Remembrance and Moving Ahead

The command to remember, as God’s people, is clearly seen throughout Scripture (Deut. 5:15; Eph. 2:11). As seen in these passages (and others), believers in the Lord Jesus Christ must remember continually that He has redeemed us from the pit of darkness and raised us to walk in newness of life (Eph. 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:9). In like manner, Christians must also remember how He has worked on our behalf to accomplish His ultimate goal in making all things new (Rev. 21:5). Join us as we remember how God has worked in and through our family this year to see God’s Glory in Japan - seeing Japanese men and women, young and old, families, singles, widows and orphans made new by the life changing power of the gospel. Here are several highlights of God’s work from 2016:

Launched and initiated partnerships nationwide to support the vision of God’s Glory in Japan
Solidified our home base, support and partnerships in Lynchburg, VA
Established two sub-bases in NJ and TX with numerous partners recruited
Developed additional support branches in NC, OH and MN
Casted vision to hundreds of churches and families the vision for God’s Glory in Japan
Initiated two successful campaigns to support the purchase of Clark & Mollie’s plane tickets and two electric assisted bikes for our family
Refined a vision for our prayer partners (our Sending Team)
Completed all pre-field reading requirements assigned by Heritage and WorldVenture
Attained many new concepts related to cross-cultural and second language acquisition at Mission Training International’s 4-week course titled COMPASS
Preached and shared from God’s Word in several different local church settings
Spent 10 days in Japan visiting our national partners sharing together our joint vision to see God’s Glory in Japan
Participated in the memorial service in remembrance of our dear friends and coworkers, Jamison and Kathryne Pals and their children Ezra, Violet and Calvin who are now in heaven after a tragic car accident July 31st
Began meeting weekly with a Japanese language helper

Through remembering, we gain an eternal perspective on the past and acquire godly wisdom for moving ahead. The Apostle Paul writes on moving ahead: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained” (Phil. 3:12-16). With that in mind, pray with us as we set out to pursue the following goals for 2017 for God's Glory in Japan:

Sure up our visa/residency logistics for our family to move and arrive in Japan no later than March 1st
Cultivate healthy family rhythms upon arrival within our first 1-3 months in country
Initiate relationships within our community as we begin to call Japan “home”
Send Clark to kindergarten beginning April 1st
Justin begin formalized language school April 1st
Lindsay begin working with an at-home language helper while Mollie is at home before enrolling in kindergarten spring of 2018
Foster a strong bond with our national church partners and begin dreaming together what God can do through our joint efforts to see God’s Glory in Japan
Create a blueprint for evangelism/discipleship approach with our veteran teammates, Kevin and Kaori, as both of our families begin two new church plants
Research and identify social and physical needs within our community so we can build relationships