CHRIST IS ALL
Spring
(March, April, May) 2007
Dear Friend in Christ,
In
late February, I received a phone call from a 25 year-old Japanese lady named
Miki. She told me that she got baptized last December 24th. What a
blessing that was to hear! I first met Miki when she was 10 years old, &
taught her the Bible, telling her much about Jesus. She immediately made a
decision to believe on Christ and confessed that to me and to her parents. Time
and again, she would ask me to tell her about Heaven (describe it to her). How
she thrilled to hear about Heaven. She attended my Bible classes for children,
went to church with me a few times, & attended a short Christian summer
camp 2 summers. After about 2 years, I lost all contact with Miki as she was
finishing the 6th grade. That was about 1993. I had not heard
anything from her after that until this phone call. Please pray that all her
family will be saved. Miki now lives in Tokyo, attends church there, and plans
to marry a Christian man in September. Please pray for God to bless that new
Christian home.
Thank
you so much for praying for the Japanese people around me that I am reaching
with the Gospel of Christ. Since 1977, a few thousand children have attended
the evangelistic services I have held in about 70 different communities around
here. I pray for God to continue to work in the hearts of these many young ones
whom I have preached to over the past 30 years. They attend my services when
they are in elementary school, and then I typically lose all contact with them.
So with God’s Help, I do my best to plant Gospel seed in their hearts and pray
that God will continue to work mightily in their hearts thru the Bible
teachings they have received. Thank you also for interceding in prayer with me
for these precious Japanese souls to whom I am preaching. There is Almighty
Power in praying to Our Almighty God. Let us continue to be faithful in doing
so.
The
cherry trees in this area were so beautiful when they bloomed in early April.
On Monday, April 23rd, I held a children’s service at 4:30 PM in
Karasu community hall, almost a mile from my house. That morning, I waited near
the grammar school and passed out invitations to the children who came walking
to school from the Karasu area. There were 50 children & I gave each of
them an invitation & prayed that many would attend the service. That
afternoon, 17 of them did come to the service. That is a third of the 50 who
received an invitation. I consider that a miracle & praise God for bringing
so many out. God blessed us with a good service there in that little building.
The children conducted a “scripted” service I prepared for them and prayed
aloud together at the end of it as one of the children led in that prayer. May
God save each of them and use their lives greatly for His Glory here in this
heathen nation.
On
Sunday morning, April 29th, I preached at Miyota Bible Church.
Attendance was low, but the Japanese Christians who were there listened well to
the preaching. May God bless them as they faithfully serve Him. From April 29
thru May 5 is called Golden Week here in Japan, with 3 or 4 holidays during
that week. It is the most crowded time of the year in the nearby tourist town
of Karuizawa. I started preaching on the street there on Saturday, April 28,
and kept it up thru the next Monday, May 7. A few thousand people heard that
preaching & just a few of them took the literature I put out for free.
Please pray with me for God to work in their hearts and save many of them.
Several
days, I walk from house to house, leaving literature at each house. Recently, I
wrote a prayer sheet in Japanese, full of the most powerful prayers I could
write regarding coming to Christ, repenting, trusting in Christ and opening
one’s heart fully to God for the Holy Spirit to freely work in that heart. I
had 10,000 copies of that prayer sheet printed, & on Sunday, May 13, I had
6,900 of them inserted into all the newspapers that were delivered in the
nearby town of Shimonita. Those prayer sheets went into 6,900 houses &
likely over 15,000 people in those houses laid eyes on those prayers. Pray with
me that many of them will pray those prayers from the heart.
Thank
you so much for praying for me, and especially for these many thousands of
Japanese lost souls I am reaching with the Gospel. Let’s pray that many of them
will be saved. As for you who give financial gifts to me, thank you so much for
that great help. May God greatly bless you for it, and repay you many fold
over.
Christ’s unprofitable servant,
Richard Yerby