But as for me it is good to be near God" Ps. 73:10: January 2015

Alumni Basketball Game
It was a pleasure to be able to play in both CAJ alumni basketball games for JV and Varsity and good to see several alumni especially Eliot Reasoner and Philip Ellison.

Sermons
Recently I've had more opportunities to preach and it has been a growing experience for me to speak at both Nojiri Lake Association (NLA) and also at Kurume Christ Church (KCC) where I am currently attending and helping with the youth group. Today I shared on John 21 how Jesus' original call of "Follow me" to Peter is once again given. He had called Peter to be a fisher of men. Jesus wanted Peter to continue that vocation even when He went back to His Father. "Do you love Me?" he asked Peter. The same question could be directed towards us. Do you love Him? And are you following the command that He initially gave when He first called you to Himself.

Below is the link to the audio for my message last Sunday:

1/11/2015 KCC Sermon: Christ who Satisfies 「キリストに満たされる」

Teaching
I have been teaching 6th grade Bible, Science and Math this year and it has been quite the change from teaching high school Bible which I had been doing the last two years. At this point I intend to continue at CAJ but what that looks like often varies year by year so I would appreciate continued prayers for flexibility.

Recent Reads

I recently finished a book entitled From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions by Ruth A. Tucker. It was required reading for my brother Caleb when he was in his Intercultural Studies major but I never had a chance to read it until this last Christmas. An excellent read and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in having a comprehensive (and readable) history of Christian missions.

Soccer Camp

This coming spring I will be a speaker at the OBC Soccer Camp from March 21-23. Please pray that the Lord will give me wisdom in what to share with the kids who come and also with the counselors so that I can encourage them in their walk with the Lord as well.

Homeless Outreach

This coming Thursday my homeroom will be going on a homeless outreach as a part of our MS program. We will be traveling down to Ikebukuro to feed the homeless that are there in the early morning hours. Please pray for safety and also that my 13 students will understand better what it means to show love in action.

Summer Plans

As some of you may know my sister Linnea is currently in Heidelberg, Germany with her husband Tom and I recently purchased tickets so that I could go and visit them both this summer and hopefully do some travel as well.

Coaching

This is now my 3rd year of teaching at CAJ and my 4th year of coaching the HS girl's field hockey team. This year we have 25 players on the team and what a privilege it has been to be a part of the students' lives in this capacity. Recently we lost to ASIJ in a 2-0 match and also lost to YIS in a 1-0 match but the girls' playing ability is much improved from what it was at the start of the season.

Christmas spirit with some field hockey players

Field hockey alumni game

Prayer Requests:

Soccer Camp speaking preparation March 21-23
Planning for Joy Bible Camps this summer (this year's theme is 'Accepted' Romans 15:7)
Wisdom as a teach my 6th grade students (and for those who are not yet saved)
For daily time in God's word and in prayer
For diligence in studying Japanese
For Grandma Eby who has had some heart problems recently
For more opportunities to preach and to share the gospel
For wisdom as a plan for this summer's trip to Europe