Jordan and Nitasha News

April 2023 Update

"This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9 (NLT)

Dear Friends,

April has been another full month of planning and fundraising! We praise God that so many of you are still giving and sowing into the ministry, even before we’ve landed in Japan. It means everything to us that you are still with us on this journey, and have committed to encouraging us and supporting us through these preparation stages.

We’d like to thank everyone new who has pledged their support both in watchful prayer and through generous giving! Together with our family, we are encouraged to see how the mission of Christ Jesus in Japan has captured the hearts of individuals and churches alike.

Speaking of churches, it seems as though many of you have been praying because our current church Encounter Selly Oak has found someone to come in and lead their youth work starting in May! We were glad to have met him and can see that he’ll be a great for the team and the youth. This is brilliant news because there are so few youth leaders willing to take up a permanent role in churches, and I know first-hand how impactful youth leaders can be in a young persons life. So, we thank God for answered prayer and we ask that you join us in praying for us and Encounter Church, that we administer a healthy transition of leadership of the youth.

Our time at both churches will come to an end in late June but we thoroughly enjoy serving the youth and working with an incredible team. Now, with only a two months to go, we are still yet to apply for the visa, get our final shipping quotes and send off the shipping list, restart our packing, book our tickets, amongst other final preparations… But we are ready to engage with all these preparations as soon as our visas come through. Please pray for God’s will to be done and his timing in our applying for the visas.

Earlier this week, we had a meeting with leaders from ECCJ and Elim Missions to discuss the potential outreach opportunities, and identifying the variety of communities and people groups we believe God might want us to be a part of. There are +37 million people in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where we will be based - that’s a lot of people to try and reach!! It’s appears to be a big job, so it was encouraging to meet with the others and know that we have a passionate team and an all-powerful God behind us. If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). Please keep praying for us and the Task Unfinished, as we seek God about some of our first steps as Elim Missionaries in Japan, beyond language learning and settling into the community.

In other news, wedding season has picked up and Nitasha has more and more clients and last minute booking enquiries. Jordan’s business has also picked up, as he is working with an American Christian artist, and has another local client booked from next week. With so much to do and our time running out, we’ve been asking the Lord for wisdom and guidance, so that we aren’t too pressed on all sides. Please pray that God provides his supernatural wisdom, for good relationships to develop, and that both can wind down to a set date, for easy decision making.

Lastly, we both are attending the annual Elim Missions Conference and Elim Leaders’ Summit over the next 2 weeks. We’re got tons of fond memories of attending these events in the past with the staff at BCC. It’s a time for us as Elim leaders to gather from across the globe to connect and re-connect with each other, to enjoy large corporate worship together and receive input from incredible teachers. Please, would you just pray for a time of rest, refreshing and in-filling from both week-long events.

Prayer Guide: Japanese Culture and Christianity

A Christian Japanese artist once described God as the master kintsugi (broken pottery put back together with gold) artist. God searches for the brokenness in our lives and has the power to bring beauty out of it. There are many redemptive analogies in Japanese culture that point to God and can be used to help explain the gospel.

However, for many Japanese believers, culture often feels like something that pulls them away from God rather than pointing to him. Shrines and temples feature in festivals and holidays, significant life events, and school field trips.

Some Christians face conflict within their families regarding religious traditions and expectations, such as ancestor veneration. Pray that Japanese believers would have wisdom to make God-honouring decisions in their daily lives. Also pray that God would raise up more Japanese Christian artists to impact the culture in creative ways for his glory.

The last few paragraphs were an excerpt taken from ‘Beneath The Surface: 30 Ways To Pray For Japan’. It was Produced in collaboration with over 35 missionaries and Japanese Christian leaders, from 17 organisations.

If you are reading this and you are a part of a praying church or community group, please share with others what we are doing in order to see God’s kingdom come in Japan! We want as many people to know and be inspired by the Spirit to intercede for the people of Japan so that they can come to know him.

You all mean so much to us. Together you’ve helped us raise 62.5% of our fundraising target! And we couldn’t have done it without you. Please reach out if there is any way we can meet you before we go - even if it’s just a coffee to say we appreciate your support.

Thank you again for walking this journey with us! We believe that God will open His hands to us even more, in His timing.

Love and Mega Blessings from,

Rev. Jordan & Nitasha Christian

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