JENNIE RAY
Deuteronomy 31:8 says “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
I have the Lectio 365, a daily devotional and prayer app, on my phone though I rarely open it. But while standing in the airport last Thursday night right after we found out our flight to Tokyo had been cancelled and plans would be significantly changing, I opened it up and read this verse. Knowing that the Lord will not leave or forsake His people is an encouragement in most any situation and was especially for me in those moments. It’s been a verse I’ve thought of many times this week as we’ve experienced so many new, exciting, and challenging things. Knowing that the Lord is with us here in Tokyo has been of great comfort.
This morning we began our day preparing some of the decorations for Bible camp which begins tomorrow. Afterwards we visited the Gotokuji Temple and the Hachimangu Shrine where we learned more about Japanese religions of Buddhism and Shintoism. Serving a relational God full of love and grace for His people is such a gift and is a joy and becomes more apparent when you realize the emptiness of other religions.
There are four families who serve at Setagaya Grace Church for MTW Japan. One family is back in the states, but this afternoon we took the children of the other three families – nine kids in total- bowling while their parents took time to grocery shop by themselves or enjoy a sweet treat at a restaurant nearby. Being able to serve these amazing people who give so much of their time and energy to love the people of Tokyo by having fun with their children for a couple of hours was a highlight of the day.
Michael Bryant2026-02-24T15:00:00-05:00