In 2015, I made the transition from English teacher in Japan to missionary in Japan. Coming from a non-Christian background, I had quite a few conversations with family members who were trying to understand my decision. As an English teacher, I was doing good work and getting paid well for it, right? Why couldn’t I just keep doing that?

It was a fair question, and one I had asked myself months earlier in prayer. What does this decision to leave the professional world for full-time global ministry entail? If I already get to tell my students about Jesus, why do I have to leave my well-paying job? I had to sit with Jesus and “count the cost” (Luke 14:28). 

It boiled down to the fact that I knew God was telling me to give my life to the church in Japan for the next season, and I knew I had to obey. More than that, my heart yearned to obey, even when I couldn’t see everything this decision would cost me. And this was the answer that confused my family the most. 

That summer I sat down with my parents, walked through what training and support raising would look like, and explained what I hoped to do when I went back to Japan. As his “little girl,” my dad was most concerned for my welfare. He wanted me to promise him that I would be safe. But I couldn’t. 

When it comes to sharing the gospel or even daily life, Japan can be considered a very safe country, even safer than the States. We serve under approved religious worker visas, and the crime rates in Japan are incredibly low. However, I had to remind my dad that just four years earlier, he saw me off to Sendai, Japan, and then a month later–March 11, 2011–I experienced one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history. I could not promise him my safety. 

Three years passed. During the middle of my first term as an SIM/Asian Access missionary, I came home for Christmas. It was 2018, one month after John Chau had attempted to reach the Sentinelese people to share Jesus with them. Again, my dad brought up his concerns and asked me to promise that I wouldn’t do what John did. And again, I couldn’t. 

I told him that at least for now I know I’m not called to somewhere hostile to Christians because God had called me to Japan. I also told him that right now I don’t have a desire to serve somewhere dangerous, but I couldn’t promise him that my heart wouldn’t be burdened in the future. I told him Jesus doesn’t promise my safety, but He does promise that He is always with me and that He will use all things for my good. 

Of course, we are also called to exercise wisdom, not to be reckless in making decisions, and to seek good counsel, which includes our parents. However, American culture often tempts us to make an idol out of safety. There are no guarantees; I could easily lose my life commuting to work in a local school district here in the States. It’s not a question of “Will we be safe?”—but “Will we be faithful in whatever God has called us to?” 

Bethany Ho

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Bethany first came to Japan in February 2011 to teach English at a school in Sendai. After experiencing the Tohoku Triple Disaster on March 11, she prayed and knew that God wanted her to stay. She taught at the school for four years and was also involved in a local church during that time. Her last year teaching, she felt God calling her to serve full-time with the church, and God opened up the doors for her to partner with Asian Access and the local church in Sendai. She served as a field missionary with the church in Sendai from 2016-2022, and she is now serving in the SIM Recruiting Department with a heart for multiplying the harvest workers sent to Japan.

 

More Information

• Cover photo by Sammie Chaffin on Unsplash
• More about Urbana '22
• Read Bethany's staff profile

主の御名を崇めて賛美いたします。
激動の２０２２年も終わりに近づいている今日この頃、いかがお過ごしでしょうか。
コロナ禍で開催ができずにおりました、アジアンアクセスジャパン大会を開催することになりました。

今回のテーマは『２０２０から２０３０へ』として、２０２０ビジョンを掲げて歩んで来た今までの恵を振り返りつつ、激動する時代の中で考えさせられている現実を共有し、それを踏まえて２０３０年に向けて再出発する時とできればと考えております。

初日には、前アジアンアクセス総裁のダグラスバーザル師と、現総裁のハンドレージョー師をお迎えして今までの歩みを覚え、夜には祝賀会を開催します。
二日目は、現在研修を行なっている、教会指導者研修生とU30牧師研修生の牧師たちから、未来の日本宣教への提言をしていただき、それを踏まえて参加者皆さんでディスカッションをしていきたいと思います。
三日目は、これから具体的にどのように歩んでいけばいいのか、アクションプランなどを自由に考え合い、一緒に出発していきたいと思います。

３年ぶりの対面での開催となりますアジアンアクセスジャパン大会に、ぜひご参加いただけますようにご案内いたします。

対象者は、牧師、伝道師、神学生、信徒、宣教師、日本宣教に関心のある方ならどなたでもご参加くださって結構です。

 

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I recently scoured the internet archives to find the blog I started in 2011 as an English teach in Japan, about five years before getting connected with SIM and Asian Access missionaries. After over a decade of calling the place home, I wanted to see how young Bethany encountered Japan with fresh eyes. How did God lead me there? How was I listening and following the voice of my Good Shepherd then?

God often uses hardships to shape us. I initially had no interest in living abroad in Japan, but losing my job a year after graduating from college, He directed my steps to the only job I could see, which eventually connected me to His church and mission in Japan. Excerpts from my application essay provide a good snapshot of 23-year-old Bethany’s shaky steps towards serving Jesus in Japan: 

 

Who I Am and Why I Want to Work in Japan

(Written in 2010, my application for teaching in Japan)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11

The proverbial verse for many people in my position in life. As a recent graduate, I have heard and come back to this verse a lot. I have no clue what God’s plans for my life are, but it’s comforting knowing that He plans to give me hope and a future. Well, sometimes comforting, often frustrating. He has placed desires in my heart and experiences in my life that shape who I am, but I still can’t see what shape I’m in right now or what He’s shaping me into. I’m nothing if not honest, and honestly, I am frustrated.

My sophomore year of college was full of changes. The summer before, I switched my major to secondary English education, and so I started my new coursework in the fall. In one of my education survey classes, I heard about a teaching fellowship program at my university. This program would allow me to earn my master’s degree during my first year of teaching for free. Already my achievement-oriented mind was turning, and I was making my plans towards this fellowship. But this was hardly the biggest change.

My boyfriend at the time was Christian, and I was not. God used this messy relationship to connect me with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. Over time I got involved in a Bible study and later started going to their services too. I just remember being so blown away at how different each person was, how much they loved each other regardless of those differences, and how much they actually loved me. Suddenly Jesus looked very real to me. By the second service, I accepted Jesus into my life.

My life slowly shifted when I learned more and more about Jesus and His love and desire for my life. I eventually started wondering if teaching was what He had planned for me, but I was always too afraid to ask Him, too afraid that He had something different and that I was on the wrong track. Instead, I poured myself into what I had at the moment: my relationship with Jesus and my studies in education.

My junior year I was involved in my first missions trip. During the summer, our Chi Alpha Team spent eleven days in Kingston, Jamaica serving at the City of Refuge Children’s Home. Those kids, so many abused and abandoned in horrific ways, blew me away. I remember one of our first days there hearing one little boy pray out loud for all the thieves, murderers, and rapists in their country. They gave me a lesson in grace and love I could experience nowhere else. God has amazing plans for those children, and I was blessed to touch their lives for a moment.

