Praise the Lord! This month was full of opportunities to minister to people in a more personal way, and outside of our preparation for our regular church services and outreaches, much of our time this month was spent visiting and counseling people. We praise God that He has led these people, some saved and some lost, to come find answers from His Word!

This month began with a visit with some of our former church regulars, who had since moved away to another prefecture, to help them find a sound, local church in their new areas. It was an extra blessing to be able to make this visit with one of our most faithful men. This month, every person I met with was going through some unique trial, and it was a blessing to help people navigate those trials and find comfort through Scripture and prayer. Danielle and I had the privilege of walking two young adults through a crisis throughout this month as well, opening our home often for their comfort. We have also had special opportunities to minister more personally to some of our most faithful in church in this way this month. Thank you for praying that God would bring healing and victory into their lives.

Last month, we shared about a young man, whom we had the privilege of reaching during our previous ministry phase in Hokkaido, moving down to our city of Kisarazu through God orchestrating very special arrangements. We praise God that he has been faithfully attending our Sunday services since. March 9 was a particularly special day, as we had some fellow missionary friends who were present at the very service when this young man was saved over two years ago, Pastor & Mrs. Ken (Vicki) Mansell, share their testimonies in our service. We had not previously told them about this young man’s move to our city, and they had not met since that day, making their reunion extra special. This young man moved out of Hokkaido shortly after we did but spent some time living in Tokyo, during which time he had unfortunately fallen distant from the Lord. It was special to see him be reassured of his salvation during that service, as well as to see his dedication to be faithful to the Lord once again. The Lord gave us a high day of 22 that Sunday, with 3 first-time visitors. Praise the Lord!

March 27–29, we had the privilege of attending the annual Youth Camp, hosted by the Senri Newtown Baptist Church of Osaka, where we spent our first 2½ years of training in Japan. We almost had 4 campers from our church come with us as well, but they unfortunately could not join for various reasons. Though it was just my wife and I this year from our church, it was encouraging to spend these few days with 138 other campers and laborers from 19 like-minded churches across Japan! I had the privilege of leading the first camp orchestra this year. It was also a special encouragement to ride up with our new friend, Pastor Steve Carter of the Akigawa Baptist Church, a like-minded church led by a like-minded missionary in Tokyo, just 2½ hours away from us. Several young people made a profession of faith, and at least one made the decision to get baptized during the camp. The younger sister of the last person we had the privilege of reaching during our time in Osaka, who got saved at camp two years ago, was also there this year! We praise God for another generation being reached in Japan!

We are planning a very short trip back to the United States from April 28 through May 2 to complete a document procedure that has to be filed from the United States and to visit our families. Thank you for understanding that we will not be able to report back to any churches or make any special visits during this trip, as this will be just a very short Monday through Friday trip on a very tight schedule. We truly appreciate your prayers and your part in all that God is doing here through our still very young church plant!

Danielle’s Journey

Our month began with a visit from some missionary friends we met while in Hokkaido. I’m so thankful for the many friends God allowed us to make during our short six months there. It was such a privilege to have them in our home for the week before their trip to the States. We truly enjoyed taking them to Tokyo, which is so very different from Hokkaido, as well as showing them our own city of Kisarazu. Throughout the month, we also had the opportunity to open our home to someone facing a difficult situation, providing a place of refuge, as well as trying to show God’s love in each way possible. We finished the month with Youth Camp in Hyogo prefecture. It is always so encouraging to see all of the youth and staff from the Senri Newtown Baptist Church, as well as our many missionary friends who are serving in that area. The preaching, the song services, and the fellowship were all so refreshing! I was so thankful for the opportunity to attend. Thank you always for reading our praise reports and remembering to pray for us.

Your friends and co-laborers to Japan,

Go and Danielle Oishi