Dear Friends,

I am sorry it has been awhile since we wrote to you.It has been a busy, but fruitful time.First, John spent 3 weeks in October in California, visiting churches and pastors to encourage support for the World Mission Offering.It was a special time of seeing old friends, and making new friends, while sharing about our ministry. We trust that you have been in prayer for the World Mission Offering.We give thanks for your support, and want to let you know that God is changing lives around the world through your prayers and support.

"Go into the world and be transformed by Christ,

To be nurtured into wholeness and know God's heart,

In amazing graces of that generous faith

To be planted yourself in a growing place."

Those are words from one of the verses of "Go Global", a song written by Rita and Brad Berglund.Last weekend the Nishi Okamoto Church invited Rev. Brad Berglund to come and lead us in a workshop on ‘Worship'.I can't tell you what a blessing the whole weekend was.Brad did a beautiful job of teaching us practical ways to make worship a richer experience for each of us.What I appreciated was his sensitivity to and awareness of the Japanese culture. If you don't know Brad, he is a gifted musician, and worship and retreat leader. Check out his web sight at:www.reinventingsunday.com

After the workshop we put some of what we were taught into practice in 3 worship services over the weekend.In preparation for the weekend, especially these services, the members of the church passed out almost 10,000 flyers to our neighborhood.One our members, Mr. Fujioka, took the weekend off from work so that he would not miss anything.Mrs. Hazama, brought her daughter, who is not a Christian, and 2 friends she knows from her morning hike up the mountain behind the city.Brad led us in each of the 3 services and each was rich, moving and culturally appropriate as well as challenging us. One was a Taize style service of singing, scripture reading, prayer, and up to 10 minutes of silent meditation.10 minutes sounds like a long time, but some of those who attended said it was the best service they have ever attended. We had 4 visitors at that service and they stayed 2 hours afterward to chat with members over tea and cookies. It fit the Japanese culture well.In all we had 8 first time visitors, who are not Christians, at the services.We believe the Lord has opened some new doors of opportunity for us.

• Give a prayer of thanksgiving for Rev. Brad Berglund and his time with us.
• Pray for all those who visited us last weekend. Pray that the Spirit of the Lord will continue to speak to their hearts.
• Pray for the members of Nishi Okamoto Church as they seek to let the Light of Life shine in the city of Kobe.
• Pray for those who are preparing for baptism at Christmas, or thinking of baptism in the spring. (I will share more in the next letter.)
• Pray for the World Mission Offering, it is an important part of our support, and the work of the Lord in our world.

We offer a prayer of thanks for you and your love and support of us.

Here are a couple of pictures of Brad.One before Sunday worship, and one with Mrs. Nozawa during the Taize service.

Grace and Peace,

John and Tomoko Armagost

ABC-USA missionaries in Japan