Hello!
Jumping back to Easter at the end of March, thank you for your prayers for all the events surrounding Easter. They all went really well! The Kids Cafe had around 20 children come, and we shared about how we celebrate Easter and taught some English words surrounding the holiday. Then we had the Happy Kids Easter event, where we sang songs, did crafts, and shared the true story of Easter! The children who came are now students in my English classes, so having shared the Gospel so clearly at the outset has given a good foundation for conversations that occur during the lessons.
One special
tradition I began last year was to hold a Passover Seder meal on Good Friday. I invited some church friends to join me, but they had to work, so I observed it alone this year. Hopefully next year I will be able to host several people for this special and symbolic meal. 
On Easter Sunday, one of my middle-school English students came with his mother to the service and stayed for lunch! We had quite a feast! The Easter service in the afternoon was also a special time.We've had a total of four Kids Cafes since my last update, and more and more children come every time! This last time, there were 26 children signed up to come! We are so grateful
for how this has grown and given us the opportunity 
to touch so many lives with a simple meal and a morning together. We always play a game, make a craft, and learn a few English words, before we enjoy our delicious lunch together!
There have been two Funday Saturday events at Odawara Christian Center. These are outreach events to the area, and are open to anyone, but are specifically aimed at youth. They have both been a lovely time of fellowship and fun! The guest speakers at the first Funday were a couple (he from Canada and she from Japan) who shared their journey to becoming missionaries in Japan, and included a Gospel presentation. The guest speaker at the second one was...Me! They originally asked me to give a harp performance, but since I don't have a harp here, we settled on playing a few piano pieces and sharing my testimony. Even though it was the most nervous I've been in a while, I am so thankful for the chance to share what God has done in my life with these people.
We've had several birthdays recently, including Pastor Bang’s! It has been fun to celebrate each one and show my appreciation for their friendship in the most common Asian love language: FOOD! I am thankful for these friendships God has given me and for the chance to strengthen them through fellowship.
Speaking of food, two ladies from
the church invited our Thursday morning Bible study group to their houses for lunch, which gave a special look into their lives outside of church, and I got to meet their husbands for the first time! Please pray for the salvation of these men. These ladies always make sure I'm not going hungry!A quick look into some of my adventures on my days off (pictured below): enjoying a sweet treat at the local sakura festival, a harp concert, visiting the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo, admiring God's creation in an aquarium in nearby Enoshima, seeing the Sakura in Ueno with a friend, the yummy coffee and food offered only at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, petting owls at an owl cafe (you would not believe how soft they are!), and having German food for the first time in forever at an Oktoberfest (in May) in Tokyo. Not pictured: a fun concert in April, seeing Frozen on their version of Broadway, and attending a performance of Romeo and Juliet (in English) performed by local and visiting actors!
I have started leading an English Bible Study at OCC once a month! It's been a while since I've led a Bible study, and as some attendees are English learners and/or non-believers, I am careful to tailor the focus of each lesson to help them best understand God's Word. Pray for guidance and wisdom in the topics I choose, and for their eyes to be opened to the truth they are reading, questioning, and discussing.
In addition to continuing to take Japanese lessons online, I have started attending a Japanese tutoring time offered by my local community center! I meet with the same lady every time, and we are developing our relationship. We are even going to a festival together soon! She has been exposed to some stories from the Bible from her time living in America several years ago, so I have been able to share more through our conversation times. Pray her heart would be open and that I could clearly present the Gospel in a way she can understand.
Lastly, We have a new pastor and his family joining our team at SCC! He is Japanese, his wife was raised in Japan, and they have a one-year-old baby. They have been serving in Thailand for a few years but felt it was time to return home and minister here. Pray for them as they settle in, and pray for us all as we adjust to what being a team looks like.
Upcoming: At the end of July, we will be hosting two different teams from a church in Korea over two weeks, and they will be leading English Summer Day Camps at both churches! This will be a great chance for outreach and letting more people know about our English classes, as well as a chance to share the Gospel with children who otherwise might never hear it. The teams are between 8 and 11 people, which is a lot for these small churches, so hosting them will be a big task, but I am glad to be here to help them feel welcome and to lead them around. Pray for both churches as we host these teams, that we will have the stamina to serve alongside the visiting mission team. Also pray for the impact this will have on the children who attend, that their hearts would be open to hear the truth of the Gospel.
Praises:
- Easter and other events have gone well and the love of God has been shown!
- My Japanese continues to improve, and I have gotten to use it in a variety of situations!
- All the English classes are going well, and many children are attending the Kids Cafe! We are able to build relationships with these children and their parents, hopefully leading to a chance to share the Gospel clearly.
- I've made a few friends and gotten to spend some time with them!
- The team at SCC has grown with the arrival of the new pastor and his wife and baby!
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for my team, as we adjust to the new pastor and his family at SCC and learn what ministry together looks like.
- Pray for the many with whom I have come into contact, that the seeds planted would grow and bear fruit.
- Continue to pray for all the English classes, that it would not only be a time of learning English but a chance for them to experience the love and hope of Jesus. Pray that I would continue having opportunities to weave the Gospel into lesson conversations.
- Pray for upcoming events, especially the Summer Day Camps, that they would go smoothly, be well attended, and that we would share with boldness the Hope we have within us.
- Pray for each other. Pray for the person who reads this next, only God knows who that is, that they would feel the blessing and joy of the fellowship of saints.
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