Dennis Peters... Missionary to Japan

This joint effort between the Missionaries and the Japanese brethren went great. In the first week, we got up 3 homes! The people who received these homes were so appreciative. Since then, more homes have gone up, and we are still working to get the rest up.

A drive into KOBE now will tell an entirely different story than just a few months ago. There are still neighborhoods where burnt and mangled buildings are the norm, yet, so much has been cleared off and straightened up. They have moved quickly to clean up this broken city. For the most part, instead of broken buildings, now all you see is a bunch of empty lots. Praise the Lord that we were able to help even a little! In November, MAPS will be sending a team to help with the reconstruction of a church in KOBE that was partially destroyed by fire. Do pray for them!

We have been so blessed these last few months here in Kyoto Prefecture's Seika Town. It seems that we have been faced with one blessing after another. The Church here continues to be blessed and Grow. For those of you who missed our earlier newsletters, let me explain a little about our situation here. We are here until sometime next summer, filling in for the Sniders who are the Pastor's of this church. They started the church about 3 years ago. Recently it has really taken on the shape of a church. Attendance is up above 20 just about every Sunday (counting us). The people here are very faithful for the most part. The church here has been blessed especially to have several families attending. So often in Japan, it is difficult to get an entire family saved, so, it is a special treat when the father comes along with his family, and a double treat when he is a strong Christian!

Our services have been blessed with a special sense of the Lord's presence, and we are full of anticipation at what the Lord is going to do.

We had a great summer in many aspects. One of the outreaches we had was a Pizza Party for Young People. We had a house full of young people, and a night full of fun! Despite the lack of a "preaching" time one young lady was lead to the Lord by our Japanese summer Intern! PTL!

Every other Saturday we have Bible Club for Children. We have been having good attendance, and are looking forward to much more from these Children's meetings! Do pray with us for these meetings.

Our Midweek prayer meetings are truly that. . . Prayer Meetings! Brian and Sally Snider have done a great job of training the people in this one crucial area!

We also teach quite a number of English Bible Classes. This summer we had our summer MAPS workers teaching the classes for us. We drew up an advertisement for the classes and then passed out several thousand of these flyers, door to door, along with a tract. We have had so many new students join our classes that our table is pretty much full all the time! We are excited about the opportunities afforded us through this kind of Evangelism.

Another outreach that we are involved in is cooking classes. My wife has managed to fatten me up pretty good, so why not teach the Japanese a little!?! Actually, since passing out the advertisements this summer, we have had such an influx of ladies interested in these Cooking classes that we are having to turn people away!

We continue to be amazed at the opportunities afforded us here in Seika Town, Kyoto Prefecture. So many are so open! So many are searching! Hungry! Keep praying for and rejoicing with us!

While all the Glory goes to God for the growth we are having, we have received several comments which I feel really epitomize evangelistic outreach here in Japan. Several of the people who have come recently, both to church and to our English Bible classes have stated that they had been interested in coming for some time, but have just finally been able to come. They had been receiving the tracts and advertisements the Sniders have been passing out over the past few years, and just recently were able to come! Here in Japan, it so often takes months and even years for someone to be able to enter a church! Every tract, every kind word, every good deed counts toward helping them onto the road of eternal life. We are so grateful for all the "seed planting" the Sniders did before we came! The Sniders planted, we water, but it is the Lord who gives the increase!

Mark Pendleton (the one on the left) is a High School exchange student from Australia. He attends our church here. Ron Reed (the one on the right) came in early June and stayed for about 8 weeks. He was a big help in many ways! Ron & Mark & I fixed the insulation in the attic (it had all fallen down after the quake), and extended the flooring. All this in the heat of the summer!

Ron was especially good with our kids (who can be quite annoying at times). He even volunteered to take care of them from time to time, just so that JonJulienne & I could go out on a date!!! He got involved with the nearby basketball clubs, and was really very good at making friends. We are so grateful he came!

Jill was given numerous opportunities to visit schools in the area to see how they do it in Japan. She is an elementary school teacher in the States and had wanted to see what schools were like here in Japan. That opportunity was afforded her more than once!

The kids loved her, especially her hair, which they were always trying to touch! Several of the girls in this picture wound up coming to our next Bible Club, because of having met Jill at school. She was with us for 9 weeks, and was a blessing in so many ways! Thanx for coming, Jill!

Jay's arms have been troubling her again. She wakes up and many times they are asleep or quite painful. We continue to trust the Lord for His healing. We do not understand ourselves what the problem is.

Dennis has joined a couple of different Basketball clubs hoping to wear down some of the tread on the spare tire hanging around his waist. This summer has been so busy and hot that he hasn't been able to go much.

Desiree & Jesse have been taking their mommie down to the local park to play (before it got too hot to go). They have made some friends and are starting to pick up Japanese slowly but surely. They have gained a real burden for their new found friends and pray for them every chance they get!

Cherisse has really taken off. She took her first step at 8 months and is presently thinking of joining a marathon. She is all smiles and screams, depending on the situation!

As a family we paid some heavy duty electric bills this summer due to the heat in this part of Japan. When we got everyone in our living room for Sunday morning service, we were lucky to get the temperature down below 80 degrees in the house! But, summer was short, and September has been quite enjoyable!