Greetings from the Taylors in Japan!

"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:24-25 NIV


Map courtesy of Andy Summers, DC Mapping & GIS


Today, the team got an email from Rick!

"We arrived safe and sound. The flight from Atlanta to Seoul was long but very calm. We had a great Church service with the people. I gave them greeting from FBA and you. I shared with them that we are at 100% of our budget, but if anyone asks yes they can still contribute. After service we had a little lunch and then moved everything from the old church to the new location. It is really awesome. You’re really going to like it.

Also, it is much cooler here than we had anticipated. You might want to bring some sweat shirts and sweat pants. Just watch the weather.com for the temps. It could warm up some.

Also, Wes and I worked a few hours today and did some demo work. I can knock holes in walls. We still want to have it ready for you to do your thing.

You all have a good day and please continue to pray for us and other members of the team."

Rick

Meet Members of the Ube Team

"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever." Psalm 125:1 NIV

Continue to pray for the people of Ube, the missionaries there, the team and for Rick and Linda as they travel.



Members of the mission team to Ube have been invited to share something from their background, a brief testimony, or the reason why they are involved in this particular mission trip. Today we invite you to meet Stephanie Parker.



"My father was a handy man and I would assist him on some of his jobs. I was a tomboy and always wanted to build or put things together. Occasionally, my father gave me scraps of wood to work on.

I guess that's where my love for renovating and building things began. So, one Christmas, I asked for and received a tool kit. In high school when most girls took home economics I took wood shop and drafting.

And, as an adult I continue to find ways to keep using those skills. I've volunteered on several Habitat builds and worked with a ministry project to paint homes for low income senior citizens.

So, I was very excited when I saw the notice in the bulletin that there would be a mission trip to Japan to renovate a church. This is the perfect opportunity for me to use my spiritual gift of service.

I love learning about other cultures. But, more importantly, I like those in other countries to learn about the diverse American culture. As a girl, I had a pen pal in Turkey and Mexico.

This is my first mission trip and I will be quietly observing everything as I work. I hope our presence and hard work will help cultivate the seed that has already been planted by Wes and his family.

I've been a member of FBA for 7 years and a member of Chosen People Bible study just as long. I have grown so much in my Christian walk. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful Pastor and great Bible study teachers to guide me.
*****
Some of my interests are travel, photography and being active in my community. I am an Atlanta transplant from Kansas City, Missouri (not Kansas City, Kansas). I've lived here since 1988 and I don't miss those cold snowy winters one bit."

Rick and Linda set out for Japan on Friday!

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." Psalm 91 NIV

Please keep Rick and Linda in your prayers as they head out to Japan on Friday. Pray that they have safe travel, ease of time through customs, no long lines, etc. Then pray for ease of adjustment to the change in time in Japan and as they continue to prepare for the rest of the team to join them in two weeks.

Continue to pray for the people in Ube and for the team still here as they prepare to leave on April 10th.

Team Ube Update

"Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us." I Thessalonians 5:25 NLT

What did we do today?

Today was the last team meeting before Rick and Linda head out to Japan. They will be there about two weeks before the team heads out. Aside from visiting with family, they will be preparing for the team to arrive and continuing demolition at the Church. Two walls are now down, but much work still needs to be done. Keep Rick and Linda in your prayers as they travel Friday.

The team went over various lists of items in preparation for leaving in a few weeks. Among items to be packed to go with us include a variety of construction tools, safety glasses, sturdy gloves, work shoes, tape, knee pads and tape measures.

The team also received the "Guidebook to the Road Less Traveled" by Kyle Faircloth. The book will serve as a guide to prayer, help the team get along with one another and to help the team with cross-cultural sensitivity during the trip.

Support Update

The team received an update on our support level. We're still about $1,300 short of the team goal of $27,500. If you are feeling led to provide support, there is still time to do so. For the team to have access to funds to purchase construction materials while in Japan, support needs to be received by April 6th. If you don't have a pink envelope to forward support in, it can be sent to First Baptist Church Atlanta, JAPAN, 4400 N. Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30338.

