Gushiken Dec 13

 The Gushiken Family came from Okinawa, Japan to share through traditional Okinawan song and dance that the Nikkei in South America are not forgotten.  The name of the trip was. Bridges of Love.

Luis Yonamine a Nikkei pastor from Argentina was the principal organizer of the trip....
One key focus of the trip was the elderly who primarily speak Japanese as their maternal language...
God used this trip to express love to these people....

Many people heard Gospel Songs, Songs about love,  Testimonies, etc....

Thus many people heard about God's love...  And the best news is that many people accepted Christ....

The cost for this trip was a cooperation between churches and ministries in Japan, South America and the U.S....

There were literally dozens of events in 5 weeks...  Thanks to God that the family has stayed healthy and all travel has gone well....  "To God's Glory"  and all the people say...  Amen....

Gushiken Update

Please pray for the Gushiken mission trip...  All the events are going well and the Gushiken family has been very well received.  Pray that the Nikkei and Japanese will understand and come to know the God that loves them....

November has arrived as well as the Gushiken Family from Okinawa Japan

The Gushiken Family from Okianawa Japan just came to Lima today.  They have spent the past week in Buenos Aires.  They will be in Lima this week and then they will go to Bolivia, Brazil and finally Los Angeles.  This week there is a major Japanese festival in Lima.  It is called Matsuri.. Matsuri means festival in Japanese.  The Gushiken family will be participating in this event as well as many others.

The people are in general very closed to religion or conversations about God.  Please pray that God will use the music and songs that the Gushiken family sings to be bridges to the hearts and minds of the people.

Lots of things are happening.  There is always a unique story of how God brings someone new into our lives.  And there is a lot of Bible teaching and a lot of questions.  And there is a lot of waiting...  Japanese people take a lot of time to think through things and they do not like to be rushed or intruded upon if they are thinking through something important and personal.

We will be having small lunches, large singing events, church events, school events, etc in many different locations.  All of them involve lost people... People who need to know God but are not even sure if God exists....  Please pray for this mission outreach.  The Gushiken's will sing a lot of traditional Okinawan songs and then original songs that share God's love.  (Please pray that people will be able to hear and understand the message in song)  Also,  at some events there will be testimony and teaching time.  Also, there will be many one on one conversations that generally are the best way to communicate with Japanese people.  There are a lot of cultural barriers to the Gospel.  (Pray that because we are outside of Japan it will be easier for the people to understand.)

Also, it is becuase of the gifts in November and December that most IMB missionaries are able to be scattered around the world.  Thank you for your sensitivity to God's call to all people of the world.

Tim and Joy

Spring is Around the Corner

Prayer and Praise:

In the past few weeks it appears that we are moving into warmer weather and winter is getting behind us.

July, August, and September are the three coldest months in Lima.

With all of our relationships there is always that three steps up and one step back process that takes place in a relationship.  We are thankful to God for all of the peoplee  He has brought into our lives.

Please pray for the Nikkei and the Japanese.  Thier world view does not normally include a Creator God and we have the opportunity to tell them about how much God loves them.  Every day it is a blessing when people say, "I understand".  We are praying for the day that many of these Bible students, English Students, Business:(Best Practices) Students, Friends, Etc will understand and receive the gift that God is offering them.

The Japanese culture is all about being a member of their culture.  The sad thing is that you are many lonely individuals inside this large number of people where the vast majority don't have any concept of God's existence.

Pray that the Japanese and Nikkei would recognize God's love can be seen in so many ways all around them.

Please pray  for:  E, Y, K, M, M, Y, T, S, K, S, K, G, G, K, MT, R, M, A, etc, etc....



Blessings and Peace,

Tim and Joy

A Cold Winter in Lima

Prayer and Praise:

Our new relationship with the T family has  gone  well.  The girls (M and M) did not get in school but they scored well enough to get  in the English program at the school. Hopefully, they will be able to enter school in the next semester.  We spent at least 5 days a week with these girls and their need to learn English has given us a bridge to create a relationship with their family.  We have also been able to teach them a great deal about the Bible and God's Story of Love for all People.
We are going to be continuing this study on Monday and Friday's.  Please pray for all of these teenagers and their families.  We have another meeting tomorrow with another mother about adding her son to the group.  Pray that we will be able to add more and more students.

Also, we recently were able to take part and have a "Best Practice"  business presentation.  The results after this meeting were very good.  The people responded very positively to the e perspectives that were presented.  And they have responded very well to the spiritual perspectives that were introduced.  In some cases creating deeper spiritual conversations about God.  (It is good to have people engaged spiritually.  These are good first steps.

If anyone is interested in bringing a small group of business people to Lima to make a presentation to various companies or business people please contact me.....

Please pray for our children.  Luke has started his Senior year of high school.

We are studying 2 Corinthians in our church.  The idea of being a good ambassador (2 Cor 5:20) can be difficult to grasp.  Many things are required of an ambassador: language, culture, concern for the people and purpose.  The need of all people is to "be reconciled to God,"  There is no greater purpose than to share God's love with others.

Pray for open doors and open  hearts.  This is the coldest winter in Lima in 30 years.  Pray that people will not be cold to the Gospel, but they will be open and receptive to God's word.

God's Blessings and Peace,
Tim and Joy Mitchell