belew william akemi 1992 japan

8/10/2019 Belew William Akemi 1992 Japan

1/12

MISSIONS

POSSI L

Volume

1

Number

01

WHAT S

NEW

This initial issueofMISSIONS

POSSIBLE is intendedtohelpyou

get to know the people who are

serving overseas with NORTH

EA ST A SIA

TENTMAKING

TEAM. Althoughweare fromdif

ferent

parts

of

theStates,wethought

it would be good stewardship to

combine al l

of

ou r individual news

letters into one joint newsletter.

Thus, you are receiving the first

issue

of

MISSIONS

POSSIBLE.

Weare thankfulfor the roleyou are

playingas faithful supporters

of

this

ministiy.

A

N.E.A.T.T.

NEW

NAME

LastsummerNIIGATA CHRISTIAN

MISSION(NCM)

becameNORTH EAST

ASIATENTMAKINGTEAM NEATT).

This namechange is simply a reflection

of

the growth in people working together in

this region of the world and our shared

vision. Asimmersedbelievers inChrist, we

are

committed

toteachingandpreachingthe

Gospel topeopleinJapan,theformerSoviet

Union and China.

January

1992

NEW

GOALS

Basedonwhathashappened uptonowinNiigata,Japan,andtheUSSR

since 1984, we

have

setgoals forthe

coming

years. Wehope by

applying

lessonslearned, for3ofourfamiliescurrentlyinNiigata tobe in3 different

prefectures or areaswithin the next 3 years. Bill and Akemi Belew will

continue

the

work

in

Niigata.

JoelandDebie

Likins

willcontinue

building

theworkin theUSSR. Scottand

Carmen

LaRue, LindaMillard, andJerry

andLauraMortwill

each

moveto a newprefecture. Besides learning

how

to teachEnglish andruna business, wearebusywithlanguage andcultural

study, Biblestudy training,andmaking friends. As some

of

usmovetonew

areas,

more

families

will

be recruited to takeourplacesin

Niigata. Each

of

these families will

share a life commitment to working in this partof the

world.

Once in a new prefecture, the foundation for new schools or businesses

willbelaidand

more

workers will be recruited. In each

area,

ourgoalis to

have recruited

and

trained 4

families committed

for

l ife within the

first 7

years. Asaresult,by theyear2000,weexpect tohave trained20-25families

for the

North

East Asia region. With consistentgrowth, we could have

MANY more

families

coming

in theearly21st century.

All

along,

we

intend

tobetraining nationals toassume responsibility for

their respective

locations.

Our present goal is to haveNiigata prefecture

dependenton Japaneseleadership for its future evangelization with in the

next 3 yearsor 10years fromthe time the Belewsarrived inNiigata.

Using this as a guideline, we hope to see 5 prefectures dependent on

Japanese

leadership bytheyear2002. Onceagain withconsistentgrowthwe

could

see

MANY

prefectures

in

Japan reached

in the

early

21st

century.

Wehave committed ourlives-withthesedreams andgoals-toGod

who

specializesindoingtheseemingly impossible. WeareconfidentGodwill

do exceedingly abundantly above all thatweaskor think

Eph

3:20).


2/12

Page 2

he e lews

This profile isbeingwrittento introducemyselfto thenew peopleaddedto themailing

list by the LaRues, Likins, Morts and Linda Millard.

I

wa s

bom and

raised

in Cincinnati Ohio and I

graduated

from Cincinnati

Bible

Russia. They

had

originally i

AkemiSakaguchi. Wehavetwochildren,

I Benjamin 9years old

and

Micah 5years

o l d .

was during this time that she met a friend

of

m i n e

an d

h i s w i f e w h o w e r e stationed

in

Y o k o s u k a n e a r Y o k o h a m a . W e m e t a t t h i s

hometown of Sanjoto begin a newwork. Sanjo islocatedin the centerof Niigata prefecture

on the west coast of Japan. Until we arrived in Niigata, the entire west coast of Japan had

been neglected by the first 100 years of missions by the church of Christ in Japan.

