お久しぶり • It’s been a while

I guess you can say that life has seasons and these last few weeks and months have been challenging. Some of you may have heard about Dan Junker and how he was diagnosed with cancer in the fall. After we found that out everyone at NORTHSTAR was pretty shocked that something like that could happen to someone so close to us.

Then about 3 weeks after that we got news that a man named Mr. Morita, a father of 5 and one of the pillars of Azumino Family Chapel was diagnosed with lung cancer and was only given 8 weeks to live. He passed away just last month after a short but hard battle with cancer. Last weekend a friend of ours his family to ski at the Norikura Ski area. It was the first time he had brought his wife and 2 young sons to the area. On Sunday morning the older son was in a bad accident involving hitting a fence. He was treated on the scene and although the ski patrol and the doctors in the helicopter worked so hard to save him he passed away the following morning from the injuries. His name was Sei Kawabe and he was only 9 years old.

I was on the ski hill when the accident happened and was at the site a short time later. Our staff was praying and I was praying with the father. Although he is not a Christian he prayed with me and asked God to save his boy. Why God didn’t save him I don’t know and I am still asking God to somehow use this tragedy to bring that family to the foot of the cross.
As I watched the wind rip past the boys body and the patrol working and the father screaming out his sons name, all I could think was how little hope we have without Jesus. This makes me think of one of my favorite passages from the bible found in Romans.

Romans 8:28-39
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I don’t want to sound like there is nothing positive going on. There is. We have had some great chances in the last few weeks and months to share with local people about what we believe. Our weekly English classes at NORTHSTAR have been packed every week and last week one of our staff was able to share her testimony and people are hearing about Gods word through that.

Lastly, I ask you to pray for the Morita family who lost their father and the Kawabe family who lost there eldest son. Also pray for the Junker family who are still not out of the woods with Dan’s cancer. He recently had some tests and they found that there could be another lump. Pray for hope in Japan to be found in the savior Jesus Christ.