Wendy Eros, March/April 2025 THE JAPANADIAN
“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Matthew 28:6
I must apologize for the lateness of my March letter and will combine it with April. As Easter approaches, we need to remember that Jesus is indeed risen! This is the basis of our faith and salvation. It is what I enjoyed sharing the most with the ESL student in Japan during my tenure there. As I’m now back on Canadian soil, it will be exciting to celebrate Easter in English once again
March was busy with packing, farewell lunches & parties, saying goodbye (well not goodbye but see you!) and reflecting on what God has done over the past 19 years in my life. While I’m on MINA (Ministry in North America) until July 31st, I’m looking forward to connecting with many of you one-on-one, as well as travelling through Alberta and Saskatchewan during May visiting supporters and one church. If you want to get together with me, please call/text to my new phone number: 604-751-3750 or send me an email or message via messenger. I would love to share more about the work God continues to do in Japan.
I’m attaching several photos of the last month so that you can see many of the faces that I was able to share Jesus with and most of whom you have been praying for. Please continue to pray for the students and choir members and that they will always remember what they have learned through chapel time about God and his love for each of them.
I was so blessed to be greeted at Vancouver airport, not only by my son, Trevor and his family (right), but by my regional mobilizer, Greg Laing (left). It was so thoughtful of him to present me with a branch from his cherry tree. Thank you Greg! And thank you Trevor, Courtney and Asher for picking me up (along with my 6 suitcases!)
During March, my choir directors, Miwa sensei and Takagi sensei, along with their assistant, Akemi Asano from the Tenpaku choir, took me to Fukui where we went for lunch at an all-you-can-eat crab restaurant. I’ve never seen such large crabs and although I could only eat one, the others each ate at least 3. After that, we went to the Fukui Dinosaur Museum which had recently been remodelled. I ran into a paleontologist from Canada (and never thought to ask his name), but we have friends in common from Drumheller, AB and Eastend, SK (where I did my lab training 22 years ago!) It’s such a small world.
Akemi, Takagi, Miwa, me
Spending time outside of the classes with many students was very encouraging for me. It’s hard to imagine that the ESL program at the churches where I served is now closed. I was the last of the teachers being sent through Multiply so in a way, it’s the end of an era. But God is so good and I know that he will find new ways for the churches to engage in evangelism so that they will grow again in numbers. Pray for the churches and the pastors as they look forward to a new season. During some of the farewells, I was able to connect with students from Fujigaoka Christ Church that I hadn’t seen in over 15 years…such a joy to speak with them and catch up on what’s been going on in their lives. Two of them are now married (Namiki at right with her mom and brother) and one has 3 children (Keita with his mom, at left below)…they were only kids when I first
Namiki, me, Kikuko, Yuu
met them! One lady, Keiko Saito, came all the way from Saitama (up north) to see me for the afternoon! She had to take a plane to Haneda in Tokyo and then the Shinkansen to Nagoya. I was so moved by her efforts to come and say goodbye. Others came from different cities, but it was so overwhelming to see them all and to know how God used me to have an impact on their lives. Praise the Lord!
Rie, me, Keita
Keiko, me and Yuko
As I close a few items of praise and prayer are:
Praise:
Praise the Lord for safety in my return to Canada and for getting everything done that needed to be done to leave Japan. It was a long process with cancelling many things, especially my health insurance and selling my car.
Praise for the farewell lunches & parties and for the many people I have had the pleasure to share Jesus with over my 15+ years in Japan! It has been an amazing season and I look forward to keeping in touch with most of them!
Praise for Pastor Rod Adrian of my home church, Central Heights in preparing the Missionary house for me to rent for the next few months as I try and figure out what God has planned for me. I’m looking for a ‘permanent’ residence somewhere that has at least 2 bedrooms and is around $1200/month…but it doesn’t look too promising in Abbotsford! I’ll be hosting students throughout the year so that’s why I need 2 bedrooms
Praise that I’ll be able to celebrate Easter with my family this year.
Pray:
Please pray for the students and churches in Fujigaoka and Komaki and that they will continue to keep in touch with one another. Pray for the students to find new ESL schools and that they will remember the important messages through chapel times.
Pray for Fujino sensei as he and I left Komaki Hope Chapel the same time. Pray for him as he settles into retirement and please pray for Yamamoto sensei (Fujigaoka Christ Church) as he will also be pastoring at Komaki Hope Chapel once a month.
Pray for me as I try to settle back into Canada. It has only been 6 days since I got back on April 8th, but knowing I don’t have a return ticket this time is hard to imagine. Pray for all of my financial needs to be met so that I won’t have the added pressure of financial worry over my head as I try to adjust to life in Canada permanently.
Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support. I wish you all a very blessed Easter! Jesus is Risen!! Hallelujah!
Love and blessings,
Wendy
If you would like to partner with this ministry, please make cheques payable to “Multiply” and include project code C0534 on the memo line and mail 300-32040 Downes Rd, Abbotsford, BC V4X 1X5. Or you can donate online at:
https://multiply.net/global-worker/wendy-eros