Joel Likins and I co-founded English Communication Service ECS) in 1988. ECS is

a communication service which reaches into some 13-14 cities a week throughout Niigata

prefecture. W e established a branch school in Khabarovsk, Russia in March of 1991. W e

also sent a teacher toBirobidjan, Russia in Septemberof 1991. We teach about 1200-1500

students each week withall ofour teaching staff atallof our teaching assignments. Wehave

established regular Bible studies in three cities in Niigata prefecture. We have on e church

in a fourth city in Niigata. There are two regular Bible studies in Russia. There are some

20-30 Christians nowin Niigata prefectureand about the samein Russia.

I expectto receive a Master s inEducation with an emphasis onTeaching in English as

a Second Language this year from Pacific Westem University in Los Angeles. I expect to

continue

my

education

beyond

theMaster s

level.

During

my last trip toRussia,

lastmonth

I taught two Bible lectures in Russian. I plan to continue to study Russian and hope that

somedayI can teach itin the university as well. I do not devotelime totriathlon traininglike

I used to. Time constraints prohibit it. These days, I do ultrarunning. We have organized

acoupleof 24-hour fund raisers forIDES. I plan tocontinue running although I do notintend

to let it control my life.

I am extremely pleased withthe team thathas been assembledhere and the goals that

have been established. We re reaching toward the 21st century with lofty goals. God has

taken us far beyond any of my original dreams. I expect He will continue to do the same. PLANTING

SEEDS

OF

FAITH WORLDWIDE

January

1992

T O RUSSIA WITH

L O V E

In March of 1991, Joel and his family

, in-

College in 1976. I served a youth ministry atForestdale Church ofChrist in Springdale tended to slay a year and then decide.

Ohio and a preaching ministry at Glen- They ve decided. Theywant to stay. They

^

rock

Church of

Christ

in

Glenrock Wyo-

wU l stay as long as

they

are permitted. We

^

ming. After these ministries

I

enlisted

in

^ r the US Navy foraboul4-l/2 years. Iwas

> eventually commissioned anaval

officer

rememberthemta our

prayere More than

--ir i and lefttheNavy a

Lieutenant

JO. I

was

30have been baptised since I was there last

1 ^ 1 Xi^ ^ J assigned to ships in Yokosuka

Japan.

It

fall and

one was immersed while Iwas

there

f I

was there

I m et and eventually

married

ouple of weeks

ago.

I

visited Russia

for

J r ^ AkemiSalcaguchi.Wchavetwochildren 2weeksduringthemiddleofSeptember.lt

m \ was great to see some of the people I bap-

a

yC- -J

tlzed last year and how they ve

grown

and

\ also to meet the new Christians. One thing

m

Akemi

was

bom

and

raised

in

Sanjo

the Christians

decided

while

I

was

there

was

..tuX- Niigata. ShegraduatedfromKantoGakuin

that they needed

to meet more regularly.

^

Women sJuniorCollegein

Yokohama.

It Theywill have at least weekly meetings

on

S un da y eveni ngs. Up until now they had

just

been meeting throughout the week in a

regular Bible study. This isa very important

step. P lease, pleasepray for them. Two

of

:?Te

bod, refrigerator,

washing machine,

curtains, andkerosene space heater) withmoney we

received

from you. Yourhelp

is a big blessing. Wemovedto theECS apartment inTerao,nextto NiigataCity, onMarch23rd

Weareexcited

about

thischange andhopeto

increase

thenumber ofstudents forEnglish

classes

and

Bible

studies

here. Our new

address

is

3F Nakaden Bid.

6-42

1

Cho-me

Terao Kami Niigat-shi

Ken 950-21 J P N

Telephone: 011-81

-25-260-533\^


8/12

Page-4

O N E Y E A R

IN

R U S S I A

March 15thmarkedone-yearin Russia, andwhatchangeswehave seen It wasCommunist

Soviet

Unionwithushavingto be careful whatwe said, allstapleswereinshort supply, withlong

lines

holding

rationcards.

People

were

hopeful

of

positive

changes in politics andeconomy, and

eagertohearthetruthaboutJesusChrist. AfterbeingawayinAugust,weweregreetedatKhabarovsk

airportwithsmileslike I hadn t seenpre-Augustcoup,saying Welcome back to FREERussia.

