2026 Newsletter: May, June, July
2026 Newsletter: May, June, July
Praise the Lord! This year's summer turned out to be hotter than usual. How is everyone doing? The Lord has done so many great things through us this spring semester . I would like to share these blessings and His works with you. During this semester, we were blessed with many opportunities to meet non-Christians in particular, so I would also like to share about that.
This newsletter includes updates on our wedding reception, the Singapore short-term mission team, starting Bible study with non-Christians, church ministry, our journey as a married couple, and prayer requests.
A. Wedding Reception
Me and my wife are so grateful that we were able to hold our wedding reception on May 16th. Our desire as a couple was not just to have a celebratory party, but to share biblical truths with our non-Christian friends and my family, who are also non-Christians. Because of this, we prepared a message encouraging marriage and a thank-you letter to my parents that incorporated biblical values. However, as the day drew near, various temptations came up to my mind. I started thinking, "Is it really necessary to share Scripture here? My parents aren't very interested in religious talk, and non-Christian friends haven't shown much interest in the past either." Since I planned the entire program myself, I had the freedom to change the content. Right up to the end, I was tempted to remove the Christian elements, but challenged by the Word of God, I decided to go through with it. Looking at Abraham in Genesis offering his son Isaac—believing that God would surely protect him even though he didn't know what would happen—I was reminded that while we often worry about what will happen right after, what is entrusted to us is to trust God and walk faithfully. Even if our family and friends don't change dramatically just because of biblical content at this reception, I was led to be faithful, trusting that God will work faithfully through this as well. My prayer shifted to surrendering the occasion for God to use.
On that day, many Christian friends, family members, and non-Christian friends from high school came. In the end, I am so glad we shared biblical truths. Through this, my family heard the message of the Bible, and my Christian friends shared how thankful they were to bless a Christian marriage. Above all, through this opportunity, my Christian friends and non-Christian friends grew closer, and for the first time in their lives, my non-Christian friends attended church. We are so thankful. From there, my friend's wife (Ms. M) expressed a desire to learn about the Bible, so she started studying the Bible with another friend's wife (Ms. K), and they are continuing step-by-step. Also, M's husband (my friend) reportedly used to say, "There's no way Otsuka would ever believe in Christianity." Having spent our high school years together, I suppose I gave off the impression of someone least likely to believe in Christianity. This would be impossible without God's grace, so I am deeply grateful that He transformed me this much and used me in this way.
B. Singapore Short-Term Mission Team
Starting this year, we officially hosted a short-term mission team from Singapore for three weeks starting in mid-May. Over the three weeks, they divided into teams across Nanzan University, Nagoya University, and Meijo University for evangelism. They spoke with many non-Christian students, discussing the Christian worldview on campus in the heat for the Japanese people who do not know God, and built relationships by sharing meals and talking about cultural differences and getting to know each other. Through this, many seeds were planted. Two encounters stand out to me.
The first was with "Ryutaro" from Nagoya University. He didn't know much about Christianity, but he showed some interest in religion, so Christo and Wenxin (both Christian students) followed up with him continuously. They met several times, taught him how to play the guitar, and built a relationship. Gradually, his curiosity about Christianity seemed to grow, and I am thankful that seeds are being planted here too. Ryutaro was connected to Caleb, a student at Nagoya University, so they can keep meeting on campus. Please pray that Ryutaro will continue to learn about Christianity, see how Christians live, and come to believe in God. It made me realize what a powerful impact it has when peers like the mission team reach out to students.
The other encounter was with a student named "Ryuya," who came briefly last year. He met the Singapore team at Meijo University and decided to join our gathering again. Talking with him, he is now a freshman at Meijo University and remains interested in religion and philosophy. I will share more details below.
C. Starting Bible Study with Non-Christians
Ryuya joined our gathering after a long time, shared that he is still interested in Christianity, and asked many questions. One of his questions was, "Once someone believes, is it possible for them to stop believing in God?" While he might not be at the stage of believing yet, he seems to be thinking about faith. He mentioned that if there are only two choices—that God exists or doesn't—he thinks God exists, but he doesn't know what the God of Christianity is like. So I asked if he would like to learn together what the God of Christianity is like, and he said yes, so we started studying the Bible. Using CCC's material for non-Christians, which consists of six sessions, we finished two and prepared for the third. However, something happened that caused him to feel down, and when I asked about his situation, he said he couldn't concentrate on anything right now. Realizing this might be a time when he needs comfort and presence rather than lessons, we set aside what was prepared, went out for dinner together, and a week later went to the beach together to spend some quiet time. I briefly thought, 'Just when we had gotten started...', but trusting that this too is within God's plan, I want to remain patient. Please pray that his heart finds rest and that he will be able to hear the truth of God's Word again. He will also be attending the summer camp. Please pray that he comes to know the Word and is led to accept Jesus.
