As of the time in which I write you this update, we are 58 days from getting on a plane and moving our life to Japan. We are 75% funded as far as our recurring monthly needs are concerned, so please pray about partnering with us financially. And to all of you that have gotten behind us, and have helped to encourage and get us to this point, thank you and may the Lord bless you mighty for your commitment and care for us. ...

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 As we endeavor to be more Christ-like in our lives, I’m reminded of Matthew 11:28-30. In those verses Jesus tells us that His burden is light, He doesn’t put a heavy weight upon us. In fact, in Him, we find rest and relief from the weight of this world, it’s the opposite of a burden. As ministers of Christ, how can we emulate Christ by not being a burden on those we’re ministering to, and beyond that what can I do to relieve the burdens of those around us? ...

Autumn has arrived in Montana, and as the seasons change on the calendar, they are changing for us as well. September was spent by getting things in order, and then mailing away applications for our Japanese visas. As well as planning our move and the trip we are leading for other prospective missionaries. We are very excited to take the next step in what we feel called to, and we are so thankful that the Lord continues to lead us down that path. It’s of course a bit scary giving up everything we’ve worked for over the years to follow the Lord, but He has blessed us every step of the way, and we wouldn’t change a thing. ...

Here in northwest Montana, summer is starting to fade and fall is fast approaching. I wanted to take some time and update you on what our summer was like and what we have planned for the fall. After spending January through April in Japan, May in California, and June in Montana, July was spent with Daphne at my parents’ farm in Nebraska. We always enjoy our time there; the pace of life is slow and we get to have experiences unique to rural America. While the cliché of the dimwitted, more harm than help, farm hand is proven true by my efforts; I look forward to the opportunity to do farm-work every time we’re there. We were able to experience county fairs, summer storms, hay harvest, and livestock wrangling. The time went by quicker than I would have liked, but it was sweet while it lasted. ...

One of the greatest honors that we have as missionaries, is to share with you what the Lord is doing with His Church in the place that we will be serving. While we couldn’t possibly share with you everything going on in the Japanese church, because we witnessed just a small part of it, we are excited to share the stories that we were privileged to see and hear during our trip. ...

“Moshi Moshi” is what you say when you answer the phone in Japan. We too are answering a call, the Lord’s call to Japan. Over the last month, since we returned from our vision tour, we have been praying and taking time to digest what the Lord spoke to us. We met with our sending organization and debriefed the trip with them, and we reconnected with friends and developed new relationships. Now we are confident in what we are working towards, and are excited to share that with you in this letter. ...

We have arrived stateside from our vision tour, but returning is bittersweet. We already miss Japan and the Church there. The Lord allowed us to meet so many incredible people and to be a part of His work there, so it’s difficult to leave even if it’s only for a season. Here is a short recap of the end of our trip. We had the opportunity to help with an Easter outreach at Abide Osaka. Forty kids, most unsaved, came to our event where the Easter story was shared in Japanese, games were played, and we had an Easter egg hunt. Many of the children’s parents came and heard as well, and it was a wonderful time. ...

Wow… what a time we have had here in Japan. This is Alishia, I decided to try my hand at writing a newsletter to say hello to you. So any lack of the normal flair is because the author is not Jeff. God is so faithful. This time has been very fruitful. Thank you everyone that have aided us though prayer and support. When we came to Japan for a three-month vision trip, it was under the request of Pastor Chizuo. Pastor Chizuo is a senior pastor here in Japan that is looked to by all the Calvary pastors to help guide the whole Calvary movement here in Japan. He had asked us to be here for three months to make sure we were really called. So, we heeded his advice and came for three months. We are so glad we did because God had a different plan for us than what we thought. ...

Konichiwa! We wanted to send an update letting you know that we have safely made it to Japan for our three-month vision tour. After spending a couple of weeks with family over the Christmas holiday we spent two weeks in Southern California with friends. Nearly every day was filled with dinners and visits with many people that we love. It was incredibly humbling and encouraging to us that people were eager to see us. The church there sent us off with prayers and wisdom, tears and laughter. Our flight was uneventful and that’s really the best possible thing that could have happened. Thank you to everyone praying for Alishia as we traveled. ...

As we get closer to our vision trip to Japan, I wanted to write to you and share a specific way that you can be praying for our trip. Of course, our primary prayer request is for clear vision and direction from the Lord. But there are other secondary needs that we would appreciate if you would lift up as well, so I’d like to share one with you. Alishia suffers from celiac disease. Even the smallest exposure to gluten causes her to get very sick. Her symptoms are both physical (skin rashes, headaches, pupils dilated different sizes, weaker immune system, etc.) and mental (loss of words, inability to process movement around her, something that she can only describe as ‘brain fog’, constant tiredness, etc.). So, as you can see, in order to have a successful trip we need to avoid her getting contaminated. Her sensitivity is very high if I eat gluten I can contaminate her, if we wash our dishes with a sponge that has been used on dishes that had gluten on them she will get contaminated, if the kitchen where the food is prepared is not a controlled environment, forget about it. The challenge is that gluten is often hidden in things that you wouldn’t expect, we don’t read hiragana well enough to know exactly what’s in most products, and Japan allows products that may contain some gluten to be labeled ‘gluten-free’. ...