Next Steps

The team plans to get together for dinner in an informal setting before the trip, outside of the classroom so to speak. Preparations will continue with the guidebook received today. Team members will be passing out team prayer cards like the one posted on this site last week. Please be praying for the team and those in Japan in the coming days and weeks.

Excerpt from the Burwell's Newsletter

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV

The Burwells are missionaries along with the Taylors and the Weinhofers in Ube. Below is an excerpt from their prayer newsletter regarding preparations in Ube for the team from arriving from Atlanta in a few weeks. Please keep the Burwells, Taylors and Weinhofers in your prayers.

"Short Term team and church moving prayer needs
Thanks to the work of our teammates, the Taylors, and in answer to many prayers, there is a short term team coming from the First Baptist Church of Atlanta from April 11th to the 19th. They will be doing various remodeling projects in the new ministry center and they have raised enough money for their travel, lodging and all of the materials that are needed for the work they will do here. Praise the Lord! Please pray with us that the team would be unified, protected from injury and sickness and that God would use them to draw many of our unsaved friends here into His kingdom. The gospel choir will be singing at the Easter service mingling with the team after church at the barbecue and one other day that week. We also hope that English students will come on Easter to greet the team. Easter will be the only Sunday the team can spend with us so we also ask prayer that the Lord would bring in many of our unsaved contacts plus new folks from the local neighborhood around the ministry center. The Lighthouse Ube Christ Church will actually be starting worship services there on April 5th.

The church and missionary team have been and will continue to work every Sunday afternoon cleaning, packing and moving from the old building to the new one. We must be out of the old building by March 31st. We will have two weeks of English classes and choir and other ministries in the new building before the team arrives and then will cancel all ministries for a week."

Team Ube Prayer Card

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

Attached below is the prayer card for the Ube Mission Trip, based on the team's itinerary. Most of the team will pick up their prayer cards this weekend and share them with friends, family and supporters. Please keep these requests in mind April 10-19!

The Work of God Through Prayer

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." I John 5:14-15 NIV

When this blog is updated, it's done from the perspective of the team going to Ube in a few weeks, however today I am led to share something that happened with my own personal perspective just as a member of the team experiencing God's faithfulness to the trip and provision of all needs, including financial needs.

As I prayed this morning, I was led pray only for the mission to Ube as there's still much to be done, including raising of financial support. Before I left my office heading out to lunch I saw two of my co-workers who are Christians and I stopped to ask them both to continue to pray, remembering all facets of the trip to Ube and explained where we were as a team in raising financial support in addition to the financial support I still needed to raise. I then went on to lunch.

When I came back I noticed the hood of a vehicle in the parking lot was raised and that one of my colleagues from another department was checking his engine. I stopped by and asked what he was up to and how things were going. Last month in a class I had shared about the trip to Ube and he asked how things were going with the trip and when the team was leaving. Toward the end of the conversation he asked "Do you have to raise any type of funds for this trip?" I answered yes and gave a brief overview of how much financial support the team needed and how much more was needed and what the money would go for once in Ube. As we were standing there, he said "I want to provide some financial support for the trip." Here God was showing me how He's providing resources in places that I didn't think to look. God is good all the time!

I went back to my office to get a letter and pink envelope for this person and on my way down the hall, I ran into one of the co-workers I had spoken with just before lunch. I asked him "You prayed right after I walked out didn't you?" He said that every time someone asks him to pray about something he does it immediately. Right then I had to share how the Lord worked in just that hour since we'd spoken.

With that, continue to pray for the team and the people in Ube and for the work to be done. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, God is working not only in Japan, but here in Atlanta as well, in preparation for the trip and the work ahead.

What's Next?

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." Psalm 84:11-12 NIV

Coming up this Sunday, the entire team meets one last time prior to Rick and Linda's departure to Japan. It's been great using the last several months to get to know one another before heading out and beginning to prepare for the work ahead in Ube. There is still much work to be done before April 10th arrives. Please continue to pray for the mission, Ube Lighthouse Christ Church, and the team.

Support and Expense Update and Overview

"O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1 NIV




As you can see, the Lord has been faithful in providing support as many have answered His call to provide both in prayer and by financial means. The team still needs to raise just under $3,500 to meet the goal of $27,500 to provide full financial support for the mission. We continue to know that the goal will be met in the Lord's timing.