My senior year was challenging. I was on Chi Alpha leadership, working with International Student Friendship and co-leading a small group Bible study. This was also my last year, so I was applying for the Teaching Fellows Program and getting ready to do my student teaching. Transitioning from student to teacher was one of the hardest experiences of my life, and I began to earnestly question whether or not being a traditional classroom teacher was really what God had planned for me. However, I survived, and I even achieved my goal: I was accepted into the Teaching Fellowship Program.

During my fellowship experience, I was a full-time teacher and a full-time graduate student, teaching eighth grade communication arts. Soon I was again plagued with the doubts from my student teaching. Is this really what God has planned for me? After three years of avoiding the question, I finally started bringing it to God. By Christmas, I found out that due to budget cuts, I would not be hired for the next school year. God wasn’t going to let me get comfortable.

Again with the honesty, I don’t know if Japan is my perfect fit. I know that the traditional classroom is not my place right now. I know that He has given me a desire to travel and a love for learning about new cultures and meeting new people. Someone at church prayed for me this week saying, “You can’t steer a parked car.” I am eager to explore my possibilities. I have achieved my meager plans and have come to a crossroads. I want what God has planned for me now. I know moving to Japan for a year will be hard, and I will miss my family and friends deeply. But no other time in my life is better, and I am looking forward to an adventure. 

 

Flash Forward

When I wrote this essay, I was hoping I would get hired by this little school in Northeast Japan. I had no idea at the time that God would bring me to Sendai one month before the March 11 Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster. I had no idea I would stay at the school for four years, that He would give me a church family in Sendai, and that He would put it on my heart to serve His church in Japan fulltime as a missionary. I had no idea the pieces He was setting in place, and I feel like I was still just getting to know this God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” Ephesians 2:20.

To Him be the glory, because He knows more than I do.

Bethany Ho

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Bethany first came to Japan in February 2011 to teach English at a school in Sendai. After experiencing the Tohoku Triple Disaster on March 11, she prayed and knew that God wanted her to stay. She taught at the school for four years and was also involved in a local church during that time. Her last year teaching, she felt God calling her to serve full-time with the church, and God opened up the doors for her to partner with Asian Access and the local church in Sendai. She served as a field missionary with the church in Sendai from 2016-2022, and she is now serving in the SIM Recruiting Department with a heart for multiplying the harvest workers sent to Japan.

 

More Information

• More about Urbana '22
• Read Bethany's staff profile

By Jeanine Birdsall

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His faithful servants.”
— Psalm 116:15

“It’s hard to think of a world without Auntie Jan in it”. This was our daughter Stacia’s response to the news that her beloved Auntie Jan had passed into eternity. I agree.

Jan was one of the first people Doug and I met after we landed at Haneda Airport in January 1980. We stayed with the Wendlings' for the first three days of our new life in Japan. From our first meeting, Jan’s warmth and kindness wrapped us in loving welcome. Though everything outside their Higashi Kurume house was overwhelmingly foreign to us, inside, we felt at home.

Knowing Jan made all the difference in my own early adjustment to Japan. From her, I learned how to shop, how to interact with the neighbors, how to navigate the medical system, how to do daily life in Japan.

Jan has also been my example in how to remain patient (well, somewhat patient) with an always-on-the-go husband, how to treasure your children yet stand your ground as “the parent”, how to make family worship fun (well, somewhat fun), how to love my family first.

Doug and I shared with Ken and Jan that, second only to parents, they have had the greatest influence on our lives. We watched them enjoy the good blessings God has given them: their boys, their cabin at Takayama, their friendships, and in recent years, their daughters-in-law and beautiful grandchildren. We also learned from them how to pray with perseverance through the inevitable challenges of life and ministry.

This past spring, I spent a sunny, blue-sky afternoon with Jan, enjoying their back garden, her little King Charles spaniel at her side.  I could only marvel at the beauty of Jan’s countenance, even as she shared the pain and losses of battling cancer. Her love for others – she never failed to ask about the wellbeing of our children and grandchildren – and her love for Jesus never flagged.  “I’ve asked the Lord for five more years with Kenny, but I’ll accept whatever He has for us.”

“I’ve asked the Lord for five more years with Kenny, but I’ll accept whatever He has for us.”

Like Stacia, and like so many of you, I feel that a light has gone out of the world with Jan’s passing. My heart is broken for the loss this is for Ken and their family. Yet I can’t help but smile through tears when I remember that Jan has been made whole in the presence of the Lord Jesus, the Savior she loved and served so well.

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.”  John 11:25

 

More Information

• The family will hold a memorial service for Jan Wendling on Friday, November 18, 2022 (10:30AM PST) at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California.
• Jan Wendling's Caring Bridge page: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/janetwendling
• Photos:
  1. Cover photo, Jan and husband Ken in 1986.
  2. Founding family circa 1978.
  3. Inset: Doug & Jeanie Birdsall (left), Joe & Silk Handley (middle), along with the founding president Ken and Jan (right), taken at the 50th Anniversary Jubilee gathering in 2017.
  4. Jan & Ken, the founders, along with the first board of directors, circa 1967.

____________________________

Jeanie Birdsall first arrived in Japan with her husband Doug in 1980, serving there for 20 years, and they have remained as A2 missionaries for 42+ years. Throughout their years of service with Asian Access, Jeanie has been involved in many dimensions of ministry in Japan and in the States. She has enjoyed teaching the Bible and mentoring women in the communities where they have lived. During her years of raising a family and serving the mission, Jeanie has also earned graduate degrees at Fuller Theological Seminary and at Gordon-Conwell. The Birdsalls, who now live in Boston, have three adult children—Stacia, Judson, and Jessamin—and are greatly enjoying being grandparents.

For as long as I have been with Asian Access, we have been praying for more missionaries. Our team of cross-cultural workers desires to partner well with what God is doing through the church in Japan. Over 99% of Japanese people are living and dying without Christ. The harvest is plentiful, and the workers are few. Yet, despite all of our efforts to mobilize new people, our team size has remained relatively static for the last decade or two.

Then, during the pandemic, we saw a significant increase in applicants to serve in Japan. At the same time, Japan’s border was closed to tourists, and most visa applications were put on hold for nearly two years—with participants in the Tokyo Olympics being a notable exception in 2021. I went back and forth between excitement about the new people who were applying to serve with us, frustration that the border was closed, confusion about why now, fear that the applicants would give up and go to a different country, and hope that God was up to something with this unusual timing.

Finally, this year Japan began approving visa applications. In July, we welcomed Kohei and Linda Koyama and their four young boys. Twelve days later, we welcomed Michelle Ko.

Kohei and Linda Koyama served independently in Iwate Prefecture for several years following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami and then returned home to America. Kohei’s ability as a native Japanese speaker and Linda’s past experience serving with InterVarsity bring a valuable blend of skills to our team. They are currently partnered with a local church in Yamagata Prefecture, one of the core churches in an emerging local network.

Michelle Ko brings several decades of experience serving with SIM in East Africa and Australia. She is our first—of hopefully many—missionaries to join us from outside North America and Japan. After an initial three months in Yokohama focusing on language acquisition, she will join our Yamagata team in October.

