It is autumn here now, and we are enjoying God’s beautiful creation with the changing of the leaves. We are reminded that nothing on this earth lasts forever; but, praise the Lord, someday we WILL live forever in Heaven with Him! I pray that God will use our family to tell as many Japanese people as possible of God’s precious gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross.
I briefly mentioned this in our last update, but we had a wonderful time with the Oishis while they stayed at our house at the beginning of October. They wrapped up their six months of filling in for another missionary in Hokkaido. They returned to Osaka to retrieve their belongings in preparation for their new church plant in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture. It was exciting to hear how God had used them in Hokkaido, and we are excited to see how God will continue using them in their new church!
Several events happened during October and November. We attended our second Japanese wedding at the Senri Newtown Baptist Church. Our children had the opportunity to sing a special song for the new couple as part of a children’s choir. On October 15, our youngest child Grayson turned five! It is incredible how fast time goes by.
Towards the end of October, the church held its annual Hallelujah Festival for the first time since 2019. This festival is a unique outreach Sunday to invite new visitors to the church. Afterward, there is free food and outdoor games, to which the whole community is invited. Leading up to this event, we distributed many tracts and flyers, including at the nearby elementary school. Many children were excited to receive the tracts! On the festival day, dozens of visitors came, including two acquaintances of our daughter Sienna and another young mother whom Karin had met in the community. After the church service, two people professed faith in Christ! Hallelujah!
November is usually a time we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving. However, Japan does not celebrate Thanksgiving like America does. We began inviting different people to our home to make our own Thanksgiving in Japan. Since no one was available on the actual day of Thanksgiving, we decided to do it after the church services the following Sunday. We were able to invite several people from the church and the couple that the Oishis first invited to church while they were here previously. My wife also reconnected with her long-lost cousin Ryo, who is half-Japanese and has been living in Japan for the past 20 years! She has not seen him since they were children. She had heard from other family members in Peru that he lived about two hours away from us, so my wife reached out and invited him to church and our Thanksgiving meal. All the visitors came and heard a tremendous Gospel message from Pastor Emeritus Sogoro Ogawa. We then had a large Thanksgiving meal and fellowship at our home. After everyone left, my wife was able to witness to her cousin Ryo. We are now in regular contact, and he plans to return for Christmas. Please pray that Ryo will trust Jesus as his Saviour!
Finally, our attention has now turned towards Christmas, as this is the most significant outreach opportunity for the church. Christmas decorations are all around Japan, but very little is known here about the meaning of Christmas. The church holds a large Christmas service with many choir songs and a Gospel presentation every year. We are busy practicing each week, preparing for the services, and passing out many tracts and flyers. Please pray that many would come, hear the Gospel, and trust Christ as their Saviour!
In His service,
Brendan Morgan
Praises
• We reconnected with Karin’s cousin Ryo and were able to present the Gospel to him.
• Many first-time visitors came to the Hallelujah Festival, including several our family invited.
• All of us have seen marked improvement in our Japanese-speaking abilities.
Prayer Requests
• For the salvation of Karin’s cousin Ryo
• For more visitors to come to the Christmas services
• For our language ability to continue to improve (I am starting to memorize parts of the Japanese Bible.)
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- Church men helping set up the church Christmas tree
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- Sienna passing out Hallelujah Festival flyers
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- Having fellowship in our home with the Oishis and the Madrigals (fellow missionary family from Mexico)
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- Celebrating Thanksgiving in Japan with visitors, including Karin’s cousin Ryo
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- Celebrating Grayson’s 5th Birthday
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- Fall 2023 Morgan family picture
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- Getting ready for Christmas
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- Our daughter Keira helping us pass out flyers for the Hallelujah Festival in front of the elementary school
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- Karin with two of our visitors to the Hallelujah Festival