Praise the Lord! There is nothing greater than seeing God move! Picking up a man who has lost all hope and bringing him to church where he heard God’s Word preached in the midst of a Missions Conference. Going soul winning with Bible college students with a burden for Japan. Counseling a Japanese young man struggling in his walk with God. Getting an email a week later from his younger brother, letting me know that he has surrendered to the mission field after seeing our presentation. Presenting the Gospel to seven Japanese exchange students who speak little English and know nothing about our great Saviour. Hearing back that three of them have accepted Christ, and one of them has followed the Lord in baptism. All of this happened while on deputation this month! Indeed, God has a plan for us—both for when we arrive on the field, as well as our journey there.
On top of all that I have listed above, God gave us a 10% increase in our support this month, bringing us up to 60% of our support now coming in! We began our month with four hours of soul winning at a Missions Conference in Plainwell, Michigan. This is where we met Zach, the man we mentioned above, whom we had the privilege of bringing to church as our visitor. He had a clear testimony of salvation but had since strayed from God. He heard a very powerful and timely message on making his life count for Christ. That night, Zach made a decision to grow in Christ once again!
From there began a very busy seven straight days of meetings in which my wife and I combined spoke a total of twelve times! The first half of those days took place at a Missions Conference in Ludington, Michigan, where we had the privilege of going soul winning for a total of five hours and then partnering with that church! From there, we made a six-hour drive to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, for our next conference. It was there that we had the privilege of spending an hour and a half soul winning with Sam, a student majoring in missions with a sincere burden for Japan. It was also at that conference that I had the privilege of counseling Kotaro, who has been struggling with his relationship with God, and met his younger brother Kazu, who surrendered to missions at the conclusion of the conference. In the midst of God stirring hearts there, we received a phone call from Whitmore Lake, Michigan, letting us know that they have partnered with us. Glory to God!
A very exciting new ministry opportunity sprung up the following week. We received a phone call from one of our friends in Beaver Creek, Oregon, letting us know that they are now having groups of Japanese exchange students regularly come through their Christian academy. I immediately contacted the pastor there, who is one of our partners, asking to do a live video class where I could go through the Gospel with them and answer any of their questions. After spending hours with these students, we heard back that Mako, Honoka, and Yuto accepted Christ as their Saviour and that Yuto also followed Him in believer’s baptism! Hallelujah! These are Japanese souls that have been added to your account in Heaven!
Two additional churches partnered with us at the conclusion of this month in Indiana and then in California. Thank you for all of your support!
Your friends and co-laborers to Japan,
Go and Danielle Oishi
