Tentmaking and Business

One thing I am finding out about Japan is the hard side of doing business. I do not like it but it can't be helped. The English Teaching business is very cut throat. God has blessed us but it has been like walking a type rope some times. As it is all contract work, there was a situation in which someone asked to cut my pay when someone came in and bid lower.

It is the game of business. I do not go out and target other schools like ours but I also realize that I always need to act in what makes the best sense. At times that means expanding in what someone else thinks as their territory. As we set up a classroom and ministry, Lord willing in front of the station, many area churches and schools will feel threatened.

For example if we start something, we will need teachers so I have been talking to some of the area teachers I know who are under paid about working with us. Well the people who under pay them are also acquaintances of mine. They are not happy about maybe losing teachers. Also the 2 pastors in this city of 45,000 will not be happy about us starting something as they will see it as competition.

In the end I am reminded of the parable of the talents. We can fear criticism and hide our gifts in the ground so as not to offend someone, or be good stewards; and that means business.

Cherry Growing in Faith

Cherry is growing in faith and it is exciting to see. I got her the cartoon series The Flying House for her birthday last month. It is a cartoon about some kids stuck in a time machine that go back and visit Bible times. CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) produced the cartoon in Japan in the early 80s. I had seen it in America but the Japanese language version is much better.

The last week she has watched The Story of Jesus for Children produced by Campus Crusade International. From the Flying House she knew much of the content except Jesus death and resurrection. (I only bought the first half of The Flying House set as the whole set was over $500.) The Story of Jesus for Children is great and you can see it online. She watched it over and over again and explained to me about how Jesus was the Son of God, died on a cross, and then rose from the dead. My niece who is 6 and from a non-christian home came over and Cherry wanted to show her the Jesus Story and tell her about Jesus. My niece only watches Sponge Bob Square Pants. Riko, my niece, had no interest. But it made me realize the need for Cherry to have Christian friends as she grows up. It is not enough for us to teach Cherry we must reach Japan. Cherry and all Christians in Japan need a strong Church. God is establishing it for his glory.

Thank you for your Prayers

About 3 weeks ago I asked for prayer concerning a coming meeting with an area school. I believed the meeting would turn into a contract negotiation and it did. In the meeting I was offered a job and pay was discussed. Thanks to God who bestows favor and honor and your prayers, they raised the pay rate twice in the meeting and it came in where I had hoped.

Well the deal needed to go to the board for approval and it did. They raised it another 15% above what was agreed upon in our meeting. This contract is for 10 to 13 hours of teaching a week in a part time status. This provides us a stable income and enough spare time to launch a ministry in the area.

Now I ask for wisdom in what to set up in the building in front of the station. The planning on this will be very difficult. Over Christmas break we will be choosing and putting in some carpet, in my uncle-in-law's building.

Kazumi's knees are doing better now that she using a desk instead of being on the floor Japanese style. I told her months ago that the way Japanese people sit on the floor would make her knees go bad. She did not believe me until she could not walk. Now we have more chairs and sofas than before. PTL. I am not a big fan of getting up from sitting on the floor.

Returned From America

First, thanks to everyone we had a chance to see in America. Well we are back in Japan and this will be just a short note. One of Kazumi's student's mothers, who had been battling cancer, died the day we returned. The woman had been a head nurse at a hospital, she is survived by her 6 year old daughter who studies in our home.
We did not share this in many circles but Kazumi's father has cancer and had his voice box removed while we where in America and will no longer be able to speak. The type of cancer he has is very aggressive with an 80% death rate within 5 years. Kazumi's father is not a Christian nor the family of the mother who died this past week.
Pray for the gospel to move forward in Japan to give hope to the hopeless and eternal life to those facing death.

Summer Vacation is Short in Japan

Well my summer vacation began July 25 and lasts until September. Yes that is about 5-6 weeks. Too short. I have a private student planning to attend high school in Australia who asked me to tutor her mornings, Kazumi and I are also preparing a property we have for sale; that and 2 weeks in America this August make summer vacation short. I was hoping to kick back but that is not happening. Continue to pray for us as we seek God's will.

We praise him for all the provision that he gives us. Kazumi and I talk about staying here or moving to a location for more preparation. At the beginning of our marriage we planned on not moving or taking ministry responsibilities until after a year of marriage. That plan has stayed in place though I have almost challenged it more than once. As of September, we will have been married a year. Marriage has changed my whole decision making process that is for sure, and for the better. PTL

Today is Saturday and this is our Day

Well we got an email from Kimiko whom we had the opportunity to meet and share our testimony with a couple of months ago. She and her husband Kurt and daughter Julia are now living in Omaha. We will miss them as a fellow international couple we had a lot in common.

