Rounding Second (update 3)

We’ve rounded second base and we’re coming into the home stretch.

Honestly, it’s hard to believe we’ve already spent over a month and a half in Japan. In some ways, it has felt like ages, in others, it feels like it has just begun. Since we landed, I’ve felt God working, shaping, molding Angelina and I (kids included) into what it means to be a family unit in ministry... It has been difficult. The past month-ish has contained some of the hardest trials I’ve faced as a father and husband and “outreach-coordinator”. The stress managing these without the luxury of personal space has been straining, and I’m sure Ange can attest to the same sentiment being mother, wife, and counselor to yours-truly. It’s a process, but one that is taking form. We are figuring out how to balance all three roles whilst accepting that taking time for each facet takes away time from the other two at any given moment. 

As we continue into our time in Japan, we press on into our upcoming roles. As we begin this next week, we’ve decided to add Tuesday prepared lunches to our weekly Wednesday night community dinners, and we’re excited to say, we’ve also decided to take on all the meals (Monday-Thurs, lunch/dinner) for the upcoming YWAM Japan’s leaders gathering happening the first week of June. Though our commute from Osaka to Takatsuki is about an hour and a half by train, one-way, it is incredibly rejuvenating to see the positive effects our role in ministry has in a community of believers, such as the ones we serve here. Though we play a rather quiet part in the larger picture, seeing how our time spent in the kitchen frees up staff and students to learn and teach is a reward in itself, and witnessing the effect is more than a little bit gratifying to watch. 

As we were about to leave Ozark, a family friend of ours came up to me after our church had prayed us out before we left for California, and subsequently, to Japan. His words to me have reverberated in my head since. He approached me and expressed that the Lord had moved him to speak the words that we would be like the person who left the donkey for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem. Thinking on this quote, the person who tied the donkey and colt to the post, never did get mentioned by name. Yet, their willingness to provide a need and give up their livestock helped fulfill, arguably, one of the most profound prophecies in the old testament. The individual/s did not beckon for the spotlight, nor did any disciple give it (after all, who they were was of little relevance to the bigger picture) but though we may never know which family they heralded from, the action is what echoes through eternity, the Lord had a need and they obliged. In the end, God doesn’t need our help, however, He does choose to use us to show His love. Always choosing the imperfect person to carry out His perfect will. 

This is something we feel with all our heart, in the very fabric of our being, and this reflection carries us forward though tomorrow and spurns us on to the ministry of service Ang and I have been created for.

Perhaps, we were simply called to Japan to serve, and if that’s the only reason, then both of us are glad to do it.

With Johnson and Cierra officially here, serving them becomes our next priority, and since their arrival, we’ve discovered how much of a blessing having my parents has been. With the kids spending their days with grandparents, we were able to help the Trans move into their new apartment, a God story in itself, and help them find some much needed items for their new life in the east. Originally, we had thought getting them situated would take weeks, maybe even a month but when God orchestrates the perfect scenario, the details fall into place rather quickly.

The Tran's Kitchen Space (small for American standards but what you'd typically expect in Japan)

In ALL of Ibiraki-shi, Osaka, not one apartment that was larger than a single room was available in the area God has called them to. However, over the past six months, God was connecting individuals together and by the time the Trans had landed, not only had a two bedroom apartment opened up below their budget, but it was in the neighborhood we had prayed into almost two years ago. Not only was it in the same area, it sits less than a five minute walk from the Church of Light, a place Johnson feels drawn and called to in His ministry in Japan. The cherry-on-top of of this whole situation? Kenji, the man who opened up his apartment complex to Johnson, longs for genuine community and is willing to open his large home to make it happen. As the Lord would have it, building genuine relationships and establishing a long term community of believers is exactly the goal of Johnson and Cierra’s calling to Osaka. 

We are so incredibly blessed that they’ve allowed us to be a part of their establishment in Ibiraki. Helping them create a home they can feel comfortable in as a couple and being there for them during this huge transition is, to put it simply, cool. We are honored to be able to support such good friends in this way.

In the coming weeks ahead, it’s boots to the ground and no holding back. We’ve already got 2 weeks booked up with ministry in YWAM and more plans ahead involving the EXPO 2025 event and the Trans calling to the land of the rising sun.

Prayer requests:

Please pray for Heidi as she battles a nasty cough and raised temp and overall family health

Us, as we transition into yet another AirBnb farther south 

For the Trans as they tackle repair to parts of their apartment 

YWAM Takatsuki, for the staff starting DTS and SBS (the balance of responsibilities)