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Pray for Yamagata

This week we are praying for Yamagata prefecture!

Yamagata is a mountainous prefecture with cold winter and hot summer. And they are famous for cherries and pears! mmm…  People are conservative and possess deep compassion and a firm sense of obligation, which make for strong faith when a person becomes a Christian. However, deep-rooted village culture makes a strong pressure against the Christians.

  • Population: 1,225,990
  • City with no church: 1
  • Towns/villages with no church: 26
  • Churches/person: 1:16,794

 

March 28: Pray that the 4,503 believers in Yamagata will lead their families to Jesus.

March 29: With no access to Christian TV or bookstores, pray that the 75 churches will creatiely evangelize the prefecture. There are two weekly radio broadcasts.

March 30: House of Prayer Toriumi Chapel, built by the Sakata Christ Church; Conservative Baptist Miko Memorial at Yonezawa; Ohira Hotel and Narisawa Pension, both at Zao Hot Springs.

March 31: There are two Christian schools in the prefecture with a total of about 1,000 students. The large majority of the students are pre-Christians. Pray for a spiritual movement that would touch each student.

April 1: There are several ministries for the mentally disabled, and one 50-bed facility for the elderly. Pray that the family members will be impressed by the love of Christ shown in these ministries.

April 2: Obanazawa is the only city in Tohoku area that still lacks a church. Shion Christ Church in nearby Murayama city has had an outreach in Obanazawa, but a church has not yet been established here.

April 3: Higashi Tagawa-gun, Nishi Tagawa-gun, and Akumi-gun have 12 towns and villages and 130,000 people with no churches. Mogami-gun with seven towns and villages and over 50,000 people has only one church. 

*All information and prayer requests taken from “Operation Japan -Prayer Guide- Third Edition” -Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, 2005. To purchase a copy of “Operation Japan” book or the Interactive CD version, go to: http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_banners&task=click&bid=10.

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Pray for Akita

This week we are praying for Akita prefecture.

People of Akita are known to be loyal to their prefecture, and are deeply influenced by temples and shrines. Traditions and customes are also important and these often keep people from becoming a Christian. Protestant evangelism started in this area in 1888, by two missionary couples from the American Disciples.

<Akita prefecture>

  • Population: 1,173,722
  • City with only 1 church: 1
  • Towns/villages with no church: 49
  • Churches/person: 1:19,562

 

March 22: Pray for the development and growth of the 60 Protestant churches in the prefecture. As you read the statistics for Akita, allow the Lord to give you a prayer burden for the many people represented by these numbers.

March 23: Pray that people will respond to the two weekly radio programs in areas where there are no churches.

March 24: Pray that today someone seeking God will find help at the CLC Akita Book Store. The store provides encouragement for Christians and a witness to non-Christians.

March 25: There are several Catholic schools in the prefecture. Pray that Protestant schools would also be started and be used to spread the gospel. There are eight Protestant kindergartens and five day-care centers with 1,148 children.

March 26: Tenno town with a populatio nof over 20,000 and no church, Kazuno city with 38,000 and only one church should be special prayer targets. Seboku-gun, with its four towns and villages, has only one church for oer 56,000. Yuri-gun with 29,000 has no church, and Yamamoto-gun has only one church for 50,000.

*All information and prayer requests taken from “Operation Japan -Prayer Guide- Third Edition” -Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, 2005. To purchase a copy of “Operation Japan” book or the Interactive CD version, go to: http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_banners&task=click&bid=10.

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Pray for Miyagi

This week we start praying for Miyagi prefecture! (Pronunciation is as “Mr. Miyagi” in a certain karate movie)

Miyagi has a milder weather than other Tohoku prefectures and aguriculture and marine industries are very productive. It has the largest Zen temple in the country but the influence of Buddhism and Shintoism is not quite as strong. There are many mission schools, which helped people be more open to the gospel.

<Miyagi>

  • Population: 2,30,026
  • City with only 1 church: 1
  • Towns/villages with no church: 36
  • Churches/person: 1: 17,280

 

 

March 15: A Bible Correspondence school began in 1953 by the Conservative Baptists and is teaching 100 students around Japan. There are three ministry training institutions, and each struggle with low enrollment. Pray that many church leaders will emerge from these schools.

March 16: Sendai Student Center and Morisato Camp. Sendai Life Center and Sendai Christian bookstore provide Christian literature and serve churches in more remote areas.

March 17: Tohoku Broadcasting airs two radio programs, Light of the World(Sat. 5:10am) and True Salvation(Sun 5:20am). Pray that seeking hearts will hear these programs.

March 18: Tohoku Gakuin has 15,200 students and one third of the students attend daily chapels. May the Holy Spirit ope the hearts of many today. Two other schools have an additional enrollment of over 7,000.

March 19: There are vital ministries being carried on in hopitals and welfare facilities. As you pray for the Christina staff, ask that the family members of those in residence will see Jesus.

