When reading Paul’s letters, there are many things we have not personally experienced, for example: beatings, imprisonment, trials, etc., but we now have a new understanding of the joy he must have felt when reconnecting with loved ones. We had the privilege of hosting my (Heidi) parents for 10 nights during November. We were blessed and encouraged by them and thoroughly enjoyed showing them our new life in Japan.
Our English classes have been going well, and we rejoice in the 37 students the Lord has hand-picked. This week we had the opportunity to share the Christmas story with our students; the majority of them had never heard it before. After sharing the story of Jesus’ birth, it became clear that our neighbourhood is a Least Reached People group, meaning these people have never heard the Gospel. This fact hit home when we told one of our students, a 77 year old, well-educated man, the Christmas story for the first time.
As we learn more about Japanese culture we realize that they are inclusive toward many religions. The average Japanese person has a Shinto birth, a Christian marriage and a Buddhist funeral.Therefore the idea of one religion, and one religion only, is extremely foreign and goes against Japanese culture. Please pray that the Japanese would not see an exclusive belief in Christianity as a hinderance, but would experience the joy from a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We also ask for your prayers in the following ways:
-Continued Japanese language comprehension
-Sustained interest of community children in weekend programs
-Interest in our students to accept our Sunday morning service invitations
-That our students would hear the Christmas story as Truth, not fiction
-Emotional stability as we prepare for an unusual Christmas
Thank you for your prayers and letters! We love hearing from you!
Logan & Heidi Foth
My mom (Donna Neudorf), me, Maki and Yuko Okada enjoying the beautiful fall colours in Kawanishi City.
Logan surprised his father-in-law with tickets to the Japan All Star Baseball game!
Logan & Heidi in Shukkeien Gardens in Hiroshima City.