Please pray for Michelle and the Koyama family as they adjust to life and ministry in northern Japan. Also, pray that God would continue to call many more people to partner with the church in Japan to multiply disciples.

Robert Adair

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Robert Adair serves in Miyagi Prefecture through a partnership with Shiogama Bible Baptist Church and as the Missionary Director for Asian Access in Japan. Robert & Roberta have four energetic boys and enjoy spending time in the mountains.

  

Japan (MNN) — Japan remains a challenging spiritual battleground, but Gospel workers say the Lord IS moving in the island nation.

“A lot of fear permeates the culture here: fear of natural disasters, fear of war, fear of the virus,” Eric Takamoto with Asian Access says.

“Amid this turmoil, people are searching; we even see the younger generation reaching out and trying to find answers.”

God is also moving the hearts of Japanese women. Eric’s wife Sue began Nozomi Project, a faith-based social enterprise, after Japan’s triple disaster in 2011. One woman began working at Nozomi, turning broken pottery into pieces of jewelry.

She heard about Christ and His redemption time and time again. But the Gospel didn’t take root until more than a decade later.

Last year, the woman had to quit her job at Nozomi when diagnosed with breast cancer. “She ended up with a lot of depression and mental illness and has been in and out of hospitals,” Sue Takamoto says.

“One of our teammates and Eric and I had the privilege of baptizing her in her bed the day before she went into the hospital for three months. We couldn’t see her at all because of COVID. We could [only] text her and send her Bible verses and things,” Sue continues.

Finally, when she was discharged from the hospital, “she came out of there [a] changed woman, she has hope. God has done this healing.”

The story doesn’t end there. “She has a testimony of reaching out to the nursing staff in the hospital and the patients sharing her room and giving them hope with prayer,” Eric adds.

Pray the Lord will continue breaking spiritual strongholds in Japan. Pray more Japanese women will discover how only Christ can heal their brokenness and give them hope.

“In Japan, there’s a mentality of [toughness] – ‘I’m okay; I’m going to grit my teeth and get through this [ordeal].’ People have been doing this for 11 years, but the memories don’t just heal themselves,” Sue says.

“Pray God would do special work; that people will be open to God and the Holy Spirit to bring healing.”

 

Listen to the broadcast (story begins at 2:38)

Direct Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Aug11-2022.mp3

More Information

• This story by Katey Hearth was originally published on 11-Aug-2022 by Mission Network News:
  https://www.mnnonline.org/news/former-nozomi-project-worker-turns-to-christ/
• Download the audio file: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Aug11-2022.mp3
• Image credits:
  • Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of dep377/Pixabay.
  • Inset: Nozomi means ‘hope’ in Japanese.(Photo courtesy of Nozomi Project)

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Mission Network News exists to inform multitudes about stories that matter and empowers them to take action that changes lives. Join over 1 million radio and internet users each day. Hear stories of what God is doing around the world – and how you can be involved. Each MNN broadcast includes pray, give, or go opportunities that help you find your place in the story. Sign up at mnnonline.org to receive daily news in your inbox. Or check out MNN on social media and share them with others. MNN is a ministry of OneWay Ministries.

 

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost,”
­— J.R.R. Tolkien

From my very first chapter book I have been a re-reader of stories. My mom read Sterling North’s Rascal (funnily enough, a popular anime in Japan) to my little brother and me when I was in the first or second grade. When she finished the book, I loved it so much that I immediately wanted to go back into the story and experience it by myself. I have been voraciously re-reading ever since. Each story is as comforting as getting coffee with a dear friend.

The Praise Community Church family prays for Bethany on her last Sunday after serving with the church 11 years. 

The beginning of 2022 I entered into the biggest upheaval of my life. After being my home for eleven years, I was preparing to leave Japan with no clear plans to return. On top of that, in the throes of reentry and reverse-culture shock, I planned on getting married two months after my return to the States. It was not at all surprising to me then that my soul started craving the companionship of a certain Fellowship. As I picked up The Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time, my heart resonated afresh with Gandalf’s poem about Aragorn.

Bethany's last foreseeable Shinkansen (bullet train) ride, departing from Sendai for Tokyo.

My last term in Japan under the weight of Covid did not seem very glittery; we who live by the Spirit are certainly wanderers; and I felt keenly my need of strong, deep roots as I transplanted from one land to another.

My dad was an Eagle Scout, so inevitably we grew up camping when I was a kid. When it was time to pack up and go home, he taught us to “leave the campsite cleaner than you found it,” and we would scour around the site trying to throw away bits of trash that weren’t even ours.

That’s much harder to do on the mission field. Debriefing with a counselor in SIM, she encouraged me saying,

“You don’t like to leave a job undone, but the truth is that this work will never be finished.”

Now of course we know that this work does have an end date: when Jesus returns. But He is God in heaven, and He does all that He pleases. The truth is that we will often have moments of wrestling with disappointment, leaving work “unfinished,” waiting for the perfect fulfillment of His sure word. Leaving is hard, no matter when it happens. Saying goodbye is hard.

I have watched God do incredible things in this part of His household at Praise Community Church (PCC) in Sendai, and He has used this family to do incredible things in me. We have moved out of borrowing a smoky bar on Sunday mornings to a space that is all ours to use throughout the week. I have seen two Japanese sisters make decisions to go back to school and study ministry full-time. Our church’s homeless support went from care packages on Sundays to a weekly Bible study. Men have chosen to get off the streets, and several have given their lives to Jesus. Brothers and sisters keep choosing Jesus through their own trials and hardships.

Back in February, I gave my last message at PCC (in Japanese!). I thanked my Japanese brothers and sisters for the spiritual gifts they have blessed me with: deep respect for people, a strong sense of responsibility, and perseverance. They are gifts that I will carry with me the rest of my life.

My role as missionary in Japan has been to support the local church and to empower the work of my pastor. The work isn’t finished, but I hope that God has brought us all a little closer. Then in a few months, I look forward to stepping into a new role, serving in the recruiting department to equip new wanderers, aka missionaries, to go themselves.

My last week in Japan, I reached the chapter titled, “The Breaking of the Fellowship,” in The Fellowship of the Ring. Finding myself in the story, I wept thinking about my own Fellowship in Japan I knew I would soon be missing. But through the same story God encouraged me: He continues to hold all our days in His hands, and we continue to be on the same journey together in His Kingdom.

Forming a new Fellowship: Bethany and Josh viewing the cherry blossoms together in St. Louis.

Bethany Ho

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Bethany first came to Japan in February 2011 to teach English at a school in Sendai. After experiencing the Tohoku Triple Disaster on March 11, she prayed and knew that God wanted her to stay. She taught at the school for four years and was also involved in a local church during that time. Her last year teaching, she felt God calling her to serve full-time with the church, and God opened up the doors for her to partner with Asian Access and the local church in Sendai. She served as a field missionary with the church in Sendai from 2016-2022, and she is now serving in the SIM Recruiting Department with a heart for multiplying the harvest workers sent to Japan.

