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Keep on praying!!
By jpnnana | August 12, 2004
Dear Praying Friends:
The roads around Tokyo are congested for miles as the “Obon” rush begins. Everyone seems to be leaving Tokyo. On Sunday, they will all come back!!!! “Obon” is the time when the Japanese return to their “jikka” which means “one’s parents home”, and the time when they “welcome back” the spirits of their deceased ancestors. Obon Festivals abound across the country, people dance in the streets and have family and neighborhood gatherings. As “Obon” ends, they pray that they will not be taken back to the “other world” as the “dead return to their graves”. In this spiritual darkness, Christians face a time of testing as they are pressured by families to take part in family rituals and to visit the graves and pray to the spirits of their ancestors. Pray for Christians to stand firm in their faith, to sense Christ’s presence in every situation and seize each opportunity to witness of Christ’s mercy and salvation.
Praise God that Ka-kun, the son of a new Christian couple, accepted Christ last week. This week he has gone with his mom and siblings to their “jikka”. Pray he will witness of his new faith in Christ; also, pray he will be baptized and grow in the Lord. Pray for God to work in the lives of all the children of our Christians. Ask God to give the parents wisdom to parent and disciple their children. You will notice this is an on-going request!!! We want these little one to grow up to be laborers in the Lord’s harvest fields!!!!!
We want to share about the Ko family, (the wife is Tak’s cousin) that you have prayed for these past months. Giving a typical Japanese answer when an attempt was made to present the gospel to him, Mr. Ko said “I want to be with my ancestors when I die”. Mr. Ko died July 23, fearing death, hopeless, rejecting Christ, clinging to his ancestors. We were with family when he died. Finding words to express the hopelessness and emptiness of that experience is impossible. During the preparation for and during the Shinto funeral, our hearts broke as we saw the spiritual blindness revealed through the actions of the family, friends, and neighbors. They made sure that someone was with the body all the time so he would not be lonely. They wet his lips with a swab so he would not be thirsty and took him food to eat (They later ate the food themselves). They cut off pieces of their hair and fingernails and put them in the coffin so he would not be alone on the journey to the next world. The Shinto priest performed acts of divination at the funeral in order to receive permission to move to the next step in the service. They nailed the coffin shut after putting in his favorite things and then some marched around the coffin, symbolically accompanying him on his trip to the next world. After cremating the body and taking the ashes back to a portable altar at the home, they placed a small block of wood with a paper wrapped around it next to the urn containing his ashes. This stick is supposed to be the place where his spirit abides until the ashes are buried 49 days later.
How different it is for us who know Christ!! Because Christ paid the price for our salvation, we face death with the assurance that we are His children and will be with Him and with each other for eternity. The preparation for us is already finished!!! We can face eternity with hope!! If they only knew the Truth that would set them free!!!!
Pray that Satan will not be able to use the death of her husband and her grief to keep Mr. Ko’s wife, Hito, who has been reading the Bible and wants to believe in Christ from reading her Bible and trusting Christ as her Lord and Savior. The son-in-law, Takuya, has read the entire Manga Bible. Pray for the seeds that have been sown in his heart to bear fruit as well. Pray that the entire family will turn from the gods that have held their family captive for generations to the One and Only True and Living God.
Each Tuesday has been set aside by our National Prayer Advocate as a day of prayer and fasting for Japan. Please join us!! We see God working already. Mrs. Ima shares her excitement about God sending people who want to know Him, as well as about doors that are opening on Tuesdays for worship in Tsuga, Matsudo and Tochigi. Pray for the Ma family, the Oh family and Shi family to be saved and become the church and reach their neighbors. Pray for the Ta family in Yaita City, and for the Wa family in Sodegaura also. Pray for disciples and churches to multiply!!!
There are other families that you have been praying for that we want to ask you to continue to fervently pray for: the T family, the Do family, the To family, the Se family. The list could go on and on. As God leads, browse though previous updates and pray for those mentioned there.
Pray for Mr. O as he closes out his career as a teacher the end of August. Pray that this new Christian will trust God with his future and seek God’s will as he considers what he should do next. Pray God will provide a job and supply the needs of his family. Also, pray that as his family sees God working and providing that they too will trust Christ. We praise the Lord for answering your prayers and providing jobs for the others mentioned in one of our previous updates. Your prayers are vital to the growth and health of the church here!!! Keep on praying!!
Ninety-nine percent of the Japanese people continue to live in spiritual bondage blinded by Satan’s lies. Most have not heard a clear presentation of the Gospel and been given an opportunity to accept His gift of salvation. Pray for laborers to sow the seed of the Gospel. Pray that the eyes and hearts of the Japanese will be opened to the Truth. Pray for them to know Him who gives joy and peace and hope!!!! Perhaps God would have you put feet to your prayers and volunteer to come to Japan for a missions trips to tell the Japanese about Christ!!!
What a privilege to pray and to experience the power of prayer. Thank you for praying for us and with us. We love each of you!!
Claiming His Promises and Leaning on Him,
Tak and Lana Oue
Topics: Prayer Updates |