Oronogo

This weekend was my college graduation. I am now legit. It was good to see my friends from Ozark. It was a hard weekend of goodbyes, though.

Yesterday I went to Christ's Church of Oronogo in Missouri for the last time. It was really great to worship with my Joplin brothers and sisters one last time, even if most of them had left already. I am going to miss the services at this church intensely. That is one thing I have been keenly conscious of for these past few months: I will not be able to go to services in my heart language. Being in Japan and going to Japanese services will be rewarding and I feel so blessed that God has called me to be part of what He is doing in Japan, but I really will miss Oronogo's services and preaching.

After that I went to present at the mission's meeting for the church. I felt so privileged to be there, because several other missionaries were also there presenting, and three were from Mustard Seed Global Fellowship, which is an organization that involves quite a few of my friends and co-graduates from Ozark. They started Mustard Seed Christian Church in Nagoya, Japan, and God is really blessing their efforts over there. Keep them in your prayers.

I got a chance to talk to my friend Joel, who is considering doing a year internship with Mustard Seed. Please pray for him and his efforts in that regard. I also had the privilege of hearing Kenroy Clarke, a pastor from Barbados, speak about the work they are doing in Barbados, Guyana, and the work they are planning to do in Haiti. And I got a chance to speak with some missionaries who had been in China for a couple of years.

It was so refreshing and great to meet with all of these people who are passionate about the same thing I am passionate about, and I am so glad I was able to go to that meeting, because it got me really amped up about what God is doing in Japan. I have a feeling God is getting ready to sweep through the nation. I really wish I could be part of what Mustard Seed is doing. I intend to visit their church in Nagoya while I'm in Japan. However, I am excited about where I'm going and what I'll be doing there.

Today I set out on a roadtrip up through the center of the midwest to visit friends and family. Pray for safe travel.

Also pray for my friend Josh, who is in Osaka right now on his first missions trip to Japan!

Pray for my partner Laura, that God would provide all of the funds she needs to go with me for the summer. I admit that part of my desire for her to go is selfish: her presence will help to make my transition into life in Japan a little smoother. But she's really excited to go and I'm really excited for her to have this new experience.

Returning

Here's the skinny: I'm going back. My tentative date of departure is July 8.

It's been quite a process, this preparation stage. I told JEMS I wanted to return almost as soon as I got back to the States. The church in Japan decided that they wanted me for 20 months. This is because the Japanese school year starts in April and ends in March, and if I went in July, that would have to be either 8 months or 20 months. 20 months a long time to be in another country, and it's been kind of a hard road being ok with that. My first instinct was to say no and opt to stay for only 8 months, but the more I thought and prayed about it, the more I realized that my entire life is God's, so how can I say, "You can only have x amount of my time?"

So for the past 10 months I've been working hard to make the time as worthwhile as possible. I've been studying Japanese at smart.fm (an excellent website which I highly recommend. Thank you, Josh!). When I went for my training in LA last week, the head of JEMS, Pastor Rick, said that he was really impressed with my Japanese, and to keep it up. I was quite pleased to hear that. I'm really hoping for fluency by the time I've been there a year. I know it's ambitious, considering how difficult Japanese is, but I've been learning so quickly that I think it's possible. Immersion is the best way to learn, and when I was there last summer, I was picking it up fast.

Please pray for me. Pray that God sends me some good friends while I'm in Japan this time. The ladies at the church were lovely, and I would definitely consider them and Yuji-san to be friends, but please pray that I can get into contact with some other foreigners while I'm there. I have a feeling there will be some unique support we can offer each other, being "strangers in a strange land" and all.

Also please pray for my friend Laura. She's hoping to come help out for the summer, and I'm really excited for her to come. Pray that God will provide the funds that both of us need to come.

If you're interested in helping to support us, contact me: annekwinters@gmail.com.

Arigatou!