Good News (ii nyuusu)

Things have been progressing quite nicely so far. We have confirmed with the DeVernas that the dates of October 8-22, 2014 are now definite! While this is exciting for us, we have seen God's goodness through so many of you by receiving half of our support already! This has placed us in a position to now look for the best deals on securing flights.  We will keep a close eye on this to be good stewards of what has been invested in us.

Have you ever noticed or heard about stories where things start to go 'wrong' when you make a decision to follow Jesus where He wants you to go?  Well, we have begun to see some opposition to our efforts.  We would very much appreciate if you would pray specifically that...

1. we would be strong in His strength
2. we would be courageous to do as He directs
3. we would be prepared to understand, as best as we can, the language and culture of the Japanese
4. we would receive all the support we need
5. we would not be discouraged in the midst of opposition
6. we would be thankful in all circumstances

God bless you and thank you for your prayers!  We certainly want to be pre-prayed as my good friend Brett would encourage each of us to do.

Dave and Luke

Amazed

It has been a couple weeks since our prayer and support letter has been sent out and we have already received over 25% of our support.  Luke's birthday was yesterday and he received many letters showing support and excitement for the upcoming trip.  Dave received a text a week ago from a long-time friend who was so enthusiastic for us he wrote out a check on the spot.  Luke and I knew that this God-sized opportunity would allow for Him to get all the glory as we followed Him on this missions trip.  There is no way we could ever, on our own, be able to do this.  Once we receive half of our support we will purchase tickets for the flight.  Recently, the airlines just dropped their price and God knows the timing of what we need. So, we thank you and we thank our Savior for showing us generosity in ways we could not have imagined.

Open Hands

Wow!  We just realized it has been a little while since our last post so we have a few updates.  First, thanks to all of you who have been just as excited as we are about the trip.  You have asked us questions, agreed to pray, and have been an encouragement.  By now, you may have received our support letter and have taken a look at the blog for the first time.  This is our central communication to you about what we are doing, how we are preparing, and anything else we want to talk about.  Here's something interesting that happened just yesterday.  Luke and I were talking about Prov 3:9-10 and read a blog entry about it from a guy by the name of Dale McIntire.  Towards the end of the entry he said "I learned that to honor the Lord with wealth means more than simply tithing or spending wisely, though those are both included. Honoring the Lord with our wealth means living with open hands (and by extension, open wallets and checkbooks and bank accounts and stock portfolios and home equities and everything else), so that the One to whom it all belongs may place in our hands or take from them as he pleases, for his glory."  It was a beautiful perspective.  We prayed last night along these lines and about preparing the hearts of the Japanese people as we seek to serve.  This was interesting timing to think and pray about these things.  Interesting because when I came home today, my neighbor called me and said she received our letter. She went on to say that they found it very interesting and are looking to have their church support us.  God truly does even more than we can ask or imagine.  I love that about Him.  Keep praying as there is more to come.