December, 2017

December, 2017 was a full month of engaging with people, often having conversations related to the true meaning of Christmas.  Because of Murray's similarity in appearance to the likeness that most people think of as Santa Claus, he gets numerous invitations to parties and events.  The most exciting thing about these events is that they almost always include parents.  So these opportunities to share about the true meaning of Christmas with adults provide our largest audiences of the whole year.

Even one of the local Starbucks stores invites us to come and do a program with moms and their kids.

Kathy sometimes joins as Mrs. Claus.  

 Each year Murray is challenged to create a unique object lesson for a story that will lead to the story of Jesus.

For many of the listeners, it is not a REMINDER that Jesus should be the center of our Christmas but, rather, most of them are hearing the story of the birth of Jesus for the VERY FIRST TIME!

 Notice any similarities between the above and below photos?  Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC Japan) loves to dress Colonel Sanders in Santa's clothes each year.  Why?, you may be asking.  Because what would Christmas Eve dinner be without KFC Fried Chicken.  Well, not just KFC's, but roast chicken has become the go-to meal for Christmas Eve, which is either a family dinner at home or a special date night out, if you have a special someone.  In fact, many Japanese young ladies feel very panicked if they don't have a date for Christmas Eve.  It's very interesting how these customs develop in different countries.

Below are a few more photos of our December ministries. 

Children watching a video about the very first Christmas (in Japanese)

 These little girls really enjoyed the special treats.

 These boys were more partial to the popcorn they got to eat during the movie.

These ladies are moms of some of the children.

Mothers of our students

These are some of our youngest students.

How do I choose to value my earthly life?

September 4, 2016 is just a few days away.  It's hard to imagine but, on that date, 28 years ago, we trudged through airports with three exhausted kids, piles of luggage and carryons, to arrive at our dream destination--Japan!!  Murray and I were married in December of 1980, already feeling the call of God to take the gospel to the Japanese people.  Eight years later we were finally on our way.

The first few months in Japan were rough.  We battled pneumonia, asthma, broken washing machines, culture shock, language study, rain, rain, and more rain, mildew, constant dampness, clothes that wouldn't dry--the list goes on and on.

It was during one of my heart to hearts with God toward the end of our first six months that God spoke to me very clearly about our call to Japan and the Japanese people.  He did it through the following verse in His word, in the book of Acts, spoken by Paul during some of his hardships,

"But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God!" Acts 20:24 NLT

しかし、わたしが自分の行程と、主イエスから受けた務めを全うして、神の恵みの福音を厳かに証しするためには、¹自分の²命を尊いとは思いません。使徒 20:24

We are currently in the United States on Home Assignment.  It has been GOOD.  We have been blessed over and over by dear ones here who have loved on us in so many ways.  We will be here three more months until the end of November.  During the next few months we are hoping to complete visits to all of our supporting churches and also see many of our faithful partners who share  in our ministry through their faithful prayers and financial support.  While here, we are grateful to be able to share the Gospel with some whom God is bringing across our path. (Ask us about the Chinese restaurant in SE Kansas.)  We also look forward with eagerness to our return to Japan to continue the ministry to which God has called us--sharing the Good News about God's wonderful grace with the Japanese people.  So, what is the value of my earthly life?  Nothing, if I cannot be sharing the Good News with others wherever I am and whenever God gives me the opportunity.

Along with us being able to GO to Japan and tell others about Jesus, one of our deepest prayer requests is that God would use us to encourage others to answer His call and become missionaries to Japan!  God has been answering this prayer in some really awesome ways, and I'm excited to be able to tell you more about that in our next blog post!

 Here we are in Nashville with the best ever tour guide, Clint Fields (who also just happened to be our host along with his sweet wife, Amy, during our time there.)

Workers for the Harvest

It has been great to have a Bible college student from the USA join us for a summer of ministry.  

Elia Downey arrived in early June and will be with us until late July.  She is very interested in teaching English to speakers of foreign languages so she has been doing some observation of our English classes and is now starting to become more actively involved in teaching practice.  She is very enthusiastic and friendly, and is enjoying opportunities to spend time with Japanese people. 

We are also thrilled to announce that Paul and Liz Godwin, a married couple about our age, will be joining us from August of this year for a two year ministry assignment.  Paul and Liz have been actively involved in working with exchange students in the USA, particularly those from Japan.  During their assignment here, they are desirous of working with college and university students as well as doing follow-up with Japanese returnees who have studied overseas and have now returned to Japan.  Many Japanese returnees get involved with Christians and churches while they are in the USA but then find it difficult to continue when they return to Japan.  Paul and Liz hope to help make that transition easier as well as train Japanese to also get involved in outreach to international students studying here in Japan.  They will also assist at Agape as they can and Paul hopes to develop some English classes for outreach.  

