Bridgman Prayer Update for June 2009

Praise:

1) For a retired Japanese missionary who has been accepted to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment
2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance
3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy
4) For increased attendance in May
5) For the preliminary accetance of getting a loan from the bank for our church building
6) For all the ladies who were able to study the Bible with Violette

Prayer:

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able to pay for the building that has been approved
2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)
3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church.
4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.
5) That Mr. Fukunaga who attended church for the first time would continue to come
6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.
7) That our home assignment plans will work out for the best (getting back into the US culture and visiting our supporters)

Bridgman Prayer Update - May 2009

Praise:

1) For a retired Japanese missionary  who has agreed to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment
2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance
3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy
4) For good attendance in April
5) For the nine kids that came to our Easter party and the couple who came for the first time to church on Easter
6) For another group of ladies who have started  to take Violette's English Bible Course

Prayer:

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able arrange good financing for the new building that we are planning
2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)
3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church and English class.
4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.
5) That someone would be found to continue the English part of the ministry here during our home assignment from July 2009 to 2010.
6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.
7) That our home assignment plans will work out for the best (getting back into the US culture and visiting our supporters)

Bridgman - April 2009 Prayer Update

Praise:

1) For a retired Japanese missionary  who has agreed to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment
2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance
3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy
4) For good attendance in March
5) For one more chance to witness to our neighborhood kids with an Easter party on April 3rd
6) For another group of ladies who want to take Violette's English Bible Course

Prayer:

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able arrange good financing for the new building that we are planning
2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)
3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church and English class.
4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.
5) That someone would be found to continue the English part of the ministry here during our home assignment from July 2009 to 2010.
6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.
7) That our home assignment plans will work out for the best (getting back into the US culture and visiting our supporters)

Thanks for praying.

Bridgman Update - Japan - March 2009

Praise:

 

1) For a retired Japanese missionary  who has agreed to pastor Sanyo Grace Church from this summer when we go on home assignment

2) For Jeffrey and Kevin who continue to walk with the Lord and seeking His guidance

3) For you our supporters who continue to give towards the ministry here even in the midst of this economy

4) For a significant increase in the average attendance in February

5) For 2 members who have returned to more active involvement in the church

6) Two Japanese women accepted Christ through American friend here who used Violette's English Bible course 

 

Prayer:

 

1) That the Sanyo Grace Church congregation will be able arrange good financing for the new building that we are planning

2) That Mr. Taniguchi would really seek the Lord (he attends worship service about once a month)

3) That Mr. Hamada would be well enough again to come to church and English class.

4) That the Japanese wives of three foreign men who come to prayer meeting would accept Christ.

5) That someone would be found to continue the English part of the ministry here during our home assignment from July 2009 to 2010.

6) That Sanyo Grace Church would continue to grow in numbers and in spiritual maturity.

 

Thanks for praying.

Bridgman Update - 12/3/08

Thanks for praying all year! May this Christmas bring great blessing!

Praise God for

1. The wonderful piece of land that God has provided for Sanyo Grace Church
2. How He has blessed both of our son with good relationships
3. Very good church attendance during November
4. 5 of the 6 ladies taking Violette's English Bible course have finished, and one has a few lessons to go (pray for a spiritual harvest)
5. Two believers who have decided to officially join our church

Pray that

1. Our financial support will increase to reflect the loss in the value of the US dollar
2. For our outreach to kids in our neighborhood this Christmas (date not set yet, but probably on the 23rd)
3. For wisdom and unity of our believers as we plan the new church building
4. For a city wide Christmas evangelistic event on Dec. 14th
5. For Paul to finish off well as chairman of the neighborhood committee
6. For the right people to replace us during our one year home assignment in the USA (July 2009 to July 2010)

http://church.jp/Sanyo_Meg

Bridgman Update - November 2008

Thanks so much for praying for Sanyo Grace Church!

Praise God for:

• Unanimous approval for purchasing land for our new building at the church business meeting at the mother church last Sunday
• We have enough funds in hand to purchase the land (price was less than expected)
• The location couldn't be better on a major street with a good view
• This was truly a miracle brought on by God answering the prayers of His people. He gets the glory.

