2024 Year End Update

As I sit here in a Starbucks recalling all that God has done for me this year, I can not help but smile. Certainly this year has been full of challenges, but with those challenges there has also been some really sweet moments to enjoy. The kind of moments that really remind you that wherever God leads you, He will bless your willingness to obey and make you sufficient for all things.

LANGUAGE STUDY

For anyone that knows me or has been following me, they will know that language learning has been my number one challenge since becoming a missionary. It seems like almost every aspect of the language touches on a weakness that I never knew I had. 

Even though I spend most of my energy studying it, I often struggle with simple conversations which has led to countless discouragements over this past year. This in turn has led to an increase of stress and anxiety as I try to navigate ministry and life in a language I don't fully grasp yet. Simple things can really start to feel overwhelming when you can’t understand or communicate well. I often find myself wanting to run away and hide when I am in situations like that, and sometimes I do! 

Though with all this being said, nothing will change my determination to do the best I can with whatever language ability God gives me. Facing various challenges in the Lord is a great way to grow our faith, and I do not plan to let those opportunities pass me by. I just wanted to share some of these honest struggles so that the reader can better understand what my challenges are, and have a greater capacity to rejoice with me in what we accomplished this year.

So, with that being said, let’s take a look at how the year ended: 

FRIDAY TERRACE

Over the past year this ministry has continued to grow, and with the popularity of Mayu’s testimony video (which is quickly approaching 100k views on YouTube) we have had many Christian’s from all over the world contact us to visit Friday Terrace. What a blessing to know that Christians from all over the world pray and support this ministry.  

The goal of Friday Terrace is to give Christians an opportunity to build relationships with the local community so that we can better communicate the gospel. We want Christ to shine through us in such a way that people see Him in us and desire to know Him as well. Our aim is to reach the whole family, since this is the fabric of any society we live in. Many of these families have invited us into their homes and schools, and we cherish the relationships we built with them. It is through those relationships that we can more personally and clearly share the gospel message.

BIRTHDAY

Each year for my birthday I like to treat my friends to a meal. Since my birthday was on a Friday this year, I planned a worship and pizza night right after Friday Terrace, hoping that a lot of the families would stay and experience that. I planned to buy pizza for everyone and have my friends come to lead us in worship. To my surprise, most of the families stayed! While they were eating I prepared a short message about what it means to be a christian, and mustard up all my mental capacity to deliver it.

Though my message was simple, I wanted to share it from my heart, and it was important for me to speak directly to my friends in Japanese. Often when I speak to people like this I don’t want to be translated, I want them to hear my own voice speaking to them, it’s just a conviction I have. Even though these kinds of public speaking situations are stressful for me, God gave me peace as I spoke and I felt the words just flow out!

CHRISTMAS

Speaking of more public speaking, each year we like to host a large Christmas Party for our Friday Terrace community. We prepare some small presents for the kids, fun games for both the kids/adults, and popular Christmas songs for the kids to sing. During this event we also give a short message on the reason Christians celebrate Christmas, and we end the evening by singing traditional Christmas hymns with them by candlelight.

My job this year was to plan the event and host it all in Japanese, which makes it one of the most stressful events of the year for me. It is difficult enough to command the attention in English of 20+ kids who are running amuck with gleeful anticipation of Christmas games and gifts, so doing it in Japanese adds yet another layer of complexity for me. However, I did it! Not perfectly of course, but sufficiently.

Needless to say my voice was completely shot and my mind was absolute mush after the event, but everything went according to plan. This year Levi gave the Christmas message and all the kids/adults listened. He has a real gift in being able to take complicated topics and explaining them in such a way that even children can understand them.

THEY'RE PREGNANT!

Did you guys know that Mayu and Levi are expecting a baby any day now? In fact, by the time you are reading this they might have already given birth. Obviously, this life change is going to have some impact on our ministry, and we ask for your prayers as we navigate this exciting adventure as a team. 

町会 (CHOU-KAI)

Levi and I continue to volunteer in our neighborhood 町会 (cho-u-kai) by spending our Tuesday mornings with our elderly friends pulling weeds and planting flowers. Most of them do not speak English at all, so it is always a challenge trying to understand what my job is for the day. Fortunately for me, I have Levi there to help me understand and communicate better. 

This fall Levi and I participated in our neighborhood 収穫祭 (shuu-ka-ku-sai), which is a harvest festival. The park that we maintain each week produces persimmons and oranges, so each fall we pick the fruits and give them away to the local community during this event.

Our 町会 (chou-kai) continues to trust us with various responsibilities like planning kids games, photography, etc. during these local events. Participating in these festivals helps us connect with our community and meet new people. Most of our Japanese neighbors have a slight curiosity as to why we are here, so being there during these events really helps us to engage and build relationships with them. 

BIBLE STUDY

Probably one of the most challenging things I frequently do is lead a bible study in Japanese, and to do it in a way where I am understandable and engaging. 

In Japan, we don't assume people have a basic understanding of Christian concepts, so this means I often have to start from the beginning when I teach. This requires asking a lot of questions to gauge my audiences understanding. Though I may be able to ask the right questions, I am nowhere near being able to understand their answers. Fortunately for me I am blessed with a team of 3 friends who are practically fluent in Japanese and English, so I often lean on them for help.

