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).
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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\^
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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
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PAID
Pe r mit N o . 2 2 3
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ADDRESS
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REQUESTED
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POSSIBLE Ispublished quarterlyforthemissionaiiesbyOalcTree
Services.7590
Whispering
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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P.O. B o x 2 9 6
Clarence Center, NY 14032
LaRu e: M/ M
A l a n L a R u e
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Drive
Salem, IL 62881
L iklns:
Je a n Se a son
24 4 H a nove r
Lexington, OH 44904
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5 IndialuciaParkway
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Po i n t
Stuart,
FL
34996
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5233
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MISSION
SERVICES
HORIZONS
BOX
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KNOXVILLE
TN
37901
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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
8/10/2019 Belew William Akemi 1992 Japan
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.
8/10/2019 Belew William Akemi 1992 Japan
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
8/10/2019 Belew William Akemi 1992 Japan
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