We are in the midst of a season of endings. Emily and I have both completed our last semester of teaching. One recent Sunday was likely our last chance to worship with our home congregation before we leave, and we were able to share a moment of tremendous blessing as we said goodbye with a small reception in the lobby. We have steadily been filling boxes with items to be sent to Japan, and with each one there is another bit of confirmation that our time in Memphis is coming to an end. I have closed another big chapter in completing my Master of Arts in Christian Ministry at Harding School of Theology. Seemingly at every turn we are closing another door.
Yet, it’s not really an ending – it is more like an intermission. I’m not old enough to remember when a trip to see a movie in the theater routinely featured a break in the middle of the show, but I have attended several broadway-style musicals which featured an intermission. The intermission can feel a little bit odd. The house lights come up and a number of people head for the lobby to grab a beverage, use the restroom, or make a phone call. In many ways, my senses tell me that the show seems to be over. Yet, my brain knows that there is still much more show to come.
Emily and I are experiencing that in-between moment now. Our visa applications are still in process. The calendar still has some days before we head to Searcy for the summer. In some ways it all still feels like Japan is still out there on the horizon. But in other ways, it is starting to feel like it’s all about to happen tomorrow. We hold fast to our faith as the constant thread woven through it all.
Before we know it, this season of endings will have an ending of its own. All too soon, the house lights will dim again and everyone will take their seats as the intermission fades away. A season of beginnings will commence. We look forward to the journey that God has called us to make, and we treasure your partnership in prayer as you journey along with us.
We recently had the opportunity to share a bit about our Japan journey during a Sunday evening assembly at our Sponsoring Congregation, the Cloverdale Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas. View the video above to learn a little bit more about our backgrounds, our mission efforts up to this point, and our plans moving forward.
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!
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! ~ Isaiah 30:18
It is March! That means spring is close at hand, and it seems like everything around us is starting to wake up after a long, cold winter. One such indicator is the buds forming on the sakura (cherry) trees. To say that the Japanese people enjoy sakura season would be an epic understatement. For them, it is an annual obsession which the whole country heartily enjoys. Sakura Forecasts have already started appearing on the evening news. They break it down in detail for each area of the country when to expect the “first bloom” and “peak bloom” so that everyone can make plans to spend time enjoying outings to see the flowers. It’s one of those annual reminders that signals a shift from one season to another and many people eagerly wait for the sakura blooms to come again.
Waiting is hard. Sometimes, like with sakura blooms, we spend much more time waiting for them to arrive than we do actually experiencing them. Then, when the fleeting blooms have run their course, we are faced with having to wait another whole year for them to arrive again. We do enjoy the shade of the tree’s green leaves during the summer months. Also, the cherry trees provide homes and food for a number of creatures in the neighborhood. We just don’t seem to get as excited over those benefits as we do when the flowers bloom.
And yet, the cherry tree is hard at work all year long. It is making progress towards growth and strength during the summer months that will make the blooms possible. It generates next year’s buds during the fall season and then encapsulates them to protect from winter weather. Even during those cold winter months, the tree is focused on conserving its energy and gathering its strength in the root sections. In fact, some arborists suggest that a cherry tree that does NOT experience at least one deep chill during the winter won’t be able to reach its full potential bloom in the spring.
Seasons of change and renewal happen in our lives as well. They are exciting and fresh when the “blooms” happen, but for long stretches it can feel like those dark, cold weeks of winter when not much appears to be happening. I chose the picture above because it shows the first bloom opening in the midst of a branch full of buds that aren’t quite ready yet. When we see the buds appear, we know that the flowers are not far off and we begin to anticipate the beauty they will display.
Emily and I are in the midst of a season of waiting as we prepare for mission work in Japan. Yet God has been working in us and through us all along. He has been faithful in walking alongside us each step in this process, and as we draw nearer to our target date we can’t help but feel like we are starting to see some activity in the “buds” along our branches. We are encouraged by ongoing conversations with a potential sending congregation. We have begun assembling the necessary paperwork and accompanying documentation for applying for visas. We have even gotten a small start on cleaning out attic spaces and organizing our belongings into different categories like “take to Japan” and “pass along to others.”
