Our vehicle for 2012 and beyond
Published January 22, 2012 | 
On Jan 21, 2012, we personally purchased this used vehicle for our life and tsunami recovery ministry in northern Japan for the next year. It is a 1997 Toyota Hiace Regius 4WD, 2700 cc gasoline, 92000 km (57000 mi), 8 seater, or 5 seater with lots of luggage space.
We plan to drive north to Sendai city on Jan 26 and will begin looking for a rental apartment as soon as we get there.
We also plan to use this vehicle for our life and ministry when we return to Tokyo in early 2013 in order to launch Tokyo Multicultural Church.
EFC of China Hong Kong makes significant contribution to our financial support!
Published January 19, 2012 | Generous gift from the EFC of China, Hong Kong, Overseas Missions Board covers most of our apartment rental costs in Sendai for one year
We returned to Japan on January 1, 2012, still lacking some of our required support. We had completed visiting all our supporting churches in Canada and the USA, and felt compelled to return to ministry in Japan even with some lacking support. We decided to trust the Lord to meet our financial needs once we returned.
Well, the Evangelical Free Church of China — Hong Kong — Overseas Missions Board decided to give us a love offering to cover our rental housing costs for one year in Sendai city, where we will be based for our tsunami recovery ministry. This unexpected gift comes close to covering our anticipated 2012 lacking support! The love offering from Hong Kong is due to our strategy of working closely with Larry/Bella Mori (ReachGlobal — EFC of America) over the next year in their church planting ministry at Sendai Izumi EFC. Bella is originally from Hong Kong and the Moris receive significant encouragement from the EFC churches in Hong Kong.
These funds were successfully deposited into our Japanese bank account on Jan 19.
The Lord has richly blessed us through the EFC of China Hong Kong, Overseas Missions Board!
Dale and Ann are returning to Japan on Jan 1, 2012
Published December 11, 2011 | Question: What’s one difference between a career missionary and a short term missionary?
Answer: A short term missionary buys a round trip airfare ticket from home to a foreign country, but a career missionary buys a one way ticket from one home to another home.
Dale and Ann now have one way tickets from Maine (USA) to Tokyo, departing January 1.
So our home assignment comes to an end on Dec 31.
Japan needs missionaries!
Published December 9, 2011 | Missionary mandate for Japan
Click here to read an article by one local US church that displays a keen insight into the increasing need for missionaries in Japan, despite the high financial cost of support.
Dale and Ann are heading back to Japan for tsunami recovery ministry! But…
Published November 5, 2011 | quake and tsunami
It was 1:30 AM on March 11, 2011, on the east coast of the US when we were awakened by a phone call from our daughter on the west coast. Understanding her Dad’s penchant for tracking earthqukes, especially in Japan, she knew we would want to be informed if there had been a big one in Japan, even if it meant waking us up in the middle of the night. A few years earlier we as a family had experienced a 7.2 magnitude quake at almost the same location in northeastern Japan this one hit. But this quake on March 11 was a whopping 9.0 magnitude, the fourth largest recorded quake in history and the biggest one to ever hit earthquake prone Japan.
As soon as we learned the size and location of the 3/11 biggie, we immediately feared the worst from tsunami waves. For the next 36 hours Dale worked email, skype, Japanese TV on the internet, Western TV sources, FaceBook, etc., to gather the information about the quake and the ensuing horrific tsunami waves, and to offer support for our colleauges and acquaintances in Japan. It did not take long to realize that Western media was fixating on the tsunami disabled nuclear power plant in Fukushima rather than on the most obvious unfolding tragedy: the tsunami waves.
Out at sea the highest tsunami was measured at about 10 meters (33 ft). But due to the funnel effect of tsunami waves when they enter topographically confining inlets and ports, the highest was actually measured at 40 meters (130 ft). These measurements were taken from markings left on buidlings such as a hospital perched high on a hill. Tsunami of this size are practically inescapable. Nobody fleeing a tsunami would think that the safety zone was above 40 meters. Most fled to hills and buildings only about 10 meters above sea level (4 storey buildings).
The angry tsunami waves swallowed most towns along a 350 mile stretch of Pacific Ocean coastline in northeastern Japan, sometimes extending 5 miles inland. And then on its reluctant retreat to the ocean, the tsunami ground up the debris it had already inhaled. The tsunami waves had reduced most coastal communities to rubble. Within 45 minutes of the quake, over 250,000 people were made homeless and 23,000 died.
Dale and Ann receive new visas for returning to Japan
Published November 3, 2011 | 
Dale and Ann's Japanese visas
On Nov 1, Dale and Ann picked up their new three year religious activities visas for Japan at the Japanese Consulate in Vancouver, BC, Canada. This means they have the legal status to return to Japan for ministry.
Their visas must be activated no later than the end of January 2012. No problem, they are planning to fly to Tokyo at the end of December 2011.
Hmmm…now what does Dale do to maintain his US alien residency status?
Tokyo Multicultural Church (TMCC) church planting fund reaches $8,000
Published October 28, 2011 | As of the mid-October, our church planting fund for Tokyo Multicultural Church hit the $8,000 mark. We plan to launch TMCC in December 2012, after our year of tsunami recovery ministry.
Click here for info on how to donate to our TMCC church planting fund and other of our special projects.
Return to Japan scheduled for late December
Published October 27, 2011 | We had planned to return to Japan at the end of November, but now will be returning at the end of December, probably December 31. The one month delay is due to a lack of financial support. We are hoping that by the end of the year our support account will have enough of a cushion to cover our salary and regular ministry expenses in Japan, as well as our new tsunami recovery ministry setup costs.
Tsunami recovery ministry fund at $55,000
Published October 26, 2011 | As of September 2011, the EFCCM Japan Disaster Fund, or our tsunami recovery ministry fund, exceeded the $55,000 mark. The donations have come from churches and individuals mostly in Canada, but also in the USA.
Video of our tsunami recovery ministry focus
Published August 12, 2011 |
Matthew shooting video in Miyagi-ken in July 2011.
Click here to go to a 5 minute video on Dale’s japanquake.ca website showing some of the tsunami devastated areas we visited along the Pacific Ocean coastline of Miyagi Prefecture during our July 2011 ministry setup trip, and describing the focus of our proposed tsunami recovery ministry.
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