CHRIST IS ALL
Autumn 2017 (September, October, November)
Dear Friend in Christ,
September and October were so pleasant here as I tended the
Rescue Mission in Karuizawa, preaching on the street
as I did so. Each month, I preached on a Sunday morning in the church in
Takasaki City and in Isesaki City. In October, I also
preached in the church in the town of Minakami. When
November arrived, I started putting my house in order.
On 11 November, I
rode the trains south to Mino Mission in Mie Prefecture. The next day, Sunday,
I preached in their Tomidahama church during the
morning and evening service. It was a blessing. On Wednesday night the 25th, I
taught during the Bible study in that church. The following day, I rode with
Pastor Isaac to the Oogaki church and taught in their
Thursday night Bible study.
I asked Pastor Jeff
Brigham if he would have an evangelistic service in his church nearby in Anjo City at 3 PM on Saturday. He readily agreed, and just
a small handfull of his church folks came. There were
a total of about 12 of us. It was a blessing to preach
to them on that Saturday. The following morning, Sunday, I again preached in
the Tomidahama church and attended the evening
service when another guest preacher preached.
The next morning,
Monday 20 November, I caught the 5:24 AM train from Tomidahama
Station and headed to Ibusuki City in the southern
tip of Japan where our Lord has enabled me to purchase a building adjacent to a
small train station. I entered that building to use it for the first time. I
knelt and prayed for our Lord to make it a bright lighthouse to the many lost
souls around it, especially the people who daily come to this train station.
I immediately began preaching and singing in
my small front "yard" with people just a few steps away, waiting on
the platform for the next train. Some have been friendly to me. Most have been
as cold and as rude as they can be. I just keep preaching, while interceding
for their salvation. It is a great joy to be here doing this.
Several of you have
given offerings to help pay for this building. Thank you so much. I started
making payments on it in May 2016. To date, our gracious Lord has enabled me to
pay $50,000 on it. Thank you for helping with that. I still owe $35,000 on it,
which is due to be paid in full by 20 June 2018, this
year. I thank God for His Faithfulness to supply.
I announced prayer
services in this building. So far no one has come to
them. "Bring them out, Lord."
I announced English
conversation classes (which find greater favor with the Japanese folks). Thus far 26 Japanese have come to English conversation classes.
They see the written prayers and Scriptures that abound. And
I speak to them of Christ. I am thankful for these contacts. Please pray for
their salvation.
Soon after arriving
in Ibusuki, I was in the city library one day, and
the lady head librarian came to me and asked if I
would come back into her office. There, she asked me if I could get books
written in English for her to put into the library (for foreigners to read, and Japanese people who like to "try"
reading in English). I told her I would be glad to be what help I can be, and
that it would take a little time. She doesn't want any
religious books. Still, I am thankful for this contact with the library
personnel.
If you have any
interesting books that were written before 1960, that
you desire to discard, may I have them. Or, if you
know of anyone else that has such books, please tell them of my request. I do
desire clean writings written before 1960, because such old
writings are not tainted by our modern world language, thinking, and
words that were unknown then. I prefer ficton, for
example, of American pioneer days, wild west days, mystery books, detective
stories and any such that will be interesting reading. Any clean literature
that is adventurous, exciting, interesting.
Please keep that in
mind. And any time you have any to donate, please mail
them to Richard Yerby, PO Box 490, Vernon, Al
35592-0490. Ask the PO clerk which is the cheaper
rate, "library rate", "printed matter rate," or "media
mail rate". If you have anything to say to me, please send it in a
separate letter, as the PO forbids putting a personal letter in with these
cheap mail rates.
Please do not mail
such books to Japan, as the cost is most high. Lord willing, I will be in the
States from the beginning of February till 25 April.
If you send any books to Vernon, Alabama by late April, I can pack a suitcase
full of them and bring them with me to Japan at no extra cost.
Thank you for
praying for me, for interceding for lost Japanese souls, and giving so much to
help me. May our Lord repay you 4 fold.
Christ’s Servant in
Japan,
Richard Yerby