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 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.