 

More Information

• Bethany's A2 staff profile

On July 22, Asian Access missionary Dr. John Houlette received the Office Fujikake Award for the Japanese version of his book, Resilience: How Japanese Pastors Can Thrive in Every Season. The award is given annually to a new book in Christian counseling by Dr. Akira Fujikake, clinical psychologist, and visiting Professor at the Seigakuin University General Research Institute.

Four Seasons for Leaders

My friend John, an avid runner, pulls from Scripture, personal experience, and interviews with Japanese pastors and leaders to construct and articulate a four seasons model for leaders. The author cleverly defines these four seasons as Departing, Arriving, Leading and Finishing Well in life and ministry. The majority of John's life has been spent in Japan, so it’s not surprising that the key voices throughout the book are Japanese.

Beyond the obvious application for established leaders and pastors in Japan, this book is a helpful training resource for those considering ministry in East Asia.

Water Stations Along the Journey

As a runner myself, I was struck by this passage:

“Marathon runners utilize water stations to quench their thirst just as a pastor finds ways to restore his vitality. There are many ‘water stations’ along the journey; we need to find and use them to finish well” (page 13).

There have been times on a long run when I did not adequately hydrate along the way. I was running along, having a good time, and before I knew it, I was walking, dehydrated, and hoping I would make it home without having to call someone to pick me up. John's book provides practical help to find the rest stations we need in our ministry life—to help us finish well and not be another casualty of the stress, pressures, and temptations of ministry.

A Career Encore

He also explores the idea of a “career encore.” In the model of passing the baton, the runner who lets go of the baton stops running. This is in stark contrast to the performer being called back on stage for one more song even though the concert is over. "Resilience" reminds me of the importance of being a lifelong learner and encourages me to already be considering what my contribution could be after I retire, which is hopefully 20 to 30 years away for me.

Our missionary team in Japan is proud of John and celebrates him receiving this well-earned recognition. If you are currently serving in Japan or hope to in the future, I strongly recommend "Resilience: How Japanese Pastors Can Thrive in Every Season” as a travel guide on your journey.

 

Robert Adair

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Robert Adair serves in Miyagi Prefecture through a partnership with Shiogama Bible Baptist Church and as the Missionary Director for Asian Access in Japan. Robert & Roberta have four energetic boys and enjoy spending time in the mountains.

 

More Information

• Cover image:  John Houlette pictured with 2021 winner, Rev. Nobuyuki Toyoda, pastor of New Life Christ Church in Osaka and a graduate of Asian Access (left) and with Dr. Akira Fujikake (right), founder of the award.
• Buy the book “Resilience” here...
• John Houlette’s staff profile...
• Joe Handley's book review
• John Houlette's blog post: Water Please! 

 

Japan (MNN) — Deadly details emerge in Japan. The man accused of killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is reportedly undergoing extensive mental health tests before prosecution can proceed.

Regarding motive, the suspect told investigators his mother joined a cult called the Unification Church and bankrupted the family by giving to this cult. “He (the killer) thought Abe played a key role in allowing this cult to spread within Japan,” Takeshi Takazawa of Asian Access says.

Originally from South Korea, the Unification Church was formerly called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The cult draws significant financial support from followers in Japan. Lawyers say the cult forced families and ex-members to give $37 million between 2017 and 2020.

The “Unification Church leads followers [to think that] giving more money to this church would help them, or [result in] blessing,” Takazawa says.

A spiritual side to Japanese culture makes them prime targets for false teachings.

“You don’t have to try to prove to any Japanese people that there is a spiritual realm [or] there is a supernatural being beyond our life; even scientists would believe [that idea],” Takazawa says.

“We (Japanese people) hold a certain respect for any religion. Anything can be religion; anything can be a deity, if you believe.”

Japanese Christians may be small in number, but they’re introducing people to the truth of Jesus. Help Asian Access equip Christ-followers in Japan here.

“Christianity in Japan is less than one percent of the population. Pray for Japanese people to be open and see God’s love. Pray [Japanese] Christians would have the opportunity to share God’s love,” Takazawa requests.

“The evil one (Satan) has put lots of ‘eye shields’ so that we (Japanese) can’t see the truth. Pray Japanese people can see the love of Jesus Christ expressed in tangible ways.”

 

Listen to the broadcast (story begins at 2:51)

Direct Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jul14-2022.mp3

More Information

• This story by Katey Hearth was originally published on 14-Jul-2022 by Mission Network News:
  https://www.mnnonline.org/news/south-korean-cult-poses-problems-in-japan/
• Download the audio file: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jul14-2022.mp3
• Image credits:
  • Header image depicts a Unification Church facility in Seto, Japan. (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Inset: Family Federation for World Peace and Unification symbol (Wikimedia Commons)

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Mission Network News exists to inform multitudes about stories that matter and empowers them to take action that changes lives. Join over 1 million radio and internet users each day. Hear stories of what God is doing around the world – and how you can be involved. Each MNN broadcast includes pray, give, or go opportunities that help you find your place in the story. Sign up at mnnonline.org to receive daily news in your inbox. Or check out MNN on social media and share them with others. MNN is a ministry of OneWay Ministries.

 

Japan (MNN) — Victory is bittersweet for Japan’s newly-elected leaders following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Abe’s assassination is the first of a sitting or former Prime Minister since 1932.

Japan remains in a state of national mourning. Abe was the longest-serving leader of modern Japan. “The entire country’s in shock, still,” Takeshi Takazawa of Asian Access says.

Abe was giving a political speech on Friday when a man shot him in the back with a homemade gun. Police immediately apprehended the killer, a 41-year-old former member of Japan’s Self Defense Force.

“We don’t call it military; even though [soldiers have guns], those are for defending our country,” Takazawa explains.

Japan strictly regulates firearms, and political violence is extremely rare. “We do not think killing is the answer; that’s part of our Constitution as a nation,” Takazawa says.

“Nobody wishes even political rivalries to be killed; lives shouldn’t be taken just because you don’t agree with them.”

Pray for Asian Access staff in Japan as they mourn alongside their fellow citizens. Pray believers find an opportunity to share the hope only Christ can offer.

Several years ago, “Mr. Abe’s wife, Akie, visited our missionary, Sue Takamoto, and they became good friends,” Takazawa says.

“We will pray for Sue Takamoto to be able to comfort Mrs. Akie Abe [during] this critical moment.”

Ask the Lord to guide Japan’s newly-elected government leaders. “We’re encouraged to pray for our leaders. We pray for all those people who will be receiving the seat in Congress so that they may fear God,” Takazawa says.

A pastor connected to Asian Access decided to campaign in this year’s election. “We were praying that God [would allow] him to have a voice in the national political scene as a Christian. At this point, we have no one,” Takazawa says.

“In the past, we had one pastor who [became] a national Congress member, but now we do not have anybody as a pastor serving there.

