Dear Friends and Family:

I wanted to give you an update on Laura’s trip to Japan. Praise God that all of her requested funds have been received, and we have ordered her ticket for August 15, 2006. The support funds raised were to meet her estimated initial travel and living expenses. It is believed that she will earn enough money from teaching the conversational English lessons to cover additional living expenses, according to those who held the position this past year.
This morning, she took two packed bags of winter clothes to the airport to accompany the youth group ministry team from Castleview that is headed to Sapporo, Japan. They are going for nearly three weeks to the same church where Laura will be ministering for the next year. Please pray for safety and successful ministry as the team ministers in the name of Jesus. I’m going to pray that God will double the size of the churches where the teams focus on evangelism. Pray as God leads you.
Updates and specific prayer requests from the team can be obtained from the Castleview Baptist Church website.

The following is a prayer request dated April 29, 2006, from a Japanese pastor in a different area of Japan which highlights some or the spiritual warfare going on there:

From Shigeru Takiura, Pastor of RPCNA Japan Presbytery in Kobe city.
I again want to ask your favor of praying for the Christian freedom in Japan.
Please pray that our Christian primary school kids would not be forced to go to Ise Shrine as worship-visit in near future.
Please pray that Yasukuni Shrine’s (Shrine of war dead for the Emperor) historically and religiously dangerous character will be well understood by the Japanese public. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasukuni_Shrine)
Please pray that the freedom of living according to Christian faith may be established firmly in Japan.
Please pray that the recent move of reviving the National Shintoism maybe prevented and gone.
Please pray for Japanese Christian citizen to raise the voice against such a trend.
Please pray for the Japanese Church to speak clearly about the sin of such idol worship both in the past and present according to the scripture, and lead the prayer for the repentance of the nation to walk the righteous path before the Lord.
Please pray for our witness for the King Jesus Christ who is the medeatorial King over Japan.
Please pray for Japan’s repentance and salvation from its destruction as the punishment of the Lord.
Please appeal to your government officers to take effort against recent Japanese trend. Let them step forward to prevent Japanese revival of National Shintoistic regime. Let them know that Japanese Christians are really desiring their support against the trend of such revival.

One praise from Kenya comes from Mosop School and the Laura Children’s Home for orphans. I had assisted them in getting their application completed for funds for a dormitory. World Orphans has granted them $6,000 for a dormitory that will help greatly in the construction of a dormitory for the orphans who live year-round near the school.
We’re hopeful that Umoja Children’s Home will complete their application and obtain funds for a dormitory as well. Please pray for them and the Bemms who will be assisting them.
Again, thank you for your prayers. God is faithful to answer all of our prayers. We, as believers in the power of the God, need to pray specifically so that we know when He has answered.

Paul, for the Jarretts in Indiana