All praises to our King! Much like last December, God has allowed us to end the year with a full and fruitful calendar. We are once again thrilled to share with you the dividends of your faithful prayers and financial giving, as well as give you a glimpse of what is to come in 2020.
If you recall from last month’s praise report, we finished November on a Saturday by going soul winning with a church in Dundee, Michigan, where we had the privilege of leading a young man named Malachi to the Lord. On the first of December, that same church voted to partner with us the evening that we presented! Praise the Lord for yet another partner in His Great Commission!
From there we drove to West Alexandria, Ohio, where we had the privilege of presenting our ministry and spending 2½ hours soul winning the day after. We finished off our Midwest leg of meetings at our next church in Charlevoix, Michigan. After a wonderful time presenting with that church, we began our fourth cross-country drive back to our West Coast deputation states. Though our two-wheel drive, California-license-plated Toyota Prius was most definitely scheduled to come face to face with freezing rain and blizzards, the Lord kept holding back the winter storm each day that we drove south from Michigan! Thank you for faithfully praying for us—it truly does make a great difference, both in ways we can and cannot see.
On our way down to the Southern route across the United States, we enjoyed an hour of soul winning and a good time presenting our ministry in Jefferson City, Missouri. We did not hit any bad weather whatsoever as we drove many miles this winter. Once again, we are grateful for a grand army of Christians who pray for us and for a great and mighty King Who hears those prayers and protects us faithfully! During our long drive, we heard back from the church in Dundee, Michigan, letting us know that they had gone back to visit Malachi and were able to see his older brother receive Christ as Saviour as well! Soon after, we also heard back from a church in Porterville, California, and a church in Long Beach, Washington, both letting us know that they had voted to partner with us financially! The Lord is good!
We arrived safely back in California, and we finished off the final meeting of this year in the city of Phelan, where a friend whom we met while still on deputation had planted a church. It was encouraging to see how the Lord has grown this church in just a few months! Seeing our friends complete deputation and begin reaching the people they are called to reach excites us for what lies ahead in 2020. As you know, we have been praying that God would allow us to complete deputation by the time July comes along for the FBMI 2020 Japan Olympic Outreach. My wife and I have decided that we will, at the very least, secure our residence in Japan during this time, and that any subsequent flights to America for paperwork and our few scheduled meetings after the outreach will be round-trip tickets from Japan. We will be spending at least two full months in Japan in 2020, one for the outreach and the other for settling into our new home and ministry at the Senri Newtown Baptist Church. We have very exciting days ahead!
Your friends and co-laborers to Japan,
Go and Danielle Oishi
