Newsletter 2025 November, December, 2026 January

Newsletter 2025 November, December, 2026 January

Praise the Lord! We're already at the end of the first month of 2026. What are your expectations for you? Personally, I want to read and learn more about the Old Testament and learn more about God's faithfulness. Let's walk through this year expecting what the Lord will do in each of our lives and how His grace will transform us.

This newsletter includes a short-term mission report (Mission Megumi), disciple training updates, personal reflections, and prayer requests about my upcoming marriage. Thanks for reading through and praying with me!

1.Mission Megumi (Australia Short-term Mission Team)

From late November to December 20th, they spent a month doing ministry in Nagoya during Australia's summer break. They did outreach at Nagoya University, Nanzan University, and Meijo University. At Meijo University, thanks to a Christian professor, we got into classes two weeks in a row—the first time joining the class for English discussions, and the second time sharing testimonies and having a great time with students. Since it was in class, we couldn't openly evangelize, but we managed to hang out at a nearby mall after class and talk more.

We heard that one of the non-Christian students in that class was interested in Christianity and studying it, so we grabbed a meal with him. His name is Konoshin. Turns out he's into foreign cultures and English, has some interest in Christianity, and is even going to an English conversation class run by another mission organization. He's studying the New Testament in English there. He asked us tons of questions about faith—things like "When do people come to believe?" It seemed like he was wrestling with what it means to believe. We really wanted to help him as CCC, so we actually visited the mission organization where he does English conversation and prayed together with them.

After that, we tried to reach out to meet up again, but we couldn't get in touch with him anymore. Even when CCC students contacted him, there was no response. This happens a lot—we connect with students during short-term missions, but then communication drops off. Still, I'd really appreciate your prayers that God would work on his heart and create opportunities for him to hear the gospel again through some community.

John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." (ESV)

Because we can't change hearts on our own, it pushes us to pray even harder to God. I'm also so grateful to the Australian students and staff who gave up a whole month for Japanese missions. May we all serve where we are, hoping together that this world would be filled with the gospel.

2.Disciple Training 

My time discipling students as CCC staff is limited, but Chuki, one of our Christian students, is graduating soon and starting his career in Tokyo this spring. I've been discipling him for five years now, and looking back, it really hits me that changing people is God's work. I'm so thankful for how deeply the Word pierced his heart, how he wrestled between sin and reality, and how we encouraged each other along the way.

I hope he'll keep discovering how deep the Word goes, how amazing God's grace is, and how self-centered we humans are—and that he'll keep pursuing God more and more. As he steps into working life, I pray he'll be strengthened by the Word and keep seeking the Lord's will. In our last few discipleship sessions, we tackled Matthew 6:19-34.

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (ESV)

God's kingdom here means wanting to live under God's rule and aligning your life with His will. But as the passage shows, we humans tend to chase after what the world desperately seeks, and our hearts get completely filled with those things. How much do we really seek God's rule and want to live according to His will? We'll face so many choices in life ahead, but reflecting the values of God's kingdom in our daily life. In John MacArthur’s sermon on this passage, he says, "God's Word needs to be our daily bread, not a last resort. Same with prayer—not just something we do when life falls apart."

Prayer I'd really appreciate prayers for Chuki's future—that being fed by God's Word daily and living by kingdom values would become not just a one-time thing but his lifestyle.

3.Personal Reflection 

This semester's student leadership team has really shown me more about myself. What I learned was that I'm not humble. I've been feeling the struggle with communication on this semester's student leadership team for a while. I was hoping the team would be a place where they learn Christ's heart and practice it, rather than just planning great events. But they didn't show up consistently to meetings, and it was hard to get everyone on the same page. That's when I noticed myself thinking more and more, "The previous leadership team wasn't like this." I realized my attitude of "being humble and serving" was totally different from Jesus' humility. Basically, I was only acting that way when I thought someone deserved my humble service. That's nothing like how Jesus walked the path to the cross, sacrificed for sinners, and lived for others' benefit. So I'm repenting too, and I'd love your prayers that I can learn Jesus' humility more deeply and humbly serve students the way He showed us.

When we got saved, we were made righteous before God, but we still need our feet washed continually. May my sins keep being dealt with before God, and may I keep being transformed to be more like Christ.

John 13:10 "Jesus said to him, 'The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.'" (ESV)

John 13:14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." (ESV)

John 13:15 "For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." (ESV)

4.Prayer Requests

I'd really appreciate your prayers for our marriage preparations. Our wedding in Korea is on February 28th. In mid-January I moved into our new place and are slowly getting settled. From early February, I'll be heading to Korea to meet her relatives and friends and work on wedding preparations. After the wedding, we'll be back in Nagoya in March, but we've got to hit the ground running with city office stuff, marriage registration, and VISA renewal. Since there's still administrative work after the wedding, please pray for those procedures too.

My parents aren't Christians, but there will be a message at the Korean wedding, so please pray that this gives them opportunities to learn about Christianity step by step, and that I can keep sharing the gospel with them personally.

Also, please pray that we'd love each other reflecting Christ’s love.

Thanks so much for reading through this newsletter and praying! The next one will come out at the end of March after the wedding. Looking forward to staying connected with you all this year!