October 2023 Update
Fall’s here, but daytime temperatures are still warm—hot, even—for a bit longer. Nights, though, are getting chilly. A brief update follows:
Up to this point, our two main ministries have been house church and Living Room, a worship ministry. I’ve been leading worship more regularly in both. This is a challenge, but I’m growing into it. At Living Room, we want to also focus on building community. So, we worship and pray, and then have dinner together. My soup-making skills are coming along, I’m told.
Over the past few years, S. has written many songs. A fair number come right out of scripture. God will give her a passage or a melody and she’ll flesh it out and write a song in both English and Japanese. We largely play her songs. Sometimes, she leads on ukulele. Otherwise, I play guitar. I can lead some songs in English, but will need to learn more in Japanese as we move ahead. We hope to make this ministry public in the future, but don’t have the capacity to do so yet. We would also like to make some of the songs more widely available before too long.
In both ministries, our focus is primarily on leaders. Each who attends is a leader in their own right. Some have their own ministries. Others are moving in that direction. Regardless, our desire is to minister to leaders and to provide a space for them to feel welcome and free. We wanted to use our house for such, and are doing so. It’s great.
Over the summer, a friend who is now a worship pastor in London visited us. It was a joy to see him and pray for him. He played/prayed a song he wrote. S. responded in kind. We also ministered to a couple who helps lead a church in Tokyo. We hadn’t seen them since before Covid. Then, through a connection from our worship pastor friend, we also recently met with an English couple who came to Japan on a prayer assignment. We ate together, worshiped, and interceded for Japan. We believe it was a divine appointment, and everyone was mutually encouraged. Periodically, we also do Zoom calls with certain leaders across the country. These have been times of reconnection, and as friends they’ve contended for us in prayer on many occasions.
Do You Need Prayer? Now Is the Time!
God’s been speaking to me about moving more intentionally into praying for people’s needs. Do you need prayer for wisdom, direction, encouragement, or healing (emotional or physical)? I’m going to set up an online space to pray for you. I envision two different meetings. One meeting focusing on praying for wisdom, guidance, support, and encouragement, and a second meeting focusing on healing. Eventually, a third meeting might focus on teaching, training, and equipping. I’ll send out another update as soon as I can with details. I’ll likely use a combination of Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom. Please pray for me as I move ahead in this.
Prayer Requests
- S.’s health. She’s had some ongoing issues the past few years. We want to keep believing for full healing. Many thanks to those who have continued to lift her up in prayer.
- Car? We’ve been without a car since moving to Tokyo in 2010. Now that we’re a bit farther out, we think it’s time to get a car. We’re trying to figure out what would be the best fit and when to buy it.
- Wisdom as I move ahead. I’m trying to move into what I believe God is asking me to do. I need wisdom, confidence, and better time management.
Giving
I am very grateful for those who have supported me financially. Thank you. You have blessed us with your generosity.
For those who wish to give, a tax-deductible donation can be made through EquipNet. My donation page is as follows:
https://www.equipnet.org/missionaries/jstanislawski
Thanks.
Justin
