“In Japan, the Christian population is less than 1%.  That 1% includes non-Christian organizations such as the Unification Church. It is also said that only 0.1% of the population go to church every Sunday. Many churches are aging, with most members over 70 years old.  There are very few young people or children.

In Japan, there are Bible studies hosted by pastors. But there seem to be few churches that offer discipleship training or small group activities.

Even though we study the Bible, I think that there are few Christians who trust the work of the Holy Spirit and live their lives by entrusting themselves to the Holy Spirit in their actual lives.

Head knowledge alone does not lead to a truly joyful way of life, so many people end up not coming to church even if they are saved. 

I think LUV is a very necessary discipleship study for Japan.

I’ve started using zoom a lot during the coronavirus pandemic.  I am grateful that Rochelle, who lived in Japan as a missionary for many years but whom I had not seen since she returned to the United States, invited me to the LUV Discipleship Journey.  I decided to join even though I was busy.

At first, I just joined the study. But the Lord opened doors one after another. Translation to Japanese was needed. I helped as an editor and the Japanese Butterfly Story was printed, and Workbook 1 is also now in the final stages of proofing.

Then Liz and Cathi came to Japan on their way back from Vietnam and held a LUV seminar for 15 women. Pastors’ wives, missionaries, and believers participated in it. The next day Liz led me in personal prayer, which helped me let go of the hurt that I had been having a hard time letting go of and move forward. 

After I prayed forgiving, and blessing my enemy, I could feel his wounds were very deep.  Before, even though I knew that in my head, I didn’t really understand his feelings. I felt sorry for him because he had deep wounds from the environment, he grew up in that caused him to act like that.

My prayer request is to start a new small group in Japan. There are 3 women who would like to join the small group, but it has not started because they are having trouble finding a mutually convenient date. Please pray for us.”

Sachiko