We are alive! Sorry for the long silence. A combination of computer troubles and busy schedule have kept me away from blogging.
So my laptop is cranky, and I think it is going to be in "time-out" for a good while. Rocky and I are now sharing a computer and I should be able to keep in better touch from now on.
September was a busy month with the usual. We are so blessed to get to do what we do and praise God for all the opportunities to spread His fame all over Japan.
October has been full as well. One WONDERFUL bit of news is the unexpected volunteer we have with us right now. My cousin Robynn, who has come to work with us 3 other times, is here again and is looking for a more long term opportunity to stay in Japan and minister. She has been offered a full time job as an English teacher starting in April of next year. She will use that job as an oppotunity to connect with people, AND her free time for ministry. Please pray for strength and guidance as God works out all the details for the months between now and then!!!
Our church is in the middle of transition at the moment and could really use your prayers. Please pray that God guide the leadership committee in our church in the next few months. Pray for unity in spirit, faith and trust in God and his timing for everything our church needs in the coming months.
Two young girls in our church will be baptized this next month. We praise God for these youngsters who have been raised in the church and are now bodly choosing to follow Jesus and make Him their savior and Lord!
The coming months include more concerts, chapel services, English teaching, Bible studies and more. Please pray as the Lord continues to work in the lives of all those around us!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Newsletter August 11, 2008
WHEW! What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. GOD is AWESOME, I just gotta say that! WOW!
Thank you for praying for summer camp with the Seinan Jo Gakuin Jr. High and High School students. The camp was awesome! It was the best group of girls we've ever had. We hit it off with them from the beginning and they were so attentive in the worship times. We had a great time playing with them on the beach and at the bonfire closing time. We did some fireworks together that night too and we were sad to say good-bye to them all. We will get to read their response forms soon, and look forward to hearing how God touched them during camp!
CMA has come and gone :( boohooobooohooo! Our house feels soooooooooo empty! But what an incredible week with those 8 godly, Jesus-loving girls! You can read details of their time in Japan at their Mission Log. Their time in Kitakyushu is featured on log pages 11 and 12. Some pictures of their major concert can be found on our photographer June's blog. Every year with CMA is a huge blessing. We may never know how many seeds were planted, how many lives were touched by their dance and their testimonies. We get a glimpse into some of God's work though. One member of our church brought her daughter and her daughter's friend along to the concert. Earlier that day the young friend had been asking many questions about God. The testimonies at the concert each answered directly her questions that day and she was in tears. She told her friend, "God spoke to ME tonight!" AWESOME!!!!!!! Look forward to next year if it is the Lord's will for our girls to come back again!
This last week was full of ministry, meetings, and some time with friends since summer is when most people can get away for some fun stuff! We always love the chance to spend a little bit of quality time with seeking friends, meet friends of Christian friends and build relationships for planting more seeds.
Today we are preparing to leave again. We'll be heading to central Japan to lead worship and speak at some summer conferences, camps and special church events. Please pray for safe travel, divine appointments and health during the trip. We are pretty much on our last leg, really needing some true rest and refreshment, but know that God will provide all that we need for this last summer ministry engagment! We appreciate your prayers so much!
I am including some pictures of ministry for your enjoyment! We would love to hear from you, leave us a comment or drop us an email!
For His Glory,
The Ayatsuka's
Heading to the beach with our camp girls...
Firworks at camp...
A bonus picture of Saturday morning English Circle ministry...
With CMA
Pinata Japan style! Blindfolded with a stick, only the target is watermelon!
Eating Chinese dumplings they made themselves!
Blowing bubbles with kindergarten kids!
The Finale! After an awesome concert!
Thank you for praying for summer camp with the Seinan Jo Gakuin Jr. High and High School students. The camp was awesome! It was the best group of girls we've ever had. We hit it off with them from the beginning and they were so attentive in the worship times. We had a great time playing with them on the beach and at the bonfire closing time. We did some fireworks together that night too and we were sad to say good-bye to them all. We will get to read their response forms soon, and look forward to hearing how God touched them during camp!
CMA has come and gone :( boohooobooohooo! Our house feels soooooooooo empty! But what an incredible week with those 8 godly, Jesus-loving girls! You can read details of their time in Japan at their Mission Log. Their time in Kitakyushu is featured on log pages 11 and 12. Some pictures of their major concert can be found on our photographer June's blog. Every year with CMA is a huge blessing. We may never know how many seeds were planted, how many lives were touched by their dance and their testimonies. We get a glimpse into some of God's work though. One member of our church brought her daughter and her daughter's friend along to the concert. Earlier that day the young friend had been asking many questions about God. The testimonies at the concert each answered directly her questions that day and she was in tears. She told her friend, "God spoke to ME tonight!" AWESOME!!!!!!! Look forward to next year if it is the Lord's will for our girls to come back again!
This last week was full of ministry, meetings, and some time with friends since summer is when most people can get away for some fun stuff! We always love the chance to spend a little bit of quality time with seeking friends, meet friends of Christian friends and build relationships for planting more seeds.
Today we are preparing to leave again. We'll be heading to central Japan to lead worship and speak at some summer conferences, camps and special church events. Please pray for safe travel, divine appointments and health during the trip. We are pretty much on our last leg, really needing some true rest and refreshment, but know that God will provide all that we need for this last summer ministry engagment! We appreciate your prayers so much!
I am including some pictures of ministry for your enjoyment! We would love to hear from you, leave us a comment or drop us an email!
For His Glory,
The Ayatsuka's
Heading to the beach with our camp girls...
Firworks at camp...
