He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” — Matthew 13:31-32

Silk and I have had such a wonderful last few weeks in Japan.

Last week we were moving which brought several aches and pains, even after just day one of the move! However, the last four we were able to travel to many places in country and say farewell for this season of ministry.

“That is so cool!”

“Really? There’s no way!” – That is what Silk and I thought after using a mobile phone translation at the Japan Post the other day.

Here's how the story unfolded...

We went to close out my account as we are moving to America and thought the bank teller understood our request. She listened to me and took me to the right person who started asking for our documents. We pulled out my bank book, and then she asked for our cash card which we pulled out. Finally, she asked another question. I thought I understood her request, so I pulled out my residence card.

Here's a quick message from us as we head back to Japan for the last 7 weeks before moving back to the U.S. in December.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Greetings from Tokyo, Japan! We just wanted you to know that we're thinking of you and praying that you guys have a special Advent season. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We love you. We appreciate you, and we're grateful for you. God bless you...{addthis off}

Living in Japan brings all sorts of new life experiences for me. Stateside I focus mostly on ministry and family but here in Tokyo, Silk and I share house duties more because she is teaching and we live in a world that requires us to do more teamwork when it comes to daily living. Areas where I try to help out are weekly shopping, cleaning the dishes and once in a while laundry. No one trusts me with cooking so this is the best I can offer and all of these things I rarely participate in stateside. It certainly helps me grow as a Christ-like leader. It helps me develop character, one of the biggest challenges in Christian leadership today...

  To all our friends out there—supporters, family, those of you who walk beside us, we're grateful for you. And we want to wish you a very Happy New Year in 2017!

God bless you. We love you guys!

 On behalf of everyone at Asian Access...

A Warm Invitation

Some of you know that our neighbor gave us an invitation to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas together with their family. Well, the story get’s even better… As you’ll see in these photos, the first invite is pictured here first and then came the second. Oh my! Silk wrote a nice note to our neighbor giving them some sweets from Kyoto where we had just spent Thanksgiving as a family. Their response was a bundle of joy!

Christmas Greetings, Dear Friends!

We want to read a few words from Isaiah: "For to us a child is born, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

And from the Gospel of Matthew: "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name 'Emmanuel,' which means God...

What a thrill it is to be in Japan!

For several years, I have wanted to move here serving as the president of Asian Access. This year proved to be the perfect time! Our family was ready and next year Asian Access turns 50! What a joy to be here where it all began nearly 50 years ago. It’s been an adventure… to say the least! Those who follow us on social media are well aware. Even with a tremendous team in place to help us settle and with all these years of experience settling staff in country, we still faced a series of challenges that boggle the mind. As I reflect back though, I see it all as God’s divine plan. You know, at Asian Access we often talk about The School of God. The Lord has taught us many lessons the last few weeks and there are many more to discover I’m sure...