HICKS’ MINISTRY REPORT
Nov – Dec 2009
As
we write this report it is now New Year’s Day here in Japan. These last couple months,
Mari and I have stood amazed at what the Lord has done to touch Japanese lives
through our service to Him.
Together, we (you and us) have been a very vital part of what God has
accomplished. May you be blessed as
you read this report and as you hear and see what God has done. As this will be a comprehensive report…
you might want to grab a cup of coffee, hot tea or chocolate and take your time
as you read it through. Blessed to
be a blessing… neal & mari
As
we began the month of November, the 1st was Sunday, and Dr. &
Mrs. Haga (the most senior pastor… equivalent to the level of Bishop…of the
nine Free Methodist Churches of which our church belongs) came to our Kawagoe
Church: “On The Way Chapel” and led us in worship and communion. Dr. Haga is a deeply humble servant of
the Lord, a spiritual giant among Japanese leaders, and a powerful preacher of
the Word of God. To have him and
his wife as personal friends and co-laborers in God’s work here in Japan is a
special blessing words cannot convey. (Picture #1)
Nov.
6 – 7th, was our annual Simultaneous Interpreter’s Seminar at Grace
Bible Chalet in Karuizawa. (Nov. 6th
was also Mari and my 38th wedding anniversary) We again assisted Dr. Kaz Kinoshita with
training Christian leaders to improve their translation skills from Japanese to
English and English to Japanese.
Some of the attendees personally shared with us how deeply their lives
were touched through the training and personal fellowship,
and how better equipped and encouraged they were for ongoing ministry in their
churches where they serve. (pic 2)
Sunday
Nov. 8th I preached at Kawagoe Church and enjoyed fellowship with
our church family over one of my baked deserts.
Nov.
11th, Wednesday, Mari and I attended our midweek Prayer Meeting at
our church. Special prayer was
requested for our trip to Yokohama to begin discussion with Customs officials
concerning shipments of donated shoes and clothing coming to Japan via Grace
Chapel in Leipers’ Fork, Tennessee.
The prayer request was that the items coming would not be taxed by
Customs, and that God would open the door for future shipments to help the
homeless in Tokyo. (pic 3)
Wednesday
afternoon, Mari and I left our church and drove directly to Yokohama. God led us to Mr. Noguchi at the Customs
Department. We presented to him
several forms, shipping documents, and validated letters for him to look
over. He had many questions for us
regarding contents of the shipment and what they were for. It’s always special when God opens the
door to witness to people in high places of authority. Mr. Noguchi looked confounded. “Japan sends such things to many other
countries, but we are not used to receiving such items.” He said this was the first such
experience to hear of such a thing.
Then Mari and I looked at each other and we were confounded. How could it be that Japanese Customs
officials had no category for receiving donated items for the poor and homeless
when there are tens of thousands of such needy people all throughout
Japan? Was God pioneering something
new for the homeless in Japan? Mr.
Noguchi said he would have to have a meeting with other officials to decide how
to respond to this. He concluded by
saying such items (300 pair of leather shoes, jackets, sweatshirts, t-shirts,
blankets) are normally taxed, especially the shoes. Should Japan Customs determine these
donated items needed to be taxed, the tax would be so high that it would make
it financially out of sight to pay for such items. In which case they gave us three
options: pay the tax (per pair of
shoes & clothes), pay to have them shipped back to the USA, or pay to have
Customs throw them all away. We
would be notified by phone what their decision would be. Beyond this, the shipment had already left
the Port in Los Angeles and was on the way to Yokohama. Many folks were praying here and in the
States for God to open the door…. And open the door He did!
The
following week we were notified the decision was made that NO TAX would be
assessed… not only on this shipment of 20 plus boxes… but also on any
future shipments of donated clothing. God not only opened the door, but He
blew it wide open! The Lord has now
set in place an avenue for meeting the needs of much larger numbers of
homeless, not only in Ueno Park where we minister, but all throughout
Japan. This was no small
miracle! May the Lord receive all
the glory due His mighty Name!
Nov.
12th I led our weekly bible study at Koganei Free Methodist Church,
the largest of the nine FM churches in Japan) as part of my new
responsibilities as part time pastor of Kawagoe Church. The FM pastors want to spread me around
a bit.
Nov.
14th we joined Rev. Hiruma and his wife, ministering to hundreds of
homeless in Tokyo Ueno Park. (pic 4)
Nov.
