SIM is a century old catalyst for global mission with more than 4,000 workers serving across six continents. Dedicated to prayer and care, we bring good news to hard places because there are people living and dying without the gospel.
Asian Access began in Japan by coming alongside visionary pastors and leaders to partner in new ways to grow the church. Now with a network across Japan and a strong history of partnership, together we work toward a movement of Christ-like leaders and disciple-making churches.
SIM and Asian Access have embarked on a new award-winning strategic partnership. Recognized for its innovation, this partnership is truly a new way of doing mission together, each bringing their own strengths and committing to a common kingdom vision. All A2 workers serving in Japan come through an SIM sending office and are members of both organizations.
Together, SIM and Asian Access send workers to Japan to partner with local churches in holistic outreach to make disciples and develop leaders and churches, catalyzing innovation for reaching Japan for Christ. Each worker benefits from the strength of their SIM sending office and the strategic work of Asian Access in Japan.
BY DOUG BIRDSALL
Oyama-sensei was known and respected throughout Japan and across Asia—and beyond—as a brilliant scholar, prolific author, dearly loved pastor, and seminary professor.
For over a decade, February 1, 2011, remained memorialized in my mind as my “Japanniversary,” the day God took me to Japan, one month before the Triple Disaster. Each passing year, I have acknowledged this date in some way—karaoke with friends, a Facebook post, or a quiet prayer to God.
But 2022 was the year I wrapped up over a decade of life in Japan and moved “home.” In 2023, to recall my arrival date in Japan, I had to look at my 手帳 (techō, my pocket schedule book). I was too late! The day, March 16, had passed by me without so much as a wink.
By Linda Koyama
If you’ve considered being in some type of formal ministry abroad, you’ve probably also been on the decision-making trajectory of “which mission organization should I go with?” This was us back in late 2019, early 2020.
At the end of my last post, “New, But Not: Our Journey to Japan,” I shared that we returned to the US in June of 2019. We needed time to debrief our five-year stint in Japan—and also to figure out if God was keeping the door open to Japan or closing that chapter for us.
Splat! Thunk! Splat!
I was having a great time throwing balls of sticky bean mixture into a container. I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a grownup telling me to stop playing and giggling like a goof . . . or that this much fun could be had in getting beans ready to be transformed into miso.
How did I get started with miso making? In early 2022, a friend from church invited me to join her and a few other women to make miso. Miso is squashed fermented soybeans and used in a lot of Japanese cooking—most commonly miso soup, but it’s also used in marinades, stir fries, and vegetable dips. I usually cook with the stuff sold in a plastic tub at our neighborhood drugstore, and I hadn’t before considered myself to be fancy enough to make my own.
Video used by permission from Prayercast [https://prayercast.com/] a service of OneWay Ministries