dale
Tribute to Dale’s mother, Nov 28/1917 – Apr 10/2012
Published May 17, 2012 | 
Louise Little, Dale's mother
We (Dale and Ann) took two weeks in April to be with Dale’s father and three siblings in the greater Vancouver area of BC, Canada, immediately following the death of Dale’s mother. She slipped peacefully into heaven from the palliative care ward of Peace Arch Hospital, White Rock, BC, at 10:45 PM, Apr 10, at the age of 94. Dale writes the following about his mother:
My mother smiled and laughed a lot. She had fun in life. She regularly encouraged me through her words and her notes/letters. She probably prayed for me daily. Best of all, she was transformed by Jesus her Saviour and committed to Jesus her Lord. I love her and miss her–but what a personal spiritual legacy!
Click here for a slide show of Dale’s mother, as well as a tribute written by her four children (Dale included) and read at her memorial service on Apr 18.
Video about our church planting vision for Tokyo Multicultural Church
Published March 21, 2012 | View a short video (3 min) by Matthew Little about the vision for Tokyo Multicultural Church.
Note that the launch date for TMCC is now early 2013 instead of late 2012 as stated in the video.
Check out all our sites to get the full picture!
Published March 15, 2012 | See our two other blogs (and linked websites) to get the full picture of our ministry: www.japanquake.ca/blog and tokyochurch.org/blog.
Our most frequent updates are on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/japanlittles. If you “Like” our facebook page, you will be automatically notified of every update we make there.
Our Sendai apartment
Published February 23, 2012 | Click here to see our rental apartment in Sendai that will be the base for our tsunami recovery ministry over the next year or so.
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?
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