Karl in Japan Jan 2011 Update

Different Doors
In my last letter I shared that there was a possibility of speaking at two churches in the new year. Since writing that update both of those doors have closed at this time. Although this was disappointing to me; I believe God is starting to move in my home church. I am praying these doors will open in the next few months and I’ll be invited to share with the congregation of my church of my passion to reach the next generation for Japan for Christ.

I’m finding that most churches in the Fraser Valley only allow individuals from within their congregation to share of their ministry opportunities. I was quite encouraged when I was invited to speak at my parent’s pastorate (home group). So it seems that small groups is who I should be targeting and connecting with. If you participate in a small group, would you consider asking your group leader if and when I might be able share with yours?

2%!!!
This last month, a friend contacted me and asked where my monthly financial support was at. After some discussion he responded that he and his wife would be supporting me monthly. Thank you Friend; my support just went from 21% to 23%. This was very encouraging to me.

What’s Next?
Before I go to Japan as a SEND missionary, I must attend their Member Orientation Program (MOP) once I reach 50% monthly support. This program only runs once a year now; the next one will be held this summer. I am hoping to be in Japan within a year, so right now I need another 27% monthly support to attend the next MOP. Thank you for prayerfully considering how you might partner with me financially.

Thank you!
Karl Friesen

PS.  I realize there are many very worthy mission organizations. I thank God for each one of you that has chosen to partner with me and support me financially. Please continue to pray that others will respond to God’s call to partner with me.

Karl in Japan Nov 2010 Update

Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Isaiah 9:6

OPEN DOORS

            I had an amazing opportunity to share with two churches in the Kootenay’s on Nov. 20 and 21.  On Saturday I spoke to the youth at the Castlegar New Life Assembly and on Sunday to the congregation during their morning worship service, then that evening at the First Presbyterian Church in Trail.  These churches have been a tremendous encouragement to me; they opened their doors, giving me an opportunity to share and warmly welcomed me with their hospitality.  I had a great time reconnecting with staff and campers that I got to know at Pines Bible Camp where I worked this past summer and I got to meet church members, answering their questions and speaking with them one on one.  I’m looking forward to sharing with a number of other churches in the New Year. 

            Thank you for praying with me for open doors; small groups and churches giving me the opportunity to share with their congregations.

             If you are or know a small group leader, if you have a group of friends, if you have a mission’s representative in your church or if you know a church that you think might be interested in hearing about ministry in Japan, please send me their contact information.

A FRIEND’S STORY
      While I was preparing to share at the churches in the Kootenay’s this past weekend, I was reminded of a friend of mine in Japan, the father of two children I really enjoyed in the kindergarten English class I taught in my home and husband to their Christian mother. She was a key person in this class; I was impressed at the way she amazingly connected with the other mothers and shared with them who Jesus is, however her husband had never made a personal commitment to Christ.
      One day while waiting for guests to arrive at my home for dinner, my friend told me that he wanted his children to be Christians; this was somewhat surprising to me since he wasn’t a Christian. Later I asked Pastor Martin, who I worked under, why my friend would have said this. Martin explained that our friend was the professor of Japanese religion and philosophy at the university and couldn’t make a commitment because of social pressures and what would be said of him if he was a Christian in that teaching role.
      Social pressures are very key to the choices and decisions the Japanese make in their life. How sad it is to know that my friend may never choose Christianity himself. He and his wife now have 3 children; I think of him often and continue to pray for his salvation.

TRAINING FOR JAPAN
      In my last update, my goal was to reach 50% of my monthly support this fall so that I could attend MOP (Member Orientation Program) in January/February 2011. SEND has informed us that the program is postponed until next summer due to the fact that there weren’t enough people to attend it this winter. Have you considered how you can help me reach my goal? I’d be happy to explain some options or ways to do this.

PRAYER AND PRAISE
      Please pray as I continue to connect with those that God is calling to partner with and come alongside me as I prepare to serve with SEND.
      I thank God for His faithfulness, for those that have committed to Partner with me and send me words of encouragement.


EVENTS

      In October I was invited to Gospel Night put on by Vancouver Japanese Gospel Church (VJGC) supported by a number of Korean churches in the area. This event’s focus was to reach the Japanese on work and student visas. It was good to see how VJGC and other churches in their community are working to reach individuals in their own community. I was also able to spend time with VJGC’s church family for their Halloween event; it was lots of fun. I continue to be involved in International Youth Group as much as I can outside of Sunday mornings.
      At the beginning of November I attended Passion Vancouver with VJGC. It was a great time of fellowship and worship lead by Chris Tomlin, Matt Redmen and the David Crowder Band. Guest speaker Lui Gillio, spoke on how we are to serve Christ with passion; if your passion is in the business world, serve Christ there; if it’s in the church, serve Him there. This really resonated with me and affirmed my desire to serve the Japanese people in Japan.

