Dear Friends,

We give thanks your partnership in the Gospel ministry.The Lord often works through many different people to bring a person to salvation. Those who pray, those who plant the seeds, those who water, and then the Lord brings the harvest in his time.

A couple of weeks ago a young lady, Miss Masuda stopped by the church on a Sunday afternoon.As we talked she shared that as a child she had come to Sunday School here at the Nishi Okamoto Church.Her family moved when she started junior high and she didn't go back to church.But then she spent 3 years in the US living with a family in Georgia.This family went to the local Baptist church faithfully on Sunday.In addition the wife was the secretary at the Presbyterian church and they attended concerts and other special events at the Presbyterian church.

She now lives in our neighborhood again. As we talked Miss Masuda said, "I'm not baptized yet, but this family had a big influence on my life."Of course whenever somebody says, "I'm not baptized yet…" I get excited.So I said we could begin a study together about the Christian faith and to prepare for baptism.So starting Sunday, March 14 we will begin to study together.We trust the Lord will bless her through the Nishi Okamoto Church, and that she will be a blessing to us as well.

In February over 1,300 women from all over Asia gathered in Okinawa for the Asian Baptist Women's Union Conference.Tomoko was one of the translators for the conference, and one of the helpers from the Japan Baptist Women's group.It was 4 days of wonderful fellowship, worship, and study.When God's people gather together, it doesn't matter if we speak different languages; the Holy Spirit and the love of God bind us together, and tear down the barriers that would separate us.Some of the women from the Nishi Okamoto Church spoke of the deeply moving experience of attending this conference.Mrs. Kambe, who is 78, said she thought before that she would cry when she visited some of the war memorials, and remembered of all those who suffered in the war.But instead she said her tears came as she worshipped and prayed, listened to and shared with her sisters in Christ from so many different countries.

• Please pray for Miss Masuda as she grows in her faith and prepares for baptism.
• Please pray for Christians in every country, but especially pray for the witness of the Baptist women of Japan.
• Pray for Nishi Okamoto Christ Church as we prepare for Easter.

Grace and Peace,

John and Tomoko Armagost

ABC-USA missionaries in Japan