15th we enjoyed worship at Kawagoe Church and sat in on our church
board meeting following Sunday service.
We suggested an evangelistic outreach event for December 24th…
an outdoor Christmas Hot Dog Party.
We suggested approaching a Japanese friend about renting his Chicago
Style Hot Dog Cart to draw in folks from our community. Everyone liked the idea.
Nov.
15th – 16th I took Mari to Nagano to see her surgeon who
performed the surgery on her right wrist.
Although it’s a long drive, Iizuna Hospital in Nagano, is where she had
the surgery last summer. Dr. Itoh
x-rayed Mari’s wrist and was pleased with her healing. Mari continues to make good progress
with frequent visits to our neighborhood rehabilitation center. The titanium plate and five screws will
be removed by Dr. Itoh this year around June.
Nov.
17th Tuesday, we took our Brazilian guests Andre and Elaine to the
bus station in Tokorozawa only 20 minutes from our house. Andre & Elaine lived with us from
Sept. 1st until Nov. 17th. They are relatives of Neal Hideo’s new
bride… Nathalia or Lyiah as we call her, who were
transitioning back to Brazil, and were in between jobs for this time. We had great Brazilian food while they
were with us. (pic 5)
Nov.
18th Wednesday, was mid-week prayer meeting at our church and the 19th
was bible study at Koganei Free Methodist Church. Nov. 21st was worship at Ueno
Park with the homeless, and Nov. 22nd was the “hanging of the greens”
at Kawagoe Church. Also please note
the Christmas banner Mari made. (pic 6)
Nov.
25th was our Thanksgiving shopping trip to Costco. Costco in Japan still amazes us every
time we go there.
Nov.
26th was our Thanksgiving devotional teaching at Kawagoe Church
followed by a desert. Mari sat the
table for nine people, only one of which was a Christian. Later that same
evening I led our bible study at Koganei FM Church and set similar Thanksgiving
table décor. (pic 7 and pic 8)
Nov.
27th we had 23 people come for a full course Thanksgiving Day dinner
at our home. It was a time to
celebrate God’s goodness and provision for us all.
Nov.
28th was our monthly International VIP Business men’s / women’s
bible study at our home. The theme
was “Thanksgiving to God” and we enjoyed a good meal together with pumpkin pie.
Nov.
29th we ended the month by attending Nagayama Church… another church
we mentor and work with. It was a
wonderful time of worship and fellowship.
Everyone enjoyed our rhubarb cobbler we baked. That same day we drove out to Narita
Airport, and surprised our son by meeting him on his return from ten days in
Brazil to visit his new family there.
(pic 9)
Further
Commentary for November 2009: While at Kawagoe Church Dr.
Haga’s wife asked me in the presence of our church family if I had ever thought
about becoming pastor of “Kawagoe Church?”
Kawagoe Church: On The Way Chapel, has been
without a pastor for more than two years.
The former pastor and his wife took medical leaves of absence and did
not return. Our church has been praying
and requesting a new pastor for some time, but were told there were no other
pastors forthcoming who could be supplied.
Our church board regrettably was told by the FM leaders they would have
to do without a pastor, as a number of Japanese Churches are in the same
boat. Many veteran Japanese pastors
are now elderly and have retired and there are very very few new pastors being
trained or entering the ministry.
At
the same time, Mari and I were facing our own dilemma, as our financial support
stateside was showing considerable “red ink” due to US economic downturn, and
here in Japan the dollar was at a 14 year low against the Yen. The Mission Society warned us, even as
early as last September 2008, that if our financial situation did not improve
soon, they would have no recourse but to “call us back stateside” so we could
visit churches and strengthen our financial support. One other option suggested to us was to consider
generating “in country” support in Japan through taking part-time jobs. We began to pray about what the Lord
would have us do and what direction He would have us go.
As
the Lord would have it, we learned of our church’s need, and at the same time
shared with them our urgent financial situation. Following several FM leadership meetings,
I was approved and hired to be the pastor of Kawagoe Church. Because we are already involved in
several other ministries, I was hired as “part time pastor” and will only
receive a part time salary of 120,000 yen a month or roughly $1,300 a
month. With other substitute
teaching / office work at the Christian Academy, we are doing our best to help generate
“in country support” which goes directly into our field ministry account to help
meet our expenses here.