 

Listen to the broadcast (top story)

Direct Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jul11-2022.mp3

More Information

• This story by Katey Hearth was originally published on 11-Jul-2022 by Mission Network News:
  https://www.mnnonline.org/news/abe-assassination-mars-2022-japan-elections/
• Download the audio file: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jul11-2022.mp3
• Image credits:
  • Header image depicts former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe bowing during a 2020 press conference announcing his resignation. (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Then-Prime Minister Shinzō Abe arriving in the United States together with his wife Akie Abe on November 17, 2016. (Wikimedia Commons)

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Mission Network News exists to inform multitudes about stories that matter and empowers them to take action that changes lives. Join over 1 million radio and internet users each day. Hear stories of what God is doing around the world – and how you can be involved. Each MNN broadcast includes pray, give, or go opportunities that help you find your place in the story. Sign up at mnnonline.org to receive daily news in your inbox. Or check out MNN on social media and share them with others. MNN is a ministry of OneWay Ministries.

 

Japan (MNN) — Asian Access has officially passed the baton of ministry in Japan to the Japanese leadership.

Robert Adair explains. “For a good decade or so most of our deployment of missionaries and the overall vision has been led by our Japanese partners. But we’ve actually taken this step of sliding our shukyo hojin, or religious status, and fully bringing that under the control of our Japanese expression of Asian access in Japan.

“Now, both on a vision side and legally, everything is led by Japanese Christians.”

Asian Access has worked in Japan since 1967.

Bigger vision

From 1986 to 2020, they had the vision to plant 1,000 reproducing churches across the country.

In 2022, Adair says the ministry has achieved the spirit of this goal, even if they have not reached those numbers yet. And the work continues. “It’s not just a vision of Asian Access sending out 1000 Church multiplication teams. It’s partnering with the entire Church in Japan, and helping the Japanese Church try to pursue 2% of the population following Christ. We want as many churches in Japan as we have convenience stores, which would be around 50,000 churches.”

Unity

Many Christians in Japan began to work more closely together after the triple disaster on March 11, 2011. An earthquake caused a massive tsunami which in turn overwhelmed a nuclear reactor, causing it to melt down.

Adair says, “It tore down a lot of the divides between both denominations within Japan, and honestly, between missions organizations. The need was so significant.”

Pray that the good news of Jesus would spread to many people across Japan. Ask God to strengthen the A2 Japan leadership. Pray that they would be a unifying voice in the Japanese Church, crossing divides between groups that haven’t worked together before.

 

Listen to the broadcast (story starts at 2:46)

Direct Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jun07-2022.mp3

 

More Information

• This story by Kevin Zeller was originally published on 07-Jun-2022 by Mission Network News:
  https://www.mnnonline.org/news/asian-access-passes-baton-to-japanese-leadership/
• Download the audio file: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jun07-2022.mp3
• Header image courtesy of Asian Access.

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Mission Network News exists to inform multitudes about stories that matter and empowers them to take action that changes lives. Join over 1 million radio and internet users each day. Hear stories of what God is doing around the world – and how you can be involved. Each MNN broadcast includes pray, give, or go opportunities that help you find your place in the story. Sign up at mnnonline.org to receive daily news in your inbox. Or check out MNN on social media and share them with others. MNN is a ministry of OneWay Ministries.

 

June 5, 2022 is the International Day for the Unreached

A third of the world still lacks access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are no local churches, no Bible in their own language, and no local believers.

On Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022, join Christians around the world for the International Day for the Unreached. The day will include live streaming events hosted by the Alliance for the Unreached and ways to spread awareness and rally as many people as possible to join the cause.

A THIRD OF HUMANITY IS STILL IN THE DARK WITH NO CHANCE TO HEAR THE NAME OF JESUS.

But you can help change that.

• DRAW the symbol somewhere visible. Post on social media with #athirdofus
• Look for opportunities to TALK about it.
• PRAY about it.
• DO something.

A third of the world is still denied access to the Gospel. Do you want to help give everyone a chance to know Jesus? Take step one today. Draw the symbol somewhere visible and then talk about it! (Photo, caption courtesy of A Third of Us)

 

OVERVIEW VIDEO

 

WATCH AND PRAY WITH US ON JUNE 5TH

 

More Information

• Download the Prayer Guide.
• Learn more and download the free action guide, church kit, and family guide at athirdofus.com.
• Find more resources at Alliance for the Unreached.
• go2japan through Asian Access is a partner with Alliance for the Unreached as a champion member.

 

 

Christianity is about the power of the Gospel to transform our lives.

I want to share with you a real-life story of two sworn enemies – Fuchida, a Japanese commander and DeShazer, an American pilot. The setting is in World War II.

Mitsuo Fuchida commanded one of the most successful aerial attacks in history. On December 7, 1941, Fuchida’s squadron bombed Pearl Harbor.

Fuchida instantly became a hero in Japan. And obviously, he also became one of the most hated Japanese enemies by the American forces.

That hatred burned in Jacob DeShazer, a young bomber pilot who angrily swore,

“Japan will pay for this!”

That opportunity came when DeShazer was selected to be a part of the squadron in the first bombing raids over Japan. He was pumped. It’s pay-back time.

Unfortunately, after dropping his bombs on the city of Nagoya, DeShazer’s plane crashed in enemy territory. He was taken as a prisoner-of-war.

For almost two years, DeShazer suffered harsh treatment, including the pain of watching three of his fellow prisoners executed by the firing squad. In the midst of this suffering, his hatred of the Japanese deepened.

Then, in 1944, someone passed DeShazer a Bible. He began at Genesis and read on and on. There were some things in the Bible that he couldn’t understand. But the things that he did understand brought him a sublime comfort and a growing enlightenment.

And by the time he had come to the Book of Romans, DeShazer had opened his heart to the truth of the Gospel and surrendered his life to Jesus, as his Savior and Lord.

Immediately Matthew 5:44 challenged him,

“Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

Despite his deep inner struggle, DeShazer chose to obey the Lord’s command. Because of it, his attitude toward his Japanese captors began to change. As he prayed for them, his hatred subsided. And each morning he greeted them warmly despite his pitiful condition.

Slowly, their attitude towards him also changed. A few of them even brought him extra food and supplies.

Finally, the war was over and DeShazer was released.

DeShazer returned home a changed man. He studied for the ministry at Asbury Theological Seminary. Upon graduation, DeShazer decided to return to Japan, not as a tourist, but as a missionary!

Returning to Nagoya, the very city he had bombed, DeShazer started a church there.

And to witness to the Japanese people, he wrote and distributed a pamphlet - with the captivating title, “I Was A Prisoner of the Japanese”.

It wasn’t long before many came to hear DeShazer speak. They witnessed an ex-prisoner-of-war who could forgive and love his enemies - because of the transforming power of the Gospel!

On the other hand, things didn’t go well for the Japanese commander, Mitsuo Fuchida.

He had come out of the war a very disillusioned man. And because of his wartime commission, he was often called to Tokyo to testify at war-crime trials.

On one of these trips to Tokyo, Fuchida was handed the very pamphlet that DeShazer had written!

He was intrigued by the title “I Was A Prisoner Of The Japanese”. Curious as to what it had to say, Fuchida read and re-read it. He couldn’t believe that DeShazer could forgive his tormentors.

