Lily Suzuki's Prayer and Newsletter

Vol 2. No. 3 -May 2001

Dear Prayer Partners, Friends and Supporters on the Mission Work in Machida, Japan,

I pray that this Newsletter finds each one of you blessed and in peace with our LORD!

Thank you for your letters, cards, e-mails, Fax, packages and phone calls. I especially appreciated your remembering my birthday. “Birthday cards”, messages, even tapes of your voices and letters I received made me feel close to home. My friends here thoughtfully helped celebrate my birthday and made it very special for a whole week. It was a birthday away from home, but thanks to e-mail and phones, I felt very loved. I just praise God for all of you who pray for me regularly and for your generous support. I feel very badly about not writing to you and thanking each and every one of you, but I do pray for you whenever I remember and go through my prayer list.

The days are swooshing by and it is difficult to believe that it has been ten months since I have been here at Machida Christian Center. I will return to USA and to Canada from the 24^th of June to the 13^th of July. I am looking forward to attending the JEM Summer Camp and Conferences at Mt. Hermon, and to see you all again. I will be leaving for BC, Canada around the 3 of July to be with my family.

March and April were very busy, but we received much joy and blessings. As you all prayed for Kenichiro, he got baptized at Easter time. He is very afraid of the water, but God gave him strength and peace to be totally submerged. It truly was a miracle and we praised God and gave Him all of the glory and tears of joy were shed. We know that many people were praying for him and God honored our prayers. It was really neat to know that many people around the world were praying for him. It was such a blessing to hear his testimony. Kiyotaka in my English class and another jr. high school girl, Shoko, also got baptized. Each had beautiful testimonies. Please pray that their love for Jesus will grow each day and that their faith strengthen.

In Japan, April is the beginning of a new school year like our September. Many six graders and ninth graders take entrance examinations to decide which school they will be attending. They prepare for this examination after school at “jiyuku” for many years. I also had a week off in teaching during Spring Vacation at the end of March and had planned to travel, but the LORD put something else in my heart. Reiko sensei, the Pastor’s wife planned a Children’s Camp at that time so I volunteered to help. I prayed about it and decided to take Tomo, an autistic boy of 12, to Camp too. His parents need a rest too. Tomo and I started training for the next 4 days to prepare for Camp. We spent each morning together learning to walk together without tugging, behaving to commands of safety, eating politely with utensils etc. This also included learning to walk through the crowed and noisy station taking the train. It was only by God’s grace, wisdom and strength that we both made it through……For the first 1 hour was like, “God, why me? Why am I doing this?” but it has been a blessing for we were able to make it to camp. We became bonded together and became good friends and he really enjoyed being with other children away from home for the day. Tomo surprised us by eating what was prepared and watched the other children cook rice curry dinner. They cooked it pioneer style, using firewood. Many people at church prayed for us and watched us train and it was a good learning situation for all of us, especially here, to see God’s special child being able to attend Champ. It truly was a blessing. It really surprised me too! I learned that if you are in God’s will, you can do anything through Him without being afraid. All one needs to do is to take that first step and God does the rest. There is nothing impossible for our Living God. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Rom. 8:28 I just praise our LORD for we have the privilege to serve an awesome God. About six children became God ‘s children there. Kaoru, a Pastor’s daughter, and her non-Christian friend Aya came all the way from Fukushima ken and stayed overnight with me at my apartment to go to the Camp the next day. Aya accepted Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. It was a double blessing. Please pray for Aye so that her parents will also come to know the LORD through her.

My time management is getting better and God is faithfully providing my Sunday messages. A lady at my Surrey Alliance Church, Evelyn, in Canada sent me an e-mail and in it she encouraged me by giving me, 1 Cor. 2:2-5: “ For I resolve to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with demonstration of the Sprit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power." This verse was such a blessing. If you have a favorite verse please share it with me. God always gives me added strength.

So much to say, but this is getting too long. I am looking forwards to see all of you again at the end of June. Praising God for all of you,

His Ambassador in Japan,

Lily Suzuki

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