Pete & Edi 2011
December 2011
Hello again
Christmas is getting near and we are hoping to deliver notices about the carol service to 3000 homes around the church. The carol service is our main outreach event of the year and is on Friday 23rd (a national holiday). Pastor Tanaka from a nearby church will be our speaker.
Thank you for praying for us this year.
Our prayer letter is attached. please click here
Happy Christmas.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
November 2011
Hello again from Japan. Thank you for remembering us.
1. On Saturday 22nd October John and I (Pete) went to Wakayama for the day, about 3 hours south of Osaka. We left home before 5:00 a.m. and got home just before midnight. In September a very big typhoon hit Wakayama prefecture, killing over 100 people and causing a lot of damage. We met up with volunteers from other churches and drove deep into the mountains to help with clearing up. It was remarkable to see how much rain had fallen and how high the river had come up, leaving tree trunks sticking out of the bottom of high bridges. There were big mudslides in places where whole sections of the sides of mountains had slid away. What with travelling time we only did four hours of actual work, clearing out the upstairs of a small parcel delivery depot. The river had come into the building, depositing mud over everything. There are other volunteers working in Wakayama and also many in the north-east, where there is still a lot of work to be done after the tsunami in March. There are Christian groups among them.
2. Mrs. Teramori was baptised on 25th September. Thanks to the Lord. She had been a "seeker" for 12 years! Please pray for her as she grows in faith.
3. We have three guest speakers here in Kaori Church this month, Jock Brunskill (from New Zealand) on 6th, Pastor Matsubara on the 13th, and Jangbaeg and Eunjeong Lim (missionaries from Korea) on the 20th. Please pray for their messages, and for Pete who is going to Ishiyama Church (as a 'swap' with Pastor Matsubara) on the 13th.
4. The 6th will also be a special meeting for the three year-old daughter of one of our members. In Japan there is a tradition of taking children to the temple for a special blessing at that age, with them dressed in kimonos for commemorative photographs. Her mother has asked us to do something special at church instead. Please pray for God's blessing on this day and that it will be a testimony to others.
5. We have two ladies' outreach meetings this month, a 'Raku Raku Kai' (led by the church members and intended for older ladies) on 9th November, and a 'Waku Waku Kai' (with Rita, one of the missionaries, coming)) on 29th November. Please pray for both of these to be useful in drawing people towards the Lord.
6. The Kaori Church ladies and the Kusatsu Church ladies are having a joint meeting on 15th November. Please pray that they will be an encouragement to each other to continue following God.
7. Please remember Edi as she does three English lessons with school students in Ono, and teaches English once a week in a primary school near Wani, also helping Andy and a KIU friend with their English twice a week. John has settled well at his new school.
Thank you for praying.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
6. The Kaori Church ladies and the Kusatsu Church ladies are having a joint meeting on 15th November. Please pray that they will be an encouragement to each other to continue following God.
7. Please remember Edi as she does three English lessons with school students in Ono, and teaches English once a week in a primary school near Wani, also helping Andy and a KIU friend with their English twice a week. John has settled well at his new school.
Thank you for praying.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
September 2011
Hello again. Thank you for remembering us
1. Thank you for praying for our time in the north-east. It was a unique experience, seeing the damage and the lack of people, and also a very long way to drive (around 12 hours actual driving time). We cleaned mud out of ditches and helped with a children's meeting in a local park.
2. We have moved to Kyotanabe. John has finished his first week at his new school and seems to be happy. Please pray for him as he continues to adjust.
3. Please pray for Mrs. Ogami's ministry at the service on 11th September and the beginners' Bible study on the 13th. She is a WEC missionary from one of our own churches here in Japan, now working in Mongolia.
4. Mrs Teramori is getting baptised on 25th September. Please pray for her, also for Mr. Sakurai, who asked for baptism but has been in hospital since July.
5. We have a Waku Waku Kai (ladies' outreach) on 27th September, going around Lake Biwa by train. Please pray for people to take part and for effective witness.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
August 2011
Hello again. Thank you for remembering us. Sorry for the long silence from us. Our other computer broke down, and I have just found out how to transfer contacts into the new one on this Yahoo account.
Our prayer points from the beginning of this month are below.
1. A short-term worker from Britain, Ewen Ebsworth, is with us 23rd July to 15th August. Please pray for his time in Japan to be blessed.
2. Our whole family is going to Miyagi prefecture in north-east Japan with Peter Chu (missionary from Hong Kong) and Ewen, 1st to 5th August, with a group called B-1 Tohoku Aid. Please pray for protection and for us to be able to do something really useful to help in the few days we are there. We will be the two drivers for the trip, expected to take about 12 hours. There will also be two Japanese ladies (who we don't know) in our van.