Our major expense prior to departure is of course airline tickets. Tickets were purchased last week and cost just under $12,000, which was cheaper than originally anticipated. The bulk of funds collected will be put towards the purchase of items needed for construction once in Japan. The rest will go towards other miscellaneous travel expenses which includes tolls to cross roadways in Japan (it's apparently not inexpensive to drive on local roadways there) and for food.

Travel Plans

As far as travel goes, the team departs Atlanta on Friday, April 10th with an early afternoon flight directly to Seoul, South Korea. After a brief layover it's on to Fukuoka, Japan and then a drive into Ube. The return will be on Sunday, April 19th with a return to Seoul and a short layover in Los Angeles before returning to Atlanta around 8 PM Sunday night.

Detailed Itinerary and Travel Plans

Hopefully a detailed itinerary will be available soon that will list the team's complete itinerary with specific prayer requests for each day the team will be away from home. And, special thanks to the Schlender's who agreed to bring along their laptop so that the team blog will be able to be updated while the team is in Japan.

Prayer

Please continue to pray for the mission and the people in Ube.

Meet Team Ube

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.: I Peter 4:10 NIV

Photo editing provided by Ian Swain

Sunday was a very special day for the members of the team travelling to Ube. The team spent the bulk of its time sharing testimonies. The testimony is a very special way of bonding for team members, to look at their unique walk and the circumstances that brought each member into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The day also brought good news that some construction began on Sunday on the interior of the church building. A wall was successfully removed, but there is still lots of work to be done when the team arrives.

What's Next?

The next few days will provide updates on the team's support raised and expenditures to date. And, the next team meeting (the last before Rick and Linda head out) will be on Sunday, March 22nd!

Prayer for the Ube Mission

"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24 NIV

Tonight, In Focus Sunday School class hosted a testimony and prayer event at the home of John Woodard, the director of In Focus. The Ube Mission trip was blessed in that, among other things, a portion of the prayer event was dedicated to prayer specifically for the Ube Mission. Below are the requests that were prayer for:

• That the team will come together in unity and purpose;
• That the team will be sensitive to God's leading as they continue to plan and facilitate the outreach;
• For God to go before the team to remove any obstacles it may encounter;
• For God to open the hearts of those in Japan who the team will have the opportunity to impact through the mission trip;
• For God to be evident through team members' actions and interactions as the team works on the building;
• Provision of finances for team members to purchase construction materials;
• Safety as the team travels;
• Prayer Walking in neighborhoods within Japan - sensitivity regarding what to pray and where to go;
• That the Japanese people to turn from their belief in many gods to understand who the one true God is, and their need for Him;
• For the missionaries assisting the team - Wes & Susan Taylor and Chuck & Jan Burwell.

We ask that you join us in continuing to pray through these requests in the days and weeks leading up to the trip. Tomorrow the team will continue preparation and bonding by sharing testimonies at their team meeting. A team picture will be made and soon a prayer card with the team's itinerary will be available!

A Life Changing Prayer

"We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light." Colossians 1:9-12

"To intercede for others, ask God that they would:

• Be filled with the knowledge of His will (Col. 1:9).
• Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (Col. 1:10).
• Bear fruit in every good work (Col. 1:10).
• Increase in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10).
• Be strengthened with all power (Col. 1:11).
• Joyously give thanks to the Father (Col. 1:11-12)."

"Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what God sees."

From A Life Changing Prayer, Pastor's Heart, In Touch Ministries, Dr. Charles F. Stanley

Support Update

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Colossians 1:3-6 NIV

This is just a short update to let you know how the team is doing in terms of raising the financial support necessary to fund the trip to Ube. The Lord has called on so many of you get us 74% of the way there and we are grateful and give thanks for those of you who continue to pray for us, the team, the church and missionaries in Ube and for the work ahead. We ask that you continue to pray through all of the requests surrounding the trip as a whole as we continue to pray.

Our next team meeting is this coming Sunday. We'll finally have a team picture to share that day so you can start putting names with faces. The team will also be sharing their testimonies with one another in what is sure to be a special time of bonding among the group.