A bonus picture of Saturday morning English Circle ministry...
With CMA
Pinata Japan style! Blindfolded with a stick, only the target is watermelon!
Eating Chinese dumplings they made themselves!
Blowing bubbles with kindergarten kids!
The Finale! After an awesome concert!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Newsletter July 16, 2008
It has been crazy getting back from the states and getting settled in. First of all my computer crashed right after we got back. PRAISE the LORD that didn't happen while we were in the states! It took a while for us (or should I say Rocky) to devote enough time to get it back up and running with all the things we had on our schedule!
Since we've been back, it has been full speed ahead. We jumped right back into concerts, leading worship, chapel services, teaching English, preaching, preparing for summer ministry and all the incredible ways the Lord gives us to serve Him here! We thank you so much for your prayers!
Since I did not have access to my address book for a while, many of you may have missed some updates if you don't check this blog often or have it in your "feeds" or "readers". Please be sure to check below for updates you may have missed.
Today we want to ask you to pray for two things. Next week we will be going to camp for three days with a local Christian Jr High and High School. The school is Seinan Jo Gakuin, where I served my first two years in Japan. We speak and lead worship for this school's English Chapel Service about 10 times per year. This will be our fifth time to go to this Bible camp! In years past they have had a hard time filling the camp with the minimum number of students needed. However, this year the camp is FULL and overflowing! We are soooooo excited to have a chance to spend three days with at least 33 girls (maybe more by now) this next week. Pray as we speak on "Using the Gifts God has Given You", this year's theme, that these girls would realize they are made by God for a wonderful purpose! Probably none of these girls are believers. What an awesome opportunity to get up close and personal with them, when usually we just see them from the chapel stage.
The second prayer request is for CMA! For the fourth year in a row, CMA is here in Japan again, ministering through worship dance! We love love love this ministry! We spent a week with them in Colorado recently and are so excited to already have them here with us. Right now they are in South Kyushu ministering through worship dance workshops, dance concerts, purity seminars and more! You can keep up with their activities and how God is already RICHLY blessing their time here in Japan through their Mission Log. They will eventually make it here to Kitakyushu in a little less than two weeks! Pray for God to work in MIGHTY ways through their month here! And pray for us as we prepare for their week in ministry here with us! We can't wait to have them here!!! Have I mentioned we love these guys!? You can also see pictures and video of their past summers in ministry here in Japan on their website, so don't miss that!
Thank you again soooooooo much for your prayers and support. May the Lord bless each of you with his incredible love and grace!
Love from hot and muggy Japan,
The Ayatsuka's
Since we've been back, it has been full speed ahead. We jumped right back into concerts, leading worship, chapel services, teaching English, preaching, preparing for summer ministry and all the incredible ways the Lord gives us to serve Him here! We thank you so much for your prayers!
Since I did not have access to my address book for a while, many of you may have missed some updates if you don't check this blog often or have it in your "feeds" or "readers". Please be sure to check below for updates you may have missed.
Today we want to ask you to pray for two things. Next week we will be going to camp for three days with a local Christian Jr High and High School. The school is Seinan Jo Gakuin, where I served my first two years in Japan. We speak and lead worship for this school's English Chapel Service about 10 times per year. This will be our fifth time to go to this Bible camp! In years past they have had a hard time filling the camp with the minimum number of students needed. However, this year the camp is FULL and overflowing! We are soooooo excited to have a chance to spend three days with at least 33 girls (maybe more by now) this next week. Pray as we speak on "Using the Gifts God has Given You", this year's theme, that these girls would realize they are made by God for a wonderful purpose! Probably none of these girls are believers. What an awesome opportunity to get up close and personal with them, when usually we just see them from the chapel stage.
The second prayer request is for CMA! For the fourth year in a row, CMA is here in Japan again, ministering through worship dance! We love love love this ministry! We spent a week with them in Colorado recently and are so excited to already have them here with us. Right now they are in South Kyushu ministering through worship dance workshops, dance concerts, purity seminars and more! You can keep up with their activities and how God is already RICHLY blessing their time here in Japan through their Mission Log. They will eventually make it here to Kitakyushu in a little less than two weeks! Pray for God to work in MIGHTY ways through their month here! And pray for us as we prepare for their week in ministry here with us! We can't wait to have them here!!! Have I mentioned we love these guys!? You can also see pictures and video of their past summers in ministry here in Japan on their website, so don't miss that!
Thank you again soooooooo much for your prayers and support. May the Lord bless each of you with his incredible love and grace!
Love from hot and muggy Japan,
The Ayatsuka's
Friday, June 20, 2008
Newsletter June 20, 2008
Yaawwwnnn! We are back in Japan and jet lagging! But sooooooo happy to be home. We were welcomed home by rainy season, I don't believe I have seen a blue sky yet!
The trip to the states was so BLESSED!!! We can not begin to express how awesome every part of it was. Time on the computer and access to the internet was sporatic at times, so we appologize for the lack of communication.
To all of you who are new to our newsletter, WELCOME! It was a joy to meet you while we were in the states and we welcome you whole heartedly to our team of supporters and prayer warriors!
So now, a HUGE praise to our Lord and amazing God for how he provided ABUNDANTLY for our ministry through this fund raising trip. The grand total raised in love offerings, donations and CD sales from this trip... $17,000!!!!!!!!! I think I can safely say that is the most we have ever been able to raise in one trip. AMAZING! With gas prices the way they are and everyone talking about prices going up on everything else, I was not sure how well this trip would turn out. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, to all of you and especially to God!!!
