Pray for Karis!
ヒックス・カリス | Karis Hicks
インターン | MUSTARD SEED クリスチャン教会 福岡
“The mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Psalm 50:1
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion’, says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks Him.”
Lamentations 3:21-25
Praises
- Time with Jesus!
SO thankful for such sweet time with the Lord, especially on Friday, thank you for praying for that! Thankful that I truly feel the joy of the Lord and the truth that HE is the one who satisfies my soul! - A-son came to church!!!!
This is such a huge praise and answer to prayer, and such an encouragement that relationships and personal invites to come and hear at a local church really do go a long way! On Thursday after English Connect, I was sitting and talking with H-son and A-son, one of the friends I met at English Connect in May. Through conversations about music (she found out I sing!), I invited A-son to church, and told her that Shania, Mai, and I would be leading worship this weekend, and she said, “Oh, do you sing Christian songs?” and then proceeded to share that her favorite song was “Oceans” and “Amazing Grace”. She added that she had no idea what they were singing since it was English, but she thought it sounded SO pretty. I told her she needs to look at the lyrics in English, and then asked if she would be interested in a Japanese Christian Worship song playlist I had built on Spotify in Japanese. She was so excited, and she followed it 😂 Pray that the Lord uses her love of music to bring her to HIMSELF! AND! HUGE PRAISE!!! SHE CAME TO CHURCH!!! I sat next to her in church and afterward, she told me it was her FIRST time ever in a church. WOW. She asked about Baptism (after the speaker shared during communion that baptized believers participate, and if you are not a Christian, to reflect on what was shared about Jesus in the message) and the Bible. I briefly explained Baptism in that moment, and then after service walked her through the structure of the Bible being a giant story that points to Jesus. When she asked if I had read the whole Bible, and I said yes, she said, “Oh, so you already knew the ending of the story today!” (We are going through John, and today’s passage was John 19, Pilate releasing Barabbas INSTEAD of Jesus, WOWZERS, talk about Gospel!) I told her, “Yes, I did know the ending, BUT, it’s the BEST story ever told, so it NEVER gets old!” She was able to talk to Pastor David for a bit after service, who did a MUCH better job of explaining (in Japanese!) and answering questions! 😂 Praise the Lord for this!! She said she cannot come next week, but is interested in coming back again. Please pray fervently that she returns back to hear more and that she will begin to follow Jesus! - Presence Worship service
Last Saturday, we had the joy to join with a whole roomful of Japanese believers for a few hours of worship, testimony, a speaker, and prayer! The entire service was in Japanese (a first time for me) but there was a moment where I looked around the room through smiling tears for the joy that I saw as these brothers and sisters worshiped God together. God is at work in Fukuoka! - Leading Worship this Sunday went so smoothly
Thank you to everyone who prayed over this! Truly, one of the smoothest worship sets I’ve ever lead, and I am so thankful for such a stellar worship team of fellow sisters and brother in Christ. - Connections with contacts
Mai and I were able to get dinner with H-son, who will be leaving for a working holiday in another country soon, and will be gone for two years. Sadly, she has not been able to make it to church, but she wants to stay in contact and also wants to come visit the States one day! Please continue to pray for her salvation, and that the Lord will put Christians in her path during her working holiday. On Wednesday, Mai, Shania, and I also had SUCH a joyful lunch with S-son, the woman I met in the building we work in. Mai prayed over our lunch in Japanese and I believe that was S-son’s first time ever praying with someone. We are getting coffee one more time this week, please pray for Gospel convos!
On Wednesday evening, Shania and I FINALLY went to see Fukuoka Tower with one of my contacts from May, T-son! She has schedule conflicts that prevent her from coming to church, but we also got to pray with her! Please pray for her salvation and for her schedule to open up to be able to come to church to hear more about the GOD who LOVES her so deeply, and that she will follow Jesus. - English Connect running smoothly
So fun to co-lead with Shania, to laugh and teach English and have fun convos that lead to deeper convos! - Thank you, LORD, for morning runs, sunrises, sunshine, mountain views, ocean visits, tea, and so many cafes! The Lord’s kindness and nearness has been ALL over this trip, it’s so humbling and so encouraging to get to experience depending on Him in such a deep way.
