(the photo above was taken while on a hike through some old growth forest that is part of Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, WA.)

Dear prayer partners,

Greetings from unrelentingly sunny and pleasant central California. The temperatures are perfect and the smell of flowering trees and other plants is in the air. There was some nice weather in Seattle and Portland over the past few weeks as well….but waking up every morning with the confident expectation of blue skies is a bit different. I am spending a week here visiting three of our supporting churches and feel grateful for the many faithful brothers and sisters who care for us and remember our work in Japan in their prayers.

ALMOST HOME IN CHICAGO…

Last Saturday Andrea, Lilla & Sky flew from Seattle to Chicago, arriving about an hour ahead of Sam, who was flying in directly from Tokyo. All arrived safely without incident and we are grateful for Lisa, Andrea’s sister, who was there to pick everyone up and shuttle them to our new temporary digs in Geneva, IL. (see address below) I will arrive in Chicago next Tuesday (the 30th) and this will be the first time we will have all been together since Feb. 1. We will be calling this home until August 10th when we wing our way back to Tokyo.

A CAR PROVIDED FOR OUR USE!

Thanks to so many of you who have prayed about our need for a car while in the Chicago area. God has not only provided a car for our use in the Chicago area, but has provided for a car to use during a trip I will make to visit supporting churches in Minnesota in May. We are so grateful.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING?

Thanks for praying for Sam, Lilla and Sky as they adjust to school life in the States. For the past couple of days they have had physicals, interviews, testing, and many other things required in order to enter the public school system in Geneva. Lilla and Sky have been living out of their suitcases since January and trying their best to do home schooling; Sam has recently left his own class and friends in Tokyo in order to join us and finish the last two months of the school year on this side of the ocean. That’s a lot of adjustments for all of them and we pray that they, too, will sense God’s help and work in their lives. Andrea has been directing all of these activities while I’ve been traveling in other places so we look forward to being together again next week.

SOME NEWS FROM JAPAN

Although it has been two months since leaving Gunma, I often talk on the telephone (skype) with colleagues and friends. Here are a couple items:

• Please continue to pray for ABC (Akagi Bible Camp) as our manager Ken Tsuruki officially resigned this month. We are heading into this year’s season without a full time manager but things appear to be lining up fairly well in terms of volunteers and back-up systems. “Lord, please use ABC mightily this summer!”
• Short term mission to Detroit area – for many years now we have been planning for and praying about the Japan Covenant Church sending Pastor Miyamoto and his wife Masako to work with the C3 Covenant Church in Novi, MI to reach out to thousands of resident Japanese who are in the area because of the auto industry. A petition for a religious visa was finally granted last week (after a 16 month wait) and they are in the final stages of applying for the actual visa at the American Embassy in Tokyo. Please pray that this visa will be granted, that this project may be able to get started SOON, and that God would do GREAT things through this outreach.

PRAYER LIST FOR THE FRIDGE:

1. Thanks Lord for a car to use!
2. For our children as they begin school in Geneva,IL
3. For our visits with supporting churches and individuals
4. For a healthy balance of work & rest while here in the U.S.
5. For Akagi Bible Camp
6. For the Detroit Short Term Mission project (2 years)

We hope to see many of you in the days ahead.

Your partners in prayer and mission,

Tim & Andrea Johnson

Sam, Lilla & Sky