We made it!

Well, after nearly missing our first flight for reasons out of our control (a story for another day), we landed safely in Japan- COVID free, safe and sound- praise the Lord! Due to the earthquake that had occurred the week before, the bullet train to get from Tokyo to Sendai was out of action. So, 2 sleepy, dishevelled Aussies boarded our first train of 6 that would take us from Tokyo to Sendai. A journey which would normally take a couple of hours by bullet train, took us about 6! We were very grateful for the plane snacks we had saved as after our fourth train we realised we hadn't eaten since the night before. Mmmm....squashed sponge cake and rice crackers had never tasted so good! After arriving at Sendai, we took our last train to Tagajo station to meet our hosts. Such a warm welcome! We had a delicious home cooked meal with great company before heading to our new home in Hitokita (about 20mins south west of Sendai City). Joel drove for the first time on Japanese roads, at night, after not having slept properly for a couple of days at this point due to transiting. Praise the Lord for adrenaline! We made it. Again, safe and sound.

The last couple of weeks have been filled with settling, organising ourselves and trying to get to know our new area. We are officially Japanese residents now! And, we navigated the interesting and somewhat complex ordeal (made complex by our less than fluent Japanese) of opening a bank account. We are feeling more and more at home each day despite all the differences we constantly find ourselves immersed in.

Since moving in we have handed out over 400 flyers, advertising English support, conversation and a prayer meeting. Some of those flyers had a short manga-style (Japanese cartoon) Gospel accompanying them. Letterbox dropping is fantastic exercise especially when you live in a mountainous area! It has also created some small opportunities for short conversations. We have a deck out the front of our house that captures the afternoon sun perfectly. Joel had an opportunity last Saturday to chat with a lady walking past, admiring the deck. Whilst she was quick to tell us she has no need for any religion or God/gods, she was happy to have quite a lengthy conversation about the area, times past, etc. She would like to show us around a bit more.

We have more recently, discovered free conversation classes in Sendai City for foreigners, like ourselves, wishing to improve their Japanese. We have tapped into this opportunity and attend for an hour on Tuesdays and Fridays.

We wish to thank everyone for their prayers to date. The process of settling hasn't always been easy and we are certain more struggles will continue to come our way, naturally. But, we are incredibly grateful for the support. It is hard to describe just what it feels like to enter the unknown, where God has called you to be but where you have no idea how things are actually going to pan out. It's a feeling of having absolutely no clue or answers but feeling incredibly carried and surrounded by His wonderful faithfulness and love. Our prayer is that we will have the opportunity to introduce the people of Hitokita to our incredibly faithful God. We pray that they may come to experience His love, receive the wonderful Salvation He offers so freely and then share this with their family and friends. Our prayer is that Hitokita may be transformed for the cause of the Gospel! A task impossible in our own strength but not impossible for our God of the impossible!

Praise God for:

• Safe arrival

• The provision of our home and a car to drive

• Our hosts, Rod and Glenda, who have helped us settle and get started on our work in Hitokita

• The warm welcome we received from our new "home church"

Pray for:

• Our language skills to improve quickly

• People to respond to the flyers handed out

• Soft hearts so that the Gospel may be received in Hitokita

• The Hitokita House of Prayer (our home), to be a light in the community