Newsletter, Volume 41 No 1
Spring 2010

Dear Friends,

Ten percent of the world's active volcanoes are located in Japan. One of those volcanoes is Mt. Sakurajima (elevation 3665 feet), which is located across the bay from us. It is a magnificent mountain which has been relatively quiet for the past few years. This year is different. As of June, it has erupted over 550 times, setting a new annual record. At this pace. it could have one thousand eruptions this year.

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Sakurajima erupting

Fortunately, these are not large-scale, lava flow type eruptions, but the eruptions do send large amounts of ash into the air. Between January and April alone, around 3 million tons of ash have been released by Mt. Sakurajima. Thankfully, all of this ash does not fall on Kagoshima City. Wind direction determines which parts of the prefecture will get the ash. Easterly and southeasterly winds bring the ash to us. The ash is annoying, but it is teaching us patience and makes us very thankful for any rain that helps wash it away.

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Ash on the road--and everywhere

During the past few months, Mary and I have been given opportunities to speak which have been challenging and rewarding. April 13th, I had the privilege of being the speaker for the installation service of Daiki Kishimoto as the 5th president of the Osaka Bible Seminary. In my message, entitled “A Boldness Which Overcomes Fear” (from 1 Peter 3:15-16), I spoke about the motivation, message, and method we need in order to boldly preach the gospel and the need for OBS to prepare workers who can do this.

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Message at OBS

May 19th, the Kagoshima church hosted the annual combined women’s meeting for the ladies of our churches in Kagoshima prefecture. Over forty ladies from seven of our churches gathered for this all-day meeting. Mary was the guest speaker. Her message, “Fear Not--God is Faithful,” which she developed from Scripture and her life story/experiences, was very well received.

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Combined Ladies’ Meeting
May 22nd, the Yoshino church held its annual spring evangelistic outreach program. This year, instead of putting flyers about the meeting in the local newspapers, the church members distributed 3000 flyers to homes in the suburb where the church is located. The theme for our program this year was “The Family,” and particularly parent-child and husband-wife relationships.
This time, instead of having a guest speaker, the Yoshino church asked me to be the speaker. Since I always believed an outside speaker would be more effective for this kind of meeting, I was reluctant at first to accept this responsibility, but finally did so at their urging. In order to make it easier for young mothers with children to attend, we had an afternoon program, in addition to our usual evening program. My message for the afternoon session, aimed at young mothers, dealt with the role of parents from a biblical perspective and how children need to beloved unconditionally--just as God loves us. That evening, I spoke about the conditions for a happy married life and how a relationship with God can bless one’s marriage.

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Spring Outreach Program
Attendance for both meetings was not large (30 for the afternoon session and 20 for the evening), but we were pleased that five non-Christians did attend, and most of them were in church for the first time. Please keep them in your prayers.

Sunday, June 13th, I was the guest speaker for the morning worship service at a rather large evangelical church in Kagoshima City. This church has a kindergarten, and every year in June, the fathers of the kindergarten children are invited to a special Sunday service for them at the church. There were at least forty fathers in attendance, making it the largest group of non-Christian fathers I have ever preached to in Japan. I used this unique opportunity to speak to them about how vital their role as fathers is in the lives our their children and the necessity of having a relationship with their heavenly Father in order to fulfill their full responsibilities as a father.

That evening, I preached for the evangelistic service at a small evangelical church in the southern part of Kagoshima City. About 20 people attended this meeting. A few days ago, I received a note from a lady who attended this meeting, telling me that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Saviour and was going to be baptized. It was a wonderful reminder that God’s Word is powerful and can change lives.

In closing, let me give you a quick summary of some of our other activities during the past few months. Sunday, April 4th, the Yoshino church held its annual Easter sunrise service at the church mausoleum. After leading this service, Mary and I drove to Kokubu for their worship service and then hurried back to Yoshino for their 10:30 worship service.
April 24th, as head trustee of the Kyushu Christian Mission, I led our annual trustee meeting in Kanoya. The next day, the Yoshino church held its annual congregational meeting following worship to review the past year and discuss plans for the church year ahead.

May 18th, at the annual meeting of the Kagoshima Prison Chaplains’ Association, I was chosen to be the 2nd vice president of the Chaplains’ Association in Kagoshima. This position will involve more contact and interaction with Buddhist and Shinto chaplains. Please be praying that this position will provide opportunities to share a Christian perspective with them on various issues.

June 7th, Mary and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary with dinner at a nice restaurant on a ridge overlooking Kagoshima City.
Sunday afternoon, June 20th, I met with the newly revived youth group of the Yoshino church for Bible study and a discussion of plans for future activities. It is a small group, but they are eager to work with other Christian young people in Kagoshima to share the gospel with the young people of the city. Please keep them in your prayers.

Mary and I will be returning to the States on August 10th for a short furlough. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and visit as many of our supporting churches as possible. We plan to return to Japan on September 17th.

Thank you for your faithful support of our ministry here with your prayers and generous giving. God bless you.

In Him,
Walter & Mary