D. Church Ministry
At church, I previously served in the high school class, but starting this year, I have been assigned to youth ranging from upper elementary to junior high school students. Because of this, I had the opportunity to deliver messages at the church youth camp for the first time. Under the theme of "God's Promise," I was grateful to share messages over two days from Genesis 1–3 (God who started the story of redemption) and Numbers 13–14 (Joshua and Caleb who trusted God). Hearing the children's sharing after the messages, I learned that most of them live with faith struggles similar to adults and are in situations where they don't know what to do about them. One girl shared, "Normally, I believe God exists. But when problems happen, people seem bigger and God seems smaller. It's not that I don't believe in God at all, but the proportion changes." Listening to her, I realized they go through daily struggles. I wasn't confident in giving messages to elementary students and initially thought about turning it down, but I was glad to share with these children and their parents that because humans naturally sin by failing to trust God, we need Christ, who walked completely in God's will. Please pray that the children in our church will grow through God's Word🙏
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6–7, ESV)
E. Our Journey as a Married Couple
Recently, our relationship as a couple has been calm and settled. When I sent out the last newsletter, several people shared, "We are struggling with the same things in our marriage." Hearing about similar difficulties made me want to keep praying that we can look to God together as we walk forward.
Looking for things we can do together, we recently started reading the Word together, going to the gym together, and bouldering. We set aside time once a month for a family meeting to discuss what we are thankful for, areas for improvement, and topics we need to address. This has been a blessing as it allows us to process stored-up emotions that we wouldn't normally talk about.
During the message at the church youth camp, I asked, "Even though God says He will save us, is there any area where you are trying to save yourself?" Asking myself the same question, I realized there were many areas in my marriage where I felt I had to handle things myself and tried to manage with my own ability. I want to repent of that mindset, surrender our marriage to God, believing He will redeem it, and look forward to how He will transform us.
Although we have communicated a lot so far, in order to understand the underlying issues more deeply, we are planning to receive couples counseling together (though the start date is yet to be decided). Please pray that we find a good counselor. Pray that through counseling, the sins deep within our hearts will be brought to light, visualized, led to repentance, and that we will be transformed into people who love each other even more.
F. Prayer Requests
Spouse Visa Application
My wife is currently on a religious visa, but we plan to switch to a spouse visa considering the long term. However, there was a recent announcement that visa application fees will increase, and there are many documents to prepare, so please pray that we can prepare thoroughly. In preparing for this spouse visa, we discovered that while we submitted our marriage registration in Japan, it has not yet been submitted to the Korean Consulate. Because she is still listed as unmarried in Korea, we cannot apply for the spouse visa yet. The procedure at the consulate takes about two to four weeks, so we need to prioritize submitting the marriage registration to the Korean side first. Please pray for guidance and wisdom throughout this entire process.SI Nagoya Summer Camp
Nagoya team will host the SI Nagoya Summer Camp from September 1st to 3rd. When we asked the student leaders what they wanted to learn, they expressed interest in topics like: "How should those loved with unconditional love live?", "If God knows everything, why do we pray?", and "How to maintain encouraging relationships even after graduating from SI." We decided to address these as main session topics and divided them among the three Nagoya staff members. Please pray that this camp will be used so that students gain a deeper understanding of God's grace and walk as disciples of Christ.
A few non-Christian students are also planning to attend. Please pray that it will serve as an opportunity for them to realize how deep God's grace is and come to believe.Preparing for the Fall Semester
Rough Schedule for the Fall Semester:September: Summer Camp, preparing housing as two new missionaries arrive from Hong Kong, etc.
October: Staff Internship Program for students hosted in Nagoya
October: Alumni Homecoming Gathering
November: Church Planting Institute Conference
November: Once-a-decade Asia CCC Staff Gathering in Thailand
November–December: Short-term mission team from Australia (as usual)
Please pray that each of these events will be used for God's plans, and above all, that we will abide in Christ as we carry out ministry.
Thank you so much for reading to the end. Thank you for continually supporting us financially and through prayer. If you have any prayer requests, please feel free to reach out anytime. The next newsletter will be published in September or October.
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