Greetings from Japan!
A new year has begun. New Year's is the biggest holiday in Japan. Many people travel to their hometown to spend time with family, everyone is off from work, and school is out for winter break. This is unlike Christmas day when people still have work and kids still have school. On Jan. 1, at 7 am, they start beating drums and welcoming all the local people to the small shrine behind our house. People come to ask and pay for a blessing and protection for the new year. We are saddened when we hear the drums and see the lines of people waiting their turn to ring the bell and to wake their god, but we are also so thankful for the opportunity God has given us to share His love and salvation with the Japanese people. Your partnership is what enables us to be in Japan. We are excited for the things God is doing and will do in Japan through your prayers and support in this coming year!
A group of individuals from the Christmas outreach.
Our cooking class ministry.
At the end of last year, our Japanese pastor’s oldest daughter got married. The church members worked hard to decorate and serve at the wedding. The couple invited many non-Christian friends to their wedding as well. For many, it was their first time to experience a wedding and marriage based on God and His love. Most of the husbands of the ladies who attend our church are not Christian and do not come to church. However, many of them came to the wedding. The husbands even helped and were impressed by everyone working together. One of the ladies from our church observed her quiet and reserved son taking the initiative to help out and do what needed to be done.
Going to Sunday school when he was younger, he knew the church was an accepting and safe environment where he could be himself without worrying about making a mistake and that he would be accepted regardless. You can’t find this acceptance in Japanese society where everything is based on performance—the performance of kids in school, the performance of the father at work, and the performance of the mother at raising her children to succeed all without causing disgrace for the family. We use every opportunity we find to share the love and salvation of Christ with the Japanese people who are struggling under the weight of the religious traditions of their culture and societal obligations.
Eryn was asked to make the cake for the wedding. In Japan, there are not many bakeries that make cakes big enough for a wedding. It is a bit of a challenge since in Japan they do not have typical cake-making supplies you can find anywhere in America. There are no cake mixes, no premade icing, no decorations, no decorating tools. Everything has to be made from scratch. Thankfully, the cake turned out well and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Everyone who ate the cake said it tasted like church and the familiar flavor of our fellowship together. Please continue to pray with us as we seek out opportunities in our English classes, church outreaches, and everyday activities to share the Good News of the Gospel with the Japanese people.
Wedding cake made by Eryn for our Japanese pastor's daughter.
Family
We were excited to welcome our first grandchild on Feb. 1, 2024. Justin and his wife Rachel welcomed their first child, Akio, on Eryn’s birthday. They are all doing well, and we are looking forward to when we can hold him and meet him in person.
Our first grandson, Akio Isai Bamba.
In December, Alex graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Maintenance Management and has started working at a local airport in Lynchburg Virginia. Hunter is a Junior at Liberty University studying Psychology. Olivia continues to dance and was given the opportunity to perform the closing dance at her school’s recital.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Only together can we fulfill the great commission of making disciples of all nations!
Your Missionaries to Japan,
Hiro and Eryn Bamba, Justin, (Rachel), Ax, Hunter, and Olivia