After reading the pamphlet, Fuchida decided to buy a Japanese Bible to read.

In reading the Scriptures, Fuchida was especially affected by the prayer of Christ on the cross:

“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:24).

It struck a deep chord in this wartime Japanese commander.“Why then”, Fuchida thought to himself, “Jesus had prayed for me to be forgiven!”

That night, alone in his farmhouse, Mitsuo Fuchida asked God to forgive him and became a Christian himself.

Subsequently, Fuchida wrote a book titled ‘From Pearl Harbor to Calvary’. It’s the inspiring story of his conversion to Christianity, and his call to the ministry.

Transformed by the power of the Gospel, Fuchida became a great evangelist for Jesus, in Japan and beyond!

And the best part is, Fuchida eventually met DeShazer. And these two men, who were once sworn enemies, became the best of friends, brothers in Christ, and co-labourers in the Kingdom of God!

Yes, Christianity is about the power of the Gospel to transform lives. Hallelujah!

Pastor Edmund Chan
Asian Access Faculty

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This was an inspiring WhatsApp message that my friend sent, and I wanted to bless you by posting it here with Edmund's permission.

Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D.
President, Asian Access

jhandley@asianaccess.org
@jwhandley
@jwhandley

   

More Information

• Related story: Mitsuo Fuchida: from Pearl Harbor attacker to Christian evangelist
• Image credits:
  • header image courtesy Our American Stories and JacobDeShazer.com
  • photo of Mitsuo Fuchida courtesy Wikimedia
  • photo of Jacob DeShazer courtesy Wikipedia
  • photo of Fuchida and DeShazer courtesy Bible Literature International and JacobDeShazer.com
• Books by Mitsuo Fuchida
  1. FOR THAT ONE DAY – The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida : Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor
  2. MIDWAY – The Battle that Doomed Japan: the Japanese Navy's Story
  3. From Pearl Harbor To Calvary
• More about Jacob DeShazer
  • www.jacobdeshazer.com
  • Return of the Raider: A Doolittle Raider's Story of War & Forgiveness by David M. Goldstein & Carol Aiko DeShazer Dixon
  • Jacob DeShazer: Member of Doolittle Raid
  • Audio recording of Jacob DeShazer's personal testimony, Asbury Theological Seminary

 

In Japan, Fukushima Prefecture is arguably the region most impacted by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. In addition to the earthquake damage up and down its seacoast, three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced meltdown when tsunami waters disabled their cooling systems.

During the days immediately following, radioactive materials were released into the atmosphere and carried across the region. While the physical recovery and Christian response has been in encouraging in Miyagi, Iwate, and other prefectures to the north, the Fukushima area has struggled to gain momentum.

Listening & Praying in Fukushima

In late November 2021, I had the privilege of spending three days with nine people from four organizations traveling around Fukushima praying, listening to the stories of local pastors, and trying to understand the local situation. As we drove from church to church, I am ashamed to say my reaction was somewhat negative. We met amazing men and women who are serving Jesus amid the anxiety and unknowns related to the nuclear disaster. As I heard their stories, I was still scared, skeptical, and unsure if now was the time. How can we send missionaries into this environment? How do we respond to the needs of the various churches and not force our own agenda?

I believe we should respond in Fukushima, yet I questioned whether it’s currently possible.

But then...

On the last morning of the prayer drive, we visited Taibou Church in Aizuwakamatsu City. It was fairly early, and I was distracted thinking about the rest of the day's schedule. My eyes bulged, however, as I heard Pastor Fujii share the church's history.

Taibou Church was planted in 1941 by a team of Japanese Christians. This was during World War II when Shinto was the state religion, and the emperor was viewed as divine. It's difficult to imagine a more challenging environment for church planting in Japan since the mid-1800s. While the war was turning in the Allies' favor and people were fleeing the fire bombings and destruction throughout the country, remarkably, a church was planted. Hearing Pastor Fujii recount the history of his church, I was once again convicted of how quick I am to view things through the lens of what I think is realistic instead of discerning what God is already doing. 

I am reminded of Matthew 16:18, where Jesus said,

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Joining, Not Judging

It is not my role to judge a situation as too difficult for Christ to build his church. My role is to join him in what he is already doing. I pray that Jesus will continue to build his Church in Japan and that we will be faithful in our role in his process. Just as Taibou Church was planted during the chaos of World War II, I hope many churches will be planted in Fukushima following the chaos of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Robert Adair

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Robert Adair serves in Miyagi Prefecture through a partnership with Shiogama Bible Baptist Church and as the Missionary Director for Asian Access in Japan. Robert & Roberta have four energetic boys and enjoy spending time in the mountains.

 

More Information

• Other stories from Fukushima and about the Japan Disaster
• Robert Adair's staff profile page...

 

"walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
– Ephesians 4:1

The last few months I’ve been gripped by a profound podcast Christianity Today showcased: The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s well worth listening to because it highlights something that Asian Access has focused on for years: the importance of Christ-like character.

Beth Moore said it’s "an important listen for any Christian leader or leader in the making."

Collin Hansen from The Gospel Coalition called the podcast "the most revolutionary thing in Christian media in the last eleven years."

The podcast is insightful and troubling because it points to the problems inherent in the modern church today, especially the popularity of celebrity pastors and leaders. It also reminds me of one of Asian Access' core outcomes: Growing in Christ-like Character.

Fortunately, God’s church is resilient. Jesus says, “Upon this Rock, I wlll build my church and the gates of Hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). It’s imperative for us as servants of Jesus to have integrity and walk in humility. As the passage in Ephesians reminds us, “we are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling…”

As we depend on Christ and abide in Him, we will grow as Christ-like leaders and our character will be formed. The more our influence grows, the more we need of him and the more we need to be mindful of the problems highlighted in this powerful podcast series.

Pray for us at Asian Access as we invest in servants of His Church around the world. May we be more and more like Jesus and less and less like the world. May we and our alumni exhibit these Christ-like character traits displayed in Ephesians and avoid the pitfalls highlighted in this podcast series.

What wisdom do you have for us in this? I’d love to hear any insights you want to share.

Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D.
President, Asian Access

jhandley@asianaccess.org
@jwhandley
@jwhandley

   

More Information

• Articles related to Christlikeness
• Articles related to character

How one Japanese congregation responded to the COVID-19 pandemic 

WHEN I TALKED TO PASTOR YOSHIYA (JOSHUA) HARI, THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR ASIAN ACCESS JAPAN, his church had already been dealing with its own crisis before the coronavirus came. After over 20 years in the same location, in 2019 the congregation of Saikyo Hope Chapel was told they had to vacate the building they were leasing because it would be demolished. Finding a similar facility for the same price proved to be extremely difficult, so from February 2, 2020, they found themselves alternately renting one of two local community centers for services each Sunday.

