love these photos of the girls in their matching PJs from Margot and Jon. These two just get such a kick out of each other!