Prayer for:

• Developing a plan for a building that we hope to get started the beginning of 2009 and finished before summer comes
• We still need someone to fill in for us while we are on home assignment from July 2009 through summer of 2010. We need missionaries or nationals who would be able to preach in Japanese.
• Pray for many souls to be saved (especially young people, and starting a Sunday school for kids)
• Pray for our Christmas meetings

Thanks for praying. Please continue to remember the continuing requests from previous mailings.

Bridgman Update

http://www.church.jp/Sanyo_Meg/

Praise for:

1) For approval to buy land for Sanyo Grace church, the price is being negotiated as I write this
2) For our faithful supporters
3) For record attendance at our special evangelistic service on September 28 (21 attended)
4) For a new video we want to show to the kids that come to our house
5) For how our special speaker on September 28 encouraged our believers and made an impact on the new-comers
6) Many opportunities to witness to kids playing baseball and soccer in the park, and older folks in ground golf club
7) Mrs. Michihiro, Mrs. Yamada, Mrs. Kishimoto and Mr. Taniguchi seekers coming to church (pray for salvation)
8) Jeffrey and Kevin have started back to school and continue to do well
9) Paul is getting to know the members of the neighborhood committee more - pray for good outreach to them (none of them are Christians, yet)
10) 6 ladies (including Mrs. Yamada) are continuing to study the Bible in English with Violette

Pray for:

1) Pray for the salvation of the ladies who are studying the Bible in English with Violette
2) Mr. Igarashi, a Christian businessman, asks for healing and salvation for his son who has cancer (His son isn't baptized yet, but recently prayed to Jesus)
3) Mrs. Omura asks for continued prayer for health and her daughter's special needs(We haven't seen her during the summer)
4) Dr. and Mrs. Yoshii are seeking the Lord about when they should wrap up their medical practice, so they can have more time for ministry
5) For the kids Paul has contact with during the week ( parks and parties at the house) to be spiritually open
6) For new members in Violette's English Bible class on Sunday morning to stay for church in Japanese
7) For Mrs. Watanabe to choose to get baptized soon and Her daughter's salvation (She hasn't been able to attend church recently because of health)
8) Financial provision for Sanyo Church as we look forward to building a building (Pray for the remaining financial goal of $150,000 to be met)
9) Mrs. Omori continues to miss church because of bad health, pray for healing
10) More English students and friends who are seeking the Lord
11) For Paul as he fills the role of the chairman for the Japanese neighborhood organization (Cho nai kai)
12) For Mr. Hamada who has returned from the US, and has no job
13) Our financial support to continue to improve (also special needs for Kevin's educational expenses)
14) For Miss Ishihara to be faithful in attending church and to keep growing spiritually
15) For Paul as he is the special speaker at another church on October 19th, to encourage the believers there in personal evangelism
16) Spiritual growth and unity of the believers at Sanyo Church as we develop a vision for growth that includes purchasing land and building and calling a pastor
17) That Miss Kubo (came with her mother to special meetings!)and Mrs. Demura (never seems to be able to come)would be free from family obligations to come to church
18) The Lord's provision of missionaries or Japanese pastor for Sanyo Grace Church during our home assignment starting July 2009
19) For Reed Daigal, Allen Lungren, and Mr. Kennedy, three native English speakers who come to prayer meeting and have Japanese wives (They are believers, but we are not sure of their wives faith)

Thanks for praying

Bridgman October Prayer Letter

Recently we have been impressed with how important prayer is in advancing the Lord’s work. That is because we are involved in a spiritual battle for the souls of men. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(Eph 6:12). Right at this time when we are excited about getting land and building for the church the Enemy tried to cause havoc in our fellowship. One dear believer was severely offended by something he mistakenly thought I said in my sermon on August 31st. He gave me such a severe tongue lashing, I was almost sure he would leave the church or that I would have to go to another ministry. However, the intervention of a godly Japanese pastor whom I work with, (and I’m sure your prayers had a lot to do with it, too.) cleared up the misunderstanding. He apologized the next Sunday and we both attended a church conference on September 15th, where the visiting speaker spoke about spiritual warfare and the importance of prayer. It was such an encouragement to me to hear him speak of a similar experience in his ministry. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”(I Corinthians 10:13).

We saw how clearly God answered our prayers for land. Every Sunday service each church member took a turn to pray for land and building. God answered with a piece of land that is large enough for a building and a parking lot, is located in a very visible place, and at a very reasonable price. Negotiations to purchase are in progress now.

