by Hiro & Eryn Bamba
Greetings from Japan!
It is hard to believe that spring is already here. Spring is filled with new life and hope as nature springs back to life after winter. It is a great reminder of our Christian life; there will be times of slow growth as in the winter, but we know, just as spring comes every year, we have new life in Christ.
Japan is a first world country, so the people here do not have many physical needs. However, spiritually, they are very dry. To the Japanese, religion is part of their culture, part of being Japanese. It has no true meaning to them. They are skeptical of “foreign” religions, afraid they would no longer be Japanese if they were to become involved with them. For this reason, many Japanese are afraid to visit a church, so we are always looking for unique ways to share the Gospel with the Japanese people.
Blessing Japanese with Teaching English
We teach English conversation classes to the children in our neighborhood. This helps build relationships with the children and families in our area. As part of our curriculum, we read Bible stories in simple English to the children. It is amazing to see how attentive all of the children are to the stories. Many of the children say they can’t wait to hear the next part of the story and are always disappointed when the story comes to an end. We are able to explain to the children that the God in these stories loves ALL people, including Japanese. We are so thankful for this opportunity to share the love of Jesus and the wonderful things he has done for each one of us with all of these children. Our students and their families would be hesitant to just walk into a church, but through our English conversation classes, we are able to share the Gospel in a relaxed and non-threatening atmosphere.
Please pray with us for each of these children and their families, that they will desire to know more about the Jesus that they hear about in their lessons.
Blessing Japanese with Birthday Cakes
Eryn continues to bake cakes for the children in our Sunday School. One girl was sick and unable to come to church for her birthday celebration. Eryn made cupcakes for her and her family and we delivered them to her house. The family was very touched. The girl’s father is not a Christian and does not attend church. Pray with us that he will come to know God as his personal Savior!
Thank you SO much for your continued prayers and support, without them we would not be able to be here and the Japanese people would not have the opportunity to see God’s love in action!!
