We were anxious to meet the Amanos, whom we had heard much about from Roberta. They were gracious enough to let us come and visit and look at their bathroom!! (Some of the OGHS funds were used to rebuild it last year.)

 

It was around 4PM when we met Rev. Amano at the church and spent a little time talking. We found out that he and his wife were from Yokohama and that we have many mutual friends!! He studied at the Japan Baptist Union (JBU) seminary with my co-worker and Bible teacher at Soshin School. He knew almost all the missionaries that were our contemporaries! What fun to meet them and share a bit. It was only one year ago they were appointed to serve at Nishikiori Church. This is their first pastorate. They were led to the Lord through the DeRolf’s ministry in Yokohama, many years ago.

 

The most surprising thing we learned about them is that they prefer Tome, the area in Tohoku where the church is located, to their hometown, Yokohama! They said they had been back to Yokohama 4 times in the past year. Each time, when it was time for them to leave, they were happy to be going back to Tohoku! What a gift from God to love their new town and community!

 

Living in Tome is totally different from living in the big city! Living at the church is completely different from living in a house in Yokohama!! In the winter, it is like camping indoors. Praise God that He gave them such delight in His creation, the stars they can see, the open spaces, fresh air and animals.

 

I was most interested in seeing the bathroom in the parsonage (which is connected to the church). I remember vividly the condition of the bathroom, its old and cracked tiles. With a little embarrassment, I asked if we could look at the new bathroom. What we saw was a very modern bathroom!! And it had the washing machine next to it so they could take advantage of using the hot bath water to do their laundry! I want that!

 

They are very appreciative of the new bath facility. When they found out there was money available to rebuild the bath, they almost cried, they were so happy! Mrs. Amano apparently felt the bath was fancy but was assured by others that it is just regular. Compared with the old one, it is extremely nice, but really, it is just a regular, not fancy bath. Having a functional bath facility has contributed to their well-being. With the former bath, they suffered with wind whistling through the cracked walls, water leaking through the cracks in the floor and going outside to turn on a stove to heat the water. The 3-11-2011 Great East Japan earthquake and old age had made this bathroom nearly unusable. For Japanese, the daily bath or ofuro, is essential in their culture and health.

 

Pastor Amano explained that they had spent the past year getting to know the place and people. They have been observing how things are done and making friends. They will spend the next year working together with the other 3 church members to serve the community and to reach out. Many “refugees” from nearby earthquake and tsunami areas have come to their neighborhood. Perhaps this is also another opportunity to serve. They plan to stay as long as possible to serve this church and farming community.

 

They want to increase the attendance at the church. They feel the responsibility of the 62-year history of the church and are inviting people to attend there again. Pastor Amano also serves at Nishikiori kindergarten and pre-school. So, they are considering ways to reach out to the parents and children. They feel they will have something new to implement in another year.

 

Several opportunities have come to them. One is a piano concert scheduled for the fall. Another opportunity was when some visitors from Hawaii dropped in. They were in the area to visit the Hidden Christian museum and saw the church. They are interested in coming back at the end of the year. Please pray for these opportunities to reach out to the community. And of course please pray for the Amanos as they serve the Japanese people.

 

The OGHS money has all been spent but we continue to support these folks and it makes a difference! Please pray about how God might lead you to extend your influence over these tremendous needs by supporting us financially through International Ministries. We would appreciate any and all donations to remain your servants representing you here in Japan. One-time gifts are highly appreciated but we would ask you to consider becoming a regular member of our support team by pledging a monthly gift. You can give through your ABC region office, or American Baptist church, or by making a check payable to International Ministries with a memo line “Ongoing Support for Gordon and Lee Ann Hwang,” or just go to the website to give on-line. Find out more about our ministry and what God is doing in Japan on our webpage. Here is the link and thank you very much!

 

http://www.internationalministries.org/teams/103-hwang

 

May the Lord continue to richly bless you!

 

 Lee Ann (and Gordon) Hwang

 

"The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace." Ps. 29:10-11 NIV