Loss of control over their environment 

They struggled with the unfamiliar challenges of a mobile congregation—preparing the room and setting up audio and video equipment every Sunday. Internet speed was a recurring problem. Each week they were broadcasting their service through Facebook Live, but now it was with an unreliable cell network Wi-Fi connection. Periodically they lost the signal and Pastor Hari had to pause and restart his message.

At the same time, the coronavirus was spreading. A growing number of church members were staying home to watch the livestream. By the end of March, the church couldn’t even rent a community center. 

Recognition of congregational needs

They had lost the opportunity to meet physically, but Pastor Hari knew the members of the congregation needed a way to share their difficulties and pray for one another. So when they moved totally online on March 29, they switched to the Zoom video conferencing platform. Now people could meet from home, see each other’s faces, and talk to each other.

Multiplication of gatherings

The Zoom meeting was opened from 10 a.m. before the service for informal conversation, but they soon found that a large Zoom gathering was not good for chatting. So the youth decided to have their own meeting at 10 a.m. Online ministry for children was scheduled from 9:20 a.m. A church member aerobics instructor initiated a separate online exercise class from 10 a.m. Their church planting team for a new daughter church began a pre-service prayer meeting.

Development of leaders

When they started the fully online 11:00 a.m service, at first the church used YouTube videos for the music. But then Pastor Hari thought, “We can use this unique time for training leaders.” Previously, they had two main skilled worship leaders. But now people weren’t so concerned about everything being perfect. Pastor Hari began passing leadership of the musical worship time around, telling members they could lead in any way they wanted. They could use a YouTube video, play guitar or piano, or just sing.

Delivery of content

Because of their struggles with the Wi-Fi signal in the community centers, Pastor Hari decided to record his message each Friday. He realized he could do that anywhere. He told me,

“Before the coronavirus, the message had to be in the church building. But if you think about the Sermon on the Mount, it’s obviously outside. Jesus said, ‘Look at the birds . . .’ ”

So he decided to record the message in a setting that would fit the topic. He ended each message with discussion questions, uploaded it to YouTube, and asked congregation members to watch it on Saturday or Sunday before the 11:00 a.m. service.

Growth together

At the time in the service most congregations start listening to a message, Pastor Hari repeats the discussion questions he asked in the prerecorded video. Attendees are divided into groups of three to five people and everyone is sent into Zoom breakout rooms for 35 minutes. There they discuss practical applications, share their current struggles, and pray for each other. Pastor Hari also joins a group as a participant. He says that’s challenging because it requires transparency:

“I have to share myself—my burdens, my failings, my marriage . . . where I have to change!”

One of our fellow missionaries, who is involved in the daughter church planting team, adds that this season has forced the church to ask “Why is it important for us to gather?” He continues, “It’s not to listen to someone give a presentation . . . it’s learning to interact on a deeper level.”

Looking to the future

Pastor Hari would be the first to admit he doesn’t have all the answers. Our conversation ended with him saying, “This is an experiment. Talk to me again in a few months!”

We love working as co-laborers in partnership with visionary Japanese leaders!

Gary Bauman
Strategic Resource Development
Tokorozawa, Japan

Original PDF article: Gary Bauman, “Sunday ‘Zoom Church’—with no morning message! How one Japanese congregation responded to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Japan Update, Autumn 2020, Number 79, 2–3, https://jeanet.org/japan_update. 

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Gary & Barbara Bauman have been missionaries to Japan with Asian Access since 1988. Gary is the former editor of Japan Harvest magazine and focuses his time now developing strategic print and digital ministry resources that enhance Kingdom advance. Barbara leads and trains mothers to lead parenting classes. Visit their staff profile here and their website https://garyandbarbara.com for more info.

 

More Information

• This article was also published here: https://www.garyandbarbara.com/how-one-church-in-japan-is-dealing-with-the-coronavirus/
  
• Related story: Home church: the new norm in Japan?
• Photos courtesy Yoshiya Hari

 

Japan (MNN) — In January 2020, a group of believers in Japan lost their church building. Little did they know, God would use their “temporary solution” as a growth point when the pandemic turned the world upside-down.

“Before other churches in Japan needed to go to an online format, we were forced into that kind of a style. A lot of creative ideas came out of it,” Jeffery Sonnenberg of Asian Access says.

“There are some interesting new ministries we wouldn’t have dreamed of starting without being forced into an online format.”

Planted more than 20 years ago, Saikyo Hope Chapel, now pastored by Rev. Yoshiya Hari, brought believers together for discipleship and fellowship on the north side of Tokyo. “Weeks before the beginning of the pandemic, we lost our (physical) space and started meeting in rented facilities,” Sonnenberg says.

“Then suddenly, the pandemic happened, and we couldn’t access community centers. We had to switch to an online format very quickly, and that [transformed] our thinking about what ‘church’ looks like.”

Instead of following the order of a traditional service, believers became more intentional with their fellowship time when they transitioned online.

“We moved to this format where the message gets sent to you ahead of time as a video you watch online. During the service, time normally used for preaching was [allocated to] small group discussions run through Zoom,” Sonnenberg says.

Believers who didn’t know how to use their spiritual gifts in the church found new ways to flourish. In one small group, young moms longed for a way to teach their children about the sanctity of life and biblical sexuality. A Christian nurse, who teaches these principles in her profession but never saw an opportunity in the church, offered to help.

“It (the idea) turned into a series of online seminars, and people from across the country, Christians and non-Christians, ended up participating,” Sonnenberg says.

“We’ve also seen God moving. New people have come to faith, and we’ve had online baptismal services. It’s changing and transforming the way we do church and how we can use technology.”

Pray for Saikyo Hope Chapel leaders as they decide how to proceed in the new year. A few days ago, believers signed rental paperwork for a small meeting place to hold in-person activities.

“There’s still the importance of face-to-face meetings,” Sonnenberg says.

“I don’t know that we’re going to see everything going online only. But there’s been a shift towards a hybrid model.”

 

Listen to the broadcast (story starts at 2:47)

Direct Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jan20-2022.mp3

 

More Information

• This story by Katey Hearth was originally published on 20-Jan-2022 by Mission Network News:
  https://www.mnnonline.org/news/home-church-the-new-norm-in-japan/
• Download the audio file: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Jan20-2022.mp3
• Image credits:
  • Cover photo by DLKR from Pexels
  • The inset photo shows Asian Access senior leaders meet on Zoom in March 2020. (Photo courtesy of Asian Access).

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Mission Network News exists to inform multitudes about stories that matter and empowers them to take action that changes lives. Join over 1 million radio and internet users each day. Hear stories of what God is doing around the world – and how you can be involved. Each MNN broadcast includes pray, give, or go opportunities that help you find your place in the story. Sign up at mnnonline.org to receive daily news in your inbox. Or check out MNN on social media and share them with others. MNN is a ministry of OneWay Ministries.

 

Recently I was interviewed by Evangeline Hsiao for her podcast, Care Package for Japan...

The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!

From Care Package for Japan:

Today, we will be talking with our special guest, Joseph Handley. Joe is the president of Asian Access and has a huge heart for missions in Japan and beyond. He is passionate about raising missional leaders that abide deeply in Christ because it is from abiding in Christ where Jesus gives us our identity!

