Prayer Partner Letter November 2012

We thank the Lord that 15 year-old Narimasa was baptised last month in the Natori River. We are planning to baptise old Mr C in church on 11th Nov. Mrs M who was in hospital has now been released and we hope to start baptism classes with her soon. She is very zealous. Sadly Mrs Y is still worshipping at her buddhist altar, after making a profession of faith. She has told us plainly that her (long-dead) mother saved her from the tsunami. When I said 'No it was God', she said, 'but God sent her'. Go figure. We tried many times to get her into a bible study but there were always excuses. I am convinced that there is a direct proportional relationship between solid bible study and spiritual growth.

Yesterday we had about 30 attend an evangelistic concert in Natori (city south of Sendai badly hit by the tsunami - in fact the suburb Yuriage where they all came from was wiped off the map). They enjoyed singing the hymns and the direct gospel message. It seems so many are on the edge of conversion. Please pray hard for the Holy Spirit to sweep many into the kingdom and for us to be increasingly bold.

The mini-concert schedule hasn't been fixed yet. We call them Ndachaya (which in the local dialect means an 'Amen' meeting!). We have the Community Cafe on 17th, and Sanchapekai (=Sunday Chapel) on 18th. Tadamitsu might be offered a house for rent in Gamo near where we have the Sunday Chapel. Please pray for guidance in this.

We are very grateful that Christine was awarded an NHS bursary. This is an immense relief for us as the fees are huge. Glenda goes to RSA on 25th Nov. Amy is with husband Sam in Rwanda and will join us in RSA for Christmas with Esther and Christine flying out from UK, God willing. Andrew is enroute to Japan for 3 weeks and we will fetch him from the airport tonight.

Thank you for your prayers! 

Prayer Partner Letter October 2012

Dear Prayer Partners
As ever, thank you for your prayers! We thought we would write this letter as a 'day in the life of a missionary couple', but here are the big three for this month in case you dont have time to wade through all our waffle;

1. Conversion of tsunami evacuees and the new people at church
2. Growth of church members
3. Christine to get an NHS bursary

The last 24 hours went like this:

Rod goes to the church and sets up for the morning bible study. Glenda does to the doctor to get the results of her free annual health check (thankfully all is fine). Four women come to the Bible study, which is less than usual, last week we had 7 women and one guy. We are studying Ephesians and are due to do 2:1-7 but the phrase "dead in trepasses and sins" keeps us occupied most of the hour. One of them asks if should we keep telling the gospel to those who have rejected it and leads into a discussion of conversion, evangelism and the work of the Holy Spirit. This is not academic for these women - they work hard at our evangelistic events and are praying for the conversion of their families. We then pray for all the church in detail and share individual needs.

After a riceball for lunch, Glenda travels by train to central Sendai where she teaches a woman English conversation and they study Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. The other women stay to clean the church and Rod goes to visit Mrs M who is in a mental hospital for a bad back problem (apparently the cause is longterm stress). In March she had came forward for salvation at a Franklin Graham meeting after being discharged for depression. After being conducted through the locked door by an attendant and meeting her she quickly gathers others and we have a bible reading and prayer. She has a great evangelistic attitude even in a place like that. She will be out next week, God willing.

From there Rod goes to a hardware store and buys a fire extinguisher. Why? Well the old one went off in the kitchen by accident covering everything with a pink powder!

Then he phones Mrs MO who is in tears because a close friend has committed suicide, the second in a month.  14 year-old N who is preparing for baptism comes to meet Rod in the church, but his testimony needs improvement and it takes time for him to see the problems with it and change it in his own words but now it will be a blessing for him and for others. His baptism has been set for 14th in the Natori River.

After that it was off to give baptism preparation to old Mr C in his flat. He has very bad diabetes and is almost blind but he is full of joy. The lesson was 'Against idolatry' which is necessary in Japan but the denunciations of the prophets are 'a bit scarey' he says.

Then it was back to church for supper with Glenda and a staff meeting with evangelist Tadamitsu. We discuss the two concerts for tsunami evacuees held last week, both went well and we had about 20 people at each. At the one near the church one old lady told us that she escaped from the tsunami to high ground only to have to move 3x as the water rose further. She broke her arm in the process. The woman who rescued her the first time went back to save her child and both were drowned. She last saw her being carried away chest high in the muddy water. We told her that Jesus had also given his life for her and she had been saved to be saved again but she told us she was NOT interested in the gospel! The chairman came to the mike after we had finished and announced that he loved singing hymns and hearing bible stories and please come back. He lost 4 family members. So we will definitely be back. Tadamitsu is concerned to follow up the many who have been to our events and shown interest. We have a short-termer Kent Li arriving tomorrow and staying with Tadamitsu for 5 weeks. Pray for a good working relationship.