One
further comment is to express our heartfelt thanks to many supporting churches
and personal supporters for their special sacrificial gifts these last few
months. The red ink we’ve carried
for the last two years has seen our stateside headquarters’ account, as the
month of November giving closed, reduced from over $16,000 down to $3,200. This is truly a miracle! We pray that with December giving yet
forthcoming, God will pull us completely out of the red and into the black as
we head into 2010.
Our
goal is to achieve a healthy account, and finish out this present five year term
through September 2112. At that
time, we will return stateside for our home assignment furlough time, which is
generally 11 to 12 months on the road, visiting over 50 churches in 14
states. It’s hard for us to
believe, but by the year 2112 we will have concluded 31 years of missionary
service in Japan… and we feel we’re just getting started!
MONTHLY MINISTRY
REPORT
December 2009
We
began the month of December, the 1st, by responding to the call of a
mission-wide day of prayer and fasting, joining the Mission Society
headquarters’ staff and all missionaries of our agency. It was a time of looking to the Lord and
seeking His direction for the Society in the New Year of 2010 and beyond. The Mission Society now has a new
president, Rev. Dick McClain, who has replaced Dr. Phil Granger who previously
served the Society for the last eight years. Dick is a personal friend and a
wonderful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and we look forward to serving along
with him in the years to come. In
the past, we have had plans to bring Dick here to Japan to meet with numerous
Japanese pastors and leaders, and to pass on the vision for Global Outreach. And now that he is serving as president,
we feel even more compelled to bring him to Japan.
Dec.
2nd we attended our mid-week prayer service at Kawagoe Church. We prayed for Japan, our community and
the world, that the True Light of Christmas would shine
into their hearts.
Dec.
3rd Thursday morning, I gave a Christmas message to a singing group
at our church led by Mr. Kawamura our church pianist. There are nine in the group and only one
of them is Christian. Afterwards we
had lunch together and could see how the Lord was using the singing lessons to
familiarize them with our church.
It was a joy for me to share the real meaning of Christmas with them
after reading the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. Our prayer is that they will begin to attend
church and hear the message of the Gospel.
Also
on Thursday evening I led my weekly bible study at Koganei Free Methodist
Church. We looked at the birth of
Christ and the manifestation of the angels to the shepherds watching their
flocks.
Dec.
4th & 5th we hosted the Uchida family who came to
visit from Nagano Japan. Mr. Uchida
and her daughter stayed the night with us and on the 5th went with
us to Ueno Park and assisted with ministering to the homeless. Following the outdoor worship service we
all helped to hand carry hot soup over rice to 400
homeless folks, and helped with some clothes distribution. This was the first experience for the
Uchida family, and their hearts were greatly moved to see the heartfelt
responses of so many people.
Dec.
6th was worship at Kawagoe Church and the first Sunday in
Advent. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed
the church being decorated inside and out.
Dec.
7th I participated in a JEMA (Japan Evangelical Missionary Association)
sponsored Prayer Walk around the Imperial Palace where the Emperor and his
family live. We used the JEMA
Prayer Guide to pray and intercede for Japan, the Emperor, government leaders,
and the many prefectures that make up Japan. We also prayed for pastors and their
families, churches and missionaries that they would be bold in their witness
during the Christmas season. (pic 10 pic 11 pic 12)
December
9th was victory day. We
rented a two ton truck and drove to Yokohama to the Customs warehouse. Three palates of goods arrived and we
cleared them through Customs ourselves.
Usually a broker is used to do this requiring much additional
money. Apart from renting the truck
and tolls, we spent 20 yen… about 20 cents by doing it ourselves. The Customs agents were very helpful as
we were novices at such things.
When it came to the fork truck placing the three palates in our covered
truck, we were again amazed the doors closed with a half inch to spare. God led us to know perfectly what size
truck to rent, even though we didn’t have a clue. It was truly amazing. During the drive back to our house, our
joy was overflowing at all the Lord had done to bring this to pass. His hand was so visible in every facet
of this endeavor. (pic 13 pic 14 pic 15)
The
morning of Dec. 10th, Rev. Hiruma of Topos Christ Church, the
Director of the Ueno Park Homeless Ministry, sent his staff to pick up all the
boxes of shoes and clothes we had brought back only the day before from the
Port in Yokohama. The boxes
completely filled the van. These
items will now be sorted and sized and ready to give out as Christmas gifts on
December 19th, as previously planned. (pic
16)
The
same morning we travelled to Kawagoe Church where I gave a short message again
to the singing group, and later that evening traveled to Koganei Church to lead
an evening bible study.
