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Hiebert Newsletter March 2008 |
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Dear praying friend,
In the last few months a new family has begun attending our church. Mr. and Mrs. Maegawa are followers of Jesus. They have an autistic son and related to that they have struggled for some time to find a church that they felt at home in. During these weeks we have been praying for Mrs. Maegawa’s 82 year-old bedridden mother, Mrs. Nishiyama. About a week ago she began enquiring about the possibility of holding a funeral at our church. Last Thursday her mother’s condition worsened drastically.
This morning (Monday in Japan) the hospital staff gave the elderly lady only a day or two. So we are dropping all else to prepare for a wake and a funeral. Which means we need your prayers in earnest!
Mrs. Nishiyama came to know the Lord 12 years ago and enjoyed studying the Bible and serving Jesus after spending most of her life worshipping idols.
Wakes and funerals provide us as missionaries opportunities to share God’s love and comfort with people who rarely receive those at a typical Buddhist funeral. These times also allow us to share the Good News of Jesus in a powerful way. We urge you to pray that God will be honoured, the Gospel of Jesus will be heard and accepted, and that Holy Spirit, our Helper and Comforter will touch the life of each person who attends.
And, pray for us as we struggle to speak in appropriate and sensitive ways informally and formally. In a complicated language like Japanese, there are many expressions that are offensive at times of death. The likelihood of us making mistakes is high! Please pray that God’s Spirit will speak through us as never before and guard us from saying anything that might be insensitive or rude.
Japanese funerals are typically Buddhist funerals. They are very formal. Different from Christian funerals, they are usually void of expressions of thanks, praise or joy. Pray that God’s Spirit will comfort and up lift each person who attends.
Also pray for our church people who are doing all kinds of extra things to prepare. Ask the Lord to sustain them and bless their service.
Thanks for spending extra time in prayer for us these hours. And our TREK team arrives in less than 24 hours!
Thanking God for you!
Laurence and Leona Hiebert
Toyota City
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