Hello Friends!
Sorry that it has been such a long time since you’ve heard from us. Transitioning to life here in Maine took a lot longer than we had expected, but praise God we are still moving forward towards long-term ministry in Japan. We wanted to give you all an update on what God has been doing in our lives as well as a picture of what our plan from here to Tokyo looks like.
After our trip to Tokyo back in March and April of last year we moved up here to Maine to be close to Kiki’s family for the time leading up to our move to Japan as long-term missionaries. We’ve been thoroughly blessed with a wonderful home, family nearby, and a healthy, supportive community of believers to be a part of. God has been using our time here to grow us in our love for Him, His Word, and others. We’ve had great opportunities to grow and serve in our local church that we know God is using to prepare us for future ministry in Japan while making use of us during our time here in the U.S.
Back in January of this year we had the opportunity to meet with the director of Fellowship International Mission (FIM), Steve Wilt. We shared our vision for ministry in Japan and were excited to hear about a great program they have that is a good fit for us partnering with them in reaching the Japanese people with the Gospel. Since then we’ve been working through the application process to be missionaries through FIM in their Immersion Program. This program will allow us to go through the full training and preparation process of being full-time missionaries with FIM, but will allow us the flexibility we need to reach the Japanese people by working as English teachers in Tokyo.
At this point we’re focused on completing the steps to being accepted as missionaries through FIM. We hope to complete this process and start raising support for our ministry in the next month or two. Further down the road, in August of this year, we will attend a week-long missionary training program for FIM missionaries in Pennsylvania. After that we plan to continue raising support until our anticipated move date in the spring or fall of 2017, when we hope to actually move to Tokyo for the long-term. Sometime in early to mid 2017 we also are planning on going for a month-long Teaching English as a Foreign Language course through Cambridge University that will help equip Paul to secure a job teaching English down the road.
As you can see, there’s a lot that needs to happen between now and the time we reach Tokyo. We’re very excited about our partnership with FIM as we’ve worked with them in the past and have found them tremendously helpful, encouraging, and knowledgeable. It’s a blessing to see God bringing things together, and we trust that He will continue to do so.
Another big piece of news that we are very excited about is that we are expecting our second child in October of this year. We had hoped to have another baby before returning to Tokyo, so this is a real answer to prayer, and of course a wonderful blessing.
We would love your prayers as we go through the application process, and as we prepare to begin raising support in the coming months. Kiki has had a very difficult time with morning sickness from the pregnancy for the past four months, but is starting to feel better. Please pray for Kiki and the baby’s health, as well as for us to be able to move forward with Japan preparations in spite of Kiki’s illness. Please pray for God to grow our burden for the Japanese people and prepare us to serve there. Please also pray that God would work everything together for timing and provision for us to be in Tokyo serving Him in 2017.
Thank you so much for keeping up with us, encouraging us, and lifting us up in prayer. We really couldn’t do this without your help and support. We’ll keep you posted as God continues to work in our lives, and we’ll give you more details about our plans in future updates.
With Love,
Paul, Kiki, and Judah Mackey