We have been home three days and are already back into ministry. Yesterday we did a chapel service in our neighboring city, we have a meeting at church today and this weekend will be Afureru! worship on Sunday afternoon. We are actually thankful to be staying busy so that we won't nap during the day and prolong jet lag! We all slept through the night last night and are feeling pretty good today.
I will put together some pictures of our trip and other news for you soon. I just wanted to let you all know that we are home and still so amazed at the Lord's rich blessings on us!
From rainy home...
The Ayatsuka's
We are having computer issues... pics coming soon!
The trip to the states was so BLESSED!!! We can not begin to express how awesome every part of it was. Time on the computer and access to the internet was sporatic at times, so we appologize for the lack of communication.
To all of you who are new to our newsletter, WELCOME! It was a joy to meet you while we were in the states and we welcome you whole heartedly to our team of supporters and prayer warriors!
So now, a HUGE praise to our Lord and amazing God for how he provided ABUNDANTLY for our ministry through this fund raising trip. The grand total raised in love offerings, donations and CD sales from this trip... $17,000!!!!!!!!! I think I can safely say that is the most we have ever been able to raise in one trip. AMAZING! With gas prices the way they are and everyone talking about prices going up on everything else, I was not sure how well this trip would turn out. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, to all of you and especially to God!!!
We have been home three days and are already back into ministry. Yesterday we did a chapel service in our neighboring city, we have a meeting at church today and this weekend will be Afureru! worship on Sunday afternoon. We are actually thankful to be staying busy so that we won't nap during the day and prolong jet lag! We all slept through the night last night and are feeling pretty good today.
I will put together some pictures of our trip and other news for you soon. I just wanted to let you all know that we are home and still so amazed at the Lord's rich blessings on us!
From rainy home...
The Ayatsuka's
We are having computer issues... pics coming soon!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Newsletter May 23, 2008
Time keeps marching on! We are at my parents' house in Texas and enjoying a LITTLE bit of downtime. I wanted to drop in and post our schedule for the next few weeks...
May 25 - New Home Baptist Church morning worship
June 1 - Littlefield Methodist Church morning worship
June 2 - Lubbock Cowboy Church evening worship
June 5 - 9 Boston Japanese Christian Church (details coming soon)
June 9 - 16 Florida (details coming soon)
June 16 - Return to Japan :( and :)
Support raising has been so blessed. Thank you for your prayers.
To the many we've been able to meet and spend time with, we are so thankful. Your love and support means the world to us. We are so blessed to have so many friends and supporters. Thank you!!!
Love from Texas,
Rocky, Marla and Hana
May 25 - New Home Baptist Church morning worship
June 1 - Littlefield Methodist Church morning worship
June 2 - Lubbock Cowboy Church evening worship
June 5 - 9 Boston Japanese Christian Church (details coming soon)
June 9 - 16 Florida (details coming soon)
June 16 - Return to Japan :( and :)
Support raising has been so blessed. Thank you for your prayers.
To the many we've been able to meet and spend time with, we are so thankful. Your love and support means the world to us. We are so blessed to have so many friends and supporters. Thank you!!!
Love from Texas,
Rocky, Marla and Hana
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Newsletter May 14, 2007
Thank you all so much for your prayers while we are Stateside raising support. It has been an AWESOME trip!
We are writing from Texas. We've been here for a little over a week. In West Texas we have already been to one Cowboy church and will head back to that area this weekend to do more. We just finished doing the Asian American Church of Houston this weekend, and we were so blessed there! I think we've formed another great partnership in that area!
We had to say good-bye to Shuhey on Sunday! He flew out of Houston for Japan on Monday morning. I think that means he should be home by now! He was invaluable to the ministry while he was here and we hated to see him go. Everywhere we went, everyone LOVED the accoustic duo and bought up their CD's like crazy! This last month without him won't be the same.
Please continue to pray as we finish off the trip and spend some time with family. We'll post our schedule for that last three weeks soon. And I'll post some more pics soon, when we get them uploaded to the computer!
Thanks again for your prayers and support!
Love from Texas,
The Ayatsuka's
We are writing from Texas. We've been here for a little over a week. In West Texas we have already been to one Cowboy church and will head back to that area this weekend to do more. We just finished doing the Asian American Church of Houston this weekend, and we were so blessed there! I think we've formed another great partnership in that area!
We had to say good-bye to Shuhey on Sunday! He flew out of Houston for Japan on Monday morning. I think that means he should be home by now! He was invaluable to the ministry while he was here and we hated to see him go. Everywhere we went, everyone LOVED the accoustic duo and bought up their CD's like crazy! This last month without him won't be the same.
Please continue to pray as we finish off the trip and spend some time with family. We'll post our schedule for that last three weeks soon. And I'll post some more pics soon, when we get them uploaded to the computer!
Thanks again for your prayers and support!
Love from Texas,
The Ayatsuka's
Friday, April 25, 2008
Arizona, Utah, Colorado
Well, we finished in Phoenix, rented a car, and made our way to the Grand Canyon, Utah and finally Colorado. Here's a picture by picture tour of our three wonderful days on the road!!!
On Monday we went from this...
to seeing lots of this...
then four hours later, 20 degrees colder and about 6,000 ft. higher we saw this...
and finally, the moment we'd all been waiting for...
Watching the sunset from the Grand Canyon was our night cap on Monday. Then on Tuesday we explored the Grand Canyon a little more, and then made our way up through Utah. Here is what we saw...
We saw lots of ROCKS!!! It was a beautiful drive. We spent the night near the I-70 in Utah and then made our way towards Colorado on Wednesday morning. Rocky got to see the mountains which are his name-sake... The Rocky Mountains!!!
