October 2003
Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun!
As mentioned in my last newsletter, the mission house in Tsukuba
was to be torn down and the property sold to generate funds for
other mission property renewal. Tim has managed to salvage quite
a few items prior to the demolition, and a good bit of that has
gone to the Indonesian congregation in Oarai, a coastal city about
an hour away. They are renting an old warehouse that was simply
a long narrow building with two floors. There were no toilets
and only one faucet over a small sink at one end of the ground
floor. The lack of toilet facilities has been a major headache
for the congregation, and so the two toilets from the mission
house will soon have a new “home.” After the sewer
connections are installed, the toilets will be installed and the
men of the church will build the proper walls and doors to house
them. The bathroom sink and other such items are likewise going
to go there. We are happy to see that project finish up, as it
has involved quite a bit of effort, forcing some other projects
to the "back burner" temporarily.
One situation that we would like to have you all uplift in prayer
is the visa application for Vilmar Martinez, who we hope can help
us here in numerous ways. Vilmar is the daughter of a Methodist
minister in the Philippines, and she served as a United Methodist
missionary in Bolivia for a term before that particular program
ended. She now wants to work here in Japan, and so we have applied
for a working visa through the international school, where she
will teach English as a Second Language. She’ll also teach
English at a mission school in Tokyo. We expect her to make a
significant contribution to Christian ministry here in Tsukuba,
but first she has to acquire the proper visa. It has been over
two months since we applied, and we don't know how much longer
it will take. The immigration office can't tell us where in the
process it is, though it should have been finished by now. They
seem to have a huge number of applications, and so it takes a
long time. Please pray that the okay will come through quickly
so that she can come to Japan and get started.
Tim and Juji Boyle
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
178 |