The mini-concert schedule hasn't been fixed yet but we have the Community Cafe on 20th, and Sanchapekai (=Sunday Chapel) on 21st. A couple from a Tokyo church have been coming up every month, usually with a team, to help out at these events. We thank God for them!

The prayer meeting starts at 8pm and we are joined by church member Mr H. After praying through all the church needs we get home at 10pm.

This morning early we had a nice Skype chat with Esther just before her UK bedtime and it also is rubbish collection day and they are collecting PET bottles and unburnable trash. Woe to us if we don't keep the rules and separate the trash!

Not every day is as busy as the last 24 hours. Today there is a typhoon (second one in a week) so we will stay inside and write prayer letters, prepare sermons etc...

On Friday 5th (tomorrow) Rod has the opportunity tell the gospel to 2000 high school boys in a 7 minute sermon.

We are still attempting to get an NHS bursary for Christine already in her Occupational Therapy course. Please pray for God to grant this as the fees are huge. Amy is with husband Sam in Rwanda and their first 2 weeks has gone well except that their house is barely inhabitable. She is trying to get a job as a doctor but there is a lot of red tape. Esther is busy evangelising first-years in Farnham.

Thank you for your prayers! We need the Lord's help in all we do here.

love from Rod and Glenda

Prayer Partner Letter September 2012

Dear Praying Friends

Thank you for your prayers!!

An article in the local newspaper expressed concern that many tsunami evacuees were seeing ghosts. "Even visiting health professionals and those who don't believe in the spirit world have seen them". As a result many are turning to religion (Christian, Buddhist and Shinto) for help and peace. The article goes on to say these kinds of manifestations often occur when people have lost loved ones and that chaplains from the various religions should be provided to help people with emotional suffering, as in the West.

The many events we had last month went well and the gospel went out clearly without hindrance. We have seen some growth in recent converts for which we praise the Lord. At church while we aren't seeing the steady growth in numbers for which we long, nevertheless there is a buzz on Sunday mornings, new people are warmly welcomed and members willingly work in the various events and projects. We are very thankful for them. Please pray for the conversion of their families and neighbours near the church and for a church plant to be established at Gamo. Pray for all Christians in Japan to tell the gospel with boldness.

Our events for September include concert at temporary housing on15th, 25th and 29th, Sunday chapel at Gamo on 16th, lunchtime evangelism at Yamamoto on 27th.

Some family news…. We have had great summer weather and snatched many days on the beach in between work. Christine got the grades she needed and is due to go Oxford Brookes to do Occupational Therapy. We are grateful indeed. The final hurdle in this saga is getting an NHS bursary which we are late in applying for. Esther is planning to welcome first-year students at Farnham UCA with the gospel as head of the CU from 17th. Amy and Sam go to Kigali, Rwanda for a 2-year posting on 24rd. Andrew is studying. Glenda may go to Cape Town in November to see her elderly mother and we may all join her over Christmas.

God's richest blessings!

love from Rod and Glenda

Prayer Partner Letter Aug 2012

Dear Praying Friends

Sorry I'm late getting this posted.

The first part is devoted to thanksgiving. In 1996 we were agonizing over the different educational options for our children. In the end we settled on Hebron School in India because of its Christian standards, UK curriculum and centrality between UK, RSA and Japan. We were fully aware of the disadvantages too, ie communication with a school on top of a 2500m mountain in a 3rd world country, traveling and living in India and the separation of being 7000 km from home in Japan. In 1998 Amy and Andrew went for 6 and 8 years respectively and later Esther for 5 years and this June Christine graduated after 6 years and we all left India for the last time. In these 14 years our family has taken about 300 Hebron-related flights, our children usually travelling unaccompanied, on 12 different carriers, 10 different routes usually the cheapest, and travelled 10,000s km by train, bus and taxi. In all this time they have had no injury, serious loss or even serious delays. While there have been tears, anxious moments and many prayers God has blessed and protected them. Academically they have done better than we hoped and each is following the Lord. We don't know what the future holds for them but not knowing doesn't seem a good reason to hold back thanks now. I am not drawing any lessons from this other than God has answered our and your prayers and we want to publicly and loudly say thank you to Him.
"This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles."  Psa. 34:6

We also thank God for the way in which last year's tsunami has been a blessing. Our little church has been galvanised into action and we are so glad that Nishimura Tadamitsu has been working among tsunami evacuees full time for the past year. Sendai churches are more unified, bold and cooperative and many thousands have heard the gospel clearly who wouldn't have without the disaster. We have been able to start a monthly worship service in another area. There have been some conversions too and many more are thinking seriously about their souls. Personally the tsunami has re-motivated us and made us excited to be here.

