Our February Prayer Letter

Here it our MTW Prayer Letter mailed out in mid February.  It tells of the clarity we have in pursuing our new call to join a new church-planting work in city-center Tokyo.  For details click on the image for a quick view:

Or click here to download as PDF for easier reading: February Prayer Letter.

Direct Link for Online Support of the Pfeils

Several people have asked about a direct link to enter one-time and monthly gifts for our ministry.  Here it is:

MTW Donation Link for Pfeils in Japan

Enter an amount, click "Next" underneath, and you will be taken to a page to create an account. You can then designate the amount as one-time or monthly gift. Let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks!

In the US: Introducing Baby Gideon

Catching up on 7 weeks of life with our sweet baby Gideon, born January 2, 2011.

Annabella & Gideon - at the hospital

Gideon - 2 weeks

Gideon & Calvin

Gideon up close - 4 weeks

Olivia & Gideon

Gideon - 7 weeks

In the US: Visiting the Aoyagi Family

Seima Aoyagi is the Japanese pastor we spoke of in our December Prayer Letter. We are prayerfully pursuing partnering with them in a Tokyo city-center church planting work. We share a common heart to see Japanese college students and young families engaged in authentic gospel-centered communities in the Church.

Jon has been able to make a quick trip out to San Diego to spend 3 days with the Aoyagi family to pray and discuss future plans before they return to Japan at the end of January to begin their initial role with Grace City Church Tokyo.

Jon has had a lot of fun getting to know the whole family (and playing with the kids, too!) Both families have 4 kids, and we were able to Skype and introduce everyone to each other.  We will not all meet face to face until the Pfeils are in Japan by our target of mid-March, 2011.

Please be praying for God to guide us in the steps ahead.

December Prayer Letter

Here is our December MTW Prayer Letter, recently mailed out. It includes details about a new ministry direction in city-center Tokyo we are prayerfully considering for our next term.  This is an exciting opportunity, but would also require us to raise a significant amount of additional funds. Pray with us for clarity on God's call.  For more details, click on the image for a quick view:

Or click here to download as PDF for better viewing: Dec Prayer Letter

In the US: A Christmas Gift for You - 3 New Videos!

Here are three videos of our three kids taken this December ... Enjoy!

Calvin's Duplo Tower:  
He gives great commentary about each family member's favorites colors.
Priceless 2 1/2 year old "play by play" as he builds his tower.  :)

Annabella's Gymnastic Practice Meet:

Annabella has been taking gymnastics for ~4 months now.

The video shows her floor, beam, bar & vault "routines".

Olivia's Christmas Piano Recital:

Olivia has been taking piano lessons most of this year. 

Here she plays Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, and Angels We Have Heard on High

In the US: Connecting with Past, Present, & Future Team members

Immediately following the MTW Global Missions Conference in Chattanooga, we were able to enjoy an afternoon of fellowship, prayer, and seeking God's direction for our MTW teams in Japan.

Sitting in a circle, we had people representing up to six different church-planting works in the Tokyo/Chiba area. Three of those church planting works have not even begun yet!

The group included 2 new families who are in the process of pursuing God's call to join our MTW Team in the Tokyo/Chiba area.  What an encouraging time together of seeing God's provision of workers for His harvest in Japan! 

Pray with us for clarity and direction for everyone in the group as we all seek God's will for us in the months and years ahead.

In the US: MTW Global Missions Conference

Sarah & I attended our 3rd MTW Global Missions Conference

Joe Novenson was captivating and challenging in his sermons. 

There were ~ 2,200 people there from all over the globe!

Michael Oh (CBI Seminary - Nagoya, Japan) gave a moving testimony
of God's reconciling grace (see 19 min video).

We had a great MTW Japan Partnership booth ...

... which provided Jon great recruiting opportunities for future Summer Interns!

Our October Prayer Letter

To download and read the above letter, please click October Letter.

In the US: A Visit from our friend Tomoya

Our friend Tomoya came to visit us here in Indiana during his break between semesters. He has been a part of our student outreach community for ~ 2 years now. He is not a believer, but has shown growing interest in spiritual things.

He stayed with us and got to experience "regular" American life in the midwest - including apple picking! We had such a great time together and also had many great spiritual conversations.

First time picking apples for Tomoya

Annabella got a little boost in her apple picking :)

The bags were quite heavy ... good thing Calvin was helping me.  :)

Tomoya joined in our Bible Story time every night with the kids.