We concentratedon channeling the scatteredChristians into regular regional church/Bible

studies. Westartedseeingsecondgeneration Christians (broughtby our firstChristians) joinour

family. Itwasthrillingtoseeour Christianscomealiveandjoininondie Evangelism. TheNewYear

camewith theofficialend to theUnionandthe liberalization

of

prices,andthebeginning

of

Market

Economy.Thissoon leadto thewidespreaddespairas peoplecouldnot afford thenewprices,eight

totwentytiineshigher,whilewagesdidn teven

double.

Wellthelineswerealmostgonewithpeople

passingbyjust wishingtheycouldaffordto buywhattheysaw. Althoughrationcardswere issued,

wedon tneedtousethemexceptfora fewselectitems.Peoplebuyonlynecessities,wonderinghow

longtheirmeager savingswillcarrythem. As livingconditionscontinued to decline,so didthe new

government s popularity. Nomore optimismand feelinglikethey vebeen betrayedagain. It seems

asthough forthsfir^t-time in

Poet-RevohitioaSy^^p^^Stpeople

have

given

uphope of

seeing

good

times in their

life

time. But

people

re still

ea^fwhear the

truth

about Jesus

Christ.

The

teaching

and speakingopportunities continueto spread mevery thin. We have be^njoined by two single

youngmenwho are anxious toevangelizethis country. DaveKrummhas been innearbyBirobizhan

and plans to return for a second year after a summer in the States. Kevin Gjerstad came in later

February, recommended by Lee Jones inHiroshima. I hope to work closely with themuntil we all

feel they re capable on their own. Uponmyreturnto Russiain lateApril, I plan toselectthemost

qualifiedChristiansforamoreintensive trainingprogramsothat theycangooutand teach,partially

relieving meof someof thesmallHome Groupstudysessions thatcallalmostdaily. I wouldlike

tocombineweeklyhome studies withacentralSundayWorship Service, ifsuitable facilitiesbecome

available. The daybeforemy departure to Japan in March, sevenpeoplewere baptizedincluding

several third generationChristians (brought in by secondgeneration Christians) bringing the total

to over 60Christians in the Khabarovskarea and a fewothers spread out through the formerSoviet

U n i o n .

We re looking for some more financial support in order to have a more effectiveministiy in

Russiaandwouldalsobe interestedintrainingmore internsinthe future. Yourprayersareof utmost

importance tous, so in thefutureI ll tryto acquaintyouwithsomeofouractiveChristians soyou ll

be able to pray specifically for them. If you have any charity ideas, especially with medicines,

-edical equipment

or

handicap

aids

(i.e..

wheelchairs,

walkers,

etc.) Please

contaq^e,

preferably

)Ugh BillBelew,astheRussianPostal Systemdoesn tseemableto deliver

overseas

mail. Ifyou

it to come see the work fust hand, you re more thanwelcome to visit/help anytime. JL

April 1992

L I K I N S

F A M I L Y

NEWS

When fu^t going toRussia, I reported that

life inRussia was as convenient as a camp out.

Now I think I ve been on camp outs more

convenient. Debi s life is very busy trying to

scrape up enough food to feed us, take care of

two active girlsandmanagingwith allthe incon

veniences. T o t h in k a l mo st a l l R u ss i an w o m e n

haveto work fiilltime besides. There isusually

a Grandmaand Grandpato domost of theshop

ping and housework. Most children

don t

have

the luxury ofbeingraisedby theirparents. After

having learnedJapanese, we all continueto learn

RussiarL

Marisa, whois in Kindergarten, picks

itup quickly. Tasha still has limited exposure to

Russians except for Marisa s friends and tlie

Christians. We had a one-year contract for our

apartment for 250 Rubles /month. We were

unsure about an extension,

bu t

fmallynegotiated

six

more

monftis for 2 000 Rubles andat that we

werefortunate. I continueteachingatKhabarovsk

RailwayEngineering Institute, teaching English

and lecturing. Regular Bible Studies and fre

quent speaking engagements with a lot

of

radio,

television and newspaper coverage, I almost

ha^t a

celebrity standing. I am also involved in

charity distribution

of

clothes, food, vitamins

aml.medicines. I sentDebi and the girls directly

to the States

vi a

Anchorage because

of

Marisa s

expiredpassport. I amnow inJapan for aboutten

days to prepare the house here for the Ikarashi

family tomove in upon graduation from Osaka

Bible Seminary. I willjoin the family in Ohio

after about three weeks. I ll take the girls to

Russia through Anchorage, and Debi will go

through Japan for another braces treatment.