But please keep praying;
1. 30th July (this Monday) Cafe/concert at a temporary housing site. We had a good response last time but not everyone was pleased that we were telling the gospel and we had some complaints.
2. 6th Aug. Bible study in Yamamoto with 5 friends of a church member (one has recently been converted  - pray for the rest)
3. 9th Aug. Cafe/concert at Shichigahama
4. 10th Aug. Cafe/concert at Natori
5. 16th Aug.  Christine's A'level results come out!
6. 18th Aug. Cafe/concert at Shichigo
7. 19th Aug. Sunday chapel at Gamo
8. 25th Aug.  The first 'Hallelujah Summer Fest' in cooperation with other Sendai churches. It is in the same place as our monthly Sunday Chapel near the harbour and will be run on the lines of a traditional Japanese festival with stalls, games etc etc. Our church's responsibility is to provide the drinks and run the children's activities.

And then there are the regular Sunday services at church. Most mid-week services are suspended for August so we can have a bit of a break. 2 people are in baptismal classes.

Thank you for your prayers!!

love from Rod and Glenda

Prayer Partner Letter June 2012

Dear Praying Friends

On Wednesday we had 3 bible studies with 4 people. Tsunami evacuee Mrs N isn't angry with God because she lost her house and possessions in the tsunami but because she has been sick for 3 weeks and cant understand why. Mr T and teenage niece are both confused about the gospel but want to believe. Elderly Mr C has been coming to church for about 6 weeks and said he is determined to follow the Lord and prayed that Christ would accept him. We praise God for this mercy.

Pray for Mrs M and Y who made professions of faith in March to grow in the faith.

Pray for God's guidance in reaching out to the primary school children who live near our church and sometimes drop in after school to eat the cookies Glenda offers them!

We are having another evangelistic cafe concert near the harbour on Sat 16th, followed by our Sunday Chapel there on Sun 17th.

Christine would value prayer for her A'level exams this week, and her return travel.

Thank you for your prayers!

love from Rod and Glenda

Prayer Partner Letter May 2012

Dear Praying Friends

Greetings from Sendai, Japan! We are so grateful for the army of prayer warriors who keep us and the work here before the Throne of Grace! I sent this out by email last week but have updated it. Sorry to have delayed posting the April one until now too.

We are thankful for the new faces at church. Miss N was being teased at work by some male colleagues and was quite tearful about it. So we advised her to tell the gospel to them boldly. As a result two of them have been coming to church for the last 3 weeks (Mr F and Mr H)! Neighbour old Mr C started coming a month ago and even attends the ladies meeting. Please pray for these and others to accept Christ.

1. We had an evangelistic mini-concert on Saturday (19th) at Temporary Housing. About 20 people came. The Tokyo team did Christian music and a young woman sang. It was fine so we had it outside the temporary housing in the carpark. Rod was also able to do a 10min message twice ( on the cross) and we had meaningful conversations with several people and 2-3 say they want bible studies.

2. Mini-worship at Gamo near the Harbour (20th) at 3pm. This was the 3rd time. We had 6 helpers from a Tokyo church and 8 of us from Sendai. About 8 local non-Christians came and one brand new Christian from the area. We sang about 5 hymns to wellknown tunes and Rod gave a message on the crucifixion from Luke 23 (thief on the cross etc). And afterwards we had tea and ate all Glenda's cakes. The new Christian is a young woman who was escaping from the tsunami when the water picked up her car and carried her 800m. She and her mother and granny spent the night on the car roof in the snow and she was sure her father had drowned. But the following morning they were re-united and she was determined to thank Jesus so she went to a RC church to thank the statue there and later got saved at the Franklin Graham meetings. She has been befriended by our young people which will be really helpful. We need to have a BS with her.