Refreshing Rains

Rainy season is coming to a close.  I actually enjoyed the occasional rainstorms and, sometimes, the cooler breezes they would bring.  However, there are also those days with super high humidity and now we start adding more and more heat to go along with the humidity.  However, the rains have replenished the earth with moisture and kept the flowers and trees green, so it is something to be thankful for.

We have also been experiencing the rain of spiritual blessings in our ministry and we are so thankful for the refreshment and encouragement that brings!  Mrs. H and Mrs. W, two older ladies, are making the transition from attending only Sunday morning services to studying the Bible in a biweekly Bible study.  The course is "Foundations for Faith".  They both are interested in learning more about what it means to get baptized so this is a key step to learning more about the Christian faith.  Please pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten their study as one mentioned the other day, "The Bible is really difficult, isn't it?".  However, it is a joy to see them also starting to participate in serving.  Mrs. W. always arrives early and eagerly puts out songbooks, or starts water for tea.  Both ladies often stay after to help with anything that needs to be done.

In April, the Lord brought us a lovely young college student, M, who moved to Kobe to attend a nearby university.  A fellow TEAM missionary from her hometown introduced her to our church and she has been faithfully attending.  She is also very eager to do Bible study and learn more about her faith.  She is training to become a preschool teacher so she is willing to help out with the children's story on occasion.

My knee surgery also presented the opening of new doors with two Mrs. Ms.  From two days before the surgery to a month afterwards, I was in the hospital.  I got to know two older ladies, my roommates, very well.  One of them has had connection to an Episcopalian church in her past.  During our stay I was able to share God's love with them on a number of different occasions.  Two weeks ago I was very  excited to see both of them again when I was back for my weekly rehab session.  We had a very good visit and look forward to more.  Mrs. M #1 is age 80 and is already back in the hospital for the surgery on her other knee.  So now I get to see her weekly when I return for my rehab.

The recovery has been slower and harder than I imagined it would be, but I am still encouraged as the pain I have now is the aftereffect of the surgery and will eventually go away.  Please pray that I will continue to be faithful with the daily exercises.

New Source of Encouragement - (a website about Christian books)

Today I want to write about a Christian website that has become a new source of encouragement for me.  www.bookfun.org  This is a new kind of book club for the digital age, The Book Club Network, Inc.  Fred (Phred) and Nora have become the ultimate book club discussion leaders.  They spend hours researching new books and bringing new authors to the page to interact with the readers.  This website is all about Christian books.  An author friend of mine, Candace Calvert, introduced me to the site.  After enjoying lots of stimulating conversation with Candace regarding her books and characters, I discovered that I could do that with both authors and other readers who enjoy some of the same kinds of books that I enjoy.

With very few other foreigners in our area to connect with regarding books, other reading material, sources of encouragement, etc, I discovered this wonderful place where I can do it online. Naturally, I don't have hours and hours to spend perusing all the wealth of material out there, so I really appreciate that Phred and Nora do so much of the previewing and bring the best of the best to our attention.  When I say bring them to our attention, I mean they are digging and finding publishers that are willing to offer free books to readers.  So when you interact on the site, you are receiving opportunities to win free books!  I've already won three!!  They've just added e-books, too, so that's a huge plus for those of us who live overseas.

Also, they are now publishing a FREE digital magazine featuring many books, interviews with authors and readers, and all sorts of interesting material.  It's published online monthly and you can easily access it through the website. They also have a store where you can purchase books directly.   I know that many of my friends who follow my blog are readers so I hope that you will check out this great new website.

Gotta start 'em young!   This photo is my 2-year-old grandson in his reading chair.  

What are your sources for encouragement?  During my mom's recent visit, she discovered how very very important personal mail (letters or email) is to someone who is living overseas.  So, I do receive lots of encouragement from email and letters.  Is Christian fiction a valid source of encouragement or should I just stick to my Bible and nonfiction?  Feel free to comment below with your views on the subject.  I'll write my views in a later blog as well as share with you some of the other places where I find encouragement.

Waiting isn't the easiest for me...

Happy Valentine's Day!  Yes, it is already Valentine's Day here in Japan.  And unlike the Japanese who have been coached by the chocolate society here that this is a day to give chocolate to the men in your life, I have been showering all those I love with special treats.  Still working on some, but what a wonderful chance to share some extra love all around.

This past year has been a roller coaster for me; hence, the lack of posting on this site.  Yet, looking back, it's hard to believe that an entire year has passed by.