Prayer Requests
- BEING with Jesus
This past week was SO hectic, but time with the Lord has still been so so sweet! Please continue to pray for a calm, loving, gentle and joyful heart that keeps delighting most in Jesus, and that I can cast all of my anxieties on Him, He IS sufficient! - Work & English Connect
Please pray for my specific tasks day-to-day, and that I would finish ALL work projects smoothly in this last week I have here in Fukuoka! Pray for more non-believers to come to English Connect AND desire to want to come to church. Pray for Sunday worship service, as this will be our LAST (WHAT? cannot even believe I just typed that!) service for the summer and I will be leading worship team again this upcoming Sunday. Pray for unity and joy and looking to Jesus! - Health
Okay, last week wasn’t major… now it’s major 😂 Several staff have been on and off sick for a while, please pray for my body and immune system, it’s currently fighting for its life 😂 Please pray for SWIFT healing and pray for handling some health things back in the states. - Coming Home
I know going home will hold some sadness after the whole summer here, especially in leaving behind so many sweet friendships and partners for the Gospel. Would love prayer for my heart to keep being honest with Jesus about the good, bad, and ugly, all the things. Praise the LORD that He hears and that He cares!! Please pray for smooth packing, smooth navigating between four airports (here we go again!!!), smooth flights, and for Gospel opportunities along my travels. Would also love prayer for a smooth moving process when I get back, and that I will settle quickly before work starts on Monday August 10! And also for rest… It has been so non stop this summer, and it is the first summer working as a teacher, a time I usually spend “becoming a human again” 😂 as we teachers like to say after the marathon that a teaching year is. - Outreach
Please keep praying for the Lord to open doors for the opportunity to build relationships, both new and already established here in Japan! Pray that I would speak the gospel boldly when an opportunity comes up! Pray for ALL of the contacts that I have met that they would desire to come to church, and come to know Jesus and walk with Him! - MSCC Fukuoka Team
Please pray for David, Alyssa, Mai, William, Lydia, Lilian (pray specifically for her furlough in the States for the next 5 weeks to be restful and fruitful!), and Shania by name! Pray for strength and encouragement from the Lord, energy, joy, unity, and gracious attitudes! Pray for smooth continuing of the work here after Shania and I leave, and tasks we have been working on return back to them. Pray for David and Alyssa, Mary and Heidi who will be visiting the states for two weeks as a time of rest, they leave Thursday morning. - MSCC Fukuoka Specific Prayers
More Japanese interpreters! More elders! More volunteers! Salvation for nonbelievers AND for more nonbelievers to come to church. Continued unity as a church family and that the Lord would grow His church with faithful followers of Jesus. - YOUTH GROUP
Please lift up the youth group that meets at the Hanson home! Pray for salvation among youth, for new students to come, and for strength and energy for the Hanson family. Pray for wisdom with what the Lord has next for them. - JAPAN
Please pray for the PEOPLE of Japan, that God would bring growth from seeds planted, that hearts and souls of Japan would turn TOWARDS JESUS, that eyes would be opened to the Gospel! Please pray fervently for more workers, more gospel-centered believers to COME to Japan, for short term or long term, for the sake of the Gospel being shared with the millions who have never heard!
TEA time!
A-son (left) and H-son (right) at English Connect
Sunrise over Fukuoka
Taking in the city
The Gospel for ALL of Fukuoka!
Shania, Mari and I enjoying the sunrise!
My favorite new bag
Beach view from Cafe Mediumtempo
Island Karis
Beach gelato!
Presence Worship Service with the crew!
Beach joy smiles!
Fukuoka tower with T-son, Hajime-son and Shania
Fukuoka Tower
A fun tower photo moment!
A nieghborhood statue near the sunrise observation deck
Morning run!
MORE gelato!
The Fukuoka interns!
Elevator selfie tradition continues
The best work buddies!
Sunday morning worship!
English Connect
Found the Mustard Seed Network sticker in my Bible that I got from an info meeting all the way back in 2022! Thankful for the Lord’s timing and this summer of living sent here!