Fall, 2008

Friends at Faith Baptist,

As I write this we have been back in Japan for a little over two months. Along with victories we have had some setbacks. The time has flown by.  One of our chief blessings is to have our daughter, Danielle, living in our prefecture and coming to our home on weekends.

A New House and a New Address: Our co-worker Natalie Beck and brother's and sister's in Christ from the Church made our move quick and easy. Our new address is listed under our name. Please make a note of it.

Some Highlights of our First Two Months: Soon after we arrived back a deaf lady in the Church, Mrs. Higashi, went to be with her Lord. Dozens attending the funeral heard the gospel for the first time.

The Church we have had the closest relationship with over our time in Japan is the Sasebo Deaf Baptist Chruch. We frequently visit and speak both and the Church and camps held by associated deaf Churches. They had met for over twenty years in one room of a large home. They recently bought land and built a new building for the Church to meet in. We were invited to speak at the dedication and rejoiced with them.

 Christmas outreaches have already begun. Our annual Christmas decoration making outreach was attended by an equal number of saved and unsaved ladies. All heard the gospel after making a Christmas table decoration. A Thanksgiving dinner (complete with turkey) at the Church was a time to gather unsaved friends together.

We would love to include a picture of our new sound system and sound booth as well. One of the young men of the church volunteered his time and quite a but of money to upgrade our sound system. Bill, Becky, and Natalie built a sound booth at the back of the auditorium to hold it all.

Prayer Requests: Yukiko, a gal in her twenties who occasionally attends services, has since her child hood had a temendous involvement with the occult. Her life is a mess. She has been writing us frequently of late praising Satan and professing her love for demons. Pray that she will repent and be delivered. We have quite a few who have allowed sing or sheer unconcern draw them away from Christ. We grieve deeply over each one. Please pray especially for Mr. Shirao, Miho, Masafumi, and Shintaro that they would return to Christ. We have several upcoming Christmas outreaches- and we hope to invite unsaved neighbors over our home this month as well. Appritiate your prayers that the Holy Spirit would use each work of faith for his kingdom. We are concidering new evangelistic outreaches including new English then Bible classes, mens meetings, the restarting of our Gospel Choir outreach, child raising classes for non-Christian mothers, and a new service in a different area of our Prefecture. Each takes time and preparation in addition to our already seeminly full schedule and we need to know the Lord's leading as to what we should pour our energy into. Appretiate your prayers for Dr. Tominaga and his wife. He has been a dear friend for many years and was once very close to accepting Christ. He has recently had serious health problems and had to give up his practice. Pray that this time of trial will result in he and his wife coming to Christ. Appreciate prayer for Ryoji, Kinuko, and Ikuyo to trust in Christ. And your prayers for Pastor Tago and his wife Naomi as well as Missionary Natalie Beck as they work along side us.

Present regular responsibilies include preaching, (and for Becky sign language interpretation,) English then Bible classes, prayer meetings (three each week), a weekly staff meeting, weekly and monthly ladies meetings, monthly children's outreaches, and pastor prayer meetings. In addition Bill is field council chairman and field council treasurer.

 We would be wrong not to mention other missionaries with ABWE working in adjacent Prefectures. The Sadowitzes, Carrs and Wendy Stiles are attempting to start a Church in Miyakonojo in Miyazaki Prefecture (much like a state) and the Smith's and Sue Hahn are attempting to start a Church in Kumamoto Prefecture just north of us. They are pare of only a very small handfull of missionaries of any kind working in southern Japan.

We want to thank so many of you who have sent extra Christmas gifts and have made it possible for us to decorate our house with beautiful cards we have recieved. Your many expressions of love are a great encouragement to us!

Satisfied in Christ,

Bill and Becky