PARTNERSHIP March 2013 – Ministry Updates and Prayer JOHN John departs for Tohoku tomorrow. The Church Planting Institute (CPI) is endorsing a seminar March 4-5 in Sendai. This could be the largest seminar on Rural Church Planting with 24 workers gathering! There are still 1,500 towns and villages and 36 cities in Japan still without churches. Please pray that more churches will be started in these towns and villages! At the seminar, John will be…
People of Hope February 2013 – Updates for Prayer At the Ishinomaki church one woman came up me after the sermon and said, “Sensei, I suffer from depression.” I was a bit shocked by her directness but said in at least six unique ways that “Jesus loves you.” She began to smile and tears ran down her cheek. There is much power in the Name of Jesus and in His Gospel! DISASTER AREA IN JANUARY…
1. Ask God for good weather and good opportunities as John takes a trip to Ishinomaki from January 4-13 with a member of Bethel Moline IL. We hope to begin introducing Bible studies to our many contacts. 2. Ask God for wisdom at key CPI meetings in January as we set the pace for the year, prepare for the national conference in November, and beyond. 3. Continue to pray for effectiveness as Elaine expands here…
John and Elaine had a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas. There were several key events to end the year. CHRISTMAS TEA – For Elaine’s Christmas tea 20 women came to celebrate Christmas together. John shared about one disaster victim’s family that was helped and ended up having a Christmas music concert in their home. God is able to change disaster to celebration. Many women commented on the story and how it parallels the first Christmas story. CHRISTMAS…
Today at 17:18, as people were heading home from work and preparing for dinner, a strong earthquake hit along the same fault that caused the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and large tsunami last 3.11.11. This earthquake was 7.3 and prompted tsunami warnings throughout the area. It is believed that this earthquake is another of thousands of aftershocks from last year’s major earthquake. Most of our friends headed to higher ground and were all reported safe. All…
Our Compassion for Japan Tour is over. This has been our longest Home Assignment in ten years. We have enjoyed visiting our 35 churches and seeing 25 individual supporters. We have been amazed and grateful for the reception this time, many are so concerned about Japan and were very receptive to our presentations and challenge to be more compassionate wherever God places us. We are excited that Japan is on many people’s hearts and prayers.…
Due to our delay in returning to Japan on time a November normally full of activity is even more so. Please Pray! Elaine is launching all her cooking, craft, and Bible classes immediately. They need to rev up because it is only a few weeks before the Christmas Tea. Pray for good communication and preparation. There is a Church Planting Institute (CPI) BootCamp Nov 5-6. There are record numbers planning to attend! John besides directing…
Dawson Melancen, our second grandchild was born on September 19th. Elaine has been busy helping out Beth with the two kids. We visited two churches in Hawaii for a few days in October. Both churches have sent two teams each to help in Disaster Response ministry. We met with one pastor and then all the team members that served in Japan. We also gave presentations at Calvary of the Pacific church a Converge Church where…
You have been faithful in praying. God has opened the gates of blessings on our lives in September. There are so many blessings we have to stop and think about how many. We also are not sure which was a greater miracle. Tim got a tremendous job working as an interpreter in the welding department of a Japanese firm building passenger train cars. He is doing extremely well. We got the green light from the…
In late June at the Converge Worldwide (BGC) biennial meeting at First Baptist Church of Glen Arden, John was asked to share a personal God story from Japan disaster response. John shared about one family living in Ishinomaki who our teams have been able to help practically, emotionally, and spiritually after the terrible earthquake and tsunami. Continue to pray for many people like this family still struggling for “normalcy.” https://vimeo.com/45578420 John Mehn from Converge Worldwide…