News from Maiko in Japan

August, 2008

Dear Friends,
It has been quite a while since I wrote last newsletter. Sorry for taking a long time to write this. So, I would like to share with you some of the things from ministry in Japan for past months.

I had a chance to spend a time for deputation in Australia for 6 weeks from the end of August last year. It was blessing and good time to visit supporters and churches by sharing how God had been working in his people in Japan and how he used both KGK and church ministries to build the body of Christ. It was also my first visit to Australia since I had left there in January 2006. It was good time of catching up with my friends and of looking back my time there. I remembered how God trained and shaped me to be more like Jesus during the time both at churches in Sydney and at SMBC and in a relationship with Christian friends.

KGK, student ministry
The first half of academic year is over now. We had more contacts with first year students in the passed semester than this time of the previous years. Many of those are keen to learn the word of God. We learnt from Ephesians at weekly night prayer meeting during the semester. It is the theme of this year relating to the verse from Eph4:13 that “Both you and me are growing children of God”. It was good opportunity for them to learn how they read the word and how they could apply it to their own lives. Many ofthem did not have an opportunity of Bible study in a group before, which is common outside of KGK. It has been my challenge at the Bible study how I could encourage them to think through and to share their thoughts in a group. And, I have been learning a lot from them.

Kick off Camp
KGK ‘Kick off Camp’, commencement camp for students was held in Osaka for two days in June. Praise and give thanks to God that his word faithfully preached by Grahame Smith, CMS-A missionary, and other KGK staff worker and that many new students came to the camp. It was blessing time for students to see other Christians in their age and to have fellowship with, since not many churches here have so many young people in their age.

New campus group started to meet at Kobe city University of Foreign studies this year. Students meet weekly during Wednesday lunch time for the Bible study and prayer. We had been praying for this campus group to start meeting again and God answered to our prayers. Megumi and Masaru who came to our welcoming event in early of the semester are the first year Christian students and leaders of this group.
They are so excited to start a Christian group and to hear God’s answer to prayers. If you could remember them in your prayer, it would be great.

Mukonoso Megumi church ministry
Bible study group
Bible study opportunities started at both weekly night prayer meeting and women’s weekly day meeting. This is new learning style and good change in our church. We are learning from the Gospel of Luke now, which I found that it is good to expand our understanding of God by thinking on our own and by listening to what God teaches to other people.

‘Team M’
We started a meeting for university students called ‘Team M’ in April. M for ‘Team M’ stands for “MURASAKI” which means purple colour in Japanese and which reminds us about Jesus on the cross. The name of this group came from that we are a group of people in Jesus. It was another answer to our prayer to start a group for university students. Four to five students plus myself meet once a month for singing songs, Bible study and prayer. It has been such a blessing to have young people in our church and to nurture them.

Yuki is one of the students in ‘Team M’ who decided to follow Jesus as her personal Savior and who was baptized in the end of June. She brought up in a non-Christian family but started coming to Sunday school of our church through the contact of her Christian friend 10years ago. She has changed in her thinking and in many ways since she decided. Her Christian friends and people in church came to joy that God had answered to prayers and that he had brought her to God’s family. Please pray for her faith to grow and her witness to non-Christian parents.

Praise and prayer points
*Praise God with me for ‘Team M’ and his love and care for the students.
*Pray for Yuki, her faith to grow in the knowledge of God and her witness to non-Christian parents.
*Pray for KGK new campus group at Kobe city University of Foreign studies.
*that guidance and wisdom of God will be given as I nurture young people.
*My partnership with CMS-Australia will finish in the end of February 2009. Please pray for my future path.

Maiko,
August 2008