CHRIST IS ALL
Winter, (December 2002, January & February 2003)
Dear Friend in Christ,
In December, I held 2 Christmas evangelistic services, each one in a
different community. Twelve people attended the first service and only 2 people
attended the second one. That is very low attendance & I am praying that
more people will come to these services. Would you please pray for that also.
May God stir up a desire in their hearts to want to learn of the True God,
their Creator.
In
my fall letter, I told of how I had been refused use of the community hall in
Isobe 4th district, when I asked to rent it to hold a service there
in November. That was most disappointing to me, & I am still praying that
God will change that decision of the new community leader & that I will
again be able to use it. Please pray about that, if you will. I went on to the
adjacent community & asked if I could use the hall there in the 3rd
district. And the leader there was most kind & allowed me to use it. So I
had a service there in December & that is the service where 12 people
attended.
It
is only about a 5-minute walk between these 2 community halls in the 3rd
& 4th districts, so people who live in that area can easily walk
to either one. However the 4th district hall is back off the street
just a ways & has just a little open space around it, and the hall is
larger. Therefore, I prefer it to the small hall in the 3rd district
that is right near the street. However, I was most grateful when Mr. Akiyama
agreed to let me use that small hall. Also he was most kind to me. Please pray
with me for him to get saved.
Through
the winter, I have continued to regularly distribute Christian literature,
going from house to house & leaving it. I went into several mountain
communities that I had never been to before, tho they are less than 10 miles
from my house. Having lived here since 1978, I have walked through a lot of the
communities within about a 15 mile radius of where I live, distributing
literature there time & again. But this winter, I got out searching for
places I have never once been, & I was surprised when I found quite a few
of them. There are many small & steep mountain ranges in this area, with a
narrow valley between 2 ranges. Those valleys that are inhabited have a narrow
road built near the stream in the valley. And I walked up several of those
valleys to the few houses isolated among those steep hills. It is so cold back
there in the winter, as they get very few hours of sunshine each day because
those mountains well block out the low-lying winter sun. I would park my car by
a highway down on the plain & walk up those roads to distribute the
literature, as walking was more convenient. How the temperature would drop as I
walked uphill & got into those shaded valleys. Also, the amount of snow on
the ground increased as I went up. Houses were quite far apart, which cuts back
on the amount of literature I can give out in a day. But the people there are
more likely to read it because they are not so heavily bombarded with
commercial advertising being brought to them. Please pray for them to read the
Gospel literature I left with them & for God to deal with their hearts
mightily. How they need the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives.
Several
of the colder & snowy days, I spent inside, writing on book manuscripts. I
get a great blessing when writing the things God has led me to proclaim to
others. Writing such is never an easy task for me. I think the devil fights it
a lot, trying to distract & interrupt me. Please pray for God’s power &
protection for me, as I write these books & sermons I want to make
available for many people to read.
On
the 4th of February, my Dad had a severe stroke while alone at his
house near Vernon, Alabama, and lay on his kitchen floor an undetermined amount
of time (the doctor said over 12 hours) before anyone found him. After my
brother called and told me that, I soon began to put my affairs in order here
in Japan so I could leave them. And on the 18th of February, I flew
to Mississippi where Dad was in the hospital in the town of Pontotoc. He was
paralyzed on his right side and could not talk. But he did recognize people and
we talked to him and sometimes got a smile in response. Also, he would answer
“Yes” or “No” questions with a nod or shake of his head. I visited with him,
family, and friends until the 27th of February when I left to return
to Japan.
Also,
I preached in 4 different churches while in the States, on 2 Wednesday nights
and a Sunday morning and Sunday night, being in a different church each of
those 4 times. What a blessing it was to fellowship with dear Christian friends
in those churches that support me, and the people there pray for me. Everyone
was so kind to me and did everything they could to help and encourage me. How I
thank God for all of you that I got to be with then. God gave me a safe trip
back to Japan, arriving on the 28th of February.
While
in the States, it so encouraged me when people told me they were praying for
me. There is great power in prayer. I pray for you, too. Any time you write me
with a particular prayer request, I pray for it. Thank you so much for the
praying you do for me, and for these many lost Japanese whom I am reaching with
the Gospel. Please pray for many of them to get saved. Please pray for revival
here in Japan. Believe me, it makes such a difference in what I accomplish
here, when you pray for me and for the lost Japanese I am preaching to. Please
intercede to God for their lost souls. Time spent in prayer is most profitable.
God bless you for praying. I really appreciate it.
As
for you, who sent offerings to me during the winter, thank you so much for
helping in that way. Your donations are a big help to me & I really
appreciate you being willing to give of your money to help me in this missionary
work God has called me to do. God bless you for providing.
Christ’s unprofitable servant,
Richard Yerby
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