Greetings to Asian Access on behalf of our sports ministry partnership! I enjoy sharing good news…
We had a memorable time there yesterday running a Festival with them. We had trained them earlier in the year, and they wanted one more time with us. It had been raining, so they hired a gymnasium; it worked really well.
This is our aim – to train teams that train teams…
Above all, I was thankful for the unity of the churches there. They all get on so well. 9 of the Church Pastors are in this photo. The other had to leave early. They sense something unique is happening in their city and they want to connect more with us. Please God build this type of unity across Japan.
And in the Tug of war, Timo was at the anchor at the end and that helped the guys win!!
Another great story I just heard from Koji... After the Fiji team and Timo went into an elementary school nearby and also a High school, they contacted us to see if the Fijians and Timo could come to their activities today. Iijima elementary school danced the Haka that Timo had taught them with all the students in the sports festival today.
The second High School had sent an email to our church inviting people to their Rugby match. So Koji went along. He ended up leading the cheering—some parents asked him to. As well, he prayed and took 15 Bibles to hand out to some parents and students. He was excited as he came in tonight to share the story of the openness of people receiving the Bibles. Here he is with some parents and family of the players. You can see one mother proudly showing off her Bible!
This has been an exciting way to follow up the mission teams visiting the schools. How are others going with follow up in schools?
I am sure you have your stories as well, and I look forward to hearing more as we do our debrief next week.
Finally, I was interviewed for a Christian newspaper in Australia called Eternity News (similar to Christianity Today in the States). It has 150,000 readerships online, and many copies are sent to most churches in Australia each month as a newspaper.
Eternity News wanted to use the Fiji team as the story to tell...
Rugby World Cup Opens the Door to Jesus in Japan
They are keen to write a follow-up story as we prepare for the Olympics.
Have a good week!
Marty Woods
Sports Ministry Team Leader, Australia
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Jeff's column offers a mix of reflections on leadership and fatherhood, as well as news from Asian Access.
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