2017 – April Update

Dear Partners in the Gospel,

Happy Easter (a little late) from the Lee family!  How was your Resurrection Sunday?  We’ve been celebrating with you in our hearts the resurrection of our dear Lord Jesus.  What a good reminder of the price God paid to free us from sin and adopt us as His children.  Praise Him our Rescuer! 

We have had a very full and sweet month, starting with a trip to visit John’s relatives in S. Korea and attend a family wedding.  It was Brooke’s first time meeting her great aunts and uncles on the Lee side of the family, and they met us with the warmest welcome imaginable!  Then after we got back to Japan John’s mother, sister and brother-in-law from the States all came to visit us in Tokyo.  Our tiny apartment was bursting with love, tears and laughter, and it was just what we needed during this enduring season of language learning.

At the same time, John and I have started a new term in language school.  This is the first time we have both enrolled at the same time while caring for a child, and God provided the exact schedule needed for us to be able to take turns studying and being at home.  So now John goes to school in the morning and I, Jo Beth, go to school in the afternoon, with a short window of time to trade off with Brooke in between.

This is new schedule that has taken every ounce of energy we have, staying up late most nights to keep up with our studies.  Yet God has provided just what we needed because we don’t know how we would have survived these past couple of weeks without the help of John’s mother, Omuk!  She has been an enormous blessing during this time of adjustment, not only helping with Brooke but also helping us find a healthy new rhythm of life for our family.  We’re grateful for God’s provision and your prayers through this challenging season!

Our team continues to hold worship gatherings as a team, studying God’s Word, praying and encouraging one another.  Please continue to pray for our team’s church planting discussion: for unity first and foremost in Jesus, renewal of the gospel in our hearts every day, and that God would give us ears to hear as He leads and guides us in our discussions.  Strategy is not our hope, but only that God has a plan and we’re seeking to walk in it as a team.

Thank you so much for walking together with us in this journey of following Christ and making Him known.  We are so grateful for your prayers on our behalf, moving God’s hand in ways we could never imagine.  Your love, prayers and caring notes help keep our spirits afloat as we are reminded of God’s faithfulness to not only His workers, but to His promise of sending the Gospel to all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. Thank you for your partnership!

John, Jo Beth & Brooke Lee  

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