We have reached the end of our final week in Japan this summer. The time sure has gone fast! In many ways, week six has been a fairly routine one. Yet, these are the things that we came here to do. It feels right that this week’s focus has been on “regular ol’ stuff.” I think that’s probably where God can use us the best.
I closed out my summer series on prayer with a third sermon this week. Based on the encouragement and feedback I have received, I think all three sermons landed well. I’m hopeful that they will serve to enrich the faith walk of those who listened. This week during the children’s lesson, I brought along some printed sheets detailing several fruits and their matching trees. We thought about how you can tell what kind of tree it is by looking at its fruit. People are much the same. You can glimpse what is on the inside of a person by looking at the “fruit” of their life. A mom also sent us a picture of the kid’s class upstairs. The boy in the middle is a visitor, but I heard that he was just as eager to participate and even sang a song! We remain hopeful that the seeds we have been planting will sprout strong in the hearts of those who we have come to know.
I feel like we haven’t taken enough pictures of our readers. Here are the few that I have. In all honesty, some of the pics above are last year’s pictures of readers who came back this summer. These times spent one-on-one reading from Luke have been so enriching for Emily and me. At one level, they are about reading and speaking English. But once you start digging into the meaning of particular sentences and paragraphs, the themes of Luke begin to spark a whole bunch of interesting conversations. They become more seeds planted!
Music classes on Thursdays and Sundays wrapped up this week. Such sweet relationships are being forged through this time together. When we return next Fall, these classes will need to look a little different. We may not be able to start them back up right away due to the time commitment of language school and other activities, but the value in using music to form relationships is too good to pass up for very long. We are hopeful that we will be able to figure out how to continue offering some sort of music class again in the future.
After Worship this Sunday, most everyone headed upstairs for a fellowship meal and farewell party for us. These meals are always special (and tasty!). July birthdays were also celebrated, so Keiko-san and I got to go through the line first (see upper left pic). Emily and I also had a chance to share some parting thoughts with the group. We are not enjoying the goodbyes this week — we are hopeful that it is more like “see ya’ later.”
We also enjoyed a handful of other neat moments during week six:
- Walking toward the entrance of the Tachikawa train station there was a portion of sidewalk blocked off and quite a few people gathered around looking up. Some barn swallows had made nests near the ceiling and it was making quite the mess on the sidewalk below. Cute!
- A couple of church members treated us to lunch at a Soba shop just around the corner. It was a tiny place (just five tables), but the food was delicious.
- We also enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal with the Fukushimas before playing several rounds of Skip-Bo. It is so good for the heart when we get to spend time with fellow believers in fellowship over a meal.
- Finally, I was able to attend the monthly ministers meeting this Monday via Zoom. In the picture above you can see that my iPad is translating live. It isn’t perfect, but it’s enough to follow along and understand most of what is happening. This group of ministers have such servant hearts! It is clear that they love the Lord and work tirelessly to advance His kingdom in Japan.
For a parting shot this week, I thought it appropriate to share a picture Emily took of the sunset. Tomorrow we get back on an airplane headed to the US, and this summer’s trip will come to a close. A big part of our hearts will definitely be staying behind here in Tachikawa! We turn now towards the task of preparing for full-time mission work. In the coming year, we need to establish a relationship with a sending congregation, raise any additional supporting funds, and start all of the processes for moving internationally. In the meantime, we hope to stay connected digitally with many who remain here in Japan. It is also difficult to think about how this move will impact our family going forward. If only we could live in two places at once! We believe God is calling us to go, but that also means being far away from our children, our parents, our siblings, and other family and friends. FaceTime and Zoom may help a little, but it’s not the same.
We appreciate your continued prayer support in these matters. It is the Lord who provides. He has certainly taken great care of us so far!
~ Clay
Fowlers in Japan 