However, with all these challenges before me, would you believe it if I said I have already led a few bible studies in Japanese? Granted, I used a lot of props and hand gestures but guess what? Everyone understood me! 

These are just baby steps but they are much needed baby steps if I want to improve. 

田園つくし野福音教会

TSUKUSHINO CHURCH

This church was formerly known as Nagatsuta Minami Christ Church and recently moved. The pastor of this church was a friend of mine from Chicago, so I have offered to help him teach english classes while also participating in their young adult events. This month I renewed my commitment to help them through 2025. As long as I have the bandwidth, I want to continue assisting this church.

原町教会

HARAMACHI CHURCH

Levi, Mayu, and I have spent the last 6 months building a relationship with this church that is located in our neighborhood. My intentions are to partner with them in sharing the gospel to our community. Now that I have some free time I plan to discuss some things with the pastor. I want to better understand their vision for this community, and to determine where we fit in all that. 

私の日本の友人たちへ、とくに『フライデーテラス』の皆さんへ

私を友達として受け入れてくださり、大切な生活やご家庭、学校に迎え入れてくださってありがとうございます。皆さんの存在は私にとってかけがえのない祝福であり、その友情を心から大切に思っています。皆さんのことをいつもお祈りしています。

私の人生を通じて、皆さんが愛に満ちた神様を知ることができるようになることを心から願っています。その神様は皆さんを愛し、救うためにご自身の一人息子を与えてくださいました。皆さんの中には、多くの神々を信じる方や神を信じていない方もいらっしゃることを理解しています。それでも、皆さんに対する私の愛、そして神様の愛は変わることがありません。

私たちが伝えていることについて、少しでも考えていただけたら嬉しいです。そして、いつかそのことについて話したいと思ったときには、私たちはいつでも耳を傾ける準備ができています。その時まで、どうぞこれからもよろしくお願いします。🙂

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. With the arrival of Mayu and Levi’s baby, some of our ministry will naturally change as a result of this major life change. Please pray that God would direct our teams heart towards Him, give us ears to hear His will, and willing hearts to follow it. 

2. Praise God that my support continues to be sufficient. However, many people have let me know that this year will be the last year they will be supporting me. I anticipate a drop in support next year and I pray that God will lead me through that, whether that means returning to the States to raise support or to provide additional support through other means - either way I ask for your prayer. 

3. Please continue to pray for my language learning. I always feel the need to study because I constantly feel insufficient. Pray that God gives me the ability to communicate well, and in the times that I can not do that, the willingness to trust that He can still use my efforts. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

How many of you have ever thought to yourself: "Well, that didn't turn out the way I wanted it to?"

When I was a child, I had all these desires for my adult life. Maybe I would marry my childhood sweetheart, build a family with 2-3 kids, live in the suburbs of Chicago, strive towards a great career, make lots of money and needlessly spoil everyone. I certainly never planned for my marriage to fail, to be childless or even single at 44.

So, now what? What do I do with all those desires that I have had since childhood? Do I just ignore them and harbor a grudge towards God?

Of course not.

You see I do not believe God gave me these desires to go wasted, and I do not believe He was caught off guard either with how things turned out for me. He made Tim to be relational, to long for a family, fatherhood, and everything that comes with it — fully aware of how things would unfold.

At this point I can hear some of you thinking to yourself: "Wait a minute. Tim, are you saying God created you to long for good things that He would not fulfill in your life?

Well, yes and no. I think what I am going to say next may be hard for some to hear, but have we ever considered that sometimes God designs unmet desires to be used for His glory? Is the God that you believe in capable of satisfying the deep desires He has placed in your heart apart from the traditional means in which you had expected, hoped, or prayed for?

What I would like to suggest to you is that not only does God create those desires within your heart, but if you allow Him, He can work through those unmet desires to build His kingdom while simultaneously satisfying them through your obedience.

Single people longing for romance can still find relational contentment in godly friendships, within community, striving together towards common goals. Men and women who desire parenthood can still experience the joys of it, if ever so briefly, through investing their time pouring gospel truths into the lives of younger generations.

Unmet desires can lead us into fruitful ministry if we let go of our own expectation for how they must be satisfied, and embrace His leading through the open doors He provides.

Consider this simple thought experiment; which single person do you suspect will make a better preschool teacher? The one who desires their own family to teach and lead someday, or the one who wants nothing to do with kids. I think the answer is obvious, isn't it?

When God gives us good desires, He also gives us some precious promises on how He can meet those desires. Prior to coming to Japan I would often reflect on some of these promises, like the ones Jesus gave His disciples:

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:31-33

“Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children… - Mark 10:29-30

Now, I am not saying that we all need to find alternative means of satisfying the unmet desires in our heart. If your single and you want to get married, get married. If your married and want kids, have kids. These are good things to do. I am just trying to reason with those of you wrestling with unmet desires within your heart, and provoke you to consider how God can use them for His glory.

As for me, I have chosen this life and I will not put my hand to the plow and look back. God has used my desires to be a husband, father, family man etc. to make me useful for His kingdom, while simultaneously satisfying those deep desires with contentment through my obedience to His leading.

What a paradox this can seem like to the world. Having no family of my own, yet many family members. Having no kids, but blessed with many children. Having given up my life, but gaining it all the more...

Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalm 107: 8-9