Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Thanks God for He doesn’t let your labor in vain!
After Grace got pregnancy, we went many places by scooter, because pandemic is quite serious in Tokyo and taking public transportation is a very risky choice. During the mid-night when Grace feel rupture of membranes, “3 of us” also went to maternity clinic by our 125cc scooter. Actually, Kevin has begun his driving class of car in Tokyo from last December, but he is too busy and stopped it for 3 months after Enoch was born, please pray that we can get driver’s license of car in Japan within this year, especially TMC will resume the worship service in person from March, commute by car really make our family life and ministry more effective in future.
Enoch was born 2 weeks earlier than expected, this really messed our schedule. Although Tokyo and many prefectures in Japan had announced state of emergency again because the pandemic is getting serious, and all the TMC services were moved “online only”, Kevin still involved in ministry of the online services. He thanks God that an Indian couple took care certain technical workload of the Sunday services, but he still need to prepare slides, leading worship and coordinate Chinese fellowship gathering, in addition with TMC prayer & leadership meetings. Sometimes we feel burnt out of taking care Enoch at the same time. Kevin’s plan to pass the live-streaming workload to someone else after TMC resume worship service in person, pls pray that he can find a good team to do that.
We’ve never know how busy of being parents. We are supposed to register his birth and apply national insurance in Tokyo government within 2 weeks after he was born. Grace and Enoch returned home from maternity clinic 1 week after he was born because he is delivered by Caesarean-section, so that we only have 5 working days to do the that job for him. And 2 more weeks later, we have to apply his foreigner residence card in Japan immigration. PTL Chinese Fellowship members and pastor Dale Little of TMC are willing to take care Enoch while we have to do those applications, and thanks God his residence card is issued a few days later. We are surprised his expiration date of staying in Japan is longer than 2 of us. We are applying his passports now, and it requires a certain period to be completed, so we sometimes tell the joke to TMC church members, please adopt Enoch as their son in case he can’t leave Japan because his application of passport wasn’t completed yet and we have to leave Japan because we can’t extend our religious visas any more.
We thanks God Enoch has good health report from the clinic where he was born and returned home safely. When he was 2 months old, he started to receive many vaccines. He got 3 shoots and drank one in March, then he will get 4 more shoots and drink one more in April. PTL Enoch wasn’t sick since he was born. Actually we are being parents by faith and we pray that the Lord will show us how should we child him up as a healthy kid who fear the Lord. We’ve expected for a furlough in Macau longer than a year. Although Enoch can’t receive Covid19 vaccine now, thanks God where we live has started to let elders and patients be vaccinated already. We will register for the vaccination in this 2 months, and we expect we can be vaccinated in June. For a better preparation of a trip to Macau anytime.
Kevin introduced the whole book of Acts in the beginning of TMC Chinese Fellowship in January. Then TCU intern Micky led us study chapter 1 in February, let us understand how important of prayer for the church. And Kevin showed how Holy Spirit works in the beginning of the church in March. We thanks God we’ve got the invitation of live-streaming “Hong Kong Bible Conference(HKBC)” from HK office, TMC and New Bridge Baptist Church(NBBC) will join this year, pls pray for Chinese churches in Tokyo and Japan have good witness in the work of promotion, technical support and logistic.
Ueda Family is our good friend in TMC, we always share and pray for each others ministry and family life. We all longed for babies but failed of it after many times of artificial insemination we did. But finally both we got permission from God, He made Mrs. Ueda got natural pregnancy six months later than Grace. God show us in this experience :”Unless the Lord be fruitful to families, the parents bear in vain”. Mrs. Ueda plans her delivery at home town Fukuoka during July, and they are busy of moving a new home around May because where they are living not allows baby resident. They are lay leaders who involved in many TMC admin work. Pls pray God will raise up church members to share their ministry workload when they will be busy to take care new born baby in coming months.
May the Lord won’t let you stand guard in vain!
