March, Deeper Connection
Sarah McKisic • June 7, 2021
I hope this first month of Spring has been a refreshing one for you and your loved ones! I pray it has ushered in a fresh hope for this year and what’s ahead, as I know the sunshine and spring blooms often does. If it hasn’t, I pray that in the coming weeks God brings the refreshing you need. The month of March brought us the end of a three month lockdown and the beautiful parks of Tokyo reopening for the Sakura blossoms. They are far more mesmerising then I anticipated and our streets are lined with the trees in full bloom. Life is beginning to feel more normal here but every new season is a first and brings something different for us to experience.
We are soaking up the beautiful weather and greatly anticipating our youngest girl turning two in one week! We will have a 花見 for her birthday party which means flower viewing, where you have a big picnic under the Sakura trees. The blossoms are beginning to fall off and dance in the wind which is something they call 花吹雪 (flower snow storm) and it shows that summer is soon on its way! Along with our youngest turning two, our oldest son starts Kindergarten next week at an all Japanese school!! This is big for us as it will help him learn the language and free up time for more ministry time and language learning time for us. Anyways, March was a month full to the brim so I’ll make the main points bold if you want a quicker update ;)
Somethings we have always talked about are discipleship, hosting meals in our home, and outreach, all of which started this past month! We have had two teenagers (that we met at our Friday night services) begin to meet weekly with us to be discipled. They are so hungry for God and the girl I am meeting with even joined us for her first ever outreach! We walked alongside her in hearing God’s voice and prayed for a few people in the streets. One place we were led to for outreach is called Kabukicho which is a famous red light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo. We heard a story of a girl who is a prostitute there that sells herself for $5. Utterly heartbreaking, but we know God is gracious and wants to reach out with redemption for many other girls like her. This area is right outside of the worlds busiest train station with 3.5 million people going through it per day. This month we have more people joining us in outreach including an interpreter so we are excited to see how God will move. Along with these areas of ministry, we have also been asked by the Church to start our own Youtube channel and podcasts. This will begin this week! Our Friday night services were reaching about 600 people across Japan through live recordings. In replacement of Friday nights we will begin to record videos in advance and air them every Wednesday to hopefully continue to reach those who are unable to attend church amidst covid19!
Hosting meals around our table is another value for us and we continued inviting in the baristas from the local Blue Bottle and others we feel God highlighting in our neighbourhood. We have also connected with other believers in our church and missionaries in the Tokyo area. With every meal we do not force any of our beliefs upon them, rather invite them in to love on them and yet every time a conversation about the gospel arises and is initiated by them. I believe God is stirring their hearts and wooing them. We will continue to make space and time for these people we have come to love so much and pray God fills it. Other baristas from the other Blue Bottles have come to know us as the “taco party” people and word has gotten out about our house parties! It is uncommon to invite others into your home here, but we believe this is what God has created us and them for, to be in family. Any opportunity to come over they eagerly accept. Please continue praying for them!
We just returned yesterday from our first Iris Retreat where as a team we prayed, worshipped, dreamed, and planned for what we are building together. Let’s just say I cried when sharing how this team is something Aaron and I have dreamed about for a long time and we have so much anticipation for what we are about to dive into. We have longed to be in a community that both challenges and encourages, that presses into the more of God and radically pursues His call. When saying yes to God I knew it could mean a lonely and challenging road but instead He brought us the Barbutti family to pioneer with. With that brings so much beautiful and painful things because it means we are truly doing life together and for that I’m grateful. Sign me up for all of it.
All in all, March was a month of God’s goodness and we know April will be too. We’d love to have you all continuing praying for Liam’s transition into an all Japanese Kindergarten, for God to show up in our discipleship, outreach, podcasts, and hosting times, and for God to continue providing us with vision and team unity as we pioneer. With love,
The McKisic’s
