Chris & Leanne July 2023 Prayer Requests

*We praise God for a good start to Leanne’s mom’s English circle in our town. Leanne has already been able to have spiritual conversations with one of the moms. Japanese believe there are many gods in everything, so they pray to and thank the rice, the trees, the cow, etc. She asked Leanne why a Christian kindergarten wouldn’t participate in a prayer festival to the star gods. “Is it because it would cause an argument between the g(G)ods?” It was a joy to talk about how we pray to and thank only one God who made everything.” Please continue to pray for this group moms.

*In May, Chris was elected by our mission to serve at the Assistant Area Director for Japan. He has already been serving our mission as the leader of Tohoko (The northern region of Japan). It’s been a blessing to meet with pastors throughout our region to encourage them and see how SEND Japan can help them. Please pray for Chris as he steps into this new leadership role.

*At the beginning of June, a team from Taiwan came to serve with our church planting team in Shichigahama. It was a wonderful time of outreach and connection! This team prepared their written testimonies in Japanese. At a special tea ceremony, our neighbors and friends received these written testimonies and Taiwanese gifts with excitement. Please pray that the seeds sown will continue to grow!

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Chris & Leanne June 2023 Prayer Requests

*Recently, we have begun to be released from COVID restrictions. Which has given us new opportunities to gather with people we know and new acquaintances. At a recent BBQ, I was asked what love is and how I teach my children about love. Thank you, Lord, for giving me this seemingly random moment to share about him. Please pray for more surprise opportunities to share the truths God has given us in his word.

*Please also pray for our church plant. May the Lord give our pastor Satoshi Ueno wisdom on impacting Shichigahama for Christ. And for us as a team to unify around the vision he gives us as a church plant.

*Please pray for Leanne as she pursues two opportunities the Lord has recently brought her way. The first is a gathering of moms with young kids. One of the ways our church connects with the families in our area is through teaching English. We are purposeful in using English to bring people into a community with Christians. Leanne will be leading a little kids' English group. Through these gatherings, our pastor's wife and a couple of other missionaries can interact and connect with the moms.

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Chris & Leanne May 2023 Prayer Requests

As Chris has taken on more leadership with SEND Japan, he has been a part of more vision and ministry planning for our mission in Japan. One of the focuses recently is helping our camp ministry, Okutama Bible Chalet, plan and reorganize. Hundreds of campers come through the camp ministry every year. The consensus is that we are entering a new era of camp ministry and need to update how the camp has been operating. Please pray the Lord will give Chris and others the wisdom to make the necessary changes to accomplish the goal of glorifying God through camp ministry.

-Chris

Chris & Leanne April 2023 Prayer Requests

We were so blessed and we praise God for all of the youth gatherings we were able to have during spring break this year. May those seeds grow into relationships which will allow for deeper sharing of faith.

The new school year has begun. Recently Covid restrictions have been removed. Which will allow us as a church family to begin having lunch together after service again. This is a part of the life of the church which has been missed for 3 years now. So we praise God that we can fellowship again together in this way. To be able to share what God has been teaching us, as we eat together. To be able to laugh and talk about life while our children play. Pray the Lord will use these gatherings to grow our faith and encourage each believer to share their faith with others.

Please also be in prayer for Lillia and Jude. They will be entering new schools this month. For Jude this is his first schooling experience. We thank you for your prayers for our children. We have seen the Lord hearing your prayers and protecting our children. God is good.

-Chris

Chris & Leanne April 2023 Update

Dear Parkside Church Family,

Thank for your continued partnership in the gospel. Your prayers and support are felt! The people of Japan have captured our hearts, but the work can be slow and discouraging.

The Tohoku region has been referred to as the “graveyard of missionaries and pastors.” When I first heard this, I thought, “How negative!” Now, I’m thankful for this title. Not only does it drive us to support our Japanese and mission partners with more resolve, but it also exponentially increases the joy we experience over each Japanese who becomes a Christian. Jesus said in Luke 15 “There is joy in heaven over ONE sinner who repents.” There’s nothing quite like that joy! We work closely with Yukimasa Otomo, senior pastor of Shiogama Bible Baptist Church (SBBC) and Satoshi Ueno, pastor of C-Side church (the church plant in Shichigahama).