Non-Profit

Organization

U5. Postage

PAID

Pe r mit N o . 2 2 3

Troy, OH 45373

ADDRESS

RETURN

REQUESTED

MISSIONS POSSIBLE

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POSSIBLE Ispublished quarterlyforthemissionaiiesbyOalcTree

Services.7590

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OaksTran.TlppCity,OH 45371. Sendalladdress

changes to MISSIONSPOSSIBLE, do TroyChristian Church. 1440EastSote

Route 55. Troy. OH 45373.

Forwarding Agents:

B ele w: M rs.

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HORIZONS

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TN

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9/12

M I S S I O N S

P O S S I L E

V o l u m e

I

N u m b e r 3

July1992

MOREABOUTTENTMAKING (TM)

Tentmaking is a good idea. English Communication Service

(ECS), by God s grace, is able to j)rovide sufficient income for its

nineTMs. Nine directsupportmissionarieswould costthechurches

an estimated 400,000/year. ECS does not have that big a budget.

We are able to save considerably by combining resources for

mission expenses. However, all is not good with TM Please note

the following Pros and Cons andhowECS fitsin and how the church

can help.

P R OS

1. The burden

of

regular support placed on the churches is re

duced. The TM can be sent/received on the field at no regular

expense and sometimesno expense at all to the churches. Mission

committees torn between worthy causes can rejoice. The terms

reduced and regular should be noted. The TM does not ask the

churches for regular support. This is because the TM s income

comes fromhis/herwork. ECS incomeprovides forthedaily needs

of

its TMs. However

there

are

still mission expenses: travel

literature and time. Itis oftenassumedbecausetheTM has a regular

income he/she doesnotneedanysupportatall. AskingtheTMto

absorb all expenses for the mission work would be like asking one

family to

absorb

all

expenses

for

starting

and

operating

a

local

church. As thechurch(mission) grows, theburdenis reduced. But,

until then, the TM ca n use all the help they can get.

2. It removes the bar rier

of

having to raise support to go.

Many

people have spoken

oftheir desire toserve overseas yet eydidn't

feel they could g oto churches to beg for money.' A ready service,

ready livingquarters, and a ready steady incomeare very inviting.

This is not to say that the TM does not lean on God to provide and

to lead.

Th e TM

most certainly relies on

Go d

and hemust.

EC S

has

arrangedforworkthatprovidesregularcontactwithmanyJapanese

individuals (regular income and regular service). Also,

over

the

course

of

the years ECS has been able toprepare living quarters for

all

of

itsTM (ready living quarters). Consequently, itis much easier

to recruit and new workers are more eager to come.

CONS

Learn a new trade, if they don t already know it

Make time for professional study and growth

Study and prepare for Bible lessons

Recruit and follow up on more workers

Evangelism and out reach

T r a i n n a t i o n a l Ch r i s t i a n s

Calling an d follow-up

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e affairs

Correspondence with family and friends

T e a c h Bi b l e

studies

Woric

extra to have the necessary funds to provide formission

e x p e n s e s

Language study

Cultural study

Sit back and think about the adjustments they are making

Spend time with family

R e l a x

Th e conscientious TM ca n be crushed by the demands to accom

plish allof the above. In the local church, the ministerispaid to

accomplishmanyof theabove. TheTMmustwork

enough

topay

themselves and then find time to do a full-time paid minister's

work. Is itpossible? Something has to give.

2. Set-up costs may have to be met by the TM.

Unless

a

prospective

employer

iswillingto pickup the

costs

theTMmust

payfor own

plane

tickets initial housing/apartment

rental set-up

costs,moving expenses, needed transportation after

arriving

mis

sion service equipment and work related equipment. A conserva

tive estimate for these is about 20,000. If the TM's prospective

employer is not a Christian, the TMmust consider

whether

the

employerwill be considerate of theTM's real intentions andwill

allow

time

for such activities. Not every

country

isa

free

country.

