December 13, 2002

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This is our first official newsletter since becoming Presbyterian missionaries almost exactly two years ago now. For many of you, such as friends from our school days, this may be our first communication ever! Please forgive us.

After interning at Knox Presbyterian Church then, serving Christ Presbyterian Church of Hollywood (in Los Angeles) and then the yoked parish of Allison Community Church and Ignacio Community Church in southwest Colorado, Judy and I returned to Japan to teach English as a means of self-supported mission work. I worked at Palmore Institute one year, then as a PC(USA) mission associate at Kwansei Gakuin High School (in Nishinomiya, Japan) for almost seven years.

Our first assignment here in central Japan has been to visit all 26 churches and fellowships within the presbytery in order to get to know all the pastors and as many of the people as possible. As I write this, we have visited two-thirds of the churches so far. Starting in April, we will make one of these our church home. I will also be teaching Bible studies in up to six other churches on weekdays, once a month each.

We feel we have the best of both worlds because of our relationship with the Presbytery of Western Colorado (where I am a member clergy) and with the Chubu Chukai. We are convinced that both are the warmest presbyteries of their respective denominations.

Our children are Naomi (22), now a senior majoring in music at Berea College in Kentucky, Nathanael (12), a voracious reader who also likes basketball and soccer, Joseph (9), a veterinarian-in-the-making who likes soccer and who skateboards incessantly, and Sarah (7 in January), the most feminine version of self-styled "tomboy" I've met, who plays with dolls, beanie babies, and her older brothers, and who dotes on her older sister Naomi. We also feel a kinship with Allie, Jennie, and Johnnie (foster daughters who are all married now).

We covet your prayers for our ministry here. And we would like to keep in contact with you. Since both of us have been raised as "Third Culture Kids" (TCKs), being children of missionaries (Judy from Nigeria and Andy from Japan), we have the tendency to walk out of peoples' lives when moving to another location. Recently coming to terms with this, we would like to use this newsletter as a starting point for reestablishing many lost relationships.

Yours in the service of Jesus Christ,

Andrew & Judith Carrick
Evangelistic PC(USA) missionaries to Japan