2025 Spring Update

It’s springtime in Tokyo—the weather is warming up, flowers are in full bloom, and this missionary is looking forward to a new year of ministry. Here is a quick update for 2025 so far:

MEET JOE

In December of last year, our team members Mayu and Levi welcomed baby Joe into their lives. As you might expect, daily life has changed drastically for them, and we are all adjusting to life and ministry with him around. Joe has quickly become a favorite in the Friday Terrace community, and I believe God can use this new season to help Levi and Mayu connect with other families in our neighborhood. Please continue to pray for them as we all navigate the challenges of balancing ministry and family life.

MIKE NAWROCKI & VEGGIETALES

So far, one of this year’s highlights has been meeting Mike Nawrocki, co-creator of VeggieTales and the voice of Larry the Cucumber, and having him join us at Friday Terrace. As a college student in the late ’90s, I often watched this animated series with friends and found it thoroughly entertaining. So, meeting one of the creators was definitely a highlight for me.

Many of you might be wondering, “How did that happen?” Well, as you probably know, Mayu is a Christian artist, and her family owns a few properties here in Tokyo—one of which is Minami Terrace (the building we use for Friday Terrace). Another property, Komorebi Studio, is a traditional 1950s-style Japanese home that I’ve used previously for filming and photoshoots.

Mike happened to be in Japan filming with some college film students, and through a mutual artist friend, they ended up renting Komorebi Studio. When I heard about this, I quickly asked Levi to see if Mike would be willing to join us at Friday Terrace, and Mike graciously agreed.

I was especially touched by how warmly both Mike and his wife interacted with the kids and mothers at Friday Terrace. Mike even brought along a few VeggieTales videos in English and Japanese, shared them with the kids, and sang “Where is my Hairbrush?” for everyone!

EVERYDAY ENGLISH

I’m incredibly thankful for the trust we’re building with these families and the opportunities that come with it. One family in particular has helped me launch a local English class for children called "Everyday English", which is giving me many new opportunities to build relationships within my neighborhood.

Ok, so… let me take a quick tangent here.

Typically, when missionaries or pastors offer classes like these, they’re advised to charge money to avoid suspicion. Because I openly identify as a missionary, many Japanese people might be wary of joining a free class. Generally, they prefer paying to avoid any sense of indebtedness, especially toward someone perceived as “religious,” often fearing that accepting something free would obligate them to pay it back somehow in the future.

This mindset—that one should earn what they receive or pay back what they owe—is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture. You can observe flavors of this within Japan’s work culture and historical traditions like seppuku, an honorable form of ritual suicide. In such a cultural context, concepts like grace and forgiveness, which cannot be earned, are difficult to embrace. Instead, mistakes must be paid for—sometimes even with one’s own life—to restore honor or achieve atonement. If you’ve ever watched the mini-series Shogun, you’ll likely know exactly what I’m talking about.

Unfortunately, I’ve also observed this attitude creep into the Japanese church. Grace is often such a challenging concept for believers that some seem compelled to earn it through good works. In fact, I believe this creates a very significant barrier to spiritual growth, since undeserved grace is at the very heart of Christianity. Ever since coming to Japan, I’ve made it part of my mission to encourage both Japanese believers and non-believers to accept grace, without feeling obligated to pay it back—which is a very challenging concept for many.

With this conviction in mind, I feel strongly about offering these English classes free of charge. My goal is for Japanese people to experience genuine, undeserved grace. If they can grasp that, they’re one step closer to understanding the core message of the gospel.

Alright—end of tangent!

So, for the reasons I just shared, I offer these classes free of charge. Sure, some families will be suspicious, but thankfully that hasn’t seemed to discourage them from attending. I believe this openness is largely due to our intentional efforts to build trust within the community, as well as having “persons of peace” advocating for us and addressing any concerns if/when they arise.

Lastly, I want to extend special thanks to Mayu’s father, who generously allows us to use this space for our English classes rent-free. He has truly been a blessing to us.

EASTER

This year we invited our Friday Terrace friends to Haramachi Church for Easter. This is the local church we’ve been building a relationship with over the past year. One appealing quality of this church is their 20-minute kids’ service, which tends to be easier for children (and non-Christians) to understand. Since kids are kids, they’re going to do their own thing during the service—sometimes they listen, and sometimes they don’t. This understanding allows parents to bring their children without feeling the pressure to make them behave, which I’m sure can feel like trying to restrain the wind at times. 😂

After the service, Mayu had it on her heart to invite all the moms over to her house for pancakes. Though inviting people over is common in American culture, it’s less common in Japan, where homes are generally viewed as “safe” spaces reserved for family or close friends. By doing this, she was signaling to the other moms her desire to grow closer to them. Of course, it was complete chaos at times, with kids jumping on beds and slamming doors, but it was all worth it in the end. The families enjoyed their time with us, and we did our best to sew the truths of the Gospel into their hearts.

TESTIMONIAL VIDEO

My friend Katsuro was commissioned by the Gospel Project to produce a testimonial video in Japanese, and I was asked to help. Many of you know that this is something I’ve always wanted to do, but because of my weakness with Japanese, I haven’t been able to. I thought this could be good experience for me while also helping out my friend.

We spent the day filming Mizue at the All Nations Art Community in Higashi-Ome. I was in charge of filming, lighting, and sound, while Katsuro handled the interviews and led the conversation. He will edit the final footage, and it will be uploaded to the Gospel Project’s video platform once it’s completed.

FRIDAY TERRACE

This weekly event continues to be the cornerstone of our neighborhood ministry. Thanks to the popularity of Mayu’s testimony video, we often receive visits from Christians traveling in Japan who want to experience Friday Terrace for themselves. This provides families in our neighborhood with opportunities to connect with believers from around the world, an aspect of Friday Terrace that has become particularly appealing to Japanese people.

With the increased attendance, we’re working through some of the challenges that arise from being shorthanded, especially as Levi and Mayu balance caring for baby Joe. Thankfully, some of the mothers who regularly attend have stepped into support roles during peak hours. It’s reassuring to have seasoned veterans helping with scraped knees, behavioral corrections, snack and drink requests, and even directions to (or assistance with) the toilet. Observing this always reminds me of how crucial female support is to a ministry like ours, and it’s remarkable how far God has brought us with a small team of four, primarily composed of men!

However, we’d love to have more female volunteers, especially Japanese speakers, who could help with the children. We’ve had a few friends already offer their support, and I always feel relieved when I see them arrive. Please join us in praying for more helpers like these!

PRAYER REQUESTS

Please pray for God’s protection over our team. Even though we generally experience peace and unity, we know that the stress of ministry can create opportunities for the enemy to sow seeds of division. In the absence of clear communication, the flesh often assumes the worst. We have been intentional about discussing the various challenges we face, and I would love for these kinds of healthy habits of communication to continue.
Please continue to pray for my Japanese ability to grow. I often feel inadequate speaking Japanese and I do not want my fear of failure to hinder my engagement with this community.
Lastly, I want to thank those of you who have stepped in to ‘anonymously’ support me over the past couple of months. Because of your sacrifice all my needs have been met. I don’t know who you are or how to thank you personally, but since I have a suspicion you may be reading my updates, I thought this would be the best way to say it. Your generosity has greatly encouraged me. Thank you. 🙇