Our ministry is to support them in reaching this area for Christ. We pray we can hold up their hands as Aaron and Hur did for Moses during the battle against Amalek. To do this, we wear many hats. We host youth nights at our home, teach English, plan events for families, meet with moms, lead Sunday schools, etc. The youth nights at our home have been an integral part of our ministry this term. It has been a blessing to see the impact they have had. These nights are purposeful and prayed over. The groups of kids who are invited are different each time. Sometimes the evenings are used to reconnect with kids who we haven’t seen in a while. Other times it is to introduce more of Jesus to the kids from our church's English classes. And other times, we use the time to equip and encourage Christian children in how to follow Jesus in their context.

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Chris & Leanne March 2023 Prayer Requests

This month is the change over to a new school year. Many jobs, activities and people in Japan find their new beginnings in April. Which means that March is a time of goodbyes and endings. So please be in prayer as we enter into goodbyes well.

Some relationships you pour into and hope for gospel fruit. May that fruit come in the future. May the Lord also give us gospel conversations in these final days. Ironically people tend to open up most right before moving on. So pray we can use this time for God’s glory. To love, listen and share Christ with our friends.

Personally, please pray for our kids as they come to the end of their school year. May God be preparing them now for their new school year. Claire and Graham will be changing classes. But Lillia will be changing schools as she moves into middle school. And Jude will be heading off to Kindergarten. So many changes come in March. May we have the space to share Christ’s love with the people God has put in our lives.

Chris

Chris & Leanne January 2023 Prayer Requests

We are blessed to be entering a new year of ministry here in Japan. Please be in prayer for an English conversation group we started call English Table. It is a gathering for people to come as they are. There is no curriculum or homework. It is purely a time for us to get into relationships in our community. We have been so blessed to be able to grow deeper with friends who come. Pray the Lord will continue to naturally bring our faith into conversations. May the Lord give us more and more opportunities to share who we are in Christ.

Also, please pray for Chris as he is preparing to preach on 1/29 in Japanese. May the Lord speak through him for God's glory and the churches edification.

Chris & Leanne December 2022 Prayer Requests

Please be in prayer for us as we enter into the Christmas holiday season. So many opportunities to share who we are in Christ. From simple sharing of different Christmas decorations symbolism, to sharing the Christmas story. The Lord has given us opportunities in the past to share about his sacrificial gift of leaving heaven to come to earth. And do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Please pray for the different gatherings, both friend-to-friend and larger gatherings, spread out throughout December.

We also have recently started a community English conversation group. We already have 5 people who have decided to join us. Through this group we pray we will grow deeper in relationship and have gospel focused conversations. It is a wonderful way to meet new people in our community. And as the Lord leads, share who we are in Christ through conversations.

Chris

Chris & Leanne November 2022 Prayer Requests

Please pray for the beginning of a new English conversation group. It is our hope to use casual conversation to build bridges of relationship with the people in our area. In the hopes that we will have gospel opportunities with them over the coming months and years. This group isn’t religious in nature. It is purely a way to get into the lives of the people in our area. But through becoming friends the Lord will open moments for us to share who we are in Christ and to be able to speak truth into the lives of those God brings to the group. So please pray the Lord will bring whom he desires. And that their hearts will be open to the love of Christ.

Also, be in pray for the many chances we will have to share about American Thanksgiving. Through these times together we are able to encourage people to think about the blessings they have in life. And how those blessings come from our Father in Heaven. We as Christians have so much to be thankful for. May the Lord use the celebrations of this time of year for his glory. May those who come to our Thanksgiving gatherings see more fully how the Lord has blessed them. And how there is a free blessing through Christ which they may accept.

Thank you,

Chris & Leanne Harrington

Chris & Leanne October 2022 Prayer Requests

As the leaves begin to change we continue to pray the Lord will change the hearts of the Japanese people. We have a praise we would like you to share in.

God brought about an opportunity with one of the English conversation group participants. She hadn’t been coming to the group in a while. But out of the blue, she asked if we would be willing to tell her about Christianity. She was needing to do a presentation in her high school class about a different religion. God put it on her heart to ask us about Christianity. Before we had a chance to meet we invited her to come to our church plants worship service. She was willing to come. It was her first time experiencing the worship of God. And one of our missionary teammates was to share her testimony that day. So the gospel was clearly shared. Afterwards we met and were able to answer her questions. We thank and praise God for this opportunity. Many seeds were planted in her life, but also spread over her classmates and teacher as well. PRAISE GOD!

May the Lord use this sharing of Christ’s love on the cross in the lives of her and her class for God’s glory.

Chris & Leanne