But we are also mindful that there are some important steps that still need to be completed. A formal agreement with a sending congregation is still at least a couple of weeks away. Our paperwork for living in Japan is still incomplete and cannot be submitted yet. We have reasons to believe that God is making a way for these to happen soon, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still waiting. So, we are trying to remain focused on waiting with the right mindset. We trust God to provide, and He has an infinitely better understanding of all of this than we do. We look forward to being able to share good news with you all in the very near future.
Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. ~ Psalm 105:1-6
A number of the Psalms encourage the practice of looking back. We gain proper perspective when we take a moment to reflect on where we have been and how that has helped shape who we are now. It is important, as Psalm 105 shows, to also remember God’s providence throughout. By properly reviewing the past, we develop an appreciation for what God is doing now. Importantly, we also cultivate a proper mindset for joining God in the future.
Not long ago, we began a third year of sending monthly newsletters. Recently, I took a little time to look back over the first 24 newsletters and reflect a little on where we started and how we have seen God along the way. That first message, February 2024, went to just 36 subscribers. In contrast, this month’s message will go out to more than 250! God has blessed us with such a cloud of witnesses and we are grateful to each of you who pray regularly regarding the work in Japan.
Similarly, our website launched in October 2023, just a few months before we started sending emails. It contained a few static pages of information and a couple of blog posts. That first month logged six visitors who read a total of 15 items. It is amazing to see how God has blessed these efforts! The information pages have increased in number as well as content, and I have somehow managed to publish more than 60 blog entries. It is even more humbling to realize that in the last 30 days, 112 visitors viewed 210 items. Since the website launched, a total of nearly 2,000 visitors have viewed over 4,900 items. Whew!
Looking back is helpful when we remember that it is God who gives these blessings. Emily and I are not the reason for this growth. Instead, we point to our Father in Heaven and give Him all of the glory. Your love for us is evident through your prayers on behalf of the people of Japan as well as your frequent encouraging comments. The numbers and statistics really just confirm what we already know God is doing through each of you.
Ultimately, this looking back should lead us to look forward. With your help, through consistent prayer, encouragement, and financial support, Emily and I have been able to begin realizing our goal of starting full-time mission work this August. We still have several important steps to complete in the coming weeks, but we are confident that God will continue to provide. We are eager to join with the work being done in Tachikawa, Japan. May God’s name be praised for what He has done AND what He will be doing through us all as we continue in the Son’s footsteps.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. ~ John 15:15-17
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ~ Revelation 21:5
Happy New Year! Emily and I hope that you are able to look back on 2025 with appreciation for what God has done. We are also praying that 2026 will provide many opportunities for you to share God’s blessings with those all around. We certainly feel God’s care and love through your comments and prayers.
We received great news to close out 2025. A seeker had been studying the Bible on her own and started attending Tachikawa on Sundays. After some additional Bible study with Fukushima-san, she chose to commit her life to Christ on the final Sunday of the year! We rejoice with our new sister Sari Obe (seated, middle front, with glasses) as she had her sins washed away in the saving waters of baptism. Please pray for Obe-san as she joins the Tachikawa church family and begins the next part of her spiritual journey among this community of faithful believers.
As we turn our thoughts toward 2026, it is more than just a new year. Our coming transition to Japan is starting to feel more and more real. But we are not the only ones! For this post, I am focusing on what feels like the start of a new season of missions in Japan. There are a few missionaries who have been working in Japan for some time – Les and Sarah Taylor in Matsudo (Chiba prefecture), Joel Osborne in Mito (Ibaraki prefecture), and Jeanne Ray in Tomobe (also in Ibaraki prefecture). But we are excited to know that several new missionaries have committed to working in Japan as well.
