A letter from Bill and Ann Moore in Japan
November 2010
Dear Friends,
We bring you warm greetings from Japan in the name of Jesus Christ. After an exceptionally hot summer, Kobe is cool once again and the fall colors are magnificent. We are privileged to live in this part of God’s beautiful world!
As evangelists and church planters, the present thrust of our work is to establish a new congregation of the Reformed Church of Christ in Japan in a rural community north of Kobe called Nishitani. From the beginning the congregation has been meeting in the home of our partners, Dr. and Mrs. Haruki Kondo, but we have now outgrown the Kondos’ home above their medical clinic. To be sure, this growth is a blessing, but with the blessing has come the need to secure a permanent and more spacious home for the congregation. After much study and search, we believe God has led us to just the right property. It is a small, two-story office building just a stone’s throw from the Kondos’ home. While we are waiting for an engineering study to be completed, our expectation is that it can be renovated to provide an excellent space for worship and church activities. We and the members of the Nishitani Chapel are excited about the new opportunities for witness and growth that moving to a permanent church home will afford. Please pray that if this big step is God’s will, the necessary funding will be secured and all impediments removed.
In our years of witness in Japan what has been most exciting and joyful for us is to walk with those to whom God is granting faith. For various reasons Japanese people do not find it easy to come to faith in Jesus Christ. It is often a lengthy and “nonlinear” process, yet God in his love and patience continues to draw men and women to himself. To be used by God in this process and to share the “joy in heaven over one sinner who repents” is an exciting privilege!
Ann (left) with a friend from the Kobe YWCA.
Another cause of excitement in our household has been Ann’s service as president of the Kobe YWCA. Her election was neither expected nor solicited, so it came as a big surprise. Since she is the first non-Japanese president of the Kobe YWCA in its nearly 100-year history, this was an honor, but with the honor has come a lot of hard work and delicate politicking. Her goal has been to keep the “C” in the YWCA and encourage members to become involved in local Christian congregations. Ann is looking forward to participating in the World YWCA Council in Zurich in July.
&This spring we witnessed the last of our children’s college graduations with Sarah’s from Davidson College. She is now working in Shanghai. John is in Boston and Paul in Los Angeles. We are blessed to have them all out on their own and employed in their chosen fields. Due to the benefit of Internet telephony we are happy to be in touch with them on an almost daily basis.
We thank you for giving us the joy of serving in this place. Your faithful support and prayer for our ministry is most appreciated. As financial forces increasingly challenge the world mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) your offerings are needed now more than ever.
Blessings in Christ,
Bill and Ann Moore
The 2010 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 141