God's creation is breath-taking. His glory shown in every change of the landscape. his power was evident in ever cliff and canyon. We were awe struck a hundred times or more! WOW!!!
Now we are in Colorado, and spent a couple nights at my long lost cousins' house. Tomorrow we will spend the evening and Saturday morning ministering to a Japanese fellowship. On Saturday night we begin our week with CMA!!!
Our time online has been limited, but this has been such an awesome trip already. We can't believe we've been here for only a week so far. Stay tuned for a WHOLE LOT MORE!!!
On Monday we went from this...
to seeing lots of this...
then four hours later, 20 degrees colder and about 6,000 ft. higher we saw this...
and finally, the moment we'd all been waiting for...
Watching the sunset from the Grand Canyon was our night cap on Monday. Then on Tuesday we explored the Grand Canyon a little more, and then made our way up through Utah. Here is what we saw...
We saw lots of ROCKS!!! It was a beautiful drive. We spent the night near the I-70 in Utah and then made our way towards Colorado on Wednesday morning. Rocky got to see the mountains which are his name-sake... The Rocky Mountains!!!
God's creation is breath-taking. His glory shown in every change of the landscape. his power was evident in ever cliff and canyon. We were awe struck a hundred times or more! WOW!!!
Now we are in Colorado, and spent a couple nights at my long lost cousins' house. Tomorrow we will spend the evening and Saturday morning ministering to a Japanese fellowship. On Saturday night we begin our week with CMA!!!
Our time online has been limited, but this has been such an awesome trip already. We can't believe we've been here for only a week so far. Stay tuned for a WHOLE LOT MORE!!!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Newsletter April 20, 2008
I hope I have the date correct on this blog. it is late and the lights are out so Hana can sleep and I don't know what today's date is, and don't have the energy to find out! We just finished an awesome weekend packed with ministry! Friday evening concert for youth, Saturday evening fellowship with some members of the Japanese International Baptist Church of Tempe, leading morning worship at JIBC Tempe AND sharing this evening at Maricopa Baptist Church! AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME! What a priviledge it is to meet fellow believers, from all over the world, worship with them and share what the Lord is doing in ALL our lives!!!
We are off to see the Grand Canyon tomorrow, and make our way to Colorado the next. ROAD TRIP! It ought to be a blast!
Please keep praying, and thank you so much for blessing us!!!
The Ayatsukas and Shuhey
We are off to see the Grand Canyon tomorrow, and make our way to Colorado the next. ROAD TRIP! It ought to be a blast!
Please keep praying, and thank you so much for blessing us!!!
The Ayatsukas and Shuhey
Sunday, April 20, 2008
News from Arizona...
Above: Sunset from the airplane somewhere over Texas!
We made it to US soil!!!!!! I think for the first time EVER, we had a totally eventless, totally ON TIME, unbelievably pleasant flying experience. I was amazed. Your prayers certainly did the trick. Not only was the American Airlines flight schedule on time, but the service was actually GOOD. The food was good (as good as airplane food can be I guess), certainly an improvement on our previous experiences. AND (are you ready for this) the flight attendants were polite and helpful, sometimes even downright NICE! AA has slightly redeemed themselves in our eyes. It’s a long road back for them, with us after all we’ve been through, but this is a step in the right direction.
Since then, it has been a GREAT trip. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with our family and friends here in Arizona. Tonight, we just came home from an area wide youth event, and it was an incredible meeting! We thoroughly enjoyed the worship and fellowship. Praise God!!!
Tomorrow we are headed to a Japanese church in Tempe, AZ. We’ll spend Saturday evening in fellowship with them, and worship with them on Sunday! We are looking forward to meeting another new group of Japanese believers in America.
I’m off to bed, since we are still SLIGHTLY jet lagging. Hopefully I can sleep through the night tonight and not wake up so early tomorrow morning!
Love from Arizona!
The Ayatsuka’s
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Newsletter April 12, 2008
We NEED NEED NEED NEED NEED your prayers desperately!
We leave for the states on Wednesday, and guess who our airline carrier is??? That's right, American Airlines. I can not begin to tell you all the problems we have had with this company over the years. This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
If you haven't heard, American Airlines is grounding hundreds of flights a day. We are scheduled to go from Tokyo to Dallas and then Dallas to Phoenix on AA. Probably the Tokyo to Dallas flight will be fine. It is the Dallas to Phoenix flight that has me worried. PLEASE pray that by some miracle, we get there on Wednesday!
You're prayers have done mighty and powerful things in our ministry over the years. Please lift this up before the Father with us!
For His Glory in Japan (and for His GLORY EVEN in D/FW airport if we end up camped out there for a couple weeks, LOL)
The Ayatsuka's (and Shuhey, also joining us for the first leg of the trip)
We leave for the states on Wednesday, and guess who our airline carrier is??? That's right, American Airlines. I can not begin to tell you all the problems we have had with this company over the years. This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
If you haven't heard, American Airlines is grounding hundreds of flights a day. We are scheduled to go from Tokyo to Dallas and then Dallas to Phoenix on AA. Probably the Tokyo to Dallas flight will be fine. It is the Dallas to Phoenix flight that has me worried. PLEASE pray that by some miracle, we get there on Wednesday!
You're prayers have done mighty and powerful things in our ministry over the years. Please lift this up before the Father with us!
