Tim is the son of Bill and Betty Turner. He grew up in Japan, and he and his wife, Lisa, have been missionaries in Japan since 1989. Tim is the Senior Field Director of CJCM. He is the minister at Machida Church in Tokyo, has a campus ministry at Obirin College and teaches English Bible classes in the junior college. He is also involved with Faith Land Bible Camp for young people. Lisa also teaches English and Bible to kindergarten classes.
Contact the Turner family at: tlturner@hotmail.com
August 6, 2010
Dear Friends,
Hot summer greetings to you all! We hear that it is unusually hot throughout most of America and know that we are feeling it too with temperatures hovering in the upper 90’s as this newsletter is being written. We even hear that Tokyo is experiencing unusual heat this summer.
Our busy schedule has continued through the month of July but we also have had times of rest and fun. We want to keep you up-to-date with our travels as well as happenings in Japan. We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and we appreciate you prayers for all that is going on.
Machida Church Activities
We hear that things are going well at the Machida Church this summer although Sunday attendance has been down a little. Throughout the month of July, different ones again were willing to come and share in the morning service.
On July 4th, Kohei Ueyama, a Bible seminary student came to preach. We have known Kohei for several years as he came up to Tokyo for college and attended the Machida Church on the weekends. Now he is back in seminary after working 2 years. The Machida Church people enjoyed seeing him again.
Phil Kornegay, fellow missionary, came to preach on July 11th. We are encouraged to hear that he was able to do it all in Japanese. As the Kornegays are busy planting a house church where they live, we are grateful for his willingness to come and serve while we are gone.
Two women in the Machida Church gave their testimonies on July 18th. Yoshie Dainaka has been a long time member of the Machida Church and also serves as church treasurer. Manami Sumiya serves in the children’s ministry and she and her husband run a group home for mentally handicap adults. We hear that both testimonies were very encouraging.
On the 25th, the church showed a video about Christians in China. We have heard many positive comments on the video as well.
We are grateful for the many in the church who are serving and carrying on the ministry while we are gone. Please continue to pray for the Machida Church.
Furlough Travels
It has been a busy month again for traveling, but it has been good seeing many supporters and friends. On July 4th, we attended the Central Christian Church in St. Petersburg, FL (the church Lisa grew up in) and enjoyed saying hello to all the Sunday School classes. July 11th, Tim traveled to Orlando to share and speak at the New Horizons Christian Church in Winter Garden. The next morning, Tim traveled to Atlanta to be at a Vacation Bible School at the Peachcrest Christian Church in Loganville.
The week of July 24th to 31st, the whole Turner family traveled to Atlanta to attend several events. On Sunday, the 25th, Tim shared about the work in Japan and preached in the morning service at the Peachcrest Christian Church. That afternoon, we had an Atlanta Christian College mini-reunion with some friends at the Varsity, a famous hot dog restaurant in downtown Atlanta. About 10 families gathered for eating, catching up, and reminiscing. On Tuesday, the 27th, we attended the bi-monthly Western District Missionary Society in Atlanta. Then on Wednesday evening, we attended Lester Road Christian Church in Fairburn where we shared about the work in Japan.
We headed back down to St. Petersburg on July 31st, tired but happy to have had a safe, fruitful, and encouraging trip.
The Turner Family
As was mentioned in the July newsletter, Tim’s father, Bill Turner, passed away in his sleep in the early hours of July 7th. On July 16th, we attended the memorial service at the West Orange Church of Christ where Tim’s parents attended. It was a beautiful service with many in attendance. Tim and Sarah were able to share in the service about memories that they had. We are thankful for the many cards, emails, as well as monetary gifts to Central Japan Christian Mission.
From July 13th to the 23rd, we welcomed visitors from the Machida Church, Aki and Alan Seki. We had a good time showing them the sights around St. Pete and we were even able to spend a few days at the beach with them. It has been nice being with family and friends this summer.
Lisa, Spencer, and Joshua will leave for Japan on August 12th while Tim will head back on August 25th after taking Sarah and Katie to Johnson Bible College. We still have miles to travel and a few more churches to visit and we appreciate your prayers for us.
Thanks
During these summer months we are grateful to those of you who are faithful in your giving to us and the work in Japan. We are also grateful for your many prayers. We are glad to be back in the States even though it is a short time and we are glad to have seen many of you and look forward to seeing more of you in the near future. Thanks for being our partners in ministry in Japan. May God bless each of you where you are!
In His Service,
Tim and Lisa Turner