CHRIST IS ALL
Summer 2015 (June, July, August)
Dear Friend in Christ,
Thank you for praying for our
Lord to bless my preaching and my praying efforts here in Japan. I also thank God for hearing and answering your prayers
with an abundance of blessings poured upon me and with the opening of doors of
opportunity to preach and hold intercessory prayer meetings. To
God be the Glory for it! May He richly bless you for
your much help and many prayers! Presently I open the
rescue mission in Karuizawa 5 days a week, closing it on Thursdays and Sundays. Just a few souls come in and take Gospel literature and
the bags, tissue packs and such with prayers printed on them.
May they sincerely offer those prayers up to God, calling on Him to save
them!
About 150 yards away from this
store space God provided me for the rescue mission is Karuizawa Union Church, a
stately-looking wood church built by missionaries in 1906 in which to hold
summer conventions and church services. Up thru the
1970’s, missionaries flocked to cool Karuizawa in the summers and sometimes
attendance at services and preaching conventions was well over 200 souls. (The church is large, easily seating over 250.)
Down thru the years, attendance
has died way down in numbers. There are far fewer Caucasian
missionaries in Japan now. Also, they usually have air
conditioning in their buildings and vehicles for summer comfort. The somewhat “dead” Union Church has become somewhat like
a museum. We open it up daily during the warm and hot
7 or 8 months each year. Japanese come in to gaze in
awe at ancient woodwork, no ceiling, but exposed wood posts, rafters, ceiling
joists and such of old-fashioned wood craftsmanship
that is beautiful.
We fill 3 to 4 small tables with
Gospel literature and visitors take a small amount of it. I
put my literature out in Union Church and pray for the lost souls who take it. They take little literature, but take many of the pocketsize
tissue packs, with a prayer on each.
Six or 7 missionaries make up a
board that controls Union Church. They have never
asked me to be on the board, tho only 2 board members have been in Japan longer
than I. But last summer when God gave me the store
space for the rescue mission, I volunteered to be the key keeper for Union
Church to open it each morning and close it each evening, because I’m located
closer to it than any other board members or helpers. They
were grateful for my offer and gave me a key.
This summer, I have started
holding intercessory prayer services in Union Church. Most
every night that I sleep in the Upper Room over the rescue mission, the next
morning I go pray in Union Church for over an hour. Also,
the two or so Sundays monthly I’m not scheduled to preach elsewhere, I spend
Saturday night at the rescue mission and go pray in the Union Church on Sunday,
up to 5 hours. I look to God in faith for great
answers and for many lost to be saved! You please pray
over this as Our Lord leads you.
I printed up large notices
announcing that prayer is in session now and invite all to quietly
enter, sit, listen and quietly leave when they desire to leave. At the start of prayer time on Sundays, I post a notice on
the closed door of the rescue mission, on the Union Church billboard at the
very front of the church property, on my compact van parked by the church, and
on the church’s open door (4 notices). Thus far, each
Sunday and 1 weekday morning, a few souls have come in and sat a while. The greatest number was 9 on a
Sunday and 6 Chinese family members together on a weekday morning.
My literature is on 3 tables in
the rear of the church, free for the taking. On
Sundays, many visitors (tourists) are walking the streets where my notices are
posted. You call on God, please, to draw them in by
His Almighty Power. Union Church’s location is most
strategic in that many souls are around it in the warm months.
Its property of about half an acre has a high monetary value on it in
this expensive tourist town. It’s a miracle,
God giving me much use of the church for free and that people are drawn in just
to view the old building. Glory!
July
2015
In my May newsletter that I mailed out on paper, I asked friends
to please pray about my efforts to preach in the Gunma Prefecture prison. Brother Tamura did enquire about that for me, and the
system of allowing religious people to come talk religion to prisoners is
“sewed up tightly” here. The prefectural government
has formed an organization for that purpose. Anyone
wishing to “preach” in prison must join that organization. Only
bonafied religious groups can join. That group
includes Buddhists and Shinto groups along with Christian churches.
Brother Tamura’s church is not bonafied in the eyes of the
government, and thus would not be permitted to join that group. But he will try to find out what Christian church (if any)
is presently going to the prison to preach. If
a Christian in a “bonafied” church is presently ministering in the prison, and if
he would agree to allow me to accompany him when he goes, there might be a
chance I could go with him and speak as he allows me to do so.
As God leads you, please continue to pray about this. If
there are any new developments here, I will tell you. How
I long to minister in prisons here in Japan! Open
doors, Lord, I pray!
Please pray for a Japanese lady named Midori who is in her 40s, I
guess. Recently, I was closing up the Union Church in
the late afternoon when she stopped by. She said that
when she was in high school, she attended functions held by local missionaries
and churches, trusted in Christ and was baptized. “And
afterward…” she said shaking her head and almost weeping. She
married an unsaved Japanese man, later divorced, and tho I did not probe her
for any details she didn’t offer, she hinted that she ceased living a Christian
life. I urged her to return to her Lord and Saviour
just as the prodigal son returned to his father. She
talked most vaguely indicating that she could not “return” for some unknown
reason. I told her to ask God to show her what was
hindering and to give her victory over it. Likely she
well knows what is hindering but doesn’t want to forsake it. I
showed her my book of prayers lying on the table in the church foyer and told
her it would be wonderful for her to take the book and pray those prayers from
her heart. She did take the book. Please pray that God will set her free from all that binds
her.
