This was published by MTW and we wanted to make sure we passed this along. At the bottom are some specific ways to pray for Japan.

June 10, 2011 – Update from MTW

THE PRESENT
Approximately 25,000 people lost their lives in Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami. And even in the country that is arguably the best prepared and organized for disaster in the world, many of its citizens are still homeless, living in shelters, or houses unfit for habitation. The Tohoku East Coast, made up of small coastal fishing villages and small cities is also the least churched. Many people are leaving, except in Sendai, a city of 1.4 million and Ishinomaki with a population of 160,000.

The Presbyterian Church of Japan (PCJ) has no churches in the area, but there are a few other evangelical churches with whom they can partner. Relief efforts have changed from carrying supplies to carrying love. MTW missionaries and Japanese church members are serving hot meals, performing concerts, playing with children, giving massages, and just listening. And they are making friends and opening doors for long-term relationships.

PICTURE OF THE FUTURE?
(as stated by MTW country director Dan Iverson)
Our church-planting teams and the PCJ are all praying that God will open doors for the gospel in Japan as never before.

We are praying about renting a good facility or even purchasing land and building. Having a physical footprint in a community is vital to a long-term relationship that can bring gospel transformation to individuals and communities.

So far, we are concentrating on the area around Ishinomaki. We plan to have a full time staff member, a permanent facility, and eventually, a church-planting team there. We hope to have many short-term teams come. We have opportunities to work with children, elderly, families, and perhaps even jump-starting business ventures.

Also see Dan’s video “Should We Leave Japan?”

PRAY
In addition to the dreams mentioned by Dan, please pray for the commitment, stamina, and health of the MTW teams in Japan and for the members of the PCJ who are struggling to answer God’s call and respond to the door He has opened.

Thank you for giving and praying!

This video was created a few weeks ago and asks the question whether missionaries should leave Japan due to the nuclear power plant issues and fear of radiation.  The MTW country director Dan Iverson tackles this question head on in this video.

Should we leave Japan? MTW from Shane Burgett on Vimeo.

This is an update from MTW Japan country director Dan Iverson. He discusses the relief work and the current status of the Japanese mission field. The video is longer then we normally post but a comprehensive look at the current situation. We would definitely recommend if you have the time checking it out!

Daniel Iverson Update from Shane Burgett on Vimeo.

We had no idea that when we became missionaries we would be so interested in international currency. We know very little about economics…especially when it comes to currency, but we do know it affects us everyday. Let’s play with some numbers…

Hypothetical Paycheck = $1,000
Current Paycheck Amount in Yen (This is the exchange rate – fees) = 78,972.37 yen
Most Favorable Amount we’ve Experienced happened in April = 84,122.94 yen

As you see the same paycheck isn’t really the same. In June our pay was really worth 6.1% less then in April. If you look over the past year it’s even worse.  Last year the paycheck was worth 91186.77 yen and the year before (2009) it was worth 96767.88 yen.  So currently we have a 13.3% decrease from 2010 and a 18.4% decrease since 2009.  Pretty substantial if you think about taking a pay cut each year and doing nothing differently.

So what does this mean and why do we write about this topic?

Currently our support account is healthy and we have been blessed to be able handle the decrease. (MTW does take into account currency changes and has various ways of helping.)  The reality is the money raised isn’t going as far as it used to because of the currency exchange rate.  Other missionaries on the field are currently struggling because the dollar just isn’t worth what it used to be.

Our part as missionaries is to keep an eye on the market and try to exchange money at “high” times to be the best stewards of our account. (So practically speaking when we see spikes we try to withdraw and put money in Japanese banks.) Most importantly we as Christians believe this is something we and our partners should be praying about. What do we pray and ask others to pray?

• Pray for a stronger dollar worldwide.
• Pray for wisdom for the missionaries in how to be good stewards of the finances God has blessed us with for ministry.
• Pray for missionaries who are struggling financially because of factors such as these.
• Pray for the generosity of the church to support missions world wide.

Ultimately we believe God is in control of not only financial matters but he’s in control of everything.  We don’t fear and know God provides and ultimately God is growing His Kingdom everyday!

As you can imagine a Seminary is a VERY important part of church planting. Without well trained leaders there can’t be new church plants. Michael Oh, President of Christ Bible Institute has asked everyone to join CBI for 60 Days of Prayer. I highlight a few points from the post, but if you are interested in the entire post please check out the original post.

