This year we were able to celebrate the USA’s independence in our hometown. We went to a parade with our kids and had a great time! God has been so gracious to our country with freedom from the tyranny of men. But our freedom came at a cost. Brave men laid down their lives for this freedom. In Japan, 99.7% of the population is enslaved not to the tyranny of men, but the tyranny of sin. Jesus laid down his life for their freedom from sin, but they need men to go and tell them about it so they can believe and experience this freedom. What will you do?

Over the past year God has given us the opportunity to lead a Bible study in our home specifically reaching out to some students at a nearby university. Our friends have been able to learn the truth about who Jesus is, as we studied verse by verse through the entire book of Mark. We have already been blessed to see one of our Japanese friends profess belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the result of this study. Praise God! I know many of you have been praying for our study as we drew it to a close last week.

We are thankful for being given the opportunity to teach Vacation Bible School at our home church. We were able to share the gospel with hundreds of children. We are so excited to see God being glorified at our church! Additionally, several of the children that attended made professions of faith.

In May I received my Masters degree from Baptist Bible Graduate School of Theology. God provided excellent teachers for every one of my courses. I also made some great friends along the way. I am very glad that I was able to stay at my home church during the course of my studies. I was able to learn the concepts and immediately practice them in ministry at my home church. My wife deserves a special thank you for encouraging and allowing me the time to study over the past few years.

Many people ask me what the next step is in the process of going to Japan. When our internship is over in August we will be living by faith on donations given specifically to us and our ministry through Baptist churches. Many people assume we will be receiving an income from a missions board. This is not the case. Baptist Bible Fellowship International missionaries are supported by your donations. I am calling churches to schedule speaking events to present our ministry and secure support. Please pray that we will be able to schedule churches that we will be able to encourage with our ministry. Soon we will be driving all over the country presenting the great need for the gospel in Japan.

We put our house up for sale in July. Please pray that it sells quickly. We are also praying that God would provide an RV for our family so that we will be able to travel and live in a more stable environment since we have three younger children. If we do not get an RV our living situation will change from week to week and will be wholly dependent on churches to provide housing.

We appreciate your support and prayers!