Dear Friends,

Thank you for your prayers. You strengthen and encourage us through them.

We just finished our Summer Bible Club, and as happens each year, the Lord blesses us in surprising ways. Mrs. A. had been coming to my adult English conversation class for about 2 months, but had not attended a worship service. We end each class by reading one Bible verse and talking about it for a few minutes, then close by saying the Lord's Prayer in English. One evening as everyone was leaving, Mrs. Okuno, who was baptized last Christmas, was looking at the church bulletin board with Mrs. A and they were talking about the upcoming Summer Bible Club. The next day, Mrs. A. called Tomoko to ask if she could be a helper.

So Mrs. A spent a week with us, hearing the message of "God's Love, our Treasure!" She joined us in singing songs about finding God's love, and sharing that love with others. Along with a couple of other church members, she helped me each day in the English Time. The next week she stopped by to tell us thank you for letting her be a part of Summer Bible Club.

On the last day of Bible Club, Sunday, one of the children brought her big sister who is in 8th grade. She was excited to hear that we have a new junior-senior high group and asked if she could come. So again, though Bible Club was for children from kindergarten to 6th grade, the Lord surprised us with a response from another age group.

We pray, and trust that the 80 children who attended this year were also blessed. We pray that seeds of the gospel have been planted. We pray for a harvest. And we pray that our eyes will be open to see how the Lord will work in and through this time. Finally we give thanks for the surprises of the Lord.

Speaking of our junior-senior high youth group, we have been meeting faithfully each week. Last Sunday night, the men hosted a BBQ for Mr. Fujioka, the seminary student from the church who is back for the summer. Before we ate, the youth did a couple of skits and led in singing a couple of gospel praise songs. It was the first time they, as a group, did this kind of leading in front of the church, and it was wonderful.

I know that when I tell some of these stories, they don't seem like a big deal. A youth group that did skits…but if you remember my last letter, just having a junior-senior high group is very unusual for a church in Japan. That they would meet every Sunday was a surprise to the church members. So the skits really were a blessing. Where will the Lord lead these young people?

Pray for and with us.

• Give thanks for the surprises of Summer Bible Club
• Pray for Mrs. A.
• Pray for the youth group

We give thanks for you, your prayers and your support of the Lord's work here in Kobe, Japan.

Grace and Peace,

John and Tomoko Armagost

ABC-USA missionaries in Japan