For His Glory in Japan (and for His GLORY EVEN in D/FW airport if we end up camped out there for a couple weeks, LOL)
The Ayatsuka's (and Shuhey, also joining us for the first leg of the trip)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Newsletter March 15, 2008
Spring is in the air! New life springing up all around us, always makes me even more excited about all the new life God is putting into our lives every day.
I have awesome news! In May of last year we posted this newsletter. In that post I asked you all to pray for a woman whom I'd met at a concert and had a long conversation with about God! I am so happy to let you know today, this woman has accepted Christ as her Savior and will follow the Lord in baptism soon!!! I never stop being amazed at how the Lord changes hearts and lives! This was great news to receive at the beginning of this week leading up to the celebration of Easter! Praise and thanks to our God and Savior, we have a new sister in the family today!!!
Please keep praying for our trip to America as we finalize plans and the time to leave is quickly approaching. Our schedule is as follows, so far...
April 16 - 21 Phoenix, AZ area
* Friday, April 18 - Youth Rally, Desert Sky Baptist Church (Casa Grande)
* Saturday and Sunay, April 19-20 - Japanese International Baptist Church (Tempe)
April 21-24 Grand Canyon and travel to Denver, CO
April 25-May 4 Denver, CO Area
* Friday and Saturday, April 25-26 - Fort Collins Japanese Bible Fellowship (Fort Colins)
* Sunday April 27th - Sunday May 4, details still pending/ministry with CMA
May 5 - June 5 TEXAS!!!!!!!!
Lots of details still pending, OPEN DATES AVAILABLE
* Sunday, May 11 - Asian-American Church Houston
* Sunday, May 25 - New Home Baptist Church
June 5 - 9 Boston, MA
* Boston Japanese Christian Church
June 9 - 15 Palm Coast, Florida
Please don't hesitate to contact us about our trip if we will be near you!
Many blessings and thank you for your prayers!
The Ayatsuka's
I have awesome news! In May of last year we posted this newsletter. In that post I asked you all to pray for a woman whom I'd met at a concert and had a long conversation with about God! I am so happy to let you know today, this woman has accepted Christ as her Savior and will follow the Lord in baptism soon!!! I never stop being amazed at how the Lord changes hearts and lives! This was great news to receive at the beginning of this week leading up to the celebration of Easter! Praise and thanks to our God and Savior, we have a new sister in the family today!!!
Please keep praying for our trip to America as we finalize plans and the time to leave is quickly approaching. Our schedule is as follows, so far...
April 16 - 21 Phoenix, AZ area
* Friday, April 18 - Youth Rally, Desert Sky Baptist Church (Casa Grande)
* Saturday and Sunay, April 19-20 - Japanese International Baptist Church (Tempe)
April 21-24 Grand Canyon and travel to Denver, CO
April 25-May 4 Denver, CO Area
* Friday and Saturday, April 25-26 - Fort Collins Japanese Bible Fellowship (Fort Colins)
* Sunday April 27th - Sunday May 4, details still pending/ministry with CMA
May 5 - June 5 TEXAS!!!!!!!!
Lots of details still pending, OPEN DATES AVAILABLE
* Sunday, May 11 - Asian-American Church Houston
* Sunday, May 25 - New Home Baptist Church
June 5 - 9 Boston, MA
* Boston Japanese Christian Church
June 9 - 15 Palm Coast, Florida
Please don't hesitate to contact us about our trip if we will be near you!
Many blessings and thank you for your prayers!
The Ayatsuka's
Thursday, March 13, 2008
English Circle...
One of the ministries that I do is called English Circle. It started with myself and another Christian mom also raising her children in English. We wanted some English time for our kids, kind of like Sunday School where they could get some Bible learning and fun play time in. We told friends about it and we've been meeting for more than a year. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month. Sometimes it is just our two little families and sometimes it is a LOT more, like last month when we had like 15 kids with Moms and a few Dads! It was a mad house, but so much fun. Enjoy the pictures.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Newsletter February 9, 2008
We are going through a cold spell here! I realize some of you in the states are as well. I pray this newsletter finds you all safe and well, and warm and cozy (if you're in a cold place)!
We are doing well, and ministry is just awesome. Rocky is going into his 4th week of a 6 week series Bible study with two men in our church (one a believer and one almost believer, he's sooo close!). They are all really enjoying the study. Once the 6 weeks are up however, these guys' days off at work change and no longer coincide with each other. Will you pray that they can effectively and consistenly find some other time to spend together, maybe continue their Bible study or at least just get some fellowship in on a consistent basis. Continue to pray that A-san will come to a point where he is ready to commit his life to the Lord!
My (Marla's) small group of mother's and children that meet twice a month for English learning and Bible story is going well. We call it "English Circle" and this last meeting there were 9 kids there! One new mother who is so excited about the group and asked if she could continue to come. Several of the mothers are not Christian and interested in the Bible. It is a challenge to fit any meaningful Bible teaching for the mother's into the program for the children. My friend Yukie, who is co-hosting the English Circle with me, and I are trying to figure out how to better get these Moms exposed to the Bible. Would you pray that we would have wisdom on how to reach out to them.
Also please lift our church up in prayer. We were moving towards calling a Japanese pastor but the situation did not work out as planned. Pray for unity in the church, guidance for the leadership council and our missionary and especially for planning the year to come as many things need to/have to change for us to move forward as a church!
Thanks so much for your prayers and support. We will be stateside from around April 17th to mid-June. Our tentative schedule is as follows...
