Team,

News/Prayer

We have had a huge week, Jess & Beth with stomach upsets, me almost and Julie battling through morning sickness and the craziness of putting an offer on a house. We visited an advertised 'newly built' house located 5min drive from our apartment…and thought this is the house for us. Private road, no through road, a view to the mountains, 3 car parking spaces, small garden and house enough for a family of 5. Though still smaller than what you'd expect in SA or the UK it is a good size for Japan. The challenge is to get our loan approved by Shinsei Bank.

Please pray that they will agree to lending us 90% of the value of the property. Please also pray that they will overlook the issue of my salary irregularities (too long to explain in detail) and will be happy to agree to the loan based on next years income.

We really want this house…before baby, before team arrive, for the church plant, for a base for our family and stability for many of you. I send the documents they need tomorrow or Wednesday (20th). We are due to sign the contract on the 27th December and I would like to have a reply of "Yes you can borrow the money" by then. Please pray for that too. We'll keep you posted.

Also we will definitely be meeting with Tsuyoshi and Chie Inoue in the next week about them joining the church. Please keep praying that God speaks to them clearly about which church they should belong to.

There are the ongoing team prayer needs I wrote to you initially about but let me bring 2 to your attention again;

1. Helen is still waiting on a job interview from ABC. Pray for a response from them and a job for Helen.
2. David Fraser is putting together his application to set up a branch office. This takes time, money and favour. Pray for all three and especially that they will finish the whole application 'speedily' and gain working visa status before May.

 Friend of sinners

Who are we spending time with this Christmas? Any tax collectors or 'sinners'?

I have been thinking about Jesus more recently because Christmas tends to have that affect. The reason Jesus came was to seek and save the lost. He came for the sick because the healthy don't need a doctor. He desired mercy not sacrifice. (Mat 9:10-12). He wants us to love the lost, the sinner, the people outside the kingdom of the heavens. When you come to Japan you will still be you. On passing through immigration at Nagoya airport we don't suddenly change into 'evangelist extraordinaire….saviour of millions….rescuer of Japan'….as I have found out! So who are we? Who do we love? Who are we seeking out? Mercy or Christian "stuff" - (friends, meetings, events etc.) Any non-believers featuring on the guest list? Any time for being a friend of sinners? I am stirred again by Jesus, friend of sinners. That is how we will see people in Nagoya saved. We need mercy, we need compassion we need to love the lost. I'm trying to become more like Jesus in this. Even here in Japan 'doing the stuff' you can still get caught up with so much else. I don’t know how to do it except by receiving more of God’s love, praying for Him to increase my love for the lost and his kingdom and scheduling in time with sinners. I long to be more like Jesus,  I pray for us as a team that we will be known as friends of sinners and for a church that reaches the lost. Sacrifice we have, bring on the mercy.

Winter in Nagoya

It's starting to get cold but still only dropping as low as 10 degrees during the day. Not cold for you Brits but cold for the Africans amongst us. The great thing about Nagoya winters is that they are short. 3 months - December to February. March can still be cold but it is starting to warm up. Also, the days are sunny and clear so no "when is this rain and fog going to stop' type feeling that is synonymous with UK winters. You can often get glimpses of the surrounding mountains when walking in Nagoya town centre. I love seeing the mountains as they shout, "God is here, God is mighty, God is awesome". A glimpse of glory is all it takes to remind the heart that God is working, he loves Japan and is working with all his mighty zeal in building his church.

Julie and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Enjoy the rest, enjoy your families, enjoy the wonder of Emmanuel - God with us.

Tom & Julie

on a mission…enjoying the journey

Emailed 4th December 2006

Team,

We’ve got some exciting news to tell you….Julie is expecting another baby. Due date around mid-june. We’re delighted (we’ve always wanted at least 3) but Julie has pretty serious ‘morning sickness’ （すわり）or should I say ‘all day long sickness’. Should be over in a few weeks time and hopefully she’ll be feeling herself again for Christmas and the New Year holiday. Please pray for energy and reduction of the ‘sickness’ side of things. Hard to be so far away from family right now too.

Exciting news from Simon Pask too (no not the blog information) he has a job with NOVA English Language School. Well done Si.

Some other job & visa prayer items:

Helen Ward has applied for a job at a small language school near where we live so please pray for success in the phone interviews etc.

David & Danille Frase + James and Charis are looking to come to Japan on a working visa connected to David’s work at his uncles Software Company. Please pray for wisdom and speed on the branch office set up and visa application.

More info on status next week and hopefully we’ll have everyones latest news and bio on the blog ring soon.

Please keep praying for the inoue （いのうえ）family as they seek God about joining us. We won’t be meeting up with them togther with Masami and Kento this weekend or next but will be seeing them individually. Pray that God speaks clearly to them.

On the language front, we have our Japanese Language Proficiency Test on the 3^rd December. Please pray for recall and a good week of revision. Helen is actually taking the same test (but a different level) at the London base on the same day. She has done so well to be in a place to take the test so please pray for Helen too.

Each week I’d like to write something on cross-cultural communication and specifically Japanese culture. So for starters here’s a summary of the first chapter of David Hesselgrave’s book ‘Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally’. I won’t be sending you a summary of every chapter but many of them will be very helpful.

Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally by David Hesselgrave

PART 1 - Communication & Mission

Ch. 1 Communication, the missionary problem

Any one-word to describe the missionary task runs the risk of reductionism.

e.g. "Evangelising" the world.

English Theologian C.H Dodd reduced it to 'proclaiming' kerygma the gospel.

Michael Green took issue, insisting that 'heralding' is only one of 3 words used in the NT in this connection. The other 2 being 'to evangelize' euangelizo and 'To bear witness' martyreo

Other words in the NT to describe the apostolic ministry of the church:

Prove symbibazo - Acts 9:22

Describe deigeomai - Acts 9:27

Persuade peitho - Acts 18:4

Reason with dialegomai - Acts 18:4

+ Argue, admonish, inform, exhort

Best way to describe our missionary task = communication

Micahel Green states that an awakened apostolic consciousness causes the church to ask new questions…..how do we communicate the gospel.

Task at hand:

communicating Christ across cultural barriers to various peoples of the world

Primary focus of the book:

The relationship between Christian communication and world cultures

Will write again next week with a bit more of an overview of how things are looking in terms of vision, team, dates etc. I’d also like to recommend we read a few books together over the next four or five months or so. Lot’s of grace to all of you.

Tom

on a mission…enjoying the journey