By God’s Grace, I continue to preach one Sunday each month in
Yoshii and Isesaki. I am scheduled to preach in the
Minakami church this coming Sunday, August 2nd. That
will be my 2nd time to preach in Minakami this year. Please pray for the Japanese souls in these 3 churches.
Upon returning to Japan on April 11, I called Mrs. Rees at the
Miyota church, told her I was back and asked if she wanted me to preach. “Nooooo.” That was a long NO! And no soul there has since said any more to me about
preaching there, tho I had preached there one Sunday each month I that was in
this area for the past 5 years or so.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” (II Timothy 4:3) Over 2 years ago, as I
preached in the Miyota church, I had them open to that Scripture and called on
them to believe and obey the sound doctrines in the Holy Bible. I told them I was to start preaching Bible doctrines that
Christian churches the world over are ceasing to endure and that preachers are
becoming “silent and dumb” regarding those Scriptures and ceasing to preach
them. Then I started preaching such each month on the Sunday
I preached at Miyota. Glory to God!
After a few months, Mrs. Rees called me to lament that Japanese
church members were upset at my preaching. By God’s
Grace, I continued to preach clearly and strongly that which my Lord laid on my
heart. All last year, the Miyota church people became
more and more silent toward me each month when I came to preach. When I returned this year, Mrs. Rees just said “Nooooo”
with no further comment. May our Lord perfect their
every way!
Please pray for me to stay ever so close to My Precious Saviour’s Side and always preach exactly that which He commands me to preach. I have well learned that is where the blessings are.
August 2015
Each and every day is so full and so fulfilling, thank God. During August I tended the rescue mission 6 days a week
(not Sundays) and a multitude of souls paraded by each day. Some
came in. Some took literature and such. I had opportunity to talk to a few (the few who would
allow me to do so). 40 steps from the front of the
rescue mission is the main street that is closed to vehicular traffic during
peak seasons (summer and such). It is usually crowded
with pedestrians during peak seasons. I walk out to
that main street a few times each day to preach and sing a few minutes at a
time. Many hear. “Save them,
Lord, I pray!”
On the far side of that “T” junction of narrow streets, I stand on
the front edge of a small vacant lot when I sing and preach. Please
pray that our Lord be glorified on that plot of earth He created. Please pray that if it be God’s Will that He would open
doors for me to lease that lot to use for His Glory! About
10 times as many souls walk past that lot as walk by my storefront nearby, but
on a side street. (Japan is a most crowded nation.) In peak tourist season, likely more than 10,000 souls a
day walk past that vacant lot. It is about 30 feet
across and 60 feet deep. A narrow side street goes
along its 60 feet of depth, making for much easy access to that lot. Previously the famous Meiji Company owned it. So you can call it the “Meiji lot” as you pray about it. In accordance to God’s Divine Will, may it be used to glorify
our Lord and as a lighthouse shining brightly on that busy street.
During August I didn’t hold prayer meetings in Union Church
because various missionaries and other groups had use of it, some of them
putting on worldly concerts and such in the church. I
look forward to resuming those prayer services come September, Lord willing. Behind the church, the Shinto shrine (Suwa Shrine) has
much heathen idol festival activity during August. My
compact utility van is parked beside Union Church right next to the narrow
street (lane) that leads to the main gate (entrance) of that idolatrous shrine. Glory to God I have 6 magnetic sign prayers (in Japanese)
covering much of the van’s exterior body (2 prayers on each side and 2 on the
back door) that people almost brush against when the multitude walks in and out
of the festivals there. Glory! Children
are prone to read the prayers aloud when they see them. More
Glory!! May
the Holy Ghost Powerfully speak to hearts thru the content of each meaty prayer
and save many precious souls for whom Christ died!!
On Sunday morning 2 August, I preached in the Minakami church with
about 16 present. After church, I ate lunch with 3
others who stayed for it and soon caught a ride with Paul to Minakami train
station, preached till the next train left going on up the steep mountains and
boarded it. It soon went into long tunnels that make 2
loops under the mountain (inside the dark tunnels) in order to gradually climb
to the top of those mountains. Along the way, the
train platforms at 2 different stations are inside tunnels that passengers
access by damp and ill lighted stairways. I stayed on
the train to the top of the mountain, got off at Etsugo Yuzawa and preached on
the streets and left Gospel flyers at each house as I gazed on the beautiful
steep mountains with ski slopes and hot springs hotels and spas all around. Strong mountain winds would whip in clouds with strong
lightening threatening to strike anywhere. Truly a
marvel to behold! What an adventure!
Truly I’m the most blessed soul on earth! Thank
Thee, Lord Jesus. May each lost soul receive Jesus’
Riches!
On Sunday 9 August, I preached in the church in Yoshii. On 30 August, I preached in the church in Isesaki and out
in public in the afternoon. Such great joy it brings
to preach to everyone I can. May Our Lord help each of
us Christian believers to daily wisely redeem the short time remaining before
He raptures us unto His Glorious Presence! “Even so,
come, Lord Jesus.” Thank you, my friend, for caring
about me, for praying for me and for lost Japanese souls, for giving offerings
to help me minister in Japan. May our Lord richly
bless you and your family and repay you many fold over for your much help to
me!
Christ’s servant in
Japan,
Richard Yerby