May you feel Christ blessings as you celebrate his coming to save us, as a child.

Karl Friesen

CONTACT INFO
SEND International - Canada
#1-22423 Jefferies Road
RR #5, Komoka, Ont.
N0L 1R0
http://www.sendcanada.org/
1-888-918-5036

Home
2946 Cardinal Place
Abbotsford BC
V2T 5P6
karlinjapan@hotmail.com
604-852-8877

Karl in Japan Sept 2010 Update

SERF’S OUT

It was a busy summer at Pines Bible Camp in Grand Forks, BC; this year I worked with Leanne in the SERF Program (Serving with Enthusiasm while building Relationships and having Fun). I had forgotten that as a leader you sometimes just have to keep going at camp even though you feel like sitting down and taking it easy. I learned a lot from my SERFs and grew even more in my Christian walk…I had a number boys from very broken homes whom I just needed to love; this was hard sometimes. I had two Korean exchange students for the entire summer from Chilliwack, BC which made for some very interesting social dynamics.

It took me a long time to understand and even love one of my boys; he comes from a very broken home. At camp he was confrontational and if possible tried to steal all of my attention from the other SERFs. He came to the first week of SERF and then came three more weeks including the last week. Looking back and comparing the first week with him to the final week, I don’t think his behavior improved that much -- he still fought with his fellow SERFs and still tried to be belligerent -- but I would have to say my attitude towards him changed. Christ’s work in me was very evident; I loved him even though he was still the same boy.

Please pray for my boys as they return to some very difficult situations; that they would remember that Christ loves them in any situation they find themselves in; and that their desire to grow in their relationship with Christ continues.


SHARING AT GC

When I was back in Grand Forks for the summer I had the opportunity to reconnect with many old friends at my Grand Forks “home church”, Gospel Chapel. It felt like coming home. On July 18th I was given the opportunity to share about my heart for the Japanese and the ministry opportunity that I’ll have in Japan. It was very encouraging for me that people were interested in how the Lord has been leading me towards ministry in Japan.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be connecting with people about opportunities to share over the fall. If you have a group (Bible study, youth group, friends) with whom you would like me to share, please contact me.

Please pray that there will be more churches that would be willing to open their doors and give me an opportunity to share with their congregations and that churches that I have contacted will respond to my request to share about my ministry opportunity in Japan.


FAMILY CONFERENCE
At the end of July I headed off to the SEND Family Conference; it was a great time of meeting people who are serving with SEND around the world and reconnecting with those I had met at the Canadian office last November. It was also great meeting those who are currently serving and who have served in Japan.

I picked up a copy of Rollin S. Reasoner biography who served in Japan with SEND from 1951 to 1993 in many different capacities -- street evangelist, director of the mission, and college teacher. The book has been a great resource for me to learn more about SEND’s history in Japan and what it really takes to serve as a long-term missionary in Japan or anywhere in the world for that matter.

One thing I have taken away from my reading is praying for key issues. So I thought I should try to write down a few simple prayers that wouldn’t change for me whether I am in Canada or Japan.
• That I’ll continue to grow in my relationship with Christ (Col 2:6, 7)
• That I’ll be an effective witness for Christ (2 Cor. 3:2-6)
• That I’ll be drawn to God’s will.
I’m very grateful for those of you who faithfully pray for me.

12/5

It’s not 24/7 it is 12/5 -- the number of months that an individual commits to being a monthly financially supporter; 12 months for five years. I understand that I am a young missionary; if someone commits to being a monthly supporter it may look like this is a life-time commitment or at the very least a couple of decades. Right now, all I need is individuals to partner with me for my first term which is five years so that I can enter the mission field and start serving.

My goal is to reach 50% of my monthly support this fall so that I can attend MOP (Member Orientation Program) in January/February 2011. Please pray that people will respond to God’s call to be involved in missions globally.

