Latest Newsletter

Vol 54_2, Fall-Winter 2023

Dear Friends,

The new year got off to a tragic start here in Japan when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the west coast of central Japan on New Year’s Day, destroying or damaging about 46,000 homes and taking the lives of 238 people. This was the most destructive earthquake to hit Japan in thirteen years.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in Japan, one of the most seismically active countries in the world. There are about 1500 earthquakes a year in Japan, but the majority of them are barely felt. It is no wonder that Japan is the birthplace of seismology (the study of earthquakes). The reason this earthquake took so many lives was that it took place in a rural area where many of the homes were over 50 years old—which meant they did not meet stringent design codes passed in 1981 to enable structures to withstand earthquakes. This resulted in many (mainly elderly) people being crushed to death when their homes collapsed during the earthquake. In some cases, they died along with children and grandchildren who had come to visit them for the New Year holidays, the biggest holiday of the year in Japan.

One of the saddest cases I heard about was a fifty-year-old father whose four children and wife died in the home of his parents, whom they were visiting, when it was crushed by a landslide caused by the earthquake. The tragedy caused by this earthquake reminded us again of the fact that we are not promised tomorrow and,  therefore, the urgency of sharing the gospel with those who have not yet heard it.

The Yoshino church resumed their efforts to share the gospel by holding their first outreach program in three years on November 25th. ( This effort had been suspended during the Covid pandemic). In preparation for this program, we put 18,400 flyers in all the major local newspapers, and the members of the church passed out 300 flyers to homes in the neighborhood of the church. To make it easier to attend, especially for the elderly, we decided to hold it in the afternoon instead of the evening (as we have done in the past). In the month leading up to this program, we had a special time of prayer for this effort each Sunday at the end of our worship service. 

We felt our prayers were answered and efforts rewarded when our small church building was filled with thirty-five people (about half of whom were non-Christians), who had come to hear our guest speaker, Brother Yoshiro Kishi, speak and play the saxophone. Brother Kishi is a very healthy and active 82-year-old evangelist who travels all over Japan sharing the gospel. He is a talented musician who plays music the Japanese enjoy, while, at the same time, sharing the gospel in a folksy manner that makes it easier to understand for those hearing it for the first time. Please be praying that the gospel seed planted at this outreach program will bear fruit in the hearts of those who attended that afternoon.  

                       Evangelistic meeting with Brother Kishi—November 25th

A few days earlier (11/23), Brother Kishi was the guest speaker for the 69th Rally for our churches in Kagoshima Prefecture. This rally, which was held in the meeting hall of a hot springs hotel located at the foot of nearby Mt. Sakurajima (one of the most active volcanoes in Japan), was attended by Christians from seven of our churches. The members of the Yoshino church, who assist in the preparations for this all-day rally, always enjoy the opportunity it provides to fellowship with their brothers and sisters from sister churches.  We are very proud that this rally has now been held consecutively for 69 years. It is a witness to the history and faith of those of our brotherhood in Kagoshima Prefecture.

                 Kagoshima Prefecture Church of Christ Rally—November 23rd

Backing up now to some other recent activities, November 2nd-3rd I was in Osaka to attend a trustee meeting at Osaka Bible Seminary and their Fall Rally for area churches. This was the first time I had been to OBS in three years. During the Covid pandemic, trustee meetings were held via Zoom. In fact, on October 20th, I spoke for the morning chapel service at OBS via Zoom, so it felt good to actually be on campus again and talk with everyone face to face. After the OBS Rally ended on the afternoon of the third, I flew back to Kagoshima with a missionary intern, Kerri Michaels, from Boise Bible College, who had also attended the rally. Kerri spent the weekend with us, visiting three of our churches on Sunday (11/5) and giving her testimony at two of them. We hope Kerri's experience here and with other churches/missionaries in Japan might result in her coming to Japan someday as a long-term missionary.

                                              Kerri, mission intern from Idaho

Recently our worship services at Yoshino and Tarumizu have taken on an international flavor. A young Christian lady from Indonesia has begun worshiping with us at Yoshino, and a middle-aged Christian lady from Vietnam has started attending our services at Tarumizu. These two ladies are part of the 1.8 million foreign workers in Japan right now. Due to labor shortages caused by a shrinking population, Japanese businesses and service industries are increasingly relying on foreign labor. It is estimated that Japan's population will shrink 30% by 2070. Most of these workers come from Southeast Asia, including China, the Philippines, South Korea, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Both of the ladies worshiping with us are working in food preparation jobs, so they are not able to come every Sunday, but they always attend when they have Sunday off. The presence of Christians from Indonesia and Vietnam is a great blessing for the Japanese Christians because it reminds them in a very real way that the gospel has spread throughout the world and that they have brothers and sisters in Christ everywhere.

                Yoshino Church Christmas Caroling—evening of December 23rd

We closed out the year with a regular schedule of Christmas activities: caroling, followed by a candle service, on the 23rd and Christmas worship services at Kokubu and Yoshino on the 24th. Following worship at Yoshino, we enjoyed a fellowship meal and Christmas program which featured a handbell performance by the Yoshino ladies, along with other music performances. Mary prepares the music and bell assignments and meets with the ladies monthly to direct their handbell practices. They don’t have an expensive or professional set of bells, but they enjoy it greatly.  

                  Yoshino Church Ladies’ Handbell Performance—December 24th

              Yoshino Men’s Christmas Program Performance—December 24th

We want to thank each of you for your prayers and support for our ministry here this past year. May God richly bless you.

In Him,

Walter & Mary

© Kagoshima Christian Mission  2016