Some New Things in Osaka

Greetings from Osaka,

Last time I talked about what I did in Kobe, this time I'll talk about what I'm doing in Osaka and the new stuff since last year.

First, the big new thing is that we are working on a new church plant called Osaka Hope Community. While this new church started earlier in the year, it is still in its early stages. We are meeting in one of the missionaries houses every Sunday, usually having a typical church service with worship, prayer, and preaching. Being a small church, we have some flexibility too. This past week we had a prayer service where we broke into groups for four or five and prayed through several different prompts.

Since it is a church plant, our focus is on Japanese people who are new to church, either they have just started exploring Christianity or are new Christians themselves. We are still small but we are running it faithfully every week. Please pray for the Japanese people who join us, that they can learn about the Gospel and Jesus Christ and that they may be saved.

Some other changes since last year has been the addition of a few new members to the team. There is a new couple and an experienced missionary that has joined the team. The three of them have been a blessing to the outreach work that we are doing. Sadly one member of our team felt God was calling to return to the States, but we are getting another new member next month to fill that vacancy in the team. Please pray for the team as we minister in Osaka, especially those who are learning the language may learn quickly.

As for my work, It has been a bit slow. The ministry that I am probably going to be focused on, university students, is currently on break for summer, so we have not been able to meet students. Additionally, the contacts I had last year, so far, have been busy or are on vacation. But I have been trying to find other avenues to reach out, I'm going out and trying to meet people around town. So far I have not been very successful, and a part of it has been the language barrier. Perfect example came up as I was writing this post. I heard some drumming outside, so I got up and looked for where it was coming from. There was a neighborhood festival going on. I checked it out and tried to ask a few people what the festival was for, but no one I spoke to could speak English, nor could I get very far with my Japanese. But it was not a total loss, it was encouraging to find how friendly they were in spite of the language barrier and were happy to see me there. Pray for me as I reach out to the Japanese people, as I go out God could provide opportunities for me to witness for him and introduce Japanese people to Jesus Christ.

Once more, I am thankful for everyone who has been supporting me with pray or funding. I could not do this without that support. I'm still running a very tight budget and every bit helps, please prayerfully consider giving.

You can send your support to East Tucson Baptist Church, indicating it is for “Carl's Japan Missions Fund”. This is a tax deductible option.

Make checks out to:

East Tucson Baptist Church

9100 E Speedway Blvd

Tucson, AZ 85710

Phone: (520) 917-4233

Or send a check to my family to deposit for me:

Lynn Erbe

7326 E. Calle Lugo

Tucson, AZ 85710

Phone: (520) 298-6319

You may also send money directly through PayPal

PayPal.me/CarlErbe

My GoFundMe page for this trip:

https://www.gofundme.com/carls-second-osaka-missions-trip

Thank you for your prayers and support.

God bless,

Carl Erbe

Carl.E.Erbe@gmail.com