Mon 6/13/2011 6:52 PM PDT
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings from one pooped and happy traveller. This was virtually one of those unplannable trips...flow as you go stuff... To do this you need the right kind of te
am - which I was blessed to have. Josh (21), Dayn (24) and Sara (21), loved our team times of worship, prayer and studying "identity in Christ" themes in the New Testament. They are true "intercessors" and covered every aspect of our trip and the people we met in prayer.
Now I'm heading home and I've left them with the Crash Japan team to go north with Dr Andy Meeko, a co-MK from Japan who is a Dr of Psychology and committed to grief counselling in the Tohoku region. They will be praying for CRASH workers, local churches and many in the disaster region who need comfort and Jesus.
Sara, who is Japanese/Hawaiian, speaks great Japanese, knows the train system, loves to pray and is a sweetheart towards the Japanese people - a real bridge between cultures. Dayn is has a great "antennae", is pastoral and a great leader. Josh, though new to Asia, fit in beautifully (as long as we kept him fed.) He loves to pray, worship and "treasure hunt" - going into a crowd and searching for someone to talk to about Jesus. All three of them ran into divine appointments through their "treasure hunting" forays... very amazing!
Josh and Dayn are off to China on the 22nd to meet up with Wendy there, then cycle back through Yokohama on the 27th of July.
Things in Yokohama are now in place to launch the Yokohama Prayer Room in July during our next trip. We have met with over 10 yokohama pastors and a number of praying types who are excited to have a place in their city to come and pray together for the city, Japan and the nations.
Tuesday was the day Andy Game introduced JesusNet (internet evangelism) and I shared the partnership with Andy and 24-7 Prayer with a number of Yokohama pastors. We hope to see the website up and running with "internet counsellors" and partnering churches in September. With the elevated grief and subsequent suicides rising in Japan, we believe this evangelism/counselling website, partnered with prayer, could be a real tool in the hands of the Lord.
Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed a "redemptive roots" tour from Scout Douma, pastor of the Yokohama Grace Bible Church. What a blessing to see the city the Lord has chosen to lead us to has a rich history as a gateway into Japan, some godly roots and a beachhead for the Gospel into a historically resistant culture.
A couple of times we woke up knowing we had no clear place to go or sleep later that night - each time the Lord opened amazing doors and provided for every step - phew! He is the "break-through" God.
Sunday night was a gathering at CAJ, my old school for United Day of Prayer. What a joy to see nearly 200 pastors, intercessors, missionaries and praying people gathered to pray for Japan and for the world. I was blessed to share a few minutes on "the prayer of agreement" - a big need in Japan where the church is separated from itself in many ways. Things are truly beginning to shift in this country where, new forms of Church and new spiritual leaders are being raised up by the Lord.
We are in critical need of a permanent person or couple to set up in Yokohama, partner with Andy Game and facilitate the prayer room and prayer teams going into Japan. Once that is in place we'll be able to facilitate monthly "Prayer Journey" teams into Japan - Pray specifically for the right people!!
If you or someone you know would like to join a "Prayer Journey Team" beginning in September, please let me know. We will try to mix Japanese and non-Japanese speakers on the same team - thankfully Japanese is not a required language in talking to God.
OK, gotta catch a plane - again...(sorry if this is rough - didn't even have a chance to edit.)
Love y'all, Jon Petersen
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