William and Randi Adams recently landed in Shizuoka. There are a handful of small congregations clustered in this part of Japan about 1.5 hours southwest of Tokyo by bullet train. This is the area of Japan where Sarah Andrews worked. William and Randi are partnering with Shinozako-san, a native minister, to help revitalize these congregations. Read more about what God is doing through the Adams family through their Facebook page.
Angel Alcantar will soon join William and Randi in Shizuoka. Angel is a graduate of Freed-Hardeman University and is currently enrolled at Sunset International Bible Institute to further prepare for missions. Currently, Angel has submitted all of his paperwork and is awaiting final visa approval. You can read more on his website.
Brandon and Ocean Furbee have also decided to join the mission team in Shizuoka. Graduating from Harding University, they have felt a calling toward missions in Japan and are in the process of gathering support.
Additionally, Emily and I have been in contact with three more couples who have expressed a desire to work with missions in Japan. We pray that the Lord will open doors for these and others who are willing to step beyond the familiar and serve His kingdom in this way. This year is going to be great!
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. ~ Acts 2:46-47
Would you like a handy way to tell people about what we are hoping to do in Japan? We have updated our one-page mission summary. It’s a quick PDF that is easy to share. Simply click on the thumbnail below!
…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. ~ Philippians 2:13
A typical Sunday morning gathering
This blog post will be focusing on Tachikawa, Japan. Emily and I have committed to working with the congregation here and we are excited to share some of the reasons for our decision. The photo above was taken during our trip last summer. Although some members couldn’t be present the day this picture was taken, it is a good representation of a typical Sunday worship gathering. Over the last two summers as we worked and worshiped alongside this small but faithful group, these people have gradually gone from anonymous Japanese individuals to beloved brothers and sisters laboring for Jesus despite tough cultural challenges.
Downtown Tachikawa
Tachikawa is a suburb on the Western side of the Tokyo metropolitan area. While not as densely populated as central Tokyo, most Americans would still consider it to be crowded. Tachikawa Station serves as a major suburban hub at the intersection of five different train lines. Current estimates suggest that at least 175,000 people transit through this station each day. Consequently, the Tachikawa area has seen a steady increase in development and is an attractive destination for people who want to live away from the congested parts of Central Tokyo yet still have easy access to all parts of the greater Tokyo area.
In particular, this part of the city is attractive to young families. Despite most areas in Japan dealing with the twin crises of low birth rates and an aging population, Emily and I have observed over the past two summers that the Tachikawa area has an abundance of families with small children. We believe this presents a number of exciting possibilities for ministry!
Tachikawa Church of Christ
For over 60 years, the Tachikawa Church of Christ has faithfully stood in this area of Tokyo as witness to the Gospel. The congregation also serves as host for the Japan School of Evangelism which utilizes the classroom and library spaces on its second floor, and dormitory lodgings on its third floor. Nao Fukushima serves as minister and evangelist along with his wife Noriko. Tachikawa is one of Japan’s larger congregations, with a membership around 30 individuals.
When most people think of missionary activities, their first thoughts often tend toward evangelizing a local community and establishing a new church plant. Spreading the Gospel into new areas is critical Kingdom work, and for many missionaries around the globe this is the only option available. So when Emily and I talk with people about our plans in Tachikawa, they are often surprised that our work will focus on an existing congregation that already has a minister in place. There are several reasons for this.
It would be very difficult to plant a new church, legally. In recent history, Japan has had to endure reprehensible behavior from a variety of religious groups. From the sarin gas attacks in Tokyo subways by cult members to extortionist fundraising practices by other groups, a number of events have caused the Japanese government to be extremely reticent to issue new licenses under the national Religious Corporation Law. Ultimately, the behavior of these non-Christian groups has put the brakes on any process which would recognize a new church plant. Without this legal designation, it would be impossible to enter into contracts for rental agreements, bank accounts, building projects, taxes, and a whole host of other legal relationships needed to exist as a congregation. The best we could hope for would be to operate as a “satellite” location of an existing congregation, requiring the host group to sign for everything.
