The “Darumas” are out!!

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There were 2 festival days in Utsunomiya in January where the merchants came out selling their “daruma”s for the new year.   The Japanese believe these darumas bring good fortune and success for the new year. It is a great opportunity to walk through the stalls and engage in conversation with the merchants inquiring into the [...]

Come to Me

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In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “… “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  (NLT) Sometimes when I look out my window and see people walking, bicycling, or driving by I wonder, “What do they think about God?”   “Where do they go when they are weary [...]

Reflecting on Christmas in Utsunomiya

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Do they know? What do they think when they see the lights and trees, when they hear the carols? From Thanksgiving on, our city was decorated with beautiful lights and a huge live Christmas tree, yet most of the people in our city have no idea of the real meaning of Christmas.  Of the  500,000 people living [...]

Reaching Out

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Kindergarten community. Neighbors. Language teachers. These are three areas in which we are hoping to develop good relationships with people, share the gospel and work towards making disciples! With that in mind, we decided to host three Christmas parties. And, you guessed it! One for Jacob’s kindergarten class; one for our neighbors; and one for [...]

In Harm’s Way

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“For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.” (Mark 7:21,22 NIV) These days, while on stateside assignment in the States, we have found ourselves in the midst of a community whose children are being targeted by someone with ill-intent.  [...]

Curses Foiled Again

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“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” (Galatians 3:13a NIV) “Good fortune?  Bad fortune?  What lies ahead for me in 2010?”  These are questions some Japanese are pondering particularly at the start of this new year.  Though highly modern and technological, in many respects Japanese are still [...]

Emboldened Believers

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“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” –Matthew 10:32-33– “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his [...]

Happy New Year from Utsunomiya

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We thought we would be welcoming the New Year quietly in the warmth of our apartment.  But we decided to venture out in the freezing cold to see if anything was happening in our city.  It surprised us to see some streets closed off, many food stalls set up for all-night business, and a crowd [...]