April 17-21 Phoenix, AZ
April 22-23 see the Grand Canyon/drive to Colorado
April 24 - 27th Boulder, CO area
including April 26th 10:30-12:00 Ft. Collins Japanese Bible Fellowship www.fjbf.org
April 27th - May 5 Littleton, CO with CMA dance ministry CMA website
May 5 - June 4th ALL over TEXAS - details coming soon
June 5- 9 Boston, MA Boston Japanese Christian Church
June 9 -??? Florida
If we could see you along the way, or if you'd like us to minister in your church, please don't be shy! Leave us a comment or send us an email!
Many blessings,
Marla, Rocky and Hana
We are doing well, and ministry is just awesome. Rocky is going into his 4th week of a 6 week series Bible study with two men in our church (one a believer and one almost believer, he's sooo close!). They are all really enjoying the study. Once the 6 weeks are up however, these guys' days off at work change and no longer coincide with each other. Will you pray that they can effectively and consistenly find some other time to spend together, maybe continue their Bible study or at least just get some fellowship in on a consistent basis. Continue to pray that A-san will come to a point where he is ready to commit his life to the Lord!
My (Marla's) small group of mother's and children that meet twice a month for English learning and Bible story is going well. We call it "English Circle" and this last meeting there were 9 kids there! One new mother who is so excited about the group and asked if she could continue to come. Several of the mothers are not Christian and interested in the Bible. It is a challenge to fit any meaningful Bible teaching for the mother's into the program for the children. My friend Yukie, who is co-hosting the English Circle with me, and I are trying to figure out how to better get these Moms exposed to the Bible. Would you pray that we would have wisdom on how to reach out to them.
Also please lift our church up in prayer. We were moving towards calling a Japanese pastor but the situation did not work out as planned. Pray for unity in the church, guidance for the leadership council and our missionary and especially for planning the year to come as many things need to/have to change for us to move forward as a church!
Thanks so much for your prayers and support. We will be stateside from around April 17th to mid-June. Our tentative schedule is as follows...
April 17-21 Phoenix, AZ
April 22-23 see the Grand Canyon/drive to Colorado
April 24 - 27th Boulder, CO area
including April 26th 10:30-12:00 Ft. Collins Japanese Bible Fellowship www.fjbf.org
April 27th - May 5 Littleton, CO with CMA dance ministry CMA website
May 5 - June 4th ALL over TEXAS - details coming soon
June 5- 9 Boston, MA Boston Japanese Christian Church
June 9 -??? Florida
If we could see you along the way, or if you'd like us to minister in your church, please don't be shy! Leave us a comment or send us an email!
Many blessings,
Marla, Rocky and Hana
Monday, January 28, 2008
Newsletter January 28, 2008
I just wanted to post a quick newsletter about our Sunday.
We held our monthly bilingual worship event known as Afureru! Earlier this month Ken, a former staff member died in an accident and we took this chance to remember him AND talk about death and eternal life. It was a different atmosphere from the normal upbeat and enthusiastic Afureru! meeting but it was powerful. Many of his friends were in attendance, several of them unbelievers (so far!). Please pray that what they heard about the hope of eternal life in Christ last night takes root in their hearts! Below is a simple slide show we put together in remembrance of him. There are some titles between pictures and I'll type their meaning in English below the video.
Thanks for reading and praying with us. Please don't forget about our trip to the states in April/May. We'd love to see you and share with your church/fellowship group so be in contact with us if you are interested.
Many thanks and blessings from Japan,
The Ayatsuka's
the ocean
life
and Jesus
you loved with all your heart.
that faithfulness
big smile
cute and funny character
you were overflowing with Jesus.
Jesus said "I am the the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die but have eternal life."
Ken-chan, until we meet again...
We held our monthly bilingual worship event known as Afureru! Earlier this month Ken, a former staff member died in an accident and we took this chance to remember him AND talk about death and eternal life. It was a different atmosphere from the normal upbeat and enthusiastic Afureru! meeting but it was powerful. Many of his friends were in attendance, several of them unbelievers (so far!). Please pray that what they heard about the hope of eternal life in Christ last night takes root in their hearts! Below is a simple slide show we put together in remembrance of him. There are some titles between pictures and I'll type their meaning in English below the video.
Thanks for reading and praying with us. Please don't forget about our trip to the states in April/May. We'd love to see you and share with your church/fellowship group so be in contact with us if you are interested.
Many thanks and blessings from Japan,
The Ayatsuka's
the ocean
life
and Jesus
you loved with all your heart.
that faithfulness
big smile
cute and funny character
you were overflowing with Jesus.
Jesus said "I am the the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die but have eternal life."
Ken-chan, until we meet again...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Japanese foods...
I thought some of you might enjoy it if I shared some of the foods we eat here. There are a lot of neat food items in the winter. Especially at New Years. This New Years we were invited to a mochitsuki (mochi pounding) event at one of the kindergartens where I teach English. I thought I'd share that with ya.
Mochi (moe-ch-ey) is a certain kind of rice that when kneeded or pounded becomes a dough. It is traditional eaten at new years time. You can read more about mochi at Wikipedia here.
Rocky (right) joined two other men in the pounding. They use huge wooden hammers and the mochi is in a large marble bowl. It is best to keep a rhythm going and everyone pound at the right time to avoid hitting each other. Sometimes a fourth man is a part of the team and he reaches in to fold the mochi over at his turn. It takes a brave man to do that part, and he better be quick!
This is my plate of mochi! My favorite is the one wrapped in seaweed on the top right and the one in the middle which is covered in soy bean powder. What you see on the plate are as follows (starting from the top left) mochi covered in shredded daikon (a large radish), dipped in soy sauce and wrapped in seaweed, covered in ground black sesame seeds, mixed with natto beans and in the middle is the soy bean powder. I could NOT eat the ones mixed with nato beans. I am still not able to enjoy natto beans, which are beans that have been "aged" or spoiled. They smell terrible and feel even worse in your mouth. The Japanese insist they are good for you? But anything that is grose or doesn't taste good here is always "good for you"! Read about natto here.