I got an email through one of the blog pages today from a young man moving to Fussa here in Japan. I used to live in that area when I was a volunteer missionary with Christian Reformed Japan Mission. I hope I can help him network and have a nice experience. Fussa is home to the US Air Force, Yokoda Air Base just outside of Tokyo.

Also I did my 3rd wedding today and it went well. I am learning a lot about non verbal communication in Japanese formal occasions. The Japanese web log is also up and soon it is hoped that the wedding ministry will be networked to this new site.

With summer vacation starting in 2 weeks we are also working on writing an application to a mission agency in the states. We are writing an application to United World Mission for long term missionaries service in Church Planting Saturization to Japan. I will let you know more about this as it materializes.

And as the Sun went down we went for a walk and saw some of our neighbors and talked with them. One of my neighbors fixed my car port while we were out and I thanked him. We met another neighbor who has a junior high student with some social problems and talked with them for a while.

It was a good day. In one way or another we interacted with about 120+ people today, through public speaking, emails, and personal contacts, etc. We thank God and please keep us in your prayers.
John, Kazumi, and Cherry Van Farowe

Wedding Ministry Update

Well the wedding service went well. The local pentecostal pastor was the coordinator, his wife was one of the singers, another church's organist played the organ, and another member of the church was also a singer in the service. Kazumi and Cherry sat in the balcony and watched.

It went well. Being the first time there is room for improvement. The message was short but it was on forgiveness. There were about 100 people in attendance. Pastor Nakaoka does the counseling for the couples and it is also his goal to develop a special message for each service that reflects the counseling time. I have been asked to do 4 more services in July. It was fun.

These couples have a choice and they choose to let Christians come and pray for their weddings and give a message. This highlights the need for me to develop a Japanese language gospel page blog and I will work on that tonight before I go to bed. In Japan opportunities to share the gospel are rare so we thank God for these opportunities.

general update

Well the school year is moving forward. We have bought tickets to go to the states via driving from Toronto. It saved about $2000 on peak summer tickets between the 3 of us. I see a lot more Buddhism in the school system than 10 years ago. There was a law passed to re-introduced moral education classes sponsored by the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito a few years ago. Komeito is the political wing of neo-buddhism known as Sokka Gakukai.

Things continue to move forward but slow at church. Everyone is waiting for the new pastor to come in a couple of months and until then everything is on hold. But a lot of good conversations are going on. I see such need here for a strong church planting movement but opportunity does not equal responsibility, we continue to seek God's will on a daily basis. The churches in Japan are in need of prayer and revival. The spiritual forces of darkness and the prince of the air are real in Japan.

Please pray for my family and marriage life. With our work changes we are just very busy. My summer vacation is less than 2 months away. That will help. All in all our Good Shepherd continues to lead us.

Planting Deep Roots

Spring has sprung and I know many of you in Michigan and elsewhere are now in the gardening mode. I planted some potatoes in a container. When the plants grew about 4 inches I covered them with dirt again and repeated the process until the dirt reached the top of the containers. I hope they will have long roots and produce a reasonable amount of potatoes.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the home of one of the elders of Ena Church. His name is Machino. We had a good time and talked about various things related to faith, being a Christian, and having a Christian family in Japan. We had a really nice time and were there for about 4 hours. Ena's new pastor comes in July and many of the ideas I would like to move forward are on hold until he arrives, but I see this as a season to deepen the roots. Spending time with elders and pastors is very important in Japan in order to develop deep roots of trust and cooperation.

This past week at one of the schools I teach at, one of the teachers brought up my faith. All the schools have a copy of my resume written in Japanese and it includes that I have gone to seminary, been a missionary in Japan, and been a pastor in the US. I do not remember this teachers name as I write this because I am at 10 different schools. She is a special education room teacher. She is a long time teacher in her late 50's early 60's. She asked me if I was a Christian and then talked with me about her respect for Christianity. Japanese people are very indirect so I see this as an invitation to share more with her in this area in the future. I explained where I went to church but will also get some book marks with the church's web-page on it. I see the need to start my own Christian blog in Japanese and to produce business cards with the address on it. This will probably be a summer vacation project but I will start on it a little if I have some time this spring.

Thank you for your prayers. Oh, I should mention the English School in our home has grown from 60 students to 85. Also with my work in the public school system where ever we go we are seen by one of the students from one of the schools. I teach about 1000 kids. We'll God continues to bless us but we need your prayers and support to effectively have the resources to preach the gospel. We praise God, he is giving us deep roots.