Similarly, the visa standards in Japan require Emily and I to be sponsored by an existing Japanese congregation. While it is possible to ask the Tachikawa congregation to sponsor our visa in order for us to work in a different place, we are hesitant to ask the congregation’s leaders to shoulder additional administrative responsibilities in this way. I am confident they would be willing to do so, since it is a necessity of the Japanese visa system, but we don’t wish to impose upon these brothers and sisters who already give so much of their time serving the Lord.
More importantly, Emily and I have committed to working with the Christians in Tachikawa because they have asked us to come. We see great opportunity for mission work within this church family and among this community. Although this congregation has a long history and faithful core membership, they have struggled to bounce back from the disruption of the COVID pandemic. Nao and Noriko Fukushima serve the congregation tirelessly, but they both must work secular jobs to make ends meet. Other core members faithfully help week in and week out, but the Tachikawa congregation would greatly benefit from an infusion of new energy. This is a main reason why they began seeking missionaries to come and join their work.
Godly mentors are a blessing to be treasured. As Emily and I transition to life as Japanese missionaries, there will be many personal and ministry challenges. By working with the Tachikawa congregation, we also get to deepen our relationship with Nao and Noriko Fukushima. These two have decades of experience working for Jesus in the cultural context of Japan, but they have also spent time in the United States while completing college degrees. In other words, they have experienced both sides of the transition Emily and I will be making. We have already grown so much through getting to know them. Taking this mentor relationship to the next level will help further equip us for the work ahead.
Tokyo Academy of Communication Language Institute
Our first two years on the field will be primarily focused on language study. Living and working in Tachikawa will allow easy access to an exciting opportunity. On the recommendation of Les and Sarah Taylor, we took some time this past summer to visit the Tokyo Academy of Communication. Located near Ochanomizu station in central Tokyo, this school teaches the Japanese language with missionaries and their families specifically in mind. Takahashi sensei and Yamamoto sensei (at far right and left in the photo above) were both very welcoming and encouraging. They even let us experience a whole day’s activities as a preview. It is clear that they approach language learning as Kingdom ministry, and we are looking forward to their guidance and coaching as we learn the intricacies of Japanese language and culture.
As a mission field, Japan is a very unique place. Everywhere you look, there are reminders that Japan is a curious blend of ancient tradition and modern life. As we learn to navigate this reality and seek to reach the people here, Emily and I are grateful for the many ways that working with the church in Tachikawa will help make our efforts more effective. We believe that God is already at work in this community. By listening to His word and looking to His leading, it is our conviction that the Spirit will give us the words to use and the opportunity to speak them.
Emily and I are excited to share that we are officially launching our funding campaign for full-time mission work in Tachikawa, Japan! We have designed a one-page summary for quick reference. It contains descriptions of our Vision for Ministry, our Calling, the Spiritual Context of Japan, an intro to Tachikawa City, and a bit about ourselves and our financial goals. Do us a favor and download the PDF version and please share it with anyone who might be interested in partnering with us for missions in Japan!
For those desiring a greater level of detail, we have also produced a 2026 Missions Prospectus. This comprehensive document provides information about our plans, our working agreement with the Tachikawa congregation, letters of recommendation, official documentation, our personal credentials, and more. It is designed to help you be fully informed as you consider partnering with us in this work. Our Missions Prospectus is available to anyone, but since it has a number of sensitive details we have chosen not to publish it on the web. Simply contact us to request a copy and we’ll be happy to send it directly to you.
Several of the website pages have also been updated or expanded. Here is a brief description of what has changed:
The page outlining Our Mission now includes more specific information about Tachikawa Church of Christ, the place we have agreed to work.
And finally, for those who are ready to partner with us financially, we have a Financial Pledge Form where you can let us know the type and amount you would like to give. Simply click the blue button to put your name down as partners in this work.
As always, thank you for your encouraging messages. They mean a great deal! Thank you again for praying for us, for Japan, and for the Kingdom work being done.
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!
Fowlers in Japan 