あけましておめでとうございます！Happy New Year!
Praises
- New home!
- New adventures
- Refreshing rest time
Prayers
- Moving
- Missionaries in Japan
- Japanese believers
We had a rest filled Christmas and New Year. Lots of Lego playing and park visiting. Before the new year, many Japanese families participate in 大掃除 (big cleaning). I heard a cacophony of vacuums during my morning walk. I was influenced by this as well and got to cleaning. The New Year is a time for Japanese families to be together and many go back to their parents’ homes. They eat traditional Japanese food; restaurants and grocery stores close during this time. Last year, we didn’t know what we didn’t know (a frequently used phrase in the Patterson household) and were pretty surprised at how quiet it became. This year, I felt like we were able to embrace it more. We are receiving support from others as we continue to process the past years of transition and ongoing cultural adjustment. Deeply thankful for the support we are receiving.
We are moving soon!
After a long search, we are so so thankful to have found a home that will fit our family! Please pray for moving logistics. We will be inheriting many furniture items and needed appliances from another missionary family. What a blessing! We will be moving within the next month. The boys are very excited about a new space. Please pray for them as we transition to a new neighborhood.
I have thought over the past few weeks how I am so honored to be up close to some amazing international and Japanese believers who love Jesus - full time missionaries, company workers, business owners, and everything in between. I wanted to give you ideas on how we can understand and pray for our brothers and sisters as a group. We are Americans who love Jesus and do secular work, so not all of these apply to us and of course there is plenty of crossover with these struggles in the American context as well, but these are some of the main issues that many around us are currently grappling with.
Housing - Many missionaries deal with housing situations that are not ideal. It can be hard to find housing that fits their unique needs and it can be a tedious process. Sometimes they have no choice- it is chosen for them. Recently, we were asked the language level of our family and our standing within the community when inquiring about a home as part of a background qualification check before being accepted by the landowner.
Education and schooling decisions - There are so many things to consider, all the paperwork and the weight of deciding best situations for each individual child. Are you comfortable with your child visiting the temple with their class? Does your child have special needs that can be appropriately handled by the Japanese school system? And, if you believe international school is best do you have the funds? Does the school only serve tea during the day (no water) but your child won’t drink tea?
Transitory life - There is a lot of movement. Some people must leave their life they’ve worked so hard to establish here for long trips back to a home country which is no longer there home, which can be a wonderful time, but also verychallenging. Others are moving around Japan trying to find their fit. “Stability” starts to take on a different meaning.
Boundaries - When your job doesn’t have set time parameters, it can be challenging to assess when to rest and when to invest. Many around us feel the weight of this and have to learn how to balance rest with work. When all the things are good things or could possibly be gospel opportunities, it can be hard to say no.
Please pray for these cross-culture workers.
Also please pray for the Japanese believers.
I have recently seen the sacrifices that many Japanese believers endure. Family members don’t understand the changes they see from their loved ones. They sometimes have to stand up against more common cultural practices and ask the Lord for guidance on these sensitive subjects. All for Jesus and knowing Him. Stewart recently was volunteering doing an English Bible study at his friend’s small house church while his friend led someone to Christ with the sinner’s prayer. We pray that that not be scorched, choked in thorns, or given infertile soil.
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Romans 14:5-9
We love to hear from you and any way we can pray for you. Thank you for your continued support!
View from the 33rd Floor of the Office in the Heart of Tokyo