And here is a sweet bonus picture of Hana enjoying her mochi. It is REALLY stretchy huh!?
Mochi (moe-ch-ey) is a certain kind of rice that when kneeded or pounded becomes a dough. It is traditional eaten at new years time. You can read more about mochi at Wikipedia here.
Rocky (right) joined two other men in the pounding. They use huge wooden hammers and the mochi is in a large marble bowl. It is best to keep a rhythm going and everyone pound at the right time to avoid hitting each other. Sometimes a fourth man is a part of the team and he reaches in to fold the mochi over at his turn. It takes a brave man to do that part, and he better be quick!
This is my plate of mochi! My favorite is the one wrapped in seaweed on the top right and the one in the middle which is covered in soy bean powder. What you see on the plate are as follows (starting from the top left) mochi covered in shredded daikon (a large radish), dipped in soy sauce and wrapped in seaweed, covered in ground black sesame seeds, mixed with natto beans and in the middle is the soy bean powder. I could NOT eat the ones mixed with nato beans. I am still not able to enjoy natto beans, which are beans that have been "aged" or spoiled. They smell terrible and feel even worse in your mouth. The Japanese insist they are good for you? But anything that is grose or doesn't taste good here is always "good for you"! Read about natto here.
And here is a sweet bonus picture of Hana enjoying her mochi. It is REALLY stretchy huh!?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Newsletter January 20, 2008
Happy New Year! (a little late) I did not realize how long it had been since I updated with a newsletter. I hope you all are having an awesome New Year. We are busy in the New Year and excited about all that God is doing already.
2008 began with some quality family time. Rocky's brother and family came to visit from Osaka. We enjoyed several days together and the little cousins thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. As always please pray for our sister-in-law and nephews as they do not know the Lord yet. They attend church weekly with Rocky's brother!
Unfortunately just after the in-laws left we were shocked with the news that a very close friend and brother-in-Christ went home to be with the Lord. Our precious friend Ken, who was very active on staff with our Afureru! ministry for many years was killed in a scuba diving accident at his job. We will miss him dearly. His funeral was a bold testimony of how much he LOVED his Lord Jesus and we believe the Lord will do a great work through his death. As a result, this months Afureru will include a short memorial of Ken, and then we will look at what the Bible has to say about death and eternal life. Pray that Afureru! (January 27th) this month will be an extended testimony of Ken's faith and most of all Glorify our Lord!!!
We are seeing God do so much work in the lives of men, as an answer to YOUR prayers as we have asked you to pray for that many times! We now have several Christian families in our church and one husband of a believer member in regular attendance. He will start a Bible study with our missonary church planter soon. Also, Rocky begins a Bible study this week with the co-worker of one man in our church. The three of them will meet weekly for the next 6 weeks to study Bible basics and how to become a Christian. Would you please pray for N-san, that the Word of God would be clear to him and he would come to faith as a result of this Bible study!
We are planning our trip back to the states in late Spring. We will possibly be in Arizona mid-April, for sure going to Colorado end of April, spending the month of May in Texas, and possibly ending our trip in Florida the first week of June! If you are in any of these areas (or would like us to come to YOUR area) and want us to visit your church or would just like to see us, PLEASE let us know as soon as possible. We are looking for churche and individuals who want to support Aroma Ministries financially and through prayer! If your church loves missions, PLEASE we'd love to share our minsitry with you. If we haven't seen you in a while, WE'D love to meet and get caught up! Please be in touch! Email marla@aromaministries.org or leave a response here on the blog!
We'd love to hear from each of you and we want to thank you for your constant love, prayers and support! Many blessings on you in 2008!
Some pictures of recent ministry for you to enjoy...
A concert in December where Hana joined us onstage for the encore (but she wouldn't sing!)
Rocky playing at the local train station with another pastor as an evangelical outreach. They hand out CD's and tracts to those who stop and listen.
The Ayatsuka Family headed out for a day of fun at the Aquarium
English Circle
Saturday English and Bible time
We studied how God provided manna for his people this week. So the children made their own "manna" for lunch. It was really pigs in a blanket, not really a kosher meal, but it works to get the point across to 3 year olds.
making manna
going into the oven
reading the Bible story
YUM! dig in!
2008 began with some quality family time. Rocky's brother and family came to visit from Osaka. We enjoyed several days together and the little cousins thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. As always please pray for our sister-in-law and nephews as they do not know the Lord yet. They attend church weekly with Rocky's brother!
Unfortunately just after the in-laws left we were shocked with the news that a very close friend and brother-in-Christ went home to be with the Lord. Our precious friend Ken, who was very active on staff with our Afureru! ministry for many years was killed in a scuba diving accident at his job. We will miss him dearly. His funeral was a bold testimony of how much he LOVED his Lord Jesus and we believe the Lord will do a great work through his death. As a result, this months Afureru will include a short memorial of Ken, and then we will look at what the Bible has to say about death and eternal life. Pray that Afureru! (January 27th) this month will be an extended testimony of Ken's faith and most of all Glorify our Lord!!!
We are seeing God do so much work in the lives of men, as an answer to YOUR prayers as we have asked you to pray for that many times! We now have several Christian families in our church and one husband of a believer member in regular attendance. He will start a Bible study with our missonary church planter soon. Also, Rocky begins a Bible study this week with the co-worker of one man in our church. The three of them will meet weekly for the next 6 weeks to study Bible basics and how to become a Christian. Would you please pray for N-san, that the Word of God would be clear to him and he would come to faith as a result of this Bible study!
