Where in Japan are Bob & Chris December 12

Bob and Chris are in the City of Kumamoto in Kyushu Japan. After the final Sunday in Tokyo where Bob preached at Ikebukuro Lutheran Church Bob & Chris finished packing and rested up for the flight to Kumamoto. Monday they left for Haneda Airport and the flight to Kumamoto where they arrived around 3:30 PM. They were greeted at the airport by legendary missionary Andy Ellis (a fellow Wittenberg University graduate) and the words "Welcome to the Center of the Lutheran Church in Japan". The warm welcome delegation also included Koizumi Sensei, Tanigawa Sensei, Iwasaki Sensei (retired) and his wife Yoshiko. After a tour of the churches where Bob will serve; and some of the many social agencies and schools that are part of the Lutheran presence in Kumamoto all had a wonderful traditional festive meal at a local restaurant. Bob and Chris received their carefully prepared packet of information and were taken to the their apartment or as it is called in Japan, their mansion for the next month. The first two months of orientation, language training, and serving in Tokyo with it's 12 million inhabitants, intricate transportation system and mulitple distinct areas within the huge city was a wonderful start to ministry serving the JELC. Now the ministry changes for the holiday season in the Kyushu District and Kumamoto. Here the numbers of Lutherans are comparable to the East District; but the population in total is around 800,000. Bob and Chris are excited as they begin the second leg of the Exhange Pastor Program and spend Christmas and New Years serving together in Kumamoto.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben