January 2014 Monthly Prayer Bulletin

Dear Friends & Prayer Partners,

It was great to hear from so many of you during the Christmas and New Year season. We’re excited about the year which stretches ahead of us and are thrilled that you’re willing to walk and pray with us….. hard to believe that January is already coming to a close.

There is so much going on here in our work and among our colleagues that it’s hard to know just what to share… but let us leave you with just one report and prayer request this time around….

A group of boys attending the Isesaki Church…..

We’ve briefly mentioned in the past a group of 5-7 boys that come faithfully to worship at Isesaki. We’re open to girls too (!) It just happens to be a group of boys this time around.
Several of them come from home environments that are difficult…. all except 1 have attended our Akagi Bible Camp during the summer.
We long to connect with them on a deeper level and have added a special program for them on Thursday evenings after school (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.) Food (of course), music (we’re working on drums mostly but also guitar), occasional help with homework, and a short time of devotions and simple disciple training.

Please pray that…

…they will grow in their hunger and interest for God in their lives.
…they will sense our (and God’s) great love for them.
…this will lead to each of them loving and serving Christ.
…several other adults in the church will become naturally connected to the program to ensure it’s continuity even after we leave in June. Already volunteers have been bringing food and helping in other ways.

Here are a few photos from last night’s gathering – taken during the drum lesson. Sorry the quality is poor…

And although the subtitles are in Japanese you can get a little sense for the group by watching this brief video that was taken during our Christmas party together last month – games, cookie baking, food, and fun…