John, Kazumi, and Cherry

Trials and trails

Sometimes a trial is a trail that God wants to lead us on for his greater purpose. 2 weeks ago our hot water heater went out, so we went to the public spa. There I ran into a pastor I had been thinking about working with. He had not planned on being there either. At the last minute he had been asked to take some foreign guests there. His guest had not wanted to leave so the night was becoming rather late. Kazumi, Cherry, and I came in and Pastor Niwa was sitting drinking tea. He and I had time to talk. Later he emailed me saying that he thought God had arranged our meeting. He and I will get together this coming Saturday.

Yesterday I got a traffic ticket. The whole ordeal lasted a little over 2 hours. It was not very fun. I taught at a local school and the street to the school is one way from 2 to 5 pm. No one told me and the sign explaining it was not visible from the school. A cop was sitting there and in all effect it was a trap to get the daily ticket quota. They brought me to the station where they were not very nice to me. Here is a side note about the law in Japan, they can hold you for up to 30 days with out a charge and they do. It is how they get confessions. I left the police station wanting to leave Japan for good. But then I realized that unlike my Japanese friends I had the hope of leaving. The only possible hope for my Japanese friends was that regardless of the situation God loves them and wants to have a personal relationship with them.

Then later in the evening we got a call from Kimiko who is moving to the US and had been reading some Christian daily devotionals we gave here. Her husband has already gone to the US and she was calling to give praise to God. He had gotten a good job with good benefits and found an apartment with a grocery store only 200 meters away so Kimiko would not have to drive right away. When Kazumi gave me the phone the first thing Kimiko said was "I want to thank God." Sometimes a trial is a trail God wants to lead us on. I understood the depth of her words because I understand the context of life in Japan and turning from that to trusting in God.

The Cherry Blossoms are in Full Bloom

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. April is the beginning of the new school year in Japan. Cherry switched kindergartens and had a graduation at one and an entrance ceremony at the other. My niece Riko also entered elementary school, and I started as a teacher at 11 different schools and kindergartens. Yes, eleven!!! I will visit 7 kindies and 4 elementary schools this year.
A week ago we met again with Kimiko, a Japanese woman interested in learning about Christianity. We had a great time. She is also in an international marriage and has a daughter the same age as Cherry. Kimiko and Kazumi have a lot in common so when we go visit it is an all day event and it is a lot of fun. Kazumi gave her a bunch of Daily Bread devotionals in Japanese.

This coming Sunday the church council will meet at Ena and we will continue to work on some ideas together. We will discuss the children's program we hope to start in May. It has been a very busy week or so; pray for all the transitions going on. Pray the the Lord will continue to draw us closer to him and guide us in his will for our lives.

Recent Happenings

On Wednesday I met with the Japanese pastor of the church a few stops down the train line from us in Nakatsugawa. He actually has a Masters in Theology from Calvin Seminary. He also served as a missionary for ten years in Indonesia. I wanted to go and check things out for future ministry opportunities. The churches in Nakatsugawa and in Ena are in the same area so if we advertised in community newspapers there could be cross over and it would be beneficial to work together.

Well the pastor there had heard I had moved into the area through the church grapevine and was hoping I would stop by sooner or later. We talked about how we could work together. He shared with me some struggles in the church as about 1/3 of the 45 members had left over a conflict to form another church. This often happens in Japan.

I honestly do not know what I can do for the church in Nakatsugawa. Its location is poor but there is good population density in the city. The church has mostly older people. I will probably try to encourage it and help keep it stable this next year. Keep the church in Nakatsugawa and myself in your prayers.

Blessings, John

Easter a new Beginning

Easter marks a new beginning for us. There are lot of changes going on. We are hoping to start a Mom and Kids class at church using English and Sunday School material. The goal is to make connections for a future Christian kindergarten.

We hope to launch a multilingual (English, Spanish, Japanese) Bible study using the Experiencing God material.

From Friday, I start work as an Assistant Language Teacher for the local school district. This will really network us into the community. I will visit 11 different elementary and kindergartens. It will also stabilize us financially. For this we thank God.

Currently, we are in contact with a mission agency in the states. We hope for a connection with an agency in the states and in the future to move into full time church planting support roles.

We also hope to strengthen our ties to Faith Church in Guam and start a once a year Christian retreat to Guam for families. 1 million Japanese tourists go to Guam a year and the prices are very reasonable. We will make some contacts with a target date for next spring, for this.

Above regular involvement in our local church these are our current New Beginnings.

God is in control of the details

To believe God is sovereign is to believe he is in control of the details. He has brought us here. He has opened some doors and closed others. He is casting vision and providing resources. He has brought you this very second to read these words, that is the reality of God being sovereign.

Today's Reflection from John Piper

Belief or Faith is a heart passion to find one's delight in Jesus. Seeing Jesus for all that he is. Is your only comfort Jesus? Any one who truly knows Jesus will deeply love him. And Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will never hunger and he who believes in me will never thirst"(John 6:35). Faith is to find one's soul satisfaction in Jesus, is Jesus your satisfaction?