Your Brother in Christ,
Karl Friesen

SEND International - Canada
#1-22423 Jefferies Road
RR #5, Komoka, Ont.
N0L 1R0
http://www.sendcanada.org/
1-888-918-5036

Home
2946 Cardinal Place
Abbotsford, BC
V2T 5P6
karlinjapan@hotmail.com
604-852-8877

It has been an interesting two months since I last wrote. In February I had the opportunity to attend the Reaching Japanese Conference (RJC) in Seattle, WA with Jenn and Steve Frentz who are also appointees to Japan. Pastor Hiroshi from Hongodai Christ Church in Yokohama, Japan was the main speaker; he brought his church youth worship band to RJC to lead the worship. It was a good time of connecting with others who have a heart for Japan and encouraging one another.
In March I had the opportunity to reconnect with Vancouver Japanese Gospel Church in New Westminster, a direct result of attending RJC. I have tentative plans to share about my prospective ministry and to teach during their English service.
I also hosted a dessert night with my parent’s help which was a great time of visiting and sharing some of my favorite Japanese treats. I enjoyed sharing about my future ministry and my previous experience in Japan, and answering questions about Japan to give my guests a better understanding of what living in Japan is like. I believe it went very well so I am planning to host another two dessert nights in Abbotsford on May 13th and 15th, one in Enderby, BC on May 2nd and in Grand Forks, BC on June 12th. Please let me know if you would like more information or would be interested in having me share a dessert evening in your area. I would appreciate your RSVP if you plan on attending one of these nights.
When I arrive in Japan I’ll begin my language studies; during this time I’ll be able to get to know SEND Japan, the church in Japan better and get more experience serving the local congregation in practical ways. After completing my language studies I may continue serving at the church in full-time ministry before joining Okutama Bible Chalet’s team. I would still love to serve at OBC; I am praying and waiting for God to lead and reveal to me exactly what His plans are for me in Japan.
Although it seems like I am quite aways from raising all my financial support, God is good and people are committing to partnering with me financially on a regular basis. This is very encouraging, however, would you prayerfully consider being one of the 30 people I need to partner with me in prayer? Thank your for your interest in kingdom work in Japan and prayerfully considering how the Lord might lead you to partner with me in this ministry.

Yesterday I had the oppertunity to share with not only my life group but also with the life group that meets at the same time as mine. So I made some gyoza and brought some mochi with anko in it. It was a good time of sharing and they had some really good questions for me to help explain what my ministry will be like in Japan. And them afterwards weed played for avery short moment some band hero.

My Prayer Card

Jan. 2010

Happy New Year,

With the new year come new goals and tasks that need to be accomplished. My main task for the year is developing a support team while preparing to serve in Japan.

In my last letter I shared my desire to serve at Okutama Bible Chalet(OBC). Since sharing that news I’ve been able to connect with other missionaries that have served there. They told me about Mrs. Koga. Last summer she sent her twin daughters to OBC where they made decisions to follow Christ and now she has recently taken an interest in studying the word. Please pray for this family as the Lord draws them to himself.

OBC is having its 50th anniversary in October. I would like to be in Japan for the celebration so that I could get to know the history of the camp first hand and to know the people that have been involved in its growth and development.

During the weekend of January 8-10th it was Missions Fest Vancouver where I was serving at the SEND booth. While at the booth I got to know other SEND missionaries better and share with those attending how God is using SEND around the world. I also was able to catch up with friends from other ministries that I have been in contact with over the years. Missions Fest is always a highlight for me because I’m able to meet people serving God and being used by him all over the world in many different ways. I also attended a helpful seminar on raising personal support. One of the more exciting events coming up is the Reaching Japanese for Christ(www.rjcnetwork.org) conference in mid-February. I was able to attend this conference before my last time in Japan. It’ll be a good time of connecting with people that are in ministry with the Japanese. Please pray for my time that through this conference I’ll learn to be more effective in my future ministry.

As I continue the task of working towards Japan, would you consider how the Lord wants you to be involved with me in this ministry. First, I need 30 people to partner with me in prayer as I prepare and while in ministry and second, is financial support. Please prayerfully consider how you can partner with me as I move forward in this journey.

I would love to catch up with you either by phone or for coffee if you have questions or just wanting to talk and share life with me.

Prayer Requests

-Mrs. Kago and her family as God calls them to himself that they will respond.

-That the Reaching Japanese for Christ conference will be an effective time of learning for me and growth in my understanding my future ministry.

-That people will respond to the Lord’s will in their lives to be partner in my ministry in Japan

-That the prayer and financial support will come in so that I’ll be able to be in Japan for OBC’s 50th anniversary in October.

Praise Items

-For Missions Fest and the time of fellowship and encouragement it is to so many people.

-Thanks to God for the people that have already stepped up to partner with me through prayer and finances.