ECS is a Christian organization. All of its full-time workers

^ e

Christian in the most serious sense of the word. ECS expects its

workers to provide ONLY their own transportation expensesto

Japan and back, ifthey decide to leave. A familyof twocancome

forlessthan2000. Afamily of6 obviouslycostsmore. The

church

ca n

and should help here.

I. There is a tremendous time crunch. TheTMmustwork40+ TheTMconceptcanbestbe learnedbyobservation or

experience

hours a

week.

Also theTMmust fmdtime to: Anyone iswelcome to come observe andexperience the work.WB


10/12

BELEWS

ON

T H PERSONAL SIDE

Tryashardaswecouldto teachtheboysathomeandsendthemtoJapaneseschool

rt-time, itjust didn't workout Manyconsiderations comeintoplay. Theendresult

aregoingto Js^aneseschoolfull-time. Wearesupplementingtheireducation

hEnglishstudies. I amdoingall

of

theteaching. I willbe sogladwhenKathyshows

p to take the baton from me. I can go back to just being a father then. Both boys

ticipatedin a recent all schoolathletic festival. Both brought home red ribbons (1st

ace). Wewere sohappyto see themtry their best and get goodresults. Akemi and I

inanareavolleyballtournament Weare onourneighborhoodteam.

impressed. Theycouldn'tget enoughpeople tojoin so theycalledus, I think.

'll doourbest. Akemi is alwaysbusywith her classes. Shemustbe realbusy these

ys, she rarelyquilts Whenwill all thebusiness let up? Will it ever? I participated in

he 100 kilo walk by running in a 101 (63 mile) ultramarathon a month before. The

hada 14hourtimelimitandTmadeitwith someroomto spare. Iwas tired.

Finally I receivedmy official statement

of

completionfor myPhD inEducation

th an emphasis on TeachingEnglish as a Foreign Language fromPacific Western

iversity in Los Angeles. My diploma will come in September.

I m

real happy to

ve this study behind me. I m also not anxious to run orhit the books anymore for

while. I need a break. See you in July.

Gone fishing. Bill, Akemi, Benji & Micah

BIBLE STUDENTS

Many ofyouhavemet Seijilkeda. Seiji attendedCBC for ayear. Hehasretumed

tohis regular studies inTokyoand takes a turnpreaching oncea month or so. Welove

Seiji and look forward to

him

returning to Niigata.

Emiko Kobayashi will be traveling with Benji and I toAmerica in July. Emiko

has enrolled in CBC and plans to attend for at least two years and maybe four. She

wantsto graduatefromanAmericanuniversityandreturnto Japan. Sheis uncertain

what she wants to do, but knows she wants to have a Bible foimdation to her life.

The

Ikarashi

familyfinished their study at OsakaBible Seminaryandreturned

toNiigata. They are startinganewwork. Wewelcome theirretumtoNiigata and look

forward to the contributionthey willmake to the kingdom here. WB

N W CHRISTIANS

I wish itwere the endofthemonth so I could write this in the past tense instead

of

the

indefinite future. At least two peoplewill be baptizedthe end of this month Etsuko

Kobayashi is themodierof Emiko Kobayashi whowasbaptizedlast summ r Shehas

beenattendingtheBiblestudyInNiigataforoverayear. Shefinallyreceivedherhusband's

permission. The other isEriko Nakamura. She works for a companyin Sanjoand has

beenamemberofECSforabout3years.Youmightwonderwhywedon'trunto thebeach

as soon as theymake their decision. This ismy preference and eachperson who makes a

decisionknowstheurgency.However,manyliketochoosea date, invitetheirfnends and

makea big deal of the event. This certainlyhas its benefits. In Japan, to notmakea big

event

of

baptism isusuallyperceivedas doing somethingyou'reashamedof. I impress on

them the urgency, but wait until they can get as manypeople together as theywant

If

s

always a big day. Others are thinking about being baptized as well. Please remember

Etsuko and Eriko inyourprayers.

July 1992

WALK-A-THON

Our thirdwalk-a-thon ishistory. I have

no info from other walks. However, the

Niigatawalkhad40walkersincludingyours

truly.