1) prayer for the repairs and renovations that begin on our new ministry center on June 6th! It’s been a very complicated and difficult process and the prices have escalated because of a scarcity of construction materials due to the earthquake in Sendai. We need wisdom in what repairs and renovations to do with limited funding.

2) prayer for wisdom about the naming of the center. It’s a lot more complicated than you would think.

3) prayer for funding for earthquake reinforcement of the 1st and 2nd floors. We are praying to the Lord to provide the $130,000 needed for this critical reinforcement work to ensure safety against the Great Tokai Earthquake that is expected to hit our region within the next 30 years and be perhaps the most devastating earthquake Japan has ever experienced. Read more on our earthquake reinforcement needs by clicking HERE.

4) prayer for final approval by the Aichi Prefecture official for the religious non-profit use of our land/building. This should come around the end of July Lord willing.

5) prayer for the ministries that will occupy the new ministry center which will open in September. Future planned ministries include the Heart & Soul Cafe, a new All Nations Fellowship church plant, and various other outreaches and training.

This morning we attended Nagoya Mustard Seed Christian Church. This group sends their missionaries to the same language school and we have been blessed by their friendship. Mustard Seed’s goal is to plant churches world wide in the largest unreached cities in the world. Please pray as they reach the lost in Nagoya and will soon to be planting a church in Osaka!

“Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.” – Thomas Watson

This past week during one of our Bible Studies with a Japanese family the father commented, “Ten days ago I realized I am a not a good person inside.”  Isn’t this the truth, not just for this man but for all of us?  I praise God for revealing to my friend his need.  It is only when we understand our sin more that, as Watson said, we will be evermore grateful to Christ for his death and resurrection. This has been a constant theme we have studied throughout the past month in all our Bible Studies whether it be 1 Peter, 1 John or the marriage study.  Pray for all of us as Christians to truly believe Christ has conquered sin and he gives us power over sin even in this broken world!

Relief Work Update
Our team will be leading a trip up to northern Japan the week of June 20-24.  (Unfortunately this is the week before my language school break and I will be unable to go along.) The amazing aspect of this trip is the group was invited as Christians to come into the public schools to speak and do crafts with the children.  In Japan this was shocking to our veteran team leaders (20+ years in Japan) and an amazing opening by God.  Please pray for wisdom as the group prepares for this trip. Pray for this to not only continue to be an avenue for evangelism amongst those suffering in northern Japan but to also be a way for other Japanese Christians to display Christ’s love to others through acts of mercy ministry.  We are seeing first hand many hearts softened to the Gospel and God using this horrific event to strengthen and mobilize his church.  Reaching out has been a great weakness in Japanese churches and praise God for growing his Church in this area!

Study, Study, Study
This past month has been an intense time of language study. Thankfully Cathalain and I are both growing in our language abilities.  In three weeks I will be taking my last round of exams for this session.  In July I will start the 102 class and we have decided for Cathalain to start full-time in the 101 class.  Pray for Cathalain as this will be quite an adjustment.  She has really enjoyed the opportunity to stay home with Tobin and be part of day time activities at our church. With both of us in school, Tobin will have to be put in a day time program for 5-6 hours and this is a struggle for us.  Ultimately after much prayer and discussion with many people we feel our first priority must be learning the language and in the long run this will be best not only for ministry, but most importantly for our family.  This time as been allotted and we won’t have this opportunity again.  Please pray the transition will be smooth and for us to continue to learn the language thoroughly and quickly.

Once a month there is a kid’s club at the Japanese church we attend. This is challenging in few people actually speak/understand English but has been a great time for Cathalain and Tobin to join in the church ministry and fellowship. (Also a great time to practice Japanese!)

Pray to and Praise God
Thank you for your faithful prayers!  We want to urge you to keep praying for Japan.  God has answered MANY prayers and many of those are specific requests you have prayed for faithfully over the years. (Requests are below.)  Please be encouraged by God’s work and know your partnership is truly eternal!

June Prayer Requests

• Pray for the two week break we have between language school sessions. (June 26-July 8)  Pray God would use us in this time to best fill in gaps in our team whether it be small tasks or going up north to assist short-term teams with relief work. Pray also God would give us quality family time to spend together.
• Pray for the three studies we are currently leading.  (Wednesday – Family Study, Thursday – Singles Study, Saturday – Marriage Study)  Pray for the non-Christians to come to Christ and Christians to grow in grace.
• Pray for God to raise up a Japanese national pastor to work with upon language school graduation.  Pray for wisdom in where God desires for us to plant a church.  The need is great everywhere so pray this decision would be clear!