God is faithful, and you were called by him to partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
~ 1 Corinthians 1:9 (CEB)
We have great news to share! You may recall that the Cloverdale congregation in Searcy, Arkansas, agreed to host our missions fund this past December. It was a temporary first step that allowed us to start collecting funds, especially for those of you needing to take advantage of year-end tax benefits. This arrangement was a gracious gesture from Cloverdale while we continued to explore the possibility that they might become our full-fledged Sending Congregation. I am happy to report that Emily and I have now completed this process with the Cloverdale eldership and missions committee!
Beginning July 1st, we will officially be a part of the Cloverdale missions team. God be praised! The Cloverdale family has a strong emphasis on missions which includes many years of experience with Japanese missions in particular. In addition to coordinating our working funds, this congregation will provide mentoring, oversight, and encouragement as we partner together to spread the Gospel in Tachikawa, Japan. As a result, we will spend much of our remaining time in the US in Searcy getting to know the members at Cloverdale as best we can. We are excited!
With a Sending Congregation fully in place, we have now been able to submit our applications for the first step toward getting Japanese visas. We sent applications and supporting documentation for the Certificate of Eligibility to Nao Fukushima in Japan, and he was able to take them to the immigration office on our behalf. The Certificate of Eligibility is a type of pre-approval process required for a long-term residential visa. Our certificate applications have been processing for almost four weeks now. We’ve been told that it is a 1-3 month process, so I am hopeful that we will hear something soon. Once our certificates are approved and received here in Memphis, then we can take them to the Japanese Consulate in Nashville to apply for the actual residential visas.
And, with visa applications in process… it’s now officially time to start packing! We don’t feel like we have just a whole ton of stuff, but trying to separate what goes from what doesn’t can be a little overwhelming at times. Sometimes it feels like I’m choreographing a giant, slow-motion dance number. This piece needs to be done before that piece can be processed. That other pile needs to be sorted before these items can be packed. Oh, and what are we going to do with all this stuff in the corner? It all makes me thankful that our particular circumstances don’t involve things like selling a house or trying to pack up kids and/or pets. Whew!
We are scheduled to fly to Japan in the first week of August, but we are hoping to be able to send most of our stuff with the movers around the end of May or beginning of June. That will, of course, depend on whether or not we successfully have visas in hand by that time. They estimate that the transit time (including warehouse transfers and clearing customs) will be between 60-75 days. Sending our things at the beginning of Summer will mean that we won’t have to wait so long for it to be delivered when we arrive in Japan. It does mean, however, that we will essentially be living out of our suitcases for June and July. It’s a lot to keep straight, but we are confident that God will work it out – He certainly has done so to this point!
~ Clay
Fowlers in Japan 