Of

the 40 walkers, 19finished. The

average distance walked was 50 miles.

1,300,000 ($10,000+). Whenwe add it all

up for all three walk-a-thons, we should go

over $20,000. All the monies go to IDES.

Nearly all

of our

walkers are high school

students and university freshman. Perhaps

you might wantto try the walk sometime or

even organize one

of

your own. WB

N W

W O R K R S

Elsewhere in

this

newsletter, Scott and

Carmen have announced they are leaving

Japan. We are excited about diem going to

Far East, Russia. We are excited a replace

ment

for

th em h as been found.

Malissa

Richards of Roanoke Bible College was

introduced to us by Jason. Malissawill be

joining us a couple of weeks before Scott

and

Carmen

leave.

Also,

Kathleen

Sackett

is expectedto joinus in August. Shewill be

coming to Japan when Benji and I retum.

Her main purpose will be to teach the chil

dren

of

TMs. They consist

of

Benji, Micah

an d

H a n n a h

We

look

forward to he rcom

ing.

ONEGAI (request)

There are quite a few churches and

individuals who receive this newslet ter. If

there is a church or churches with a tape

ministry, couldwe be put on the mailing list

toreceivethe tapeson a regularbasis? Most

ofthe preaching/teachinghere isour own or

each others. This is usually a repetition of

the elementaryprinciples. Additionally, I

spend 6-7 hours a week in my car commut

ing tomy teaching spots. The other workers

spend a similar amount of time. We could

sue some

good listening on a regular ba

sis. Tapes canbe sent directlytoBillBelew,

18-37-6 Sakuragi-cho Sanjo-shi, Niigata-

ken955Ja^an

I willsee thattheyarerotated

amongtheworkershere. Thanks inadvance

for responding.


11/12

NS FAMILY

NEWS

Marisa

andTasha

ha d a

wonderful

time

tes. Theylovedthechancetoget re-

intedwithgrandparentsand aunts and

lesand ondownthe line,

and

to see

some

ld fnends, too.

It didn't take long to get

back

into the

daily schedule in Russia. Marisa seems to

e doing a lot better at her kindergarten.

But, when we move in September, she'll

most likelybe in a different kindergarten.

Also, we'll probably start Tasha, who will

be 3 the end

of

September, at that time.

We'll

be starting Marisa's American

home schooling this month (June). She's

eager and excited about that.

SinceretumingtoKhabarovsk,Fvebeen

more adventurous and doing almost all the

foodshoppingmyself. God,along with my

Russian lessons, has given me more confi

dence; so, I get out a littlemore thanbefore.

Afterthewalk-a-thon,Joelwas blessed

with

8

blisters an d

4

black

toenails He

walked63kilometers undera scorchinghot

sun on a poor route. And he wants to do

another

one

While inJapaninJune,my orthodontist

said that we can begin thinking in terms

of

months now for being finished with these

braces

I'm

hoping and praying that this

takes careoftheconditioninmy jawknown

as

TMJ

dysfunction.

We're looking forward to this summer

when it looks like we' ll be having some

visitors, as well as the possibility

of

mis

sionaries coming early this fall.

WethankGodforthe

chance

t owork

in

Khabarovsk. This work has taught us so

many things, but especially how great and

powerful our God really is. He has contin

ued toblessus with goodhealth, and every

thing we need.

SlavaBog (Praise God )

You can

write to us at :

Joe l &

Debi

Likins

d o Taka i Naka tak

Shinei-cho 13-3

Kamo-shi, Niigata-ken

959-13 J P N

Page3

G R E E T I N G S F R O M

T H E

M O R T S

Wow

It 's

hard

to

believe that summer i s he re a nd it 's even harder

to

believe that

we havebeen here for a year. A lot has happened inthis pastyear. Ithasn'talways been

easy, but ithas been a time of learning and growing in the grace

of

the Lord. We have

mademanyfnendsandwehavehadmanyopportunitiestoplanttheseedsofChristianity.

Weareleamingtocommunicate, slowlybutsurely. Andwearecomingtolovethepeople

more

and

more

each

day.

