Thank you so much for all of your prayers for our family! These past few months have flown by. In September, I got to take my sons to a local soccer game for free due to a special promotion. It was quite interesting to see how enthusiastically the Japanese people were cheering for their local team! They were jumping and shouting, singing chants, and waving giant flags. I kept thinking that if we could only see that same kind of enthusiasm for Jesus Christ, what a difference it would make—not only in Japan but even in America as well! What a great reminder it was to always stay on fire for our Lord and Saviour!
In mid-September, my wife sadly failed her second test to receive her driver’s license, but more on that below. Towards the end of September, my wife also had the opportunity to join several other independent Baptist missionary wives here in Japan for a few days in Hokkaido (the northern island of Japan). This was a very encouraging time for her to meet many ladies who have served faithfully here in Japan, many of them for decades! By God’s grace, we hope that to be our testimony someday as well! Towards the end of September, Karin was also able to host several Japanese ladies in our home again to talk about parenting and the Bible. Please continue to pray that these meetings will open the hearts of those ladies who are not yet saved.
In the beginning of October, Bro. Vince Roberts came to stay at our home for a couple of days. He visited us and the church here last year as well and was just an incredible blessing and encouragement to our family for the short time he was here. Right after that, our entire family drove from Osaka for almost seven hours all the way to the Tokyo area to attend a Missions Conference at Lighthouse Baptist Church, Yamato City. This church is currently pastored by a fellow missionary, Bro. Dustin Williams, whom we met during our time on deputation. His family and the entire church were an incredible blessing to our family and especially our children. We all rejoiced to hear some preaching and congregational singing in English! While we enjoy learning Japanese and being a part of a Japanese-speaking church, it was a refreshing experience that encouraged us greatly. At the end of the conference, the church voted to take our family on for monthly support! Praise the Lord! Our trip to Tokyo and back felt like a quick return to deputation, and we all had a terrific time.
Later that month, back as Senri Newtown Baptist Church in Osaka, I had the wonderful opportunity to preach in Japanese for the first time! This was for the weekly Ladies’ Meeting that is held each Tuesday at the church. While I had to read the majority of my message, everyone was very encouraging afterwards. While I still have much to learn, I rejoiced (and do rejoice!) at the progress the Lord has allowed me to make in Japanese to even get to this point. Thank you all for your prayers!
At the end of October, we enjoyed having the Oishis stay at our home for a couple of days. They were in town to pick up some documents, and we were able to spend some sweet time of fellowship with them, which was a great encouragement to us. We are excited for everything that God is doing through their ministry there in Kisarazu.
Finally, I would like to share a great blessing. At the end of September, with my wife having failed her second driving test and the testing facility being incredibly backed up in their schedule, we decided to try the other testing facility here in Osaka. It is more than twice as far away from our home (about an hour), but whereas the other facility was making test
appointments more than three months out, this facility was taking less than one month. They were very strict with their required documents, and we even had to come back a second time the following week. However, we were finally able to make a driving-test appointment for October 18. After studying the new course and practicing A LOT, my wife sadly failed the test again. They were very strict in the grading. However, we were able to get a retest date for the end of October. Finally, on the fourth try, by the grace of God, my wife was able to pass! We rejoiced greatly at this! You may be wondering why I am telling this long story. This process has been ongoing for a year and has cost us countless hours of going back and forth to these offices (not to mention testing fees and gas). We were in tears thanking God and all those who prayed for us that this was finally done!
Please be in prayer for our upcoming special Christmas services on Sunday, December 22, as well as a Candlelight Christmas Eve service on the 24th. These are great opportunities to introduce Japanese people to Jesus Christ and teach them the meaning for the season. We had many visitors last year, some of whom we are still working with. Again, thank you all so much for your prayers and faithful support!
In Christ’s service,
The Morgan Family
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- Passing out tracts at Yamato Station during the Missions Conference in Lighthouse Baptist Church, Yamato City
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- First time preaching in Japanese at Senri Newtown Baptist Church
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- Keira turned eight!
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- Grayson turned six!
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- Fellow Japan missionary, Brad Gardner, and family visiting our home
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- Karin got her driver’s license!
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- Passing out tracts at Yamato Station during the Missions Conference in Lighthouse Baptist Church, Yamato City
