Thank you so much for your prayers - God has been working here in ways that have not been seen in many years. Since Thanksgiving our team has seen 5 people pray to receive Christ! It has been truly amazing to watch God open these hearts and see His light begin to penetrate the darkness of this nation. One of those new believers, Y, was baptised a couple of weeks ago, and Trent continues to disciple him. What a blessing to have that experience so soon in our time here. This picture is from his baptism:
Another special way we are able to do outreach this time of year is by hosting Christmas parties. We live in the same area as our supervisor and his family, so together we hosted a Christmas party for our neighbors and friends. We had over 50 people attend! Each one of them heard the Christmas story and was given a "Manga" Bible (a popular Japanese-style animation) as a gift. They also had the privilege of hearing us help lead Christmas carols in Japanese, HA! Check out this video of us with some volunteers singing Silent Night in Japanese and English:
Lindsey is also especially thankful for your prayers about her transition to homeschooling the Brents' children. She adjusted quickly and is really enjoying this new job. Below is a picture of her and her "class" with Santa:
Finally I will leave you with this picture of my first Christmas shopping experience in Japan. If you thought malls were crowded where you live... well just look at what it's like here!!