Home Assignment was for three months this past summer.  Yet, the preparations for Home Assignment start months in advance with scheduling itineraries, purchasing plane tickets, preparing for many different kinds of activities, communicating more frequently, not to mention organizing who will cover our ministry here while we are away.  Whew!  However, we had a wonderful time connecting with so many of our loved ones and supporters during our brief time in the United States.  It was also a great chance to introduce our daughter-in-law, Manaka, and Josiah and her son, Leo to people in the USA as they joined us for several months of our time in the USA.

Upon our return to Japan in late August, (with Murray following in September), I sensed God speaking to me in a different way.  I was energized and refreshed, eager to return to our existing ministries, but also praying about new ministry opportunities.  Yet, the message I was receiving was "Wait."  "Do what needs to be done immediately but do not start anything new."  "Wait!"

I've never been good at waiting.  I've always been eager to move to the next challenge; to jump in with both feet; to make a plan; to set goals and figure out needed steps to accomplish the goals.  Over the years I've learned to keep a book at my side just to help me through the waiting times--at the red lights, sitting in traffic, waiting to pick up people at the station, standing in line.  You can imagine my delight when e-books arrived on the scene.  And now I can carry an entire library of books in my i-phone.  (Just in case you're interested, I am currently reading a suspense novel called Red Tide, a debut novel by author Peg Brantley because I loved her second book, The Missings, so much.)  [see it here]

Okay, I digress.  Perhaps it's because I have been without my ADD meds for a few days.  Yes, it's true, I am an officially diagnosed person with ADD.  So if my blogs take off on wild tangents, now you can understand why.

So back to last fall-- I waited.  And in mid-October when I received an email followed by phone calls from my mother in Kansas, I understood why God had been telling me to wait.  My father had been admitted to the hospital.  This was not the first time, nor did I really expect that it would be the last.  But, in my heart, THIS TIME, God was sending me a very clear message.  I needed to go back to the USA to be with my parents.  There are many times in the last few years when my Dad has been close to death.  And, yet, I never felt it pressed upon me that I should be making a trip to the USA those times.  But, this time, God made it clear.  So I went.

God gave me 10 precious days with my Dad during his hospitalization.  I downloaded some of his favorite music onto my laptop to play for him.  I read sports news to him.  We listened to internet radio. And we talked.  We talked about the past, the present and the future.  We talked about heaven.  He quoted his favorite Scriptures to me.  We talked about songs, family, and friends.  And God gave me one final chance to serve and love on my dad during his final illness.  I also got to spend wonderful time with both my mom and my daughter, more gifts from God.  And after my Dad went to be with the Lord, I was able to spend precious days with family members plus several weeks helping my mother with the bulk of the business details that needed to be cared for.

And then came another surprise!!  My mother decided to come to Japan for an extended visit when I returned at the end of November.  Her first visit!  After all these years, her dream was finally going to come true.  Was it perfect timing that she would arrive at the end of November, just when our preparations for the rush of Christmas events would be upon us?!  Absolutely.  Had God gifted her in such a way that she would be a blessing to both the ministry as well as to the many Japanese people that she would come into contact with?!  Absolutely.  Have I been extra busy these last months?!  Absolutely.  But, I could never have created a scenario with the timing of each event of the last six months like God did.  And for that, I praise Him!

My mother just arrived back in Kansas, ready to serve and follow God's plan for the next years of her life.  She has always been an example to me and I continue to learn from her how to walk in the paths of righteousness.

So, I apologize for my silence.  I pray that my silence has not prevented you from remembering to pray for the Japanese people and their need of Jesus.

Looking forward to reinvigorating my updates!

Kathy T

A busy summer

Nick visiting with some ladies at the July English Cafe

This summer was an extremely busy one.  We were blessed to have a young intern from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago join us from mid-May until early August, Nick Jeschke.  Nick's youthful energy and bright red hair reminded us a much younger Murray Trim for whom God used a summer of ministry in Japan in 1978 to call him to full-time service in Japan as a missionary.  We had the privilege of hosting Nick, sadly, because the missionaries originally scheduled to host him had to return to the home country of Germany due to complications after the earthquake and tsunami in Northeast Japan.  However, we are confident that God brought him to us just when we most needed him.  Nick assisted in so many ways, including distributing church brochures in nearby neighborhoods, technology assistance with computers and projectors, planning and preparing for the huge area-wide charity event for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami, teaching and observing English classes, leading English Bible studies, speaking and helping at the monthly English Cafes and much more.  Thank you, Nick, for giving your time and energy to serve the Lord in Japan this past summer.