PRAISE:
1) We now officially own the Toyota Noah minivan we had been borrowing from another missionary couple since last December as we were able to work out a purchase arrangement with them.
2) Greg & Micah had smooth travels to L.A. and back and for a fabulous gathering at Greg's 30-year CAJ Class of '80 reunion July 23-24. Greg had a chance to share with several former classmates how God led him into his mid-life career shift into missions. Greg & Micah also spent time with missionary friends who minister to Japanese living in the L.A. area.
3) Greg was able to help lead the worship time at a debut English service on 8/1 at Denen Grace Chapel, which they plan to have the first Sunday afternoon of the month.
4) We had great family road trip up north in the Tohoku region: We visited a couple churches that have expressed an interest in partnering with us in ministry. We believe these onsite visits will prove helpful as we seek God’s leading as to our future ministry assignment. We also attended a home school camp for a couple of days which the whole family enjoyed, and we visited a dear ministry friend who was like a family member to Greg’s family of origin when he was growing up in Japan.
5) That Asa was able to get her Japanese driver’s license issued as a transfer from her MN license (and an old expired Japanese license). Summoning the courage to drive here, on the other hand, may well be a matter prayer for her.
PRAY:
1) For the children's camp at Shonan Grace Chapel this weekend (Aug. 20-22), for preparation & planning and for safety in activities and spiritual quickening in little hearts in response to messages given. Three of our kids (Micah, Jonah & Karin) will be attending, and we plan to help with the BBQ details on Saturday (8/21).
2) Greg's niece, Lindsey, recently graduated from college and plans to visit us here in Japan 8/25 - 9/8 (her first time in Japan). Pray for safe travels and that her time here with us will be both pleasant and significant at this stage in her life.
3) For continued progress on administrative tasks and a software project that Greg needs to complete. For wise & balanced time management.
4) For wisdom and discernment as we continue to explore and consider several ministry opportunities as possible ministry assignment locales after our internship concludes next spring. Besides the two churches we visited on our Tohoku road trip, one of our current (internship) ministry partners, Shonan Grace Chapel, has formally indicated their interest in having us partner with them in ministry long term.
5) For wisdom, grace, patience and stamina for Greg & Asa in the challenges of parenting, and that the Lord’s grace and peace would reign in our household as we seek to serve as instruments of His mercy in this land.
30 Year Reunion…
PRAISE that Greg & Micah had smooth travels to Southern California and back and for a fabulous gathering at Greg’s 30-year CAJ (Christian Academy in Japan) Class of ’80 reunion July 23-24.
A total of 36 people from Greg’s class (plus family & friends) attended the event, 12 of whom had spent time boarding in the dorm (left photo); of this number, there were four of us (right photo) whose parents served as missionaries in Japan under C.B.F.M.S., now known as WorldVenture, the mission we are currently with. (The would-be fifth person missing from this subgroup was Greg’s childhood friend, Mark Schiefer, who went to be with the Lord when his life was cut short in a car accident in 1981.) The reunion proved to be personally significant for Greg as he was able to re-forge friendships from many years ago. He also had a chance to share with several former classmates how God led him into his mid-life career shift into missions.Grace C.A.F.E.
Denen Grace Chapel is one of two fellowships we have been primarily involved with during our internship period (the other being Shonan Grace Chapel), and they have had a strong emphasis on welcoming internationals and Japanese returnees from abroad (whether seekers or believers) with bilingual aspects to their ministry. On Sunday afternoon, August 1st, Greg was able to help lead the worship along with Pastor Kondo at Denen Grace’s debut English worship service with a coffee house twist, dubbed Grace C.A.F.E. (Christ And Fellowship in English), with 30+ attending, including kids; fellow WorldVenture missionary Kevin Laverman (who started Denen) gave a brief message which was followed by small group discussion. For the time being, Denen is planning to have this service monthly, on the first Sunday of the month. We’re not sure what course this new ministry will take, but for now, we’re delighted to help support Grace C.A.F.E. through worship leading and relationship building as the Lord leads.
Our Journey North…
On August 2nd, less than a week after Greg & Micah’s return from L.A., our family embarked on a weeklong road trip up north into the Tohoku region (the northeast region of Japan’s main island of Honshu), where Greg grew up.
Aug. 2-4: Our first stop (for 2 nights) was at Fukushima First Bible Baptist Church, led by Pastor Akira Sato, near the Pacific coast in Fukushima Prefecture, one of the church groups that has indicated an interest in having us partner with them in ministry after we complete our current internship period next spring. This church has a thriving, diverse set of ministries and has some innovative ideas for reaching their local community for Christ. Pastor & Mrs. Sato (photo: third from left & far right, respectively) have been serving at Fukushima First for some 26 years, beginning back when Greg’s parents were still tending their church plant 50 miles east in the 1980s. The photo is of one of their periodic (thrice yearly) meetings of affiliated pastors & ministry workers serving in the same prefecture; we were able to meet, fellowship with, and be encouraged by these dear servants of the Lord.
Aug. 4-6: From there we went further north (& west) up to Kinshuko camp in Iwate Prefecture for a 3 day/2 night home school camp. There were close to forty people across eight families, with the life stages ranging from infancy to that of grandfather. 
Located in the heart of the mountains the camp venue afforded the kids the opportunity to explore and learn about God’s creation in nature from a biblical perspective. There were also sessions for the parents to learn and discuss some of the fundamental underlying principles of home schooling and interact about practical issues involved with this method of teaching. There was also a good deal of fun activities mixed in as well. These two shots were from our river activity (left: Karin collecting stones for a subsequent craft project; right: Micah preparing to take the plunge into the water amidst the swarming Abu horse flies).
Aug. 6-7: Following the home school camp, we headed further west into Akita Prefecture where we visited a dear friend in the city of Yokote, Greg’s childhood home. Miss Shige Sasaki dedicated her life to fulltime vocational ministry, especially in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting work, and served in a vital capacity at two church plants where Greg’s parents were involved.
Though officially retired now, at seventy-something, Shige-san is still involved in ministry with a house church meeting in her home. She was always like family—a virtual aunt to Greg. So it would be an understatement to say that we had a meaningful reunion. During our stay in Yokote, we visited the site of the house where Greg’s family used to live when he was very young (age 0~5). The building was gone and the property was overgrown with vegetation, but we were able to speak the woman next door whose children used to play with Greg and his sister whom the mother clearly remembered.
Aug. 7-9: From Yokote, we headed back south to our final stop in Yamagata, where we participated in the worship service of Yamagata Christian Fellowship (YCF), a church plant started by veteran Japanese pastor, Hiroshi Kawasaki, a contemporary of Greg’s dad. This is another church that has expressed interest in partnering with us in ministry. We had a chance to learn about their vision and philosophy of ministry. YCF has a strong emphasis of not only on maintaining right biblical teaching but also on small groups and mutual accountability. They also view missionary partnership as a strategic tactic for growing this church plant. Here is a shot of Greg with Pastor Kawasaki.Also while in Yamagata, we were able to view the Hanagasa (“flower hat”) festival parade of national fame in downtown Yamagata on Saturday evening (8/7). On Sunday afternoon (8/8), we took a drive up to the hot springs of Mt. Zao, also well known in Japan. The shots below are of the parade and of some of us enjoying a hot spring foot bath.
Your partners in ministry in Japan,
Greg & Asa Swenson
Micah, Jonah, Karin, Ellen
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