We are planning our trip back to the states in late Spring. We will possibly be in Arizona mid-April, for sure going to Colorado end of April, spending the month of May in Texas, and possibly ending our trip in Florida the first week of June! If you are in any of these areas (or would like us to come to YOUR area) and want us to visit your church or would just like to see us, PLEASE let us know as soon as possible. We are looking for churche and individuals who want to support Aroma Ministries financially and through prayer! If your church loves missions, PLEASE we'd love to share our minsitry with you. If we haven't seen you in a while, WE'D love to meet and get caught up! Please be in touch! Email marla@aromaministries.org or leave a response here on the blog!
We'd love to hear from each of you and we want to thank you for your constant love, prayers and support! Many blessings on you in 2008!
Some pictures of recent ministry for you to enjoy...
A concert in December where Hana joined us onstage for the encore (but she wouldn't sing!)
Rocky playing at the local train station with another pastor as an evangelical outreach. They hand out CD's and tracts to those who stop and listen.
The Ayatsuka Family headed out for a day of fun at the Aquarium
English Circle
Saturday English and Bible time
We studied how God provided manna for his people this week. So the children made their own "manna" for lunch. It was really pigs in a blanket, not really a kosher meal, but it works to get the point across to 3 year olds.
making manna
going into the oven
reading the Bible story
YUM! dig in!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Random pics...
When I was a little girl my Mommy used to wash my hair this way every once in a while. I LOVED it. I don't know why but there was something so sweet and special about it. While we were gone it was easier to wash her hair like this instead of getting in the shower where it was really COLD! She loved it too, and was so happy when I would do this. I loved doing it for her too!!!
SNOW!!!!!
Her eyes looked so sweet when she was eating her ice cream. I love this pic!
SNOW!!!!!
Her eyes looked so sweet when she was eating her ice cream. I love this pic!
Newsletter December 7, 2007
Christmas Christmas Christmas!
Christmas REALLY snuck up on us this year. We did some Christmas concerts over the last week and it doesn't really seem real that it is ALREADY that time of year again. It isn't that cold yet this year, and it just seems like summer was over yesterday. But what a blessing the season has been so far!
I am so thankful for a Christmas party we were able to have with my Bible study ladies from Shionzan kindergarten. Everyone brought something to eat, and we had a great time singing, discussing the story of Mary getting news of Jesus from the Angel Gabriel, and EATING! There is nothing like sharing food to draw a group together for fun and fellowship. Please keep praying for these ladies, they discover something about the Bible and God at each Bible study. And the group is growing! We had 10 in attendance for the Christmas party, when we started the year with just two ladies!!!
We will be having our Kitakyushu Community Christmas worship this coming Sunday! Next week we will do a concert for a Christian hospital facility. Next weekend we will travel a few hours by bullet train to the Okayama area for a Christmas concert, and then it is back home to do several Christmas events in our own church. Please pray that all of these events will be used in a huge way by God so that many Japanese would realize the true meaning of Christmas!
Also praise the Lord with us for his protection during our travels and his incredible provision for us. On our last trip we accidentally left a bag on a train, and it had valuables in it that were important. We were able to get the bag retrieved by a train employee before it was discovered by anyone else and all our belongings were returned to us safely! Thank you LORD! Please continue to pray for safety as we travel some more over the next weeks.
Below are some pictures from our last big trip to Aomori prefecture...
Our friends we met in New Zealand years ago who were the connection that brought us to Aomori! It was so great to see them again!
HALF of the audience at one of our concerts!
The cafe/bookstore attached to the church.
Hana's little buddies! These guys were great entertainment for her all week (or was it the other way around???)
Christmas REALLY snuck up on us this year. We did some Christmas concerts over the last week and it doesn't really seem real that it is ALREADY that time of year again. It isn't that cold yet this year, and it just seems like summer was over yesterday. But what a blessing the season has been so far!
I am so thankful for a Christmas party we were able to have with my Bible study ladies from Shionzan kindergarten. Everyone brought something to eat, and we had a great time singing, discussing the story of Mary getting news of Jesus from the Angel Gabriel, and EATING! There is nothing like sharing food to draw a group together for fun and fellowship. Please keep praying for these ladies, they discover something about the Bible and God at each Bible study. And the group is growing! We had 10 in attendance for the Christmas party, when we started the year with just two ladies!!!
We will be having our Kitakyushu Community Christmas worship this coming Sunday! Next week we will do a concert for a Christian hospital facility. Next weekend we will travel a few hours by bullet train to the Okayama area for a Christmas concert, and then it is back home to do several Christmas events in our own church. Please pray that all of these events will be used in a huge way by God so that many Japanese would realize the true meaning of Christmas!
Also praise the Lord with us for his protection during our travels and his incredible provision for us. On our last trip we accidentally left a bag on a train, and it had valuables in it that were important. We were able to get the bag retrieved by a train employee before it was discovered by anyone else and all our belongings were returned to us safely! Thank you LORD! Please continue to pray for safety as we travel some more over the next weeks.
Below are some pictures from our last big trip to Aomori prefecture...
Our friends we met in New Zealand years ago who were the connection that brought us to Aomori! It was so great to see them again!
HALF of the audience at one of our concerts!
The cafe/bookstore attached to the church.
Hana's little buddies! These guys were great entertainment for her all week (or was it the other way around???)
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