CHRIST IS ALL
Autumn 2011 (September, October, November)
Dear Fellow Pilgrim and Stranger
on this earth,
Throughout the 3 months of
fall, I thank God for sustaining me as I regularly preached outdoors and
distributed Christian literature. Also one Sunday each month, I preached in the
church in the town of Yoshii and in the church in the town of Miyota. And I
taught English Bible one Sunday each month in the church in the city of
Takasaki. I praise my Lord for these opportunities to preach Christ to Japanese
people. Please pray for each soul who hears, for lost souls to be saved, for
each of them to yield to the Lord for Him to mold them into His Likeness.
Naoki, a 10-year-old boy in
the Miyota church said that he wanted to go out with me and distribute literature
nearby. How I rejoiced to hear that. So he first went with me after church on October
2nd. We walked thru some of the neighborhood near the church,
leaving a flyer at each door. Soon after we started, a man came out of his
small apartment, mad and badmouthing me quite badly for leaving that at his
door. I kindly told him I would be glad to take it back if he didn’t want it.
As he returned it to me, I spoke to him of how wonderful Christ is. He got
madder and louder, scaring Naoki just as he was starting to do this ministry
for the first time in his life, I guess. I prayed for him. And when we finished
about an hour later, Naoki told me, “That was fun.” I am sure the Lord filled
his heart with joy.
The next time I preached in
the Miyota church was November 6th. When I drove into the churchyard,
Naoki’s little sister, 7-year-old Mari ran up to the car, asking me if she
could go with us today. What a joy to hear that. I replied, “Yes, but it looks
like rain, so we will have to wait and see how the weather is after church.” By
the time we finished eating lunch together after the morning service, a light,
steady, chilling rain had set in. So I said to Mari, “I don’t guess you want to go in
the rain.”
“Let’s go! Let’s go!” She
was so eager and enthusiastic there was no way I would refuse her. She and
Naoki walked to their house nearby to get their coats and we 3 headed out under
umbrellas. My experience with kids, especially Japanese kids, told me that in
10 minutes or so, Mari would be constantly complaining of being wet, cold, and
tired, and would be begging to quit and go back to the church, and would likely
be whining that she wasn’t able to walk back. But I sure was mistaken about
this little soldier of the cross, thank God.
We 3 walked close to 2
miles, taking well over an hour, leaving a flyer at each house. Mari wanted to “deliver”
the Good News herself most of the time. So sometimes I had to help her a
little, as she was holding an umbrella in one hand. She didn’t take much care
to keep the flyers dry. So we left a soggy flyer at some houses. I frequently
asked Mari if she was tired and her response was always a cheerful “No!” Praise
the Lord!
I took about 100 flyers,
thinking those 2 kids would quit long before we put that many out. But we
distributed all of them, and thus headed back to the church. At that time,
little Mari started asking me if we could go out again to distribute more. What
perseverance! So when we reached the church, I got more flyers out of my car,
and Mari and I went in a different direction nearby, leaving them at about 15
more houses. It was getting dark, so I walked Mari to her house nearby, where
her Mom invited me in for a hot cup of tea, and asked me to pray for her 3
children. An older sister, Yuri, is 13. I prayed for our Lord’s greatest
blessings upon them. The mother separated from their dad some time ago, because
he was getting quite abusive to her and all 3 children. Please pray with me
& with other Christians here for this family of 5 to again live together in
harmony with each one obeying God.
One Tuesday of each month
this fall, I had a short English Bible class in the church in the city of
Shibukawa. The pastor there told me of a Christian facility there in Shibukawa
that keeps children who are in troubled home situations. I told the pastor that
I am most desirous to minister to those precious children. So he arranged for
that and in October he took me there in his car. 3 lady workers there gathered
8 or 9 of the smallest children (age 3 to 9 or so) in a small room. The pastor
prayed. Then I sang “Jesus Loves Me” with them, talked with them, and gave each
a small gift. Then again in November, the pastor took me there. This time there
were about 11 small children and we did as we did the first time. What a
blessing. Please pray for these children, and pray that I will be permitted to
continue going there to minister to them.
I am so blessed in that my
Lord put me here in central, rural Japan to lift up the Saviour of the world to
lost Japanese. God bless you for praying for me and for the souls I am
reaching. Thank you who give financial gifts to help me. I pray for God to
repay you many fold.
Lord willing, I will fly to
the States in early December to be preaching in churches, on the street, and in
jails and prisons (Lord willing) until late February when I plan to return to
Japan, Lord willing. My stateside schedule is now posted on this site, if you
care to look at it. Please pray for my services there.
I pray for our Lord to
richly bless you and your family as this year comes to an end and a new year
begins, if our Lord tarries His coming. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen!
Christ’s
unprofitable servant,
Richard
Yerby