Two months have passed since a series of devastating 6.4 to 7.3-magnitude earthquakes struck Kumamoto, Japan, with churches, pastors and volunteers facing the daunting task of trauma care for multitudes of displaced people. In a recent visit to the epicenter, Asian Access missionary John Houlette, along with Dr. Timothy Iwagami of Crash Japan and...
Pastors throughout Japan are experiencing a new level of intimacy with their spouses. As The Marriage Course DVDs from Alpha International have recently been produced in Japanese, courses have been launched specifically for pastors with the hope that these leaders will then run the course at their own churches.
One pastors' course was held at...
Recently one of our missionaries told me a story about her seven year old son, Noah, who was playing at a friend’s house. Michiko, the mother of his friend made them lunch and called the boys to eat. When Noah came to the table, he innocently asked, “Can I pray?” Praying over a meal was not a custom for this family, and it took...
Recently I've heard a lot about the importance of Sabbath. It's easy to realize that I definitely need it, but not so easy to nail down what it means for me today. I asked friends and collegues how they "Sabbath". I consistently heard words like rest, or go to church, take time to slow down, prayer, etc. For many Sabbath is...
Just 10 days after the devastating tsunami and earthquake of March 11, 2011, Pastor Itoh and the Christians from Izumi Gospel Chapel in Sendai began responding to the needs around them. God led them to a neighborhood in Higashi Matsushima, (one hour...