I began serving in ministry in Japan in 2014 by showing and teaching about God’s love through conversational English classes, arts & crafts, hospitality, and everyday interactions with people in the community. I have developed relationships with many people in my community through everyday life activities as well as with English class students and their families. Through the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, I have been able to grow and nurture the relationships I have in the community I serve through sharing the Gospel, my testimony, reading Scripture, and praying for my students when they are in need.
At this time, only a small percentage are open to the Gospel, I pray that all my students and friends come to know the love of Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Saviour. My new ministry will be in Murayama doing the same activities with an emphasis on hospitality: serving the community and their needs.
About me:
For 15 years, I taught various grades from K-12 in California public schools, always with an emphasis on English as a Second Language. In a culturally diverse community, proficiency in English is expected for students to be successful in school (in the States and Japan, too). Little did I know that, when God called me to be a public school teacher, He would eventually call me to serve Him in Japan by continuing to teach second language learners.
My areas of ministry in Murayama:
–Showing and teaching about God’s love through English classes at a local church and a few house churches.
–Serving the community of Murayama through hospitality (I Peter 4:9-11).
–Reaching out into and engaging the community through arts & crafts, day care, cooking classes, a gardening club, mom’s time-out, prayer meetings, and Bible studies.
村山 – Murayama = village of the mountain:
I am on the precipice of a new ministry in Murayama in which I will serve the community of Bethany Mura by sharing the message of the Gospel through English activities (see above). I am very excited to return to Murayama in this new ministry and I look forward to working with Zion Christ Church, other missionaries in the area, and everyone in Bethany Mura, to proclaim the love and compassion of Christ Jesus. People here are conservative and strong in endurance, and they possess a deep compassion and a firm sense of obligation.
There is a deep-rooted village culture and a powerful personal relationship base, which makes it difficult to penetrate the societal and cultural traditions, customs, and religious beliefs, and so there is strong pressure against Christianity, but God… moves amongst this community and the country with dedicated, perseverant, and courageous people willing to go against the grain and share about Christ Jesus.
Buddhism and Shintoism play an important role in the people’s lives. Traditional Buddhism is considered the family religion and controls the community daily life. Folk religion with mediums, spells, and curses are also a part of community life (Operation Japan, JEMA). And it is with compassion, love, and a lot of time that missionaries like me and many others come to Japan, not for a short-term, but for the long haul, all to fulfill Jesus’ commandment to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
Being chosen by God to serve Him in ministry in Japan has been most rewarding, challenging, and the greatest of blessings. Living and working in a community in which people serve, work, and proclaim His word daily is an experience I never had before moving to Japan. The majority of my life was spent in the secular world and this ministry opportunity has surrounded me with Christians obedient to Him and His teaching. God gifted me with the ability to teach, but in this ministry He enabled me to stretch beyond my comfort zone and work in an environment in which English is not the primary language and He has blessed me with students and friends from toddler age through the 90s to minister to.
I ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with me in this ministry, financially and/or prayerfully. You can become a committed financial partner, or you can make a one-time donation to the ministry by following the steps on this site. Thank you for your time and consideration. I leave you with this statistic: of the approximately 125,000,000 Japanese people in Japan less than 1% are Christian, making Japan the second largest unreached people group in the world.
