Kobe Prayer Update
Please continue to pray with the RP Church in Japan. Here are a few
items of praise and petition to help you in your praying with us.
- Give thanks for the faithful service of the Short Term Mission
Team in July and August. They were a great blessing and encouragement to
each of the Japanese congregations in their various contacts and
ministries. A young couple in the Kasumigaoka area received a tract
and invitation when the team and some members of the church were
distributing them. .... Please pray for
wisdom, patience, and love, as we follow up ....
- Please remember in prayer the professors and students of Kobe
Theological Hall as the fall quarter of study begins on September 11.
Please include the guest professors who will be coming from the USA
and
South Korea. Pray for the full time professors, Takiura, Sakai,
Kanamori, and Pennington as they each carry a heavy load of
administrative and teaching responsibilities, in addition to their
pastoral work.
- Please ask for God's guidance and provision as arrangements are
finalized for the Pennington's furlough beginning in mid-October.
Give
thanks that God is providing interim pastors for part of the furlough
time. Specific arrangements are still in process. Pray for the elders
and deacons as they make decisions, in consultation with Japan
Presbytery and the FMB, regarding preaching schedules and financial
arrangements.
- Remember in prayer the all-church fall conference being planned
for
September 23. The location will be the Kasumigaoka church building.
The main speaker will be Elder Steve McMahon of the Hebron RPC in Clay
Center, Kansas. The main theme will be "Biblical Stewardship".
- Continue to pray for God's saving grace in the lives of inquirers
at each of our Japanese churches.
The Thursday women's Bible study and fellowship group at Kasumigaoka
will resume after a short summer break on September 4. About one half
of the group are inquirers. Pray for clear biblical teaching and
prepared hearts to receive it. Ask God to bless the witness of the
Christian women in the group.
- Give thanks to God for his care of Dr. Sakai, Higashi Suma elder,
and Dr. Yamaguchi, Kasumigaoka elder. Dr. Yamaguchi is fully active
again for which we give thanks. Dr. Sakai's surgery for abdominal
cancer was successful from all reports, but recovery will require a
minimum of two months rest. Pray for encouragement for both of
these
men, their families, and their congregations.
Thanks for praying with us. It has been a long time since I last sent
an update. Sorry that it has gotten so long. Perhaps, you could use
it as a "prayer calendar", spreading the items over several days or
weeks.
Jim Pennington
Email: jrpenn30@giga.ocn.ne.jp
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