Praise the Lord! God gave us great victory in multiple areas this month, both in terms of outreach and in terms of growing the people at our church!
This month, we were led to attempt yet another new outreach event that we are calling the Summer Family Bible Festival. One of the biggest challenges since beginning our church plant in Kisarazu has been trying to reach children. As our city seems to enjoy activities in family units as opposed to groups of young friends, we decided to switch our focus this year to trying to appeal to entire family units with our outreach efforts. Bro. L, our faithful member, opened another one of his buildings for us to use as our venue, which was a perfect open event space located right next to our city’s main train station, with heavy foot traffic and good visibility. We began setting up for this festival, which we promoted as a fun family experience with free international food, yard games, and English conversation, along with a short hymn concert and a message from the Bible. We praise God that both Bro. L and Bro. K, another one of our faithful men, dedicated much of their time both setting up for the event and passing out tracts and fliers in the neighborhood! Bro. K passed out more tracts than any of us, as he offered to go out on his own time leading up to the event! We praise God that we had one returning visitor, Mr. D, who heard the Gospel intently. Though no first-time visitors came this year, as the venue was in such a high-traffic area, we were able to catch the attention of many who passed by. We are excited to see how God will work as we consistently put forth our full effort in reaching the many lost families in our city.
The Family Bible Festival took place on Saturday, August 9, and it was followed by our second outreach event, Open Church, on Sunday, August 10, a church service focused on welcoming first-time visitors. We praise God that Mr. D returned, and by the invitation of Bro. L, God gave us a first-time visitor! Please pray that these visitors would return and, more importantly, that they would trust Jesus as their personal Saviour! Though we did not quite see the number of visitors or the kind of decisions that we had hoped, we praise God that He used these events more than any of our previous ones to spark a desire inside many of the saved who are a part of our church to be used of God to reach lost souls for Christ! People served who have never served before, and those who have been serving gave more time and effort than ever before going into these events. The fellowship between our church was sweet both during the events and setting up for them, and their desire to see the entire city be able to taste the joy of sins forgiven was evident. We praise God that our church is catching the vision!
August 13-15 is the week of Bon in Japan, a spiritually dark time of ancestor worship. During this time, we always make the effort to create extra opportunities for our church to fellowship together, and we praise God that we were able to meet with many of our people on all three days! On August 15, the Saltzman family, another new missionary family to Japan whom we had the privilege of assisting with their paperwork, had their missionary visa approved! Praise the Lord! The spiritual darkness here is strong, but our God is much stronger!
Major Praises This Month
• Mr. D returns to church for the Family Bible Festival
• First-time visitor comes to Open Church
• Saltzman family’s Japan missionary visa approved
Prayer Requests and Upcoming Events
• October 5 – our 2-Year Church Anniversary Special Service
• Salvation: Mr. I, Mr. D, the O family, and the TA family
• Baptism: Bro. K, Bro. W, Bro. TO, Bro. P, Sis. E, and Bro. Y
• Growth: the L family, the W family, and Bro. M
Danielle’s Journey
Our month began with preparations for the Summer Family Bible Festival. It was so encouraging to see so many of our own people step in and help with preparations. The food was prepared by Mrs. W and me, while Bro. L, Bro. K, and my husband set up the event. So many of our own attended, and we were able to connect and grow closer through serving together. I also had the privilege of joining my husband in a violin and cello special. The very next day, we held Open Church, and we praise the Lord for the visitor who attended! God blessed both events, and we are looking forward to how God will use them in the years to come. Towards the end of the month, I received some news from home about my grandma’s health, as well as a few other trials that my parents were facing. I ended up being in the States for much of September since my husband graciously offered to send me home to be with my mom during this time. I have just returned to Japan, and I plan to write about my trip in the next report. Thank you always for your kind thoughts and prayers.
Your friends and co-laborers to Japan,
Go and Danielle Oishi