3. We are hoping to have two baptisms in the autumn. Mrs. Teramori has been a seeker right from when Kaori Church started in 1999. She recently asked to be baptised. The other person is Mr. Sakurai who has been coming to Kaori for several weeks but had been in another church in Kyoto before. However, he is currently in hospital in Kyoto. He has been receiving ongoing help there. Please pray for him.
4. We are moving house to Kyotanabe city, very close to the international school that Joanna and Andy go to. Please remember John who is moving to a new Japanese primary school. From September we will travel back to Kaori Church two or three times a week for work. Please pray as we adjust to this new arrangement.
5. Please pray for Pete, interpreting for Pastor Okumura at International Friendship Camp, 11th to 13th August.
Thank you for praying.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
July 2011
1. Thank you for praying for our work with WEC in Japan. On Sat. 4th June there is a special meeting for women from all of the WEC churches. Twenty-two people from Kaori Church (where we work) will be going. The main speaker will be Mrs. Yokota, whose daughter was abducted to North Korea many years ago and who later became a Christian. Please pray for the Lord's blessing on her message and for our folk (and everyone else, too) to be blessed through it.
2. We have one of our regular meetings with all the people in the church after the service on 26th June. This is a time for us to share information and for anyone to ask questions or start a discussion about anything in the church. Please pray for the Lord's leading on it.
3. The three men in the family (Peter, Andy and John) are now all going to the same football club. Please pray for our witness there.
4. We are hoping to be able to have a baptism service in July. Mrs. Teramori (our long-term "seeker") is thinking about it. Please keep praying for her clear salvation.
5. We are encouraged that there have been more people in the Kaori services lately. Please pray for non-Christians to be saved and for the church to grow bigger and stronger.
Thank you for praying.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
May 2011
Hello everyone. Thank you for praying for us and for Japan.
1. The WEC Japan field conference is 2nd to 6th May. Edi is in charge of the catering. Pete is preaching on 5th.
2. Please pray for God's anointing on all messages in the church as they are prepared and given.
3. Edi will begin teaching again at Komatsu primary school this month. Please pray for her teaching and her witness every week at the school.
4. Andy is settling in well to KIU and has joined the volleyball club for this term. It is a big change for him to do most of his study in English. Please pray for Andy, for Joanna as she helps him during the week, and for John, the only child at home during the week.
5. We are hoping that one or two people will ask to be baptised this year, and are hoping to have a baptism service in July. Please pray for Mrs. Teramori who has been a "seeker" from before the time Kaori church started in 1999.
6. We rejoice that Mrs. Shimoda is coming to Kaori. Pray for other mature Christians to join the church. Praise and pray for the spiritual growth of the people in the church.
7. Please pray for north-eastern Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. There are Christians working there in relief work.
Thank you.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
March 2011
Hello again. Thank you for remembering us.
1. Pete and Edi will be in Korea 2nd to 10th March to take part in a Leadership Development Seminar run by WEC. Please pray it will be a beneficial time for us, that we will learn a lot and be able to put what we learn into practice. John will go with us to Korea, Joanna and Andy will be looked after by friends and church people in Japan.
2. This month Joanna graduates from the middle school part of the international school and Andy finishes at our local primary school. From April they will both be studying at the international school (Kyoto International University Academy).
3. The annual "Retreat" for the pastors and missionaries of our church group takes place 30th to 31st march. Please pray for a good bonding time together.
4. Please pray for Pete, as a member (at least for now) of the WEC group of churches' leadership committee and for Edi as a member of the WEC missionary group leadership committee.
5. Four new workers are due to arrive in March. Please pray as we help them get started on Japanese study, along with the seven others already doing language study.
6. Edi's dad is recovering very well from his major accident in November. Through his accident it was discovered that he had the first stages of cancer. He had a successful operation at the end of February. Please pray for a complete recovery.
7. For the church annual business meeting in February we calculated the average Sunday attendance and were encouraged to realise that it was up on the previous year. Please pray for continued growth in numbers and in faith.
Thank you for praying.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy and John Wilson
Hello everyone.
Thank you for praying for us last year.
1. Thank you for praying for the Christmas events. The children did really well with their play at the Family Christmas on 12th December.
2. We were able to distribute 3,000 flyers for the Christmas candlelight service in the areas around the church and where we live. One 75 year-old lady came as a result.
3. We had around 50 people at the candlelight service on Christmas Eve, including people who come every year and those there for the first time. Please pray for our ongoing contact with these people.
4. Edi's dad came home from hospital two days before Christmas and is able to walk with two walking sticks. Please pray for his continued improvement.
Thank you for continuing to remember us.
In Christ.
Peter, Edi, Joanna, Andy & John Wilson