A Faithful God in a Strange Year
Beloved, don’t be surprised by the trials you face, as if something strange is happening to you. Rejoice.
(See 1 Peter 4:12-13)
Question: How have we been? What have we been up to since getting back from Japan?
The past several months has been a season of preparation and ministry for us in many ways. As we’ve been transitioning into our new (temporary!) life of support raising and travelling, we’ve been graced to meet a few people along the way who have kindly answered questions and offered wisdom on how to navigate the next couple of years ahead. We’ve also had a handful of meetings already, though this hasn’t been the easiest time for many churches out here in the Midwest. God has been faithful. The church here is strong as she is sustained by her King.
Right now, Sierah is working on a couple of certifications, one for TESOL and another for biblical counselling. If you have questions for her about that, please reach out! My focus of late has been on my masters degree as well as booking meetings with churches and pastors to discuss our ministry plans for Japan.
Question: What are our next steps?
Our primary goal right now is filling up our calendar for 2021. A daunting task! But many have done it before and many will do it after us. Second, we also are trying to establish ministry connections with those already in Japan. The more like-minded Christians we can partner with for Kingdom work in Japan, the better! If you know of any believers in Japan that we should meet, let us know! Third, we have a lot of Japanese language basics to get down before we move over there. Though we will be enrolled in language school when we arrive, the more we learn now, the better.
Question: How can you pray for us?
Pray that God would connect us with the right local churches in His providential timing as we seek to schedule out this next year. Pray that we would be faithful to the work we’ve been called to in this season. Wisdom is needed. Pray for Japan. As hard as it has been for local assemblies over here, it has been just as hard, or even harder, for many churches in Japan.
While this year has not gone exactly “according to plan,” we can rejoice on two accounts. First our faithful God has allowed us to already connect with so many wonderful brothers and sisters both stateside and in Japan! Second, as Peter goes on to remind us, we rejoice with all the members of the family of God this year because we know that we endure hardship for Christ now, we are partaking in his sufferings. And someday soon, we will see his glory revealed. This is our prayer and our hope for Tokyo.
Grace and peace,
Joe and Sierah Pliska