Why not Africa or India? Why not South America or Russia? That is a good question. Why should we devote our lives and present the nation and people of Japan to you for your financial help and prayer support. Isn’t Japan very wealthy, clean, and have a stable and healthy society? Isn’t their way of very life happy and prosperous?

Most statistics list Japan as the second wealthiest country in the world after the USA. The Japanese are also known as having the world’s longest life span. The cities and streets are very clean compared to many other nations of the world. These are some of the positive aspects of Japan but, these factors give no indication of the spiritual well-being and health of this nation but, help hide the dire conditions that exist here.

A recent Gallup survey raised hopes when it reported that nearly 6% of the people here believed in God. Soon they revised that down to 4% and later details revealed that only 1 ½ % were members of evangelical churches. The news gets worse when it was announced that less than 1/2% of them actually attend church regularly. That is less than 500,000 people out of 127 million people. The average church is 30 or less.

It has been reported that 80% of Japanese that profess faith in Jesus Christ turn back and leave their faith within the first couple years after conversion. Sadly, 80% of first term missionaries to Japan either quit during their first 4 year term or do not return again. We experienced this first hand with many missionaries we brought here.

Japan was one of the first developed countries to legalize abortion. This is now a widely accepted means of birth control. In a recent national women’s church conference the American speaker asked how many present had abortions. Over 50% of the mainly Christian women present stood confessing this sin in their lives.

Internet, video, pay-for-view TV, video games, and books deliver pornography at an every increasing rate to men, women, boys, and girls all over the nation. Incest is at an all time high and rarely is mentioned in public even though everyone knows it takes place. Bullying in schools is causing large numbers of students to take their lives in suicide. They already have the tremendous pressure to pass very difficult entrance exams for junior high, high school, and university. With so many rules and regulations in society and daily life the young and old are beginning to “snap” under the pressures. The religions of Buddhism and Shinto offer little help for the problems.

The national economy has been weak for quite some time. Unemployment has risen rapidly and suicides among middle aged men is the highest in the world. Every day nearly 3,300 Japanese die and most do not know Jesus as their Savior. There is only one church for every 38,000 people and one missionary to every 55,000 people. On June 6, 2006 in a church growth conference, Dr Cho Young Gi, pastor of the world’s largest church located in Seoul, Korea called Japan the world’s “hardest mission field”. The original question should be changed to Why not Japan? Where is their a greater need and so few workers to sow, plant, and reap in this precious harvest of souls for our Lord Jesus? Are you willing to Pray, Give or Go? Why not?

Life seems like it is rushing by. I’ve lived by a couple of motto’s one being “slowly but surely” and the other “Fast and Furious”. The two sayings couldn’t be further from each other, but they seem to fit my life. On one hand I feel that I spend most of my life waiting for things to happen. I trust it will happen, but getting to the tipping point? Take for instance our businesses. It seems like we have been trying to get them off the ground for soooo looooong, well, it’s been 3 and a half years and things are just beginning to happen. “Slowly but surely”. On the other hand time is whirling by. It might be Monday when I turn to see the other side of my desk and BAM it’s now Friday time fly’s by. As you’ll hear me say; a year seems like a month, a month seems like week, and a week goes by like a day. Don’t even talk to me about an hour! “Fast and Furious”.

Relationship

Purpose

Vision

Passion

Plan

Integrity

Deduct

Induct

Extra Mile

Balance 

These are words I have to have in my life. Today I have stopped to ask my self, are these principles working in my life and how much? For instance, I use to be able to raddle these words off. But today I had to think hard to pull up the word Passion. And now that I’m evaluating these words in my life, passion is something I need to stir up; Passion for God, Passion for my business, Passion for my vision. Because I’ve lost passion these other things are down also. It seems to me we (at least) most have these words working in our lives. I know there is another, but I can’t think of it and it’s probably not present in my life.

From time to time I get these pondering thoughts. Little things that make me laugh, or say DUH, and think real hard! Here’s one.

“I don’t even know you, but I Love you! My Heart pushes the breath out of my mouth”

Not my words! Just words that showed up in the rock farm call my brain. But got me thinking of how much I don’t know God. But I love him! And how there is a desire to love him even more! And I havn't even started to know Him! And how my thoughts and words about him are Pushed, Thrusted, Plunged (like a plumber) out of my mouth from my heart. “out of your heart will come _____”