Dear Friends,
Today marks day 5 in Tokyo. Pastor Kim, a missionary from Korea who came to this country 12 years ago, has pioneered six churches in Japan. I have been sharing twice a day on some of my favorite themes: learning to listen to the Lord, practical prophetic ministry, the dignity and authority of the believer, the song of the land and the heart of a transformed worshipper. I have been beyond blessed as many have been encouraged and strengthened by the Lord. I want to share two brief praise reports.
- Pastor Ono has been my able interpreter these last days. He even enthusiastically sings my spontaneous songs of the Lord in Japanese! He and his wife pastor a church in a neighboring city and his grown children are all working with him. His wife has been struggling for many years with a growing hopelessness. Japan has been a very difficult country to minister in, and is in deep need of a divine supernatural God encounter. Pastors and their families often face great discouragement. Tuesday afternoon as I shared about we are God's treasure and how He has the utmost confidence in those He has called, she experience a tangible transformation in her spirit. And then it became evident on her face! In fact, yesterday afternoon she kept an appointment with a doctor who had been monitoring her physical and spiritual health and had expressed concern. He was so pleased at her progress. Later she shared with me: "Thank you for coming to Japan! I felt God touching in my heart and I am now filled with hope."
- Yesterday morning I prayed for Masanoa, a 30 year old young man who had never been to the previous meetings or to this church. He had heard about the meetings and was urged to come. I said, "You are a much love son of God... and he is calling you to be a part of his spiritual army... an army of transformed worshipers with integrity who will affect this country... leadership, honor, and authority are gifts that he is giving you... he is recruiting you to this Ministry and you belong to him." As I spoke these words, tears flowed down his face. Later at lunch, he was introduced to me as one of the youngest political leaders in Japanese contemporary history. He is a member of the Council of Japan (100 elected officials very much like the US Congress elected to govern the land) "Masanoa" is the Japanese word for honesty. I believe the Lord is using young man like Masanoa to bring integrity and honesty to governments and nations. I shared with him that I would encourage those connected with Pacificministries would be encouraged to pray for him.
Tomorrow we travel to Osaka for three days, then on to Okinawa and finally Singapore. Thank you for continuing to pray for safety, clarity in hearing, and favor with travel and connections.
It is an honor to be re-presenting Jesus and to encourage believers.
Darrell
