Happy holidays from the Speer family!

Dear ministry partners,

 

We hope that you are enjoying precious time with your families during this holiday season! We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, although it has been one of difficulty as well. Kate's mom Ruth has been battling some serious health challenges in the US, and part of our hearts are there, wishing we could be there to bring comfort during a difficult season. Please pray for Ruth as she begins chemotherapy.

 

As far as ministry news goes, November has been just as busy as October was, with way too much to write about in one newsletter!

I (Daniel) was in charge of organizing and facilitating a weekend marriage workshop at New Life Church. I don't want to put any personal information in the newsletter, but just know that the weekend went extremely well. Akira Mori sensei came up to our church from Tokyo and spent all day Saturday in marriage counseling sessions with church members, and then he preached a message on Sunday for the congregation. The Spirit's hand was on the weekend, and a leader from Billion Soul Harvest, Dai Sup Han, who came with Mori sensei said that he really felt God's presence in our congregation while he was there. We can't ask for anything more than for the Lord to lead and to work in our church, and we are grateful for using us in whatever capacity He chooses to.

Lunch break on the marriage counseling day, at the next door ramen shop! One of the precious moms in the church and her daughter.

We said a temporary goodbye to Hannah Goucher, who finished up her two year internship and returned to the US last month. It was all hands on deck, helping move items from her apartment, helping with cleaning, and taking care of last minute errands. Hannah finished her term well, even giving her testimony in Japanese at her last Sunday at church!

 

We are glad that Hannah is coming back to be a part of our team, hopefully next year! Please pray for her as she begins fundraising for career service.

I took Owen and Isla to school on a sled a few weeks ago. We got over 30 cm of snow in 12 hours, which took everyone (including our neighbors!) by surprise. This picture is taken in the street in front of our house.

Our kids continue to do very well in Japanese school. We have been blessed with wonderful schools and wonderful teachers so far, and we give God all the praise for that! Audrey has been doing very well, coming in third place in overall test scores for Japanese language in her class. She's doing better than about 26 Japanese students at their own language!

 

Pray for our kids as they study difficult subjects in a third language. It's difficult enough to study a lot of these things in English, let alone in Japanese. Also, as they get older, they are increasingly more aware that they stick out as foreigners here. We are so proud of them and are cheering them on every step of the way, but please pray that God will comfort their hearts as they grow up here.

We have a few prayer requests to share this month:

We are able to continue to serve here in Japan because of generous donors who give monthly, so that we are able to study the language, minister to those who have needs, and share the gospel with Japanese people in their heart language. 

 

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