<– A view of a volcano from the balcony of SYME in Karuizawa, Japan

To say the least, living in a building perched on the side of a mountain, surrounded by forest, is a refreshing change of pace from Tokyo. I enjoyed the city a lot, but being here in Karuizawa is a lot more like home.

Despite the beauty of this area, the best part of being at SYME is being a part of such an incredible community. Here, at SYME (School of Youth Ministry in English), Japanese and Korean students will spend eight months studying the Bible in English. This is a training school for students to learn the English language, while being saturated with teaching from the Bible. With only eighteen students, SYME feels more like a family than a school, but this in no way detracts from the incredible ministry that is happening here.

 My Japanese and Korean friends at Word of Life in NY had shared with me many times about how SYME had been such a huge blessing in their lives, as evidenced by the incredible work that God did in their hearts during their time here. So it’s a huge pleasure to see what God is doing here for myself.

Like I said in my last update, ministry in Japan looks a lot different than it does in the States. It generally takes considerably more time to lead a person to Christ, and it is often much more difficult to find opportunities to share the Gospel. Opportunities come through building solid relationships with unsaved people. However, teaching English, especially in a long-term, relationship based setting like SYME, is an incredible means of reaching out to the Japanese people.

Many students who come here are already Christians, and have the opportunity to grow in their faith, and their understanding of God’s Word. There are also many who come only to study English, and who have not yet trusted Christ as their Savior. Whatever their purpose for coming to SYME, all students are taught English and the Bible in a discipleship setting by godly staff that really love their students. Many who come as unsaved people end up trusting Christ before their time here is done.

It has been a real blessing getting to know the staff and students of SYME. Adam and I have spent our time attending, and helping out with classes, as well as a considerable amount of time building friendships with the students here. Both last week, and this week, Adam and I each have the opportunity to deliver one of the chapel messages to the students.

Being here provides us with a great opportunity to experience what an effective English teaching ministry in Japan looks like. I have come to realize that, being a native English speaker, the utilization of teaching my native language is an incredible asset in ministry here in Japan. Coming here has caused me to strongly consider pursuing teaching English as a part of my future, if I should become a missionary to Japan. I also am excited for an opportunity to think about whether I should return to SYME to be a part of this ministry in the future, if only on a short term basis.

Please continue to pray for the ministry that Adam and I are a part of here in Japan. This is the last week before summer break for the students here at SYME, and many of them will be graduating and moving on to Word of Life Bible Institute in Korea. Please pray for this final week, that God would use it to be a huge blessing and encouragement to the students and staff here at SYME.

As always, thank you so much for your prayers and support. It’s been such a huge blessing being here in Japan, and I know that your prayers have been a big part of the time Adam and I are spending here.

God bless!