We board for Tokyo June 25!
We are so excited to report that our family's plane tickets are now purchased! Lord willing, we will move to Japan and its great city of Tokyo next month! We fly out Tuesday, June 25 at 9:30 am. We will arrive in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon at 5pm, Japan time (that's Wed. 3 am CST). It is amazing to look back to all that the Lord has done since we began raising support in October 2011. We have been sustained by His generosity through so many people and churches in more ways that we could have imagined.We can't wait to move into our three bedroom, 10th floor apartment in Toyosu, one of seven man-made islands in central Tokyo largely made up of tall buildings filled with parents and young kids so that we might love and serve them. Because we have been recipients of His generosity, we can be participants of His generosity in Tokyo!Travel report from the Pac. Northwest back to the Midwest
This past month, I was was greatly encouraged by churches where I spent Sundays in the Pacific Northwest and then closer to our current home: Marissa, IL and Collinsville, IL. In Seattle and Portland, I joined up with two of my close teammates, Seima Aoyagi and Joe Congdon. We had an awesome, unifying time together.Upon first arriving, I was welcomed to preach at Exile Presbyterian Church. When I originally chose the message text of John 10:16 and showed up that day to deliver it, I didn't realize that according to the church calendar of which they use it was Good Shepherd Sunday. This in and of itself was a small reminder of His guidance at the beginning of our time. I spoke about how He assured us as we go out on His mission that, "I have other sheep who are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
We drove up to speak at other churches and with other ministers in Bellingham, Lynden, WA, and Vancouver, B.C. about our calling. In Portland, we took part in a week-long training for church-planting leaders called the Soma School. It was led by the people of Bread and Wine Church, and we stayed with one of their families for that week. The focus centers on this reality: "The gospel has created a new people that live as a family of missionaries servants who make disciples that make disciples through the flow of everyday life. In the gospel, we now have the resource to live together, forgive one another, and seek the good of the city in community." It was a blessing to cooperate with others who have this same core vision. We need wisdom and the Spirit to apply this in Tokyo! As I reflect on this past month, I am struck by all the prayer for us: prayer for the Good Shepherd's mission in Japan, and prayer for its great city of Tokyo. I am also struck by how we/I were welcomed and encouraged by evangelical churches in different cities and several different networks. Like the text I preached from, it gave me a foretaste of the hope we have in the gospel that "there will be one flock and one Shepherd". Beyond unity, John 10:16 also gives us strong motivation as we do church-planting in our community in Tokyo where there is not a single church of any kind among the population of 126,000. God is at work in Tokyo, and it is an exciting blessing to participate in that with you.
Upcoming plans for your prayer
Until we leave, here are some of our plans for which we need prayer!1. Saying goodbyes and spending time with our extended family
2. Finding new homes for many of our books and things
3. Speaking at Cornerstone Presbyterian in St. Louis, MO (May 19)
4. Speaking at Central UMC in Evansville, IN (May 26)
5. Trusting God for our work visa to be issued from the Japanese consulate in Atlanta (June 3,4)
6. Preaching and send-off service at Olivet Presbyterian in Evansville, IN (June 23)
7. Worshiping at The Church of the Good Shepherd, our sending church, in Durham, NC (June 16)
8. For God to raise up 1,000 prayer partners for our team, Grace Harbor Church, of which we are apart
Thank you for reading this, praying for us, and encouraging us.
Sean
