Only 22 More Days in Japan…

The past few weeks have been hot, humid, and rainy, as it is currently the rainy season in Japan. We’ve been making good use of our standing fans, folding fans, air conditioner, popsicles, umbrellas, etc. to stay cool! Last week we hosted our last foreign guest (Logan’s brother Nick), making a total of 12 people who stayed at the ‘Foth Inn’ during our time in Japan! Hopefully the Japanese government isn’t getting suspicious about all the people who wrote down our address at Japanese immigration! :)

Everything here is beginning to feel very nostalgic. We’re often thinking to ourselves this is the last time we’ll eat this/see this person/be at this place. It’s going to be very sad saying goodbye to the home and many friends we’ve made here in the past year. Farewell parties have already begun - church members, English students, and friends are eager to take us out for sushi, okonomiyaki, and even sheep brains!!! We are so thankful for the many wonderful people we have met here.

This week, the ACTION team from MB Mission will be joining us for one of our teaching days. We are looking forward to meeting this group of 5 Canadian, college-aged students and hope to encourage them as they serve in Japan for one month. 

We only have four English-teaching days left at Osaka Bible Church - our last day is July 28th! Please pray that the English ministry would be able to continue at OBC after we leave and that more Japanese people would learn the Gospel message through OBC in the future. 

Regarding our budget, thank you so much to those of you who have contributed toward this ministry in Japan. Currently, we are still in need of additional funding and are trusting that God will provide all of our needs (like He always does!) If you are interested in supporting us financially, please visit this link:    Support Logan & Heidi

We would appreciate your prayers as we say goodbye to Japan and prepare to move back to Saskatchewan. We will be back in Saskatoon (Lord willing) on August 11th. We are so thankful that God has provided each of us with jobs back home. Logan will be returning to his position at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and I will be beginning my teaching career at Hague High School! Please pray that we will quickly find a home to live in (we don’t want to overstay our welcome in our parents’ basements!)

Blessings to you today!
Thank you for taking an interest in what has been going on here recently. 

Love & Prayers,

Logan & Heidi

Sushi party at one of our English student's home

Another sushi party with some church members!

Enjoying a picnic with Logan and his brother Nick, at beautiful Utsubo Park

June Blog Update

Hello friends, family, and supporters! Thank you so much for taking an interest in what’s been going on on this side of the globe lately!

Our return to Canada is quickly approaching, we only have about two months left of our one year term here in Osaka. How time flies! In The past while we’ve been happy to host more Canadian guests, including my brother and his wife, Eric and Gina, along with Gina’s mom, Lydia. This week we’re anticipating more guests, and next month Logan’s younger brother will be coming our way as well! It’s nice having a full house! 

In May, we had the opportunity to visit Northern Japan where the Great Earthquake/Tsunami of 2011 hit. We went along with several other Mennonite Brethren church members from the Osaka area, including the pastor of our church, who led the tour. We stayed at a church that began shortly after the Great Disaster led by a Japanese pastor and his family, along with a missionary couple from America. It was great having fellowship with them and hearing their stories about how God has been working in that area. We were surprised by how many victims of the disaster are still living in temporary homes. Please pray for this area, as after four year, there is still much work to be done - physically and spiritually.

This week we were very discouraged after one of our chapel times. For the devotional, we decided to focus on a portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-34) about worry. I’ve always found encouragement from this passage and thought the Japanese may feel the same way. One of our students, however, could not grasp the idea of trusting Jesus to look after his earthly needs (clothing, food, drink, etc.) His response is always the same to our chapel times: “That’s a very nice story, but I think it’s too difficult.” I was so heartbroken at his words. Yes, being a Christian isn’t for the faint of heart, but I can speak from experience that it’s the most rewarding relationship we can have on this earth. The Bible says very clearly that some will accept the gospel, and some will reject it. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will change his heart!

This past week we celebrated four years of marriage (thank you for your MANY prayers ;) by going to nearby Awaji Island. We stayed in a Japanese style hotel and experienced the beauty of the Japanese countryside. 

Praise & Prayer:

Pray that the chapel times in our English classes would challenge our students, and that the Holy Spirit would work in their lives

Pray for Logan as he prepares to preach his first sermon on Father’s Day Sunday, June 21.

Pray that we would stay present in our duties here for the next 2 months and not be distracted by the uncertainties of moving home.

Pray for Osaka Bible Church as they discern how to continue English classes after our departure.

Praise that we had five new students join our English classes this month!

Praise for the past four years of marriage.

Praise for continuing to strengthen the relationships we have with our students

Us with my brother and sister in law at Osaka Castle park.

This was our tour group that visited the 2011 disaster area.

Celebrating 4 years of marriage in traditional Yukata!

March Update

Dear beloved supporters,

We have crossed the halfway point in our term and continue to see God’s work among us and in the people of Japan. We are thankful that we that we had the opportunity to meet up with Logan’s aunt and uncle (Corinne & Ben Tan) in Singapore for 5 days this month. It was nice a time of refreshment and encouragement. The day we got back to Osaka, we hosted Heidi’s aunt and uncle (Martha & Darryl Neudorf) in our home for one week. Later this month we look forward to having Logan’s mom (Myrna Foth) come for a visit as well! We won’t be getting homesick this month! 

During our time in Singapore, we were surprised to experience elements of culture shock even in a country so similar to Japan. Most notably the ability to use English and to communicate freely with locals. We expect this small taste of culture shock is only a foreshadow of what our return to Canada will be like.  At this time, we feel God is calling us to return to Canada come August, however, we continue to prayerfully consider our future and ask that you’d do the same.

Our classes continue to grow and, more importantly, our relationships with the students continue to get deeper. We are grateful that a few of our students have accepted our invitation to come to a couple church services and are eager to see the way in which God is working in their lives. 

Finally, MB Mission has brought to our attention that our original estimated budget was not sufficient to cover the expenses of our year here in Japan. There have been very few Global Servants in Japan in recent years, making it difficult to compile an accurate budget. We have been asked to raise additional funds to cover the final leg of our time here. We have been humbled and encouraged by the generosity of so many friends, family members and our church in supporting us in so many ways. If you would like to financially partner with us, we ask that donations would be made via MB Missions website at: https://secure.mbmission.org/donate/us.php?code=C7898   We're project C7898! :)

Prayer Requests:

-   More students (as always!)

• Students would accept our invitation to church and have a curiosity for the Gospel
• English class chapel time would have an impact on our students
• We would feel peace and contentment about our future decisions

Praise Items:

• We have seen an improvement in our Japanese, especially communicating with church members
• We have been able to spend so much time with family
• Our MB Mission Japan team grew by 5 people with the addition of the Giesbrecht family from Manitoba!

Singapore: Ben Tan, Marie Tan, Corinne Tan, Heidi, Logan

One of the winter illuminations we experienced in February.

Exploring Kyoto: Darryl Neudorf, Martha Neudorf, Heidi, Doris Goertz

We got to see a sumo tournament this March in Osaka! Yikes!