Greetings from Japan!
As many of the schools in America are letting out for the summer in May and June, in Japan, a new school year is just beginning. With the beginning of the new school year, we have to rearrange our English conversation classes to accommodate the new grades and levels of the students. As they get older, many of the students have to quit because they are too busy with cram school and school club activities to come to our classes. This year, even though several of the students entered high school and have busy schedules, they have enjoyed learning English so much that they wanted to continue studying. The high school students often have to travel a couple of hours by train and bus to reach their high schools.
A couple of years ago, we had a student who quit because she was unable to mentally and physically attend her elementary school regularly. Her younger sister, however, continued to study at our school and would return home and tell her sister and parents what she did in our class and about the Bible stories we read. Her older sister enjoyed hearing the stories and thought it sounded so fun that she decided to rejoin our classes this year! Pray with us that the seeds planted in the hearts of these sisters and their parents will grow. Pray with us for the high school students who are making the effort to come even with their busy schedules. Lastly, pray with us that God will continue to bring more students and families to our school so that we can share the Gospel with them as well.
The kids learning English with Eryn.
A lady, K, in our church gave her testimony recently. She didn’t grow up in a Christian family, but there was a missionary family in her neighborhood when she was a child. They had English activities after school, much like we are doing now. Her parents sent her to learn English, and K enjoyed the fun activities. She learned about Jesus and heard lots of Bible stories, but as she got older and busier, she stopped attending. However, she never forgot the stories and kindness of the missionaries and the other Christians she met. When she moved to a different prefecture for college and felt alone, she saw a girl reading a Bible and went up to her. The girl invited her to her church. K felt a connection because she had read the Bible and had heard about Jesus even though she hadn’t committed her life to Christ. After K graduated from college and got married, her husband was transferred to the U.S. for his work. K again felt alone with no friends and was unable to speak much English, but God set up another encounter with a Christian in her neighborhood who befriended her and invited her to her Bible study. Again and again, wherever she moved, God brought another Christian to befriend and welcome her. K realized God’s hand in her life and accepted Him as her savior! She testified that having learned about Jesus and the Bible at such a young age, even though she didn’t accept Him as her savior at that time, the seeds that were planted are what gave her courage and guidance in all the different places she lived.
Her testimony is a great encouragement! We can’t see all that God is doing, especially in the hearts of children, but the seeds that we are planting now will bring forth a great harvest in God’s time! We are so thankful to have you working with us to plant these seeds in the hearts of the Japanese people. Without your partnership, so many Japanese would never have the opportunity to hear of God’s love and forgiveness for them!
Thank you so much!!
Your Missionaries to Japan,
Hiro and Eryn Bamba,
Olivia, Hunter, Ax, and Justin (Rachel & Akio)
