Dear Friends,
Recently I received a call from Mrs. K, who said she wanted to talk to the minister of the Yoshino church. I told her I could meet her that morning. When she arrived at the church, I recognized her as one of the new people who had attended our outreach Gospel concert October 25th with famous gospel singer, Rutsuko Honda.
Gospel Concert with R. Honda
Forty-five people attended the concert, and thirteen were first-time visitors. Mrs. K was one of those who received a follow-up letter from us with an invitation to contact the church if they would like to meet with the minister to talk about the Bible or anything they had on their mind.
Mrs. K told me she had been dealing with depression triggered by the stress of caring for her husband’s elderly parents for a long period. She said she felt empty and sometimes even had thoughts of wanting to die. When I told her that God--her Creator--loved her, was concerned about her, and wanted what was best for her, her response was: “But I’m not a Christian, and my family is Buddhist. How can God love me?” This gave me the opportunity to share with her why God loves her and how she could respond to His love.
I am happy to say that Mrs. K is continuing to meet with me at the Yoshino church to learn more about the God who loves her. Please pray for her.
Let’s back up here and briefly review some of the highlights of the past few months.
August 19th, Mary and I flew to Tokyo to attend the 65th All Japan Christian Convention before flying out to the U.S. on the 21st for a short furlough. We spent the first week in the U.S. with our son, Trent, and his family in Conway, Massachusetts. Conway is a very small town located not too far from Amherst, where Trent teaches. Trent and Libby’s two sons, Amory and Henry, have really grown, and it was great to be able to spend some time with them. While we were there, I had the happy privilege of baptizing Henry on Sunday, August 24th, at Grace Church, where they attend. Shelley and Christian came over with their family from Boston to be part of this happy day.
Henry’s Baptism
We spent the next week with our daughter, Shelley, and her family in Boston. While we were there, we were able to watch granddaughter Astrid (12 yrs. old) play in a weekend soccer tournament with her team. They were in good form and made it to the championship game, where they lost in a very close game. On a previous visit to the States, I had the privilege of baptizing Shelley and Christian’s oldest son, Lynus. This time I was blessed with the opportunity to baptize Astrid and Asmund (9 yrs. old) on September 4th at beautiful Walden Pond, a special occasion shared with some family friends. It is a day we will never forget. I am very grateful to God for being able to baptize all five of my grandchildren. Our thanks to Trent, Libby, Shelley, and Christian for taking good care of us during our visits with them.
Baptisms at Walden Pond
From Boston, we flew to Louisville, Kentucky, to begin visiting some of our supporting churches. From September 7th~21st, we spoke at the following churches: Shively Christian Church and Okolona Christian Church (Louisville, KY), First Church of Christ (Fairborn, OH), Plumville Church of Christ (Maysville, KY), First Christian Church (Murphysboro, IL), and Central Church of Christ (Streator, IL). Two of the visits involved meeting with the Mission Teams, but at all the other churches we were able to speak to the entire congregation. We want to thank each church for the warm welcome they gave us and the encouragement we received from them.
We want to thank Mark and Linda Johnson (Mary’s twin sister and husband) for graciously allowing us to make their home in Louisville our base for most of our church visits. It was great to be able to spend some time with them. We also had opportunities to visit my brother Greg and his wife Bev, and my sister Faith and her husband Paul Axton before flying back to Japan on September 25th. We want to thank them all for their warm hospitality.
We hit the ground running when we got back to Kagoshima on September 26th. I preached for Sunday services at Kokubu and Yoshino on the 28th and began a new term of classes at Kagoshima University on the 29th. October was a busy month getting ready for our outreach Gospel concert on the 25th and a slightly stressful one for Mary as she had cataract surgery for both eyes. She is happy with the improvement in vision and grateful that there were no complications.
Yoshino Church Picnic
November 3rd, I flew to Osaka to attend the Conference on Evangelism at Osaka Bible Seminary and the trustee meeting which followed. Saturday, November 8th, members of the Yoshino church drove to Lake Imuta for our annual church picnic. After enjoying a long walk around the lake, we gathered at one of the shelters for our picnic lunch. It was slightly nippy, but we had a great time of enjoying the beauty of God’s creation.
November 14th, I spoke for the early morning Interdenominational Prayer Breakfast at the Christian Center in Kagoshima. It is always a privilege to share a Bible message with the earnest Christians who faithfully attend this gathering.
61st Annual Prefectural Church Rally
November 24th, the Yoshino church assisted the Kagoshima church in hosting our 61st annual rally for our churches in Kagoshima Prefecture. Christians from eight churches gathered to hear our guest speaker, Brother Sawa (minister of the Ono Church of Christ near Kobe), speak to us twice on the importance of remaining steadfast in our faith (Col. 1:23)--in spite of adversity and disappointment. His messages were especially helpful and inspiring because of his own experience of having to overcome betrayal by the minister of the church he was part of as a young man.
Saturday morning, December 6th, I drove six ladies from the Yoshino church to take part in our annual Christmas program for inmates at the Kagoshima prison. The true meaning of Christmas was shared with 55 inmates through special music and a message by Mr. Sakamoto (one of our Christian chaplains at the prison). I am one of the three Christian chaplains at the prison, and each year a different one of us speaks for our Christmas program there.
Maxey Family--August 2014
We want to close by thanking each of you for the faithful way you have supported our ministry in 2014 and by sending warmest Christmas greetings. We enjoyed being able to see many of you while we were in the U.S., and we hope to be able to visit those of you we missed in the not too distant future. May God bless you & be with you and your families as you celebrate His coming to earth to bring us a living hope (1 Peter 1:3-4).
In Him,
Walter & Mary