Christ Is All
Fall 2003 (September, October, November)
Dear friend,
Greetings in our
Lord and Saviour’s Most Wonderful Name.
We had a pleasant, warm fall here, and that was a blessing after a wet
and cool summer. Through the 8th
of November, I went up the mountain to the town of Karuizawa most days except
Sundays, set up my little store on the street there, and preached on the street
and gave out Christian literature to the many Japanese tourists there. While preaching there one day, a young lady
stopped and listened for a while, and then asked to talk to me. She told me of being oppressed by her
father, even being beaten by him as she grew up. She is now 30 years old and apparently possessed by demons. I listened to her well over an hour, prayed
with her, called some other Christians who live in Karuizawa, and sent her
there where they live, as there were Japanese Christians there who could talk
with her in Japanese a lot better than I could. These Christians talked with her quite a while, but a couple of
days later, the young lady, Miss Chika, called me and indicated that she
intended to commit suicide and soon hung up the phone as I pleaded with
her. I prayed real hard for her and
asked other Christians to pray also. We
persuaded her to come to my friends’ home again the next day. I went there too, and several of us
Christians talked to Miss Chika from the Bible and prayed for her. With a little urging, we got her to pray
after us, but she would not go as far as clearly putting her trust in Christ in
that prayer. We dealt with her on the
10th of September, and I haven’t heard from her since. Please pray for the salvation of Miss Chika.
I get such a
blessing preaching out on the street, as so many people out there need to receive
Christ. Please pray for the salvation
of the Japanese who hear me and who receive literature from me. How I long to see them saved. Thank you for praying.
On Sunday
afternoon, the 9th of November, my forehead started throbbing in a
way I had never known it to do before.
I headed for Gunma University Hospital, likely the best hospital in the
area, as this felt serious. God got me
safely to the hospital on the train, for which I am most thankful. The doctors examined me, said I had a
hemorrhage from an aneurysm at the front of my brain and that they needed to
operate on it. I gave them permission,
and called a missionary friend, Brother Tom Tierney. He came on down to the hospital after church that Sunday night,
talked, and prayed with me. Then he
also came back the next morning, the 10th of November, when they
opened up my forehead, worked on that hemorrhage, and clipped a gold clip on
that vein, so they said. I believe God
worked miracles and gave me a good recovery, and how I thank God for that. They kept me in the hospital until the 29th
of November, so I was there almost 3 weeks.
The doctors
wouldn’t let me come home alone on the train, so a Japanese Christian man
living in Matsuida, Brother Kajima, came to the hospital by car and brought me
home. I am able to stay alone, but the
doctors ordered me to take it slow and easy.
I am writing this on the first day of December, and the doctors told me
to come back on the 10th of December for a check up and to rest as
much as possible until then. I feel
fine physically but my mental ability runs very slow right now. I pray that if it be the Lord’s Will, that
He will heal and restore my health.
Please pray for me, if you will.
I know God is attentive to our prayers, and that He does heal in answer
to prayer. Thank you so much for
praying for me. Thank you for caring
for me and for the missionary work here.
Thank you so much for your prayers and all you give and do to help
me. It sure means a lot to me. May God richly bless you for all you do for
me.
May God bless you
with a Wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year.
In
Christ,