My wife a long time reader of Daily Bread

Just an interesting story. My wife is a long time reader of Daily Bread and today she was reading this month's Daily Bread translated into Japanese. Out of the blue she asked me what I knew about Grand Haven Michigan as the writer of the devotion she was reading today was from there. It is a small world and God has the whole world in his hands.

Parents to arrive Next Week

Cherry and I have had a cold and that has stretched Kazumi a little. I scratched our car yesterday and need to have some touch paint done on it or it will get surface rust. I also got a response to an advertising inquiry with The Australian Presbyterian. It is the magazine of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. The denomination has about 55,000 members and is a member of the Reformed Ecumenical Council. It is my hope to coach individuals who could be part of a team here through the tentmaking process of becoming an Assistant Language Teacher.

My parents arrive next Monday. I will teach 2 classes in the morning and then off to Nagoya International Airport to meet them. It will be nice to see my parents and show them our lives here in Japan. I wish it was a little warmer while they are here. It will be in the 50s for high and our house does not have central heating so it is a little chilly. I am kind of done and will listen to a John Piper sermon now, I think.

Update for Wednesday

Well a reply came from the local board of education. 3 companies were up for the contracts. I had ties to all three. The company who won the bid offered me a job. I have accepted the position. I praise God for the job and the chance to plant deeper roots in this location.

I have contacted some Christian Magazines in Australia about advertising to recruit tentmakers to come here. One of the companies I have ties with has strong ties to Australia. I have heard back for the The Trowel and Sword, which is a magazine tied to the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia.

I have been listening to John Piper on the links found on this page. I recommend listening to Desiring God Radio to those of you who have never heard him preach.

Blessings as always,

John Van Farowe

This Sunday's Praises

1. There are 2 things to give thanks for this Sunday. One is that the elders at Ena have approved a plan to raise support directly into the church and oversee any program that could be started from that support. It means I will contact some supporting churches and try and set up direct wire transfers to an account at Ena church.
2. Today Kazumi and I had a great time visiting with a Japanese woman who is soon moving to the states and upon moving there seeks to be baptized in a local church. We hope to provide her with some beginning instruction. We talked casually for over 4 hours. It was a great time for us all.

A new thing I have been working on at home: creating a youtube channel for Cherry. The channel shows Japanese children animation along with Christian songs and bible stories. The animation runs in less than 10 minute segments and in between each segment instead of a commercial has a Christian Song or Bible story of about 2-3 minutes.

The challenge for the weeks ahead is to start networking with groups in the states. I think that recruiting tentmakers is a way to develop both support and bring coworkers. I will be looking at advertising in certain reformed magazines in the next few weeks. I will probably look at the Banner, the Herald, and World Magazine.

Keep us in your prayers.

Ongoing requests

There are 6 reformed churches within an hour commute of us. Many of these churches are struggling. Rather than try and start another struggling church it is our vision to work with existing churches.

1. This coming week I need to talk with some of the elders of two of these churches about setting up English Evangelism Classes in them. These classes will also need support from America to have viability. The Japanese churches often only have 30 people or so. The resources are stretched. The pastors do not have full time incomes and often work in such jobs like newspaper delivery etc on the side. So pray for a support system to be set up and support to be raised so that we can freely serve without competing for resources the pastor desperately needs. It takes about $150 a month to support one class.
2. Pray for a good result on contracts submitted to the local boards of education. These contracts are very competitive so there is a chance that no work will come from it, so prayers are greatly appreciated.
3. Pray for anyone in America who wants to join our team here. We can use our contacts with different English Conversation Companies to help them through the application process. Upon getting a contract with one of these companies they would come to our area as tentmakers.

One day - 150+ contacts

Well today I taught one private lesson with a kindergardener and his mom. Cherry and Kazumi also join this lesson. Then I handed out 100 flyers at the local elementary school 2 blocks from our home for the English School we have. We currently have about 70 students. While I did this Kazumi had a class with 6-8 1st graders. Then I walked back to the house and Kazumi and I taught a lesson together with about 7 preschoolers in it. Two of them came with their mothers for a trail lesson. The moms were very young in their early 20s and enjoyed watching the lesson. Now while I work on my blogs and stuff Kazumi is teaching a class with 4 junior high students in it. In total I would say we had brief contacts with about 150 people today.

Oh my non-christian brother-in-law stopped by today too. It is amazing when I look back on the day and think of all the contacts one day can bring. Pray that contacts will lead to deep relationships based on trust allowing for effective witness. While non of these contacts was based on direct evangelism we do pray for those opportunities. My father-in-law is in the hospital with cancer of the throat and we have given him some Christian books to read. We are praying for him to come to faith.