Tak & Chee Newsletter! Vol.14 EN
I am very nervous at this time as I am doing the accounting for my tax return as a self-employed person for the first time.
At this time of year, I am thankful to get another ski instructor job this year, however, this has kept me busy since the beginning of the year. It's fun, but very cold anyway! But we are both protected and feel a lot of God's blessings and blessings. We also feel your prayers and are always encouraged! Thank you very much!
Aquila Church's vision is to
"produce" and "support"
a "modern Paul"
like Aquila and Priscilla.
A cable TV interview was aired!
Thank you so much for praying for us!
Thank you for your prayers! The event was successfully aired on Ueda Cable TV. (It is a little over 7 minutes long.) And it is available on the web anytime. The day it was aired was January 16th, Chie's birthday!
I gave a few hours of testimony to the staff who came to interview me, but of course, it was edited and made very short. (Laughs) Consciously, I kept saying "God is" or "God is" in my second sentence, so I think it was very difficult for the media to edit it so that it would not have a religious tone. Even so, I am glad to hear that there were several inquiries immediately after the interview aired! Please pray that this interview will be used to lead people to Jesus!
The Word given at the beginning of the year
Also King Cyrus brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and put in the house of his gods;
Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And I will praise You on the lyre, God, my God.
From the book of Ezra, the Lord showed us the place where "the vessels of the Lord that were taken away" will return to the Temple once again when it is rebuilt.
He showed us a vision of a year in which "the vessels of the Lord" would be returned to their rightful place, according to their design and purpose.
He also showed us that we are to rebuild "the most joyful altar of God. He showed us that the foundation of praise and worship, both individually and as a church group, would be firmly established, rebuilt, and strengthened. This vision was given to us as our vision for this year, and we will work on it from now on.
Associate pastors were given!
What a surprise this January to be given two associate pastors! We have been praying for a staff to minister with us for a long time, and we are so glad!
Let me introduce them to you!
Pastor Manabu
He is Takeshi's childhood friend, a pastor who grew up in the same church and studied in the same seminary.
He is a sincere person with a really passionate faith and a tender heart. He is also a worshiper who plays a lovely piano.
The person his mother evangelized further led Takeshi's mother to church, so Takeshi also started going to church, and since they are close friends who grew up together like brothers since Takeshi was really little, I am really grateful for this guidance!
Pastor Roo
Roo is a friend that Chie met when she was in Hokkaido over 10 years ago and is a wonderful woman who has never stopped loving Jesus.
She has taught English to immigrant children in Hawaii and was a kids' pastor at her church. She is a person who ministers with an overflowing love for education, discipleship training, pastoral counseling, and more. Roo is a dynamic and international person who has been to Africa as a missionary.
Her real name is Haruna Yamada, a pure Japanese from Hokkaido, Japan, who has spent more than half of her life in the U.S. since she moved here at the age of 16.
She is the kind of woman who makes you feel the presence of God when you are in the same room with her.
We are so thankful to be able to minister with her from now on!
Please pray for our Associate Pastors!
They are two experienced people who are willing to help us in the work of Aquila Church, but we are very sorry that our church is unable to provide them with stable financial support.
Nevertheless, please pray for them as they respond to God's call and take a risky decision with faith!
That their financial needs continue to be met
That they will find the best home for them.
If you have a designated donation for them, please let us know so we can send it to them!
Salvation!
Gratitude Report!
On the last Sunday in January, Takeshi was invited to give a message at a church called Shinshu Community Church.
This Sunday was one of those Sunday services where the whole church invites non-Christian friends to worship.
Takeshi gave a message about God the Creator.
Later that night, Takeshi received a text message and was told the news that after the service, a girl had made a decision to believe in and accept Jesus as the Savior of her life!
We were really, really happy!
We are so happy that someone spoke to that girl and led her to a confession of faith, and we are so happy that we were able to tag-team with the local church and see salvation as a team play! We are praying to see more!
Aquila Church Now
Recently, our church has seen a slight increase in the number of people gathering, and since the living room is too small, we decided to move to a Japanese-style room.
Our core value (basic philosophy) is to "be God's family." So we have a lot of family time, and we have all become really close in the past few months.
Church people come in our door saying, "I'm home!" and come into our house, and we start eating, praising, relaying testimonies, and praying for each other.
We had a game night during the New Year's holiday. And we did the Japanese tradition of writing the first calligraphy of the year.
God has touched each of our lives in more ways than I can describe in words.
It is truly a blessing to see the transformation up close and personal.
We are supposed to meet on Fridays, but they usually come to visit us on weekdays as well, often times when God is at work and we pray with tears in our eyes, and God is showing us something every day.
We have a really small church that started in our living room, but we have a Big God who is bigger than we can imagine.
Every time we see God at work, we are both grateful and excited, but also solemn.
And we really feel so many people praying for us.
We always feel that we are ministering with all of you who are praying and supporting us. Thank you so much for sharing our vision and ministering with us!
Fundraising Report
1 more monthly supporters were given last month, bringing the total to 15 now!
Current
Monthly Support Amount Total 55,000 yen and $265
Monthly Supporters Total 15perosn
December 1st -December 31st 2023
One-Time Donation Support Amount Total 80,000 yen
(part of the previously reported donation is included in this amount)
We are so grateful to have even more people arise to become supporters! Thank you for planting a church together! We feel that we are able to pour our time and energy more into ministry!
Please Pray…
For more souls to be saved.
For the financial needs of all staff members will be met.
For we will be sensitive to and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Support partners for Aquila Church
Aquila Church's vision is to "produce" and "support" a "modern Paul," just like Aquila and Priscilla did.
Monthly support target of $2500
We are looking for financial support partners to help us move toward the mission and vision given to the church.
50$ x 50 persons = 2500$
50$/month for 50 support partners to continue to operate the church.
Credit card transfers can be made at the following URL
Starting from 10$/month, you can specify the amount and one-time support is available.
We would appreciate your prayerful consideration.
https://achurchjapan.wixsite.com/aquilachurchjapan/support-1
You can get to know us quickly via SNS
Instagram: @aquila_church_japan
Web: https://achurchjapan.wixsite.com/achurch
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