Dear Friends,

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry we are involved with here in Japan.We are a little late in getting this letter out to you.We were hoping that we would have our address in the U.S. by now, so that we could share that, but we don't, so we can't.We are leaving Japan in about one month, and we trust the Lord will provide a home in Visalia, California by then.We are planning to live in Visalia, because both my brother and sister and their families are there.We are packing up the computer and a few other things to ship to the U.S. in about 2 weeks, so this will be our last letter till about the beginning of July.Pray for our safe journey, and pray for us as we are trying to get things together for our trip back.

Pray also for our children.We have been living in Japan for 8 years now, Andrew, our youngest, 7 years old, was born here and has never lived in the U.S.Alisen, 9, was 1 when we moved here, and Ami, 13, was 5.It will be like a new country to the 2 youngest.

We want to share one wonderful story with you.This is a point of praise.Recently the Mead Social Center in Osaka, began building an additional facility in that city.The Mead Center has a variety of programs that it carries out in its ministry in the city of Osaka.In the past it was a women's school. Now it is a vocational college for training home health care workers for the elderly and for retraining business people who have been laid off because of company restructuring.There is a kindergarten and daycare center for children and a day center for caring for elderly, also serving meals to elderly people in the neighborhood.Because it has been so well run over the years, thanks in a large part to people like Miss Okamoto the Center's Director, and because it has kept up with the changing needs of society, the City of Osaka (pop. 2.9 million) is helping with this new facility.The city has helped in securing a wonderful piece of property to build this new facility.The new center will be both a retirement home, and provide day service for elderly people in that neighborhood.

At Nishi Okamoto Church we are especially glad for several reasons.First the Mead Center does have a connection with the Japan Baptist Union (it is named for a former American Baptist missionary), and it is only about 30 minutes by train from us.Also the director of the kindergarten, Miss Iwasa, is a member of the Nishi Okamoto Church.Finally, starting in April, one of our members, Mrs. Toyama, has returned to school and is a student at the Mead Center preparing to become a home health care provider for elderly.We rejoice that the love of Jesus Christ is being shared in a new part of the city of Osaka, with the elderly.Japan is an aging society, and we rejoice that the church is a part of meeting the needs of this society.

Thanks again for your prayers, and we will be in contact again from the U.S. during out one-year home assignment.

Grace and Peace,

John and Tomoko Armagost