Terence and I both feel God has called us to minister to the people in Japan. Our last assignment in Japan was to minister at four Christian preschools and also help lead a small Church of God congregation. This is where we will be filling in, and we expect the schedule to be very similar. In Japan, teaching English is a major outreach ministry for Japanese churches and Christian schools. Many people who aren't Christian will send their children to churches or Christian preschools in order for them to learn English.
We had several ministries we served in. We worked at four preschools from Tuesday through Saturday. Mornings we taught English lessons to the preschool students. The lessons were mostly taught using children's songs and Bible stories. In the afternoons and evenings we would teach English lessons to school age children and adults. The adult classes were one hour long and included a half hour of Bible class. Different days of the week were scheduled at different schools. Throughout the year there were also other ministry opportunities like sharing the message at the annual Christmas programs and speaking at staff meetings and parties. The position was designed for a single person but we went for this special assignment missionary position when Willem was eight months old. We split the schedule so I taught most of the pre-school classes and Terence taught most of the elementary classes and all of the adult classes.
On Sunday we ministered at a small Japanese church that met at one of the preschools. This church does not have a pastor. Terence and I preached the message three times a month and a visiting Japanese pastor came on the other Sunday. We would also teach an adult Sunday school class and plan special children's events throughout the year. We hear that they now have a regular Children's Sunday school program. One other ministry we worked in was a weekly afternoon Bible study with several women from the neighborhood we lived in. This was a group made up of both Christian and non-Christian women. We alternated between Bible book studies and devotional books
Since we last left Japan, two other missionaries have filled the position we were in. The usual length of the missionary's term in this position has been 3 years, and usually they change at the end of the Japanese school year, which is in April. The current missionary, however, has to return to the U.S. In December. This would leave the schools and Bible study without an English teacher and the church without anyone to preach for four months. The missionary board is working to find a new missionary for the position, but this is a process that takes time. Since we are familiar with the position, we can easily come in and fill in from mid-January to close to the end of the school year.
We are really looking forward to going, but right now we are in the midst of trying to get everything set up here before we head out, from the mundane things like figuring out who will take care of our mail and feed our fish to the more stressful things like raising funds. It helps us keep our feet on the ground.
Let us know if you have any questions or comments about this upcoming opportunity.
Christy (and Terence and the boys)