As we mentioned in the last newsletter, we have started a Sundayevening Bible

study. Currently the non-Christian ladiesare attending ona regularbasis. They almost

always have questions and are eager to listen. We also havehad an IntroductionTo The

BibleSerieswhichwas fairlywell attended. Also,we arehopingtobegina daytime study

some t ime thi s fall.

In April, the Easter Brunch was attended by 28 people. Jason Craft shared the

Easter Story and Yoshiyuki Taki translated. Afterward, we all enjoyed an American-

style brunch. It was a beautihil day filled widi worship, praise and fellowship.

InMay, we took part inECS's 100kilometer Walk for the World. The even lasted

for 24hours and was to benefit IDES. Lauraworkedat a mobile aid station thatgave out

food, drinks and encouragement to the walkers. Jerry learned *'theagony

of

defeet by

walking 70 kilometers in 14hours.

We are looking forward to attending the Missionary Convention in Okayama

prefecture this coming July. The theme is Let the Lower Lightsbe Burning and will

put emphasis on letting our light shine before meiL We are anticipatingthe fellowship

with the othermissionaries and thechange

of

pace and scenery. It shouldbe a great time

for renewal and refireshmentas we come together to exchange ideas and worship our

Lord.

LaRUES ' V IEWS

From June 5th to 22nd, I (Scott) was in the U.S. meetingwith churches, fiiends and

family Thepurposeofmytripwastotellpeoplefirst-handdieplansCarmenandl aremaking

to join the work in Russia. We came to this decisionaftermuch prayer, fasting, and

discussioiL We soughtdie insightandwisdomofourco-workersinNiigata, an elderatTroy

ChristianChurch, andourparents.Wehavenoproblemswithwhatwearecurrendydoing

herein

J^an.

In&ct,we enjoyourworkand the manyrelationshipswe have. We desireto

have someone come to take our place here. Maybe you or someoneyou know would be

interested. Ifso, please contact us or Bill Belew.

Wehopetomoveto RussiathisSeptember. JoelLikinsishelpingusfinda university

thatwecanworkwithinanothercityinFarEastRussia,maybeinthecityofKomsomol'sk.

Throughdevelopinga relationship witha university,we wouldhaveinstantcontactsand

opportunities towitness. In addition,theuniversitymayprovideorhelpus finda placeto

live We

hope

to

have another

Christian

couldjoin us

in^s

area

Ihave

talkedwith

them

and they are seeking to visit Russia this fall.

BecauseofthepoorconditionoftheRussianeconomy,weareseekingtoraisemonthly

support A niunberof individuals and churches have responded We hopeto have4

churches who

will provide our

fiill

support

of

1000

a

month

Another

way

to

look

at

this

is to have 50 people giving $5 per week.

Ifyoudesireto knowmoreaboutourplansor tobe involved insomeway,feel firee to

contact our forwarding agents, my parents, at 618-548-6323.

Certainly, therearemanyuntoowns forwhichweare seeking answers, but trustthat

God will continue to lead. Thank you for your prayers.

BIBLES FOR RUSSIA |

Ifyou would like tohelp

purchase

and send Bibles to

be

distributed in

Far

East |

Russia you

can send a

check

to

First

Christian Church -NEATT |

I Puta

memo

onit:

1200

W Boone

Salem,IL 62881

'Bibles

fo r

Russ ia


12/12

Page4

July1992

ICi

VSNEWS FROM

KHABAROVSK,RUSSIA

Weweresogladtohavea chancetovisitthe StatesinMarchand

April. It's always greattoseefamilyand&iends.Andespeciallythis

time,allofyouweresuchan encouragementtous. Wejust feel so

blessed

to

have ii iends

who

care

about us

and

the mission work in

Russia. Manyshare generousgifts for our work and life here in

Khabarovskaswellassupportingus inprayer. Youcanbe surethat

whenwepray,we

always

give thanksforourfriendsand families.

As inpastvisits to the States, however, this was not much

of

a

vacationbecauseof all the things we needed to take care of. For

instanceMarisa's passporthad to be renewed, the names onMarisa

and Tasha s Soci^ Security cards were wrong they needed their

shotsupdatedandwehadto lookfor andorderhomeschoolmaterial.