Dec.
11th Friday, Mari and I travelled to Costco and shopped for the
items we needed for the International VIP Christmas bible study party we hosted
at our home on Dec. 12th.
This was a special day, as we looked at the birth of Jesus… and then
celebrated my birthday, as I turned xx years old. (pic 17)
Dec.
13th we helped our oldest son move into a new apartment. Our van was as full as we could get
it. Neal Hideo was excited as his
wife would be returning to Japan from Brazil just a couple days later. (pic 18)
Dec.
15th was doctor appointments for both Mari and me of which we both
had good reports.
The
16th was mid-week prayer and again on the 18th we helped
Neal finish his moving to his new place.
Dec.
19th was our Christmas worship with the homeless in Ueno Park. It was a very blessed time as everyone
heard the Christmas story, enjoyed a hot meal and then received Christmas
presents which came from the States.
The looks on so many faces when NEW shoes “Dockers” were given to them
along with coats and jackets and gloves and pants, said it all. One fellow looked at me as I handed him
a name brand jacket (one I wouldn’t have minded having myself), and said, “this is for me?”
And I said yes, this is for you. So many of us
there could barely contain our excitement to be giving away such nice gifts to
the poor and destitute. (Pic
19 pic 20 pic 21 pic 22 pic 23 pic 24 pic 25)
Following
the distribution of shoes and clothes, Rev. Hiruma’s wife looked at the last
remaining box of shoes, and then said to the staff, “would you like to have
shoes too?” They responded by
saying, “us too?” It was then I
looked down at their feet, and the shoes they were wearing were literally worn
out and falling apart. The whole
time they were handing out pair after pair of new shoes to the homeless guys,
they never thought of themselves and their own needs… but the Lord didn’t
forget them either. (pic 26)
Dec.
19th we took a fully cooked turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy,
scalloped corn, and other items to Kawagoe Church for our planned “carry in”
Christmas dinner. Many other folks
brought Japanese dishes and we had a wonderful celebration. (pic 27 pic 28)
On
Dec. 22nd we again hosted all our ministry partners with a full
blown Christmas turkey dinner at our house. We had 27 people attend. Some were from Kawagoe Church, some from
Koganei Church including their pastor Rev. Miyakawa, Nagayama Church including
their pastor Rev. Kurita, some from our Simultaneous Translation Seminar, and
some from our International VIP bible study group. We talked about the real meaning of
Christmas and enjoyed wonderful fellowship together. A total of four who came were
non-Christians (pic 29)
Dec.
24th, Thursday we hosted our Christmas hot dog evangelistic outreach
party… my idea of course… to reach neighbors and folks living in and around our
church. We covered the whole
neighborhood with fliers and special tickets which allowed them to get a free
hot dog, chips and a drink on the deck of our church. We then invited them inside to see our
church and the decorations. One
young girl played her violin for the guests. The Chicago Style Hot Dog Cart we
borrowed gave the event just the right touch. Everyone had a very good time and we
interacted with many folks we had never met before. It was a fun and blessed day. Later that same evening
we had a beautiful Christmas Eve Candle light worship service. (pic 30 pic 31 pic 32)
Dec.
27th Sunday, we enjoyed worship followed by a church board
meeting. We had a Christmas “debriefing”
and discussed how we could improve next year.
On
Friday Jan. 1st we had a wonderful New Year’s Day worship service at
Kawagoe Church. Mrs. Ikema did an
amazingly beautiful floral display for the pulpit, and Mari made a new banner
for the sanctuary. Everyone is
excited as we head into the new year of 2010 and what we can do to make the
love of Christ more visible to those who live in and around the church. (pic 33)
Further
Commentary for December 2009: It is with great joy that Mari and I report
to you that we just now received our December Giving Statement from The Mission
Society. In the words of
headquarters, we had a” HUGE” response for the month of December. God did indeed do a miracle for us and
pulled us into the black for the first time in two years. We don’t know who was more excited,
headquarters or us! We can only say
THANK YOU to our wonderful Lord and to YOU, as you have prayed and
sacrificially given to bring us through a difficult time. To help you pray for us please allow us
to list some of the prayer request and needs we have for the year 2010.
PRAYER REQUESTS for Neal & Mari in 2010
Pray we will be bold as a Church to
proclaim God’s Word in the area of Kawagoe Japan.