Evangeline reminds everyone:

Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Listen to my interview below... 

Direct links:

• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1e11-raising-up-leaders-who-are-abiding-in-christ/id1592801872?i=1000547361493
• https://anchor.fm/evangeline-hsiao/episodes/S1E11-Raising-Up-Leaders-who-are-Abiding-in-Christ-with-Joe-Handley-e1cihlk/a-a76n948 

I hope this encourages you. 

In Christ, 

Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D.
President, Asian Access

jhandley@asianaccess.org
@jwhandley
@jwhandley

 

More Information

• Image credit: photo of Musashinonomori Park (Tokyo 2020) by Takashi Miyazaki on Unsplash

 

Happy New Year, Dear Friends!

This post is a little later than I had hoped because our family was hit with the coronavirus variant over the holidays. We are deeply grateful for your prayers and appreciate you for the way we journey together in life and mission.

Yearning to Develop More Leaders & Shepherds

2021 began with an interesting call from a Lausanne and WEA friend challenging many of us to focus on raising up and training millions of new Christ-like leaders in the coming decades. As the team requested my engagement in this new venture, I was led to share from Matthew 9:36 where Jesus saw the crowds harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

At the end of 2021, my reflections were in the book of Zechariah chapter 10:2. In that passage, the prophet critiques the false gods who have led people astray causing many to wander because they lack a shepherd.

The idols speak deceitfully,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
— Zechariah 10:2

The same day that I was reflecting on Zechariah 10, a report came from one of our national directors describing the growing intolerance happening his country. And then another message received the night prior from another country director reflected on a different, integrated approach to developing shepherds for the future.

Yearning for Blessing for our Community

Along with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the conflicts and upheavals springing up all around us, our mission has tried to share the burden faced by a brother’s family as they live the nightmare of personal fallout from violence and persecution in their country. Our friend and faculty member’s family have faced ongoing struggles with their daughter’s worsening health challenges. Another national director couple has dealt with her wife’s ongoing health crisis. We grieve the sad reality of a national director facing ALS and cancer. And now, news that another national director’s family is fighting a covid outbreak in their midst.

Calling to Pray for God to Move

2022 begins with promise, and I’m encouraged that my home church is opening with a Daniel Fast call to prayer. As Jesus challenges in that passage, we must pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers.

So, this is my word for 2022:

A call to be led by the Good Shepherd, to become like him as a shepherd for this world and to raise up a new generation of shepherds who will follow Jesus and serve the masses who are so desperately looking for help.

Looking to the future, we aspire to be “a vibrant community accelerating Christ-centered movements around the world… who equip and unify visionary Christ-centered leaders to influence Spirit-led change.”

As we lean into 2022 and strive to be and accelerate new shepherds for a weary world, I am heartened by former A2 board member Ray Ortlund’s grandson’s wisdom:

Not abiding in Christ darkens all of life.
Even the bright spots are dimmed.
Abiding in Christ brightens all of life.
Even the dark spots are lightened.
All of life takes on a different hue.
~ Dane Ortlund

My friends, as we abide in Christ this year, the Lord will raise up a new generation of shepherds to serve His Church and His Kingdom.

I’m eager to see what the Lord unfolds for us. Join me in expectation.

With expectancy, 

Rev. Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D.
President, Asian Access

jhandley@asianaccess.org
@jwhandley
@jwhandley

 

More Information

• Top Stories from 2021

 

In Patience

When I decided to leave behind my career to pursue a mission overseas, I knew it would not be smooth sailing. Ahead would be support raising, language learning, transitioning to a foreign culture, and unpredictable—or even a lack of—income. Little did I know, there’s much more to it.

My visa application for my originally intended mission field was rejected, I had to restart the discernment process for a new location, and then came the global pandemic. Sounds discouraging, doesn’t it? Thankfully, this was not the end of the story. Through each unexpected turn of events, I came to realize that my journey is not so much about where I am going, but who I am with.

Waiting is rarely easy, but what if waiting is an important part of the journey? What if we experience the Lord in a deeper way because we can do nothing but lean on Him? Our circumstances change, but Jesus’ promise to us remains unchanged. And that makes all the difference.

“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

In Service

In a season of prolonged waiting, God can turn our disappointment into His appointment. One night I was asking the Lord how I could serve Him in the time leading to my departure for the mission field. He gradually allowed me to encounter the people He had in His heart for me.

Two were Kay and Jane*, twin sisters who had been physically disabled for many years due to injuries from long-term abuse. They longed for new friends and visitors. When we first met, Kay asked if I could hold her hand while we chatted. From that day, we met every week to catch up with each other, read Bible stories, and pray. We moved to phone calls when Toronto went into lockdown. Unfortunately, the pandemic took a toll on Kay and she opted for assisted suicide. Three months later, Jane also took her own life on Thanksgiving Day.

In the midst of the many sleepless nights, tears of lament, and prayers that occupied my thoughts following this loss, the Lord broke His silence and told me, "I love them enough to have died for them."

Yes, the depth of the suffering they experienced is beyond my comprehension, but the depth of the love of our Saviour is even greater. It was not a coincidence that we crossed paths—I met these sisters shortly after I found that my mission trip was delayed; and then, two days after Jane's funeral, I got an email with my departure date. In the midst of God’s mysterious working, His grace is sufficient.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

In Faith

During the same waiting season in 2019, I got into an accident that totaled my car. I had quit my job six months earlier, with no foreseeable departure for a mission field. Desperate to recover from the loss and find a new car, I started contemplating finding a job to pay for these expenses.

Though I did not share my struggle with anyone, a friend living abroad sent me a cash e-transfer along with a message: “Please accept it as I cannot ignore God’s voice. He told me to help you and when I asked how, I was given the verse in Acts 4:32.”

Shortly after that, another friend offered me a car that she was hoping to let go. She said finding a taker for this car was an answer to her prayer—and the car happened to be the same make and colour as the car I had destroyed. We both felt this accident did not happen by accident, but was a way for God to grow our faith and to bless us. Praise be to the Lord, for He is always faithful even when I’m not.

Who can turn my problems into praises? Only Jesus! (Top) scene of the accident: in the midst of the spinning car with deployed airbags, we were protected. (Bottom) Shortly after the crash, the Lord provided a replacement car through a friend which happened to be the exact color and model. His grace is enough!

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV)

In Peace

By God’s grace, I was sent to Japan in the middle of a worldwide pandemic in December 2020. Two weeks after my arrival, Japan closed its borders to the world again. I am certainly affirmed of His calling for such a time as this—that nothing is impossible in Christ, especially when difficulties strike.

During my period of waiting, the Lord reminded me of the story of Joseph in Genesis 39—to trust without fully understanding all that is happening. Thanks be to God, we can rest in peace, not because we understand what is happening, but because He is with us and is in perfect control. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV)

 

Cindy

 

More Information

Read in more detail about Kay and Jane at https://simnow.sim.ca/stories/his-deep-love-transcends-unimaginable-hurts