3. Please pray for our evangelistic mini-concert on Saturday (26th) at Temporary Housing at Shichigahama.

Another development is that Miss N brought a 3rd male friend to church on Sunday. He is a very nice young man and a PhD and he happily helped clean the toilets after the Gamo meeting! He just needs to believe.

Christine is writing A'levels in India from 31th and would value your prayers. She has had various health issues recently. She also needs home student status for UK.

In general please pray for us and the churches here to be bold, clear and passionate about our Lord, for the many contacts we have to get converted and for the Holy Spirit to detonate a true revival in NE Japan.

Yours in Christ
Rod and Glenda

PS On a lighter note we had an eclipse of the sun on Monday... pretty cool!

Prayer Partner Letter April 2012

Dear Prayer Partners

Thank you for your prayers and here is a short update.

1. The first service in the community centre where we are hoping to plant a daughter church went very well. We had a simple worship service singing well-known Japanese hymns and a 20 min gospel message. About 40 came. Some were new Christians. Some were from our church and other churches and others were non-Christians who were interested. A very encouraging start. We will have our next one on 15th April. Please pray for God to build a church here.

2. In the next few months we plan to re-visit all the temporary housing sites where we have had evangelistic events and have a mini-worship service with hymn singing, simple clear gospel sermon, free food etc. We have done this at one already and it was successful in that it was well-attended and we had good meaningful conversations with many we have met before. One man said he liked the Franklin Graham meeting and our meetings but when he goes home it is all Buddhism so life is complicated. He was one of the first we met after the tsunami picking through the mud where his house once stood. There are many like that who have been confronted with the gospel for the first time and are thinking about it.

3. Rod goes to India 2-19th April to take Christine out for halfterm. Esther will join them. Glenda will stay here and starts university English teaching on 7th April.

4. Please pray the new believers to grow and for the church to flourish as it lives by faith in the gospel.

love in Christ

Rod and Glenda Thomas

Prayer Partner Letter March 2012

This Sunday (11th) is the anniversary of the tsunami. In our service we will be installing Tadamitsu Nishimura as evangelist. Since July he has been hard at work helping with distribution of relief goods and evangelism among tsunami evacuees. Please pray for a memorable occasion, for his two brothers to attend and receive Christ, and for him to be encouraged and empowered.

Last weekend Franklin Graham spoke at the 'Tohoku Celebration of Hope' for 3 evenings. It was a large evangelistic meeting with 2 hours of of gospel music and hundreds attended each night. It was good to hear a clear, biblical, bold and passionate declaration of core gospel truths. We are so thankful. All the effort in getting people to hear him was not in vain. Some of the tsunami evacuees came from the temporary housing sites were bussed in. We worked as counsellors for those seeking spiritual help. I counselled a 7 year-old boy who came forward for salvation. He was adorable. He was quite determined to become a Christian. He said he believes he's a sinner, and believes in Jesus, and wants to stop sinning! His mother takes him to a church in the north of Sendai. Two inquirers who come to our church Mrs M and Mrs Y also went forward and made commitments for which we are very thankful. Please pray for them and for us as we follow up all who attended. While I have had concerns about US mass evangelism the clear gospel presentation, the pressing urgency of deciding for Christ and the good organisation are all things that the Tohoku churches can learn from (Tohoku = North-east).

On 18th at 3pm (6am in UK and 8am in RSA) we are having Sendai Evangelical Christian Church's first worship service in a community hall in the area of east Sendai near the harbour where we have been praying and working to plant a daughter church since the tsunami. It has been widely advertised but we have no idea how many may come. May we have good attendance and may the Word of God take deep root. So please get up early to pray!

On 20th a Tokyo church is helping us put on an evangelistic event (concert, skit, hymn-singing) in a community hall. It co-incides with the Equinox which is a National Holiday called Higan (which means "the other shore" ie nirvana) and Buddhist memorial services are held where people visit family graves to comfort the dead.

Christine hasn't had a recurrence of her transient vision loss since the frightening episode last month. She has had a few tests which revealed nothing and the default diagnosis is migraine. Please also pray for the UK universities to grant her home student status which is always a headache (pun, sorry) for missionary students.
For some great art see http://esther-artonline.com/Welcome.html

Thank you for your prayers

Prayer Partner Letter February 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

This was a recent Mainichi headline.

"Deputy PM Okada should fight against rapidly aging population, not political foes".

Hmmm, poor old people in Japan, and what a mean politician!