March 20: There are 36 towns and villages with no churches. Kogata town with over 20,000, and also the whole Oshika-gun have no churches.

*All information and prayer requests taken from “Operation Japan -Prayer Guide- Third Edition” -Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, 2005. To purchase a copy of “Operation Japan” book or the Interactive CD version, go to: http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_banners&task=click&bid=10.

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Another life lost

“It happened yesterday. I was on a special rapid train, on my way to see my friend in downtown Tokyo. The train was slowly passing by Koen-ji station when there was an announcement that there was an emergency and the train had to stop. As soon as the train stopped, I heard a woman’s panicked voice from outside. In a couple of seconds, I found out it was a young woman on a bench on the platform in front of me. She was tearing her hair out, crying and screaming with a twitched face. Another woman came and started to calm her down. Then the station officers came with a stretcher and  put it down on the platform right in front of me. I realized that someone jumped in front of the train I was on. Another woman, probably in her 60s, was showing the officers over and over how the person jumped in. Soon, I heard the siren of an ambulance approached. After it was safe, the doors of the train were opened and the passengers got off. I moved to another platform to catch a different train to my destination, and everyone else did the same, so the platform got dangerously crowded. When I was leaving on the train, I saw the train I was on that hit the person. It looked like the person was dragged for a while after he/she jumped in and plastic sheets were put up all along the rail to block the view as they tried to rescue the person. I’m not sure if the person was still alive or not.”

I got this news from my friend in Tokyo a couple days ago. People commit suicide by jumping in front of a moving train every week. Pray that more people in Japan will get a chance to hear about Jesus before they take their lives.

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Pray for Iwate

Now we move on to… Iwate!! (pronounced Ee-wah-tay)

Iwate is the second largest prefecture, and also the second least densely populated prefecture. It suffers severe cold weather and poor economy (average income is 11th from the bottom in the nation) but it also been producing many renowned figures including scholars, politicians, novelists and artists. Christian Evangelism started in this area in the late 1800s.

<Iwate>

  • Population: 1,405,060
  • Cities with only 1 church: 5
  • Towns/villages with no church: 36
  • Churches/person: 1/25,090

 

March 9: Pray that the churches located in declining population areas would be encouraged and maintain their ministries. Pray for the faith of church members who have moved to larger cities for education or work.

March 10: Pray for the one missionary serving in Iwate, that she will be encouraged and be effective in her ministry. The Seisen Theological School i a two-year program which began in 1969.

March 11: Zenrin Kan, a Christian center and book store in Morioka, and the Light of the World (daily 5:15am) are two important resources for 56 churches.

March 12: Pray that the 2,830 students at Morioka University and the 600 at Sukore will become interested in reading the Bible.

March 13: Pray that God’s love will be seen through the ministries to the handicapped at Oku Nakayama Gakuen (40 people), Chiisaki Mori no Sato (40 people) and Sanai gakusha High School (51 students).

March 14: Pray for new church starts in the five cities with only one church. Takizawa and Yamada towns have populations of over 20,000 with no church. Shimohei-gun has a ratio of only one church for over 50,000 people.

*All information and prayer requests taken from “Operation Japan -Prayer Guide- Third Edition” -Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, 2005. To purchase a copy of “Operation Japan” book or the Interactive CD version, go to: http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_banners&task=click&bid=10.

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Aomori

This week we’re praying for Aomori! (pronounced Ow-mori)

Aomori is the northmost prefecture in Tohoku area. It’s famous for apples and they experience heavy snow during the winter especially on the western side. Traditions and customs have a powerful hold in this prefecture. It is home to Nebuta Festival, one of the three major festivals of the Tohoku area, and mountains that are important site for worship and many spiritual mediums.

<Aomori>

  • Population: 1,479,358
  • Towns/villages with no church: 47
  • Church/person: 1:19,725

March 3: Pray for God’s blessing on each of the 75 churches, that they will overcome the religious obstacles and severe climate, and that Christians will daily experience His power.

March 4: Pray for good cooperation among the churches throughout the prefecture, especially through Misawa Christian Cooperative Evangelistic Fellowship and the Aomori Evangelisitic Broadcasting Fellowship.

March 5: Camping ministry at Aomori Christian Center. Life Line on Aomori TV. May God touch may through the camping program and the TV ministry.

March 6: A total of 2,688 students are attending Protestant educational institutions, along with 913 children attending 12 Protestant kindergartens and five day-care centers.

March 7: There are few Christian health and social ministry services. Pray that many in the midst of failing health will look to the Creator for help.

March 8: Pray for Hiraka town with over 20,000 people and for Nakatsugaru-gun and Shimokita-gun with no churches. Sannohei-gun has only one church for over 83,000 people.

*All information and prayer requests taken from “Operation Japan -Prayer Guide- Third Edition” -Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, 2005. To purchase a copy of “Operation Japan” book or the Interactive CD version, go to: http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php?option=com_banners&task=click&bid=10.