OSU 1- Nathan Turek, Jesse Story, Grant Alumbaugh: Oigawa, Japan

Greetings from Oigawa town Japan!

I am sorry for taking so long to write again, but  we have been very busy.  LST participation numbers across japan are down a little bit, except for the Nakata church which has had a very large turn out.  The last 2 years I participated here in Oigawa, our numbers hovered around 30 total readers.  Currently we have 22 readers.  It would be easy to be discouraged by this lower number, but instead, I am encouraged.  We are able to read with most of our readers 3 times a week.  That  means that we will see almost all of our readers 4 times a week if they come to parties, and even more when we spend time with them outside of class.  We are able to get deeper into Christ's message than we would otherwise.  This does not mean however that we have decided against seeking out new readers.  I will be meeting with the missionary in the next day or so to get contact information for past readers who we have not yet seen this year. 

We have been blessed with a great group however.  Kind and caring individuals who hungar for the Word.  Many are not totally aware that it is God they truly hungar for, but some are starting to.  They have lived their lives where hope was all but absent.  In the stories of Christ they are seeing a source of that Hope.  We are blessed to be reading with them, watching in anticipation as they begin to connect the dots.  Like a parent eagerly watching their child reach for the round peg after spending 15 minutes trying to force the square peg through the hole.  Every day I thank God for sending me here, so that I may aid Him in His work.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.  I pray that God will be with you always.
A couple prayer requests: A member of the Church, Brother Hayakawa, was diagnosed last summer with liver cancer.  By the grace of God the cancer was destroyed, unfortunatly, some has moved into his Lymph system.  Please keep brother Hayakawa in your prayers.  He is a great, kind, compassionate man.

Grant, if you have not heard yet, became an uncle early last week.  His sister Amanda was forced into labor after she fell ill.  Landon Jacob is 11 weeks premature.  He is doing great so far.  His lungs are healthy, his heart and mind are healthy, he is just very small.  He weighed around 2.2 lbs.  Please keep him and the Alumbaugh family in your prayers.

God bless you all.

In Him,

Nathan Turek

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Week 5 has begun. We are anxious to come home and tell the story of this mission, but we will indeed miss all of the friends we made while here. God is at work here. On monday, the 7th, We along with the other LST teams in the shizuoka area, climbed Mount Fuji. It was a great experience to spend time with our fellow LST workers as well as a few of their readers who wanted to climb also. It was a great experience to show how Christians interact to some who have very little contact with Christians. Thanks you all for you continued prayers. We love and miss you all.

in him,
Nathan, Jesse, and Grant

PS. due to the cold Grant caught last week, he was unable to make it to the top, Jesse, myself, and 2 others did however. WOOHOOO!

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Konichiwa again!

We are now at the end of the quest the Lord sent us on. We came to meet and read with people hoping to reveal not only a better understanding of english but also a better understanding of our Lord Jesus. We leave here with sad hearts since we are now leaving the friends we have spent so much time with in the last 6 weeks. But we leave here also with Hope. Hope in the understanding that God alone has the power to change lives. Hope in the understanding that God is in control.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Without which this mission would be impossible. Please continue to keep the work that we're finishing now will soon produce fruit. Pray that God will continue to work the soil of our readers hearts so that they produce a good crop. Pray that despite the hate, anger, and lies of the world, that they will continue to learn of and accept the Love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This sunday we have invited all of our readers to join us at church to listen to a lesson by a local missionary Ken Hysten, and then join us for a BarBQ afterwards. This will be a great time for our readers to meet with and become more familiar with the church. I hope and pray that they will come and continue to make connections with Christians. Connections that will far outweigh any that we have made in these 6 short weeks. Connections that they will perhaps need one day when times become difficult, and at that time, the church will shine with God's Glory as they eagerly and with love give the help that is needed.

Last Sunday, Grant spoke on the importance of family in the body of Christ. His words touched me as I hope they will touch you. he said ''the great thing about being a Christian, is that you never have to say 'goodbye.' It is only 'until I see you again' whether that is in this life or on the streets of Heaven, we will meet again.'' This is a paraphase of course. His words were much more eloquent. But the idea is clear. We leave here sad knowing that many of our readers are still far from fully accepting Christ in baptism. But, as I wrote before, we have hope. Thankfully, we are not in control, God is. We have but the honor, blessing and privalege of playing a small part in his plan. One day, maybe within a year, maybe with 10 or 20 years, but one day a light will go off in the minds of our readers, and all of the words of God that they have studied will allign and they will see God for the Loving, Trusting, Great and All-powerful God that He is. Praise God for his devotion to us despite our disobiedence. Praise God for his all surpassing Love and Grace.

Thank you all again for your prayers,

In Him,

Nathan Turek

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