Also, wehad the chance toshareaboutdie work inKhabarovskwith

several churches - Clearfork Alliance Church in Bellville, OH;

CommimityChristianFellowship in Gambier, OH; First Churchof

God in Princeton, WV; Galion Church of Christ in Galion, OH;

North Liberty United MethodistChurch in Butler, OH; and North

westChristianChurchin Tampa,FL. The response and encourage

mentwe receivedwas a real boosterand certainlypreparedus to go

backto workdoingour best for our Lord.

Upon returningtoRussia the end

of

April, we were onceagain

embracedby friends. God's familyistrulyworld-wide. Duringour

absence,Kevin Gjerstadt taught theBible studies. Kevin, a young

manfromSeattle, came toKhabarovsk the endofFebruarythisyear

andhasbeendoingagoodjobofhelpingouthere andthere inRussia.

In May dacha season started. Dacha is the Russian word for

a country garden. Practically everyone has one. Whileit used tobe

usedas a place to relax onweekends and get away from the city, it

nowprovidestheirsustenance. They plant berries, small fruittrees,

andvegetables in every available space

of

their tiny plot

of

land.

Naturally, they do this on the weekends, so the Sunday morning

Bible Studyattendance dropped drastically. So, we changed the

BibleStudyto Sundaynight, andaskedthem to come on theirway

back from their dachas. Once again, our apartment is full with

peoplewantingto study the Bible.

MISSIONS POSS I L

MISSIONS

POSSIBLE Is

published quarterly

forthe

missionaries

by

OalcTree

Services.7S90WhlsperingOaksTran.Tlppaty.OH 45371. SendaUaddress

changes to AtfSSlONS POSSIBLE, do AJLaRue. 519 Cottonwood Drive,

SalenvIL 62881.

Forwarding Agents:

B elew: M rs.

Debbie Bowers

P.O.

Box296

ClarenceCenter,KT 14032

LaRue: M/M AlanLaRue

S19 CottonwoodDrive

Sa]em,IL

62881

Lik in s: J eanSeason

244 Hanover

Lexington,OH 44904

MUIard:

M/M

Millaid

5 IndialuciaParkway

Sewall 's

Point

Stuart,

FL 34996

Mort: M/M Louis Jett

5233 WoodleaAvenue

Ft Wayne.IN 46835

The endofMaywehelda 100km(about67miles)walk-a-tfaon

for charity. We didn't know how well the idea would go over

because, asyou canimagine,theycan' trunto thestoreandbuynice,

comfortable walking shoes. Even so, there was a sizeable number

of participants, and we raised about 40,000 rubles which was

donated to an orphanagein Khabarovsk. Theonly disappointment

was that tiie news media couldn't understand the conceptof it, and

socovered itas a race. Maybe we'llbe ableto explain it betterfor

the next one. We're thinking ofdoing another in the fall.

Also, the end ofMayandfirst ofJune,Don andNormaBurney

spent a fewdayswith us. Theyhave beenmissionaries in Japanfor

many years, and now want to serve in Russia. They travelled to

Irkutskandwill be establishinga work therethis fall. We pray for

th e

best

fo r t hem.

In June, we got a visit from our landlady. She wants to move

back into her apartment by September 15th. That means we have

to start looking for another apartment now. Housing is really

difficult to find, sowe'll appreciate your prayers for an apartment

that is in a central locationwhere many can come toBible Studies.

We are also getting a little closerto buildingour own building.

There isa long list

of

approvals neededjust to have permission to

buy and build on the plot

of

landwe've chosen. The company who

willbuild ithas agreed to let Joel designmost or all ofit.

We'd

like

to have a large auditorium in it for church meetings, an apartment

for us (so wetion't have to be concemedwith looking for another

place tomove everyyear), apartments forothers, andpossibly some

office space. We'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom and

guidance on this issue.

The family

of

believers continues to increase in Khabarovsk.

We give God Ae glory for all He is doing.

It's

great to be able to

witness first-hand tiie things He is doing here

Slava

Bog (Praise God )

In His Love,

Debi and Joel

Non-Ptofit

Organization

Zip+

4

U.S. Postage Paid

Salcm, IL 62881-1199

Permit

No. 94

ADDRESS HEWRN

REQUESTED

belew william akemi 1992 japan

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