Another news headline says that Sendai is growing due to the influx of tsunami evacuees and companies doing reconstruction.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120215p2a00m0na004000c.html

Let's pray for the spread of the gospel. We are in the midst of a very busy time and have mini-concerts at Temporary Housing Sites every week leading up to a big Billy Graham Evangelistic Association event in March. These concerts are a great opportunity. Local Japanese musicians sing and give their testimonies and then Rod speaks, usually explaining the cross of Christ and applying it. Last time they even clapped (though they didnt shout 'encore')! Usually about 20-30 people attend. The church members led by Tadamitsu help out and chat to them too which is good for their spiritual growth. We are hoping these can develop into worship services. On Saturday (18th) we are having two concerts at Shichigahama.

We also hear more survivors' stories. One woman told us how they were late evacuating from their house near Sendai airport. She saw the water carry off their car and went up to the 2nd floor. As the water rose further she went into the loft and was rescued by her son who broke through the roof. They spent a freezing night up there not daring to sleep. Her husband had swam to a pine tree and climbed it. But most buildings and trees in that area were washed away. There are many such tales. God has rescued them to be rescued again... May 'they give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men' Ps 107:8, 15, 21, 31.

Regular ministry continues at Sendai Evangelical church with 30-35 adults present each Sunday. Please pray for the church to get its own land, building and pastor.

Christine returned safely to Hebron. She had a transient but complete loss of vision in one eye last week which was frightening for her and us. She is having tests to diagnose the cause. Please pray for her.

Glenda is busy with English classes and mountains of baking for these concerts.

Thank you for your prayers!

love from Rod and Glenda

PS Am reading the 'Cross of Christ' by John Stott. It's an easy read, written in good English, in depth about the best of subjects.

Prayer Partner Letter January 2012

Dear Praying friends,

Thank you for your prayers! May you all have a very happy and blessed 2012.

1. We are so grateful that all of our children came out for at least 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year. What a blessing! But now they have all gone back.

2. On Monday we had a evangelistic concert at a temporary housing site for tsunami victims. About 30 people came and the gospel was proclaimed. There was a good atmosphere but please pray for God to open hearts. In the next 6 weeks we have 8 such concerts. Many of the victims are elderly and traditional and set in their ways. Also they are housed according to the areas they come from. So it is quite likely that they have the same neighbours - which always makes it difficult to strike out on their own. But grace can overcome the fear of man.

3. Christine is having her first university interview today (11th) at Oxford Brookes and on 18th at York, to do Occupational Therapy. She has managed the UK train system better than she feared but would appreciate your prayers for the offer of a place.

4. Mr High Bridge, neighbour to the church is now regular at services- please pray for his conversion..

5. We thank God for the believers in the church for their faith, cheerfulness and cooperation though some of them have severe trials.

6. Tomorrow we have another Bible Study in Yamamoto about 1 hours S of Sendai - four ladies who seem to be interested in the gospel.

7. Let's keep praying for revival in NE Japan as elsewhere. But God would have us also pray for boldness in telling the gospel - Acts 4:29-30.

love from Rod and Glenda

Prayer Partner Letter Christmas 2011

Dear Praying friends,

Thank you for your prayers and support this past year and we wish you a really happy Christmas with Family and friends and a blessed 2012. We are writing to all our supporters personally but it will take a little time. We hold all of you in very high regard because the work couldn't progress without your partnership.

On Saturday we had 40 people attend a Christmas party at a temporary housing venue and we had many opportunities to share the gospel. About half the church members turned out to help and we are so grateful for this level of involvement.
This Sunday (a few hours after you receive this) we are having another one at a different venue and are catering for 80 people. A church in Tokyo is helping us which is great too. Then on 23rd we are going carolling to several of these venues. We find many of the tsunami victims are friendly, eager to relate their experiences, grateful for our work but as soon as we talk about the Lord they say they are devout Buddhists. Pray on for revival. A neighbour, Mr Takahashi has started coming to church - please pray for his conversion.

We are so grateful to have all our children coming this Christmas. We never dreamed this would happen.  Esther is in the air and touches down tomorrow. Christine flies from Delhi on Tuesday and Amy and husband Sam arrive on Christmas Day. So there will be 7 of us! Amy is a junior doctor in Glasgow but is finding the hospital understaffed and badly organised, for example she has to look after 90 elderly patients who she has never met before, which can't be good for doctors or patients. Christine has to go to UK from 7-20 Jan for university interviews. She is hoping to study Occupational Therapy.

It was -2C last night so it looks like we are in for a cold winter!

God bless you all