While Japan is still not in a technical lockdown from COVID-19, pressures to stay at home have increased drastically over the last couple of weeks. In many cases, Japan uses peer pressure and shaming to coerce action. One such instance was when the government released an official list of businesses that did not willingly comply with the “request” to cease operations.
Bible studies that we were doing have been adversely affected by the situation and church attendance is down. However, we are grateful that the church is still able to meet for corporate worship. We know many reading this letter have personally felt the sting as local churches have not been able to assemble in person. Pastors, friends, thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord during these times.
In a minute, we will share an amusing situation concerning the national emergency. But first, we want to share something that you might be interested in:
By the time you receive this email, Vision Baptist Missions will have already begun its Share-a-thon for the World Evangelism Center. This is a unique opportunity to tune in and hear about what God is doing around the world. Other missionaries both on and off the field will be on during this time. They should be LIVE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecenterforworldevangelism/videos/577859163139031/
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As we neared the end of April, the government talk about extending the nationwide state of emergency order began to surface. Monitoring how the government has dealt with announcing their intent to extend the order has been a cultural learning experience and quite funny to watch. We went from “we might have to extend it” to “officials say we might need to extend it.” Then they proceeded to say, “we will talk to the medical professionals to see what they think we should do” and next “we will have a meeting to discuss what the medical professionals said.” From there the news shifted to “tomorrow we will talk to some others in leadership about whether or not we should extend the quarantine”. The latest news is that they will be officially announcing the extension to the quarantine in 3 days (May 4th). They have gently brought up the notion and have worked to get everyone mentally prepared.
In the middle of all this havoc, Rosie’s language school is still meeting with her on a regular basis. It is not the ideal situation, but we are grateful that they are working through this with us. Also, Rosie taught the children’s Sunday school class at church in Japanese for the first time. She is now on the rotation to teach regularly!
We are also using this slow time to sharpen our skills through reading books and creating content for down the road. Lord willing, we will be able to fly out of the gates running full steam ahead.
Finally, we would like to thank each of you who have personally reached out to us about our support. The Lord has abundantly provided for our financial needs through you. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity despite the current situation.
Yours for Japan,
James, Rosie, Silas, & Amos