Robin White

Hi everyone,

I’m sending my October prayer letter a little early, as you can see.  This is because there are some new ministries starting in early October that need your prayers.  Please read and pray!  But first, some things to be thankful for…

This month I’m thankful because:

 • 2 new (non-Christian) students joined my Saturday English class this past week. We now have 30 students — over 1/3 of whom are from outside the church! 

• One of my non-Christian students came to prayer meeting for the first time last week.

• I had the opportunity to minister through testimony and music to the youth at our area reatreat a couple of weeks ago.  It was a fun and encouraging time for all!

• One of the guys from Nagoya-Higashi Church youth group recently gave his heart to the Lord!  You may remember me telling you about this group of about 10 teens, all from non-Christian backgrounds.  This is the first to make a profession of faith.  PTL!

Please pray for:

• 2 new English programs we’re starting at the Nagoya church: a weekly class for beginners (starting Oct. 4) and a monthly “English Cafe” (starting Oct. 7). The Cafe is an informal time of practicing English over coffee, snacks and games, and is aimed at people of a slightly higher level English abililty. Please pray that conversations turn naturally to spiritual things.

• I’ve been invited to another church in Shizuoka to do some kids ministry the weekend of Oct. 15-16. Pray for safe travel and effective ministry.

• Please keep praying for my regular English classes, worship leading, and Japanese studies as well.

Thank you for partnering with me in this ministry.  Spiritual bridges are being built in Japan, and you are helping to build them!

- Robin (2011/09/27)

The Bereans are commended here for being open-minded. But it's interesting to note that they didn't just listen and blindly believe what they were taught. They studied the Scriptures for themselves. They compared what they were being taught to the Word to see if it lined up. They thought for themselves.

Being open-minded doesn't mean blindly accepting whatever we're taught. But it does mean we listen. Then, we search and study and pray to arrive at the truth.

And true faith isn't blind or mindless either. It includes this kind thinking and searching and asking. I think that such wrestling with big ideas and questions is part of what it means to have faith. These struggles can increase our faith.

We may never know all the answers to all our questions, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't ask.

I have to wonder if this would be my reaction to being beaten and
throne in prison. When I'm stressed or lonely or afraid, is it my
first reaction to turn to God in prayer and worship? Or is that a
last resort? It's so easy in our comparatively small trials to let
ourselves look to other things for comfort. But God is our comfort
and strength in hard times, as well as our constant companion in
everyday life.

So why wait? In good times or bad, let's seek the Lord. Let's
worship Him because He's worthy, no matter what we're going through.
As we do, we can be a light to those around us, as Paul and Silas were
to their fellow prisoners and their captors.

Yukata Party. Okay, not really a party. Just me hanging out with some youth (in our hotel-provided yukatas) before bed Sunday night at the retreat I was ministering at. Good times.

(posted 2011/09/24)

The calm after the storm. Taken yesterday, from my balcony, after the typhoon had passed Nagoya.

(2011/09/22)

The Good News: I got my visa extension, and it’s good for 3 more years! Thanks for praying!

The Prayer Request: Tomorrow and Monday is Chukyo Seikai — an annual retreat for the Immanuel Churches in our area. I am helping out with the youth programs with music and a testimony. Please pray for my ministry and for all involved in this event; for safe travel and changed lives.

Thanks!

(Posted on Sat. Sept. 17 2011)

Am I partnering with God in His work, or getting in His way?   Today,
my prayer is that I will hear His voice, listen and obey, not letting
my prejudices, preconceptions, fears or doubts hold me back. May I get
out of the way and let God do His thing.