Please remember to pray for the following:
1)    Unity of our believers as we decide on the building
2)    That we can reach more young people for Christ
3)    The calling of a suitable Japanese pastor in the not-too-distant future
4)    Provision of missionary or interim pastor while we are on home-assignment July 2009~2010
5)    Jeffrey and Kevin future plans after college and high school.
6)    Violette is thankful for the 6 ladies who are studying the Bible with her in English.  Pray for their salvation as they study her 8-week “Light and Darkness Bible Course”. 

Bridgman - Japan

Challenges for 2008

Ⅰ．Our son, Kevin’s challenge was to contract a severe case of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (an allergic reaction to some medication that he received). It started out as sores in his mouth that got so severe that he had to be hospitalized. At first they thought it was some kind of infection like herpes, but when he didn’t respond to the medication, the doctors at Tokyo University Hospital had the wisdom to change what they were doing. We praise God for the wisdom He gave them and that Kevin is now recovering and should be out of the hospital in a couple of weeks. We were impressed with how Kevin handled the ordeal. He really enjoyed being read to from the Bible, and when he felt up to communicating with us, agreed positively that God was going to do something good through all this (as in Romans 8:28). Keep praying that God will be glorified.

This experience has made us appreciate what our Christian brother, Mr. Igarashi, is going through. He has a son with terminal cancer. Pray for healing and salvation!

Ⅱ．The believers of our church in Sanyo are challenged with vision for growth and a building. Each week in the worship service they take turns praying for the growth of the church and provision of land and building. Although we have some land that we like, and it is for sale, the land-lord isn’t quite ready to sell it, yet. While we wait, we are looking to God to provide the finances and to make us, the church, grow numerically and spiritually. Praise the Lord for the offerings that are coming in to the building fund, both from some of you and our believers.

Ⅲ．Individuals that we minister to are a challenge. Here are two. Mr. Nakae has lost interest in studying the Bible right now, but we still work together passing out each other’s announcements. Pray for God’s time when his heart as well as many others hearts will be open again. Miss Ishihara found out about our church from the web site. She came to prayer meeting a few weeks ago and has accepted Christ and has already read through 1/3 of her Bible.

Ⅳ．Our Lord’s return must be very near. We are challenged to be faithful to Him in all that He has called us to do. Then we can sing: “We are more than conquerors, over comers in this life. We’ve been made victorious through the blood of Jesus Christ.”

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

Paul and Violette Bridgman

Bridgman - Japan

Hi!

I went up toTokyo on Sunday, 2/3, and returned home on Friday evening, 2/8. I was gone 6 days and got to see Kevin 5 of those days! Paul was there during his worst time and was able to be the strong father figure to him. I was there during his recovery and was there to enjoy talking with him.

I also had an encouraing time at Ladies' Retreat and a profitable time talking to staff and teachers at Kevin's school.

Kevin was discharged from the hospital on Saturday, 2/9, at 10:00 a.m.!!!!! He was in the hospital 16 full days, but normally it would be 1-2 months! He is staying at some fellow missionaries' home now. He is unable to go back to the hostel yet, because another boarder got sick and they don't want to risk Kevin catching anything.

Kevin is in good spirits! He is already diligently working on getting back into shape and getting his make-up work done. His plan is to start back to school next week. He seems full of energy and eager to get on with life. Someone may need to slow him down a bit??

The song that expresses my thoughts well is "Great is the Lord" by Michael W. Smith and Deborah D. Smith.

"Great is the Lord, He is holy and just; By his power we trust in His love.
Great is the Lord, He is faithful and true; By his mercy He proves He is love.
Great is the Lord and worthy of glory! Great is the Lord and worthy of praise.
Great is the Lord; now lift up your voice: Great is the Lord! Great is the Lord!"

Praise and glory be to God!! God protected him from what could have been very serious and gave him a speedy recovery! Thanks so much for your prayers! We would appreciate your continued prayers for Kevin's safety, transition back to his life, and for opportunities to give glory to God. Thanks again! God bless you!

Love, Violette

Bridgeman - Japan

• Pray for Kevin's recovery (their 17 yr old son), from Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and for his return to school life as usual
• Pray for God to be glorified in the Sanyo Church