Japan 2002 Good News

JAPAN MINISTRY REPORT Volume XXXIX No. 3
Flying from Korea to Japan was not without a lot of effort. The brethren attempted to keep us in Korea. However, when I telephoned Japan to see if this was possible, I was told they needed us even more in Japan. They told us that in comparison to Korea, Japan is a great spiritual dessert and they needed to see God pour out of His Spirit. Traveling to Japan we first had to take a 3 hour van ride to the airport in Seoul, Korea, then we flew to Osaka, Japan’s airport, rushed to catch a bus to the seaport to take a high-speed ferryboat to the city of Sumoto on the island of Awaji. The seas were very rough
Tony and Marge Abram,, your missionaries in Japan!	We were met there by our Associate Evangelists Jim and Darla Snipe, along with Lynette Heimsoth, for whom we arranged a short stay mission of 3 months in Japan. She is still a teenager and has a call of God on her life. Her father is a pastor in Indiana and it is their church that has sent out over 4,000 packages to Africa on behalf of the requests that have been made to our ministry. We have received many requests from Africa for Bibles, tracts and other helps. Her church has been a blessing to our ministry. Marge and I, for years have tried to learn to be content in whatever state God puts us. We have learned to live in luxury one day and poverty the next day. We have slept in over 4,000 beds during the 39 years of missionary evangelism.
	Jim and Darla arranged a meeting at the best hotel on the island. The owners treated us to a complimentary best traditional suite and traditional meal. It had the most luxurious rooms and situation we have ever been in. I do not know the cost, but I am sure it would have cost over $1,000.00 per night if we had to pay for it. The owners are interested in the Gospel and Jim and Darla are trying to win them to Christ. The next day we moved into Jim and Darla’s home, where as most Japanese sleep, we too slept on the floor. Jim also arranged a breakfast meeting where I shared with missionaries and workers the promises of God. While we were praying for them, the Lord gave me a vision of a dry dessert when showers began to fall and the desert was changed to a field of beautiful wild flowers. The Lord spoke to me that many have planted the seed in Japan and like a desert in which the seeds of wild flowers can lay for years, when the rain falls, they grow, blossom and make more seeds, so also is Japan. Pray for the showers of blessings to fall and bring revival to this dry land. God seems to be sending us back to Japan, not only to help, but also to plant more seed. We believe a great revival is yet to take place in the country of Japan.
Having fellowship and Japanese food after service at the home of Jim and Darla Snipe.	Darla Snipe interprets Marge into Japanese!
Only a quarter of one percent of the population of Japan ever go to church and are considered Christians. Yet, during a recent poll, over 30 percent of the Japanese people polled believe that Jesus Christ is God. This tells me that there is much seed planted in the hearts of the Japanese people which needs to be harvested for the Kingdom of God. Please pray much for our future ministry in Japan and for the Japanese people. Our meetings at Sumoto Chapel were blessed of the Lord. We saw a number of Japanese come to Christ that Jim and Darla have been working with, planting and watering the seed. The Bible says: ‘One plants, another waters, but it is God that gives the increase.’	Tony Abram prays over baby, father and mother with the Aoki’s during this baby dedication!
Marge blesses the people with anointed singing in Japan!	That is exactly what happened in this instance. Darla Snipe interpreted for us and we thank God for the great improvement in her language skills. It was a joy to see Japanese people moved on by the Holy Spirit and weep. Our ministry took us from there to the Osaka area, where we again had wonderful ministry. God poured out His Spirit upon all the services. We celebrated the 17th anniversary of the local church and had a special Japanese dinner. Our tastes have changed so much since the first time we came to Japan. I remember that I had great difficulty eating some of the Japanese meals. However, now Japanese food is one of my favorite foods. We were able to minister to many people with both spiritual and physical needs. God stretched forth his hand to meet many needs. Aoki sensei and his wife Yumiko are dear friends of ours and have a wonderful work in the Osaka area.
They are both very good interpreters and have been a wonderful blessing to our ministry. They drove us back to Sumoto on the island of Awaji for our final ministry in Japan at this time. Thank you for the part you have in our ministry. You are helping us fulfill the calling of God on our lives. God bless you and yours is our daily prayer. I am inserting our Associate Evangelists testimony in this month’s Good News. Pray for them and others that work with our ministry world-wide.
Testimony of Jim and Darla Snipe: After graduating from high school in 1964, I left California to study at the University of Idaho with a dream to pursue a career in agriculture. Since I went to church often as a small child and occasionally as a youth, I thought I should find a church to attend while at university. I found a church and was soon baptized, confirmed and religious. However, there was no change in my life. The only difference was I went to church on Sunday. During my senior year of university, I met Darla and we were married the following summer in August of 1968.
Missionaries to Japan, our Associate Evangelists, Jim and Darla Snipe.	Lynette Heimsoth, a blessing to Jim and Darla with her ministry
One day while washing clothes at a local coin laundry, I met three young people. They asked me if I knew Jesus. I had never been asked that question before. I could not answer their question so I suggested they see my wife. They were soon at our home talking to her about Jesus. She was crying before they left. Thus, she became a Christian and people soon began to notice a change in her. She began to pray for me to become a Christian. My wife and two sons began attending church. However, her eyesight soon became so bad that she was no longer able to drive to church. I was soon driving the family to church. On Palm Sunday, 1981, I surprised my wife by going up with her to the front of the church to receive communion. While I was on my knees at the altar, I asked Jesus to forgive my sins and change my life. God had given me a new love for my wife and sons. My conversion had a big influence on our family life.
Japanese family we visited that Jim and Darla are winning to Christ in Japan.	Workers together with Christ., Jim, Darla, Marge and Tony in Awaji, Japan.
Within a few months after I became a Christian, both of our sons came to Jesus. In April of 1986, my wife and I went to Japan for the first time. As I looked out over Tokyo, I started thinking about the fact that 99 percent of the people in Japan do not believe in Jesus Christ and have any hope of eternal life. I began to weep as God put a burden on my heart for the nation of Japan. My wife was soon weeping. In our second trip to Japan in January 1987, God called us to be missionaries in Japan, I knew that we would be leaving family, friends, businesses, etc. We sold everything and on July 30, 1989, with six suitcases, we departed from Canada for Osaka, Japan. We did not know where we would be working as missionaries, but believed it would be in the Osaka area. We have worked as missionaries at The Good Samaritan Church since September of 1989. In 1991, Tony F. Abram of The World-wide Ministry of Abundant Life Crusades, asked us to be their representatives and Associate Evangelists in Japan. It has been a great joy to work with them from time to time and help plan their ministry in Japan. We believe that God has confirmed our call to Japan many times since we became missionaries. We are called by God to plant branch churches. Pray for us that we may point many to Christ. Pray much for Tony and Marge Abram. God bless you and yours. Continue reading Japan 3a