Lavern & Clara Rodgers
BBFI Missionaries
Planting Churches in Japan since 1950


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Prayer Letter

April 2008

Dear Praying Friends,

Got Her a Perm! Then I took her to a studio and here we are greeting you on our 18th anniversary!!! She’s grinnin’ ear to ear at ya to say ‘Hello’ and ‘I Love you!’ For sure, she would if she could! But I can say it for her! Thank you so much for your prayers! They keep me afloat because God hears prayer!

Larvern & Clara on 18th Anniversary - Click photo for a closer look and use your browser's back button to returnI’m happy to tell you Clara is still healthy, happy and mobile every day – too much sometimes they say in the care home. The slow diet they put her on has brought her down to only around a hundred pounds. We took her second MRI last month and the tumor under her brain just above the spinal column seems to have shrunk to half size, praise the Lord! That was good news to hear! I haven’t given up praying God will heal her!

While I was in Japan last month, Debby had gotten flight duty in Asia and I was able to bring her to see her Mom. The way she was smiling at Debby much of the time she seemed to be recognizing her! Debby fought back tears several times.

Anniversaries and Weddings are Big Events on the mission field! They represent big opportunities for challenging God’s people to (1) Rejoice in God’s blessings, (2) Repent for failing to do more for God , and (3) Reboot for Revival instead of Relaxing or Retiring from the trenches! Pray for us in Japan to make anniversaries a Big Jump to Impacting Japan for Christ - Bigger and Better than Ever! Not monuments to the past but stepping stones to greater things for Christ!

Pictured here are Pastor JIRO & TOSHIKO MOCHIZUKI (in the center, seated) on their 50thClick photo for a closer look and use your browser's back button to return Anniversary last fall that had a triple aspect Fifty years ago they graduated from JBBC, got married and started their ministry in the Lord’s harvest! He was the first one I led to the Lord when he was only 15. Pictured here are the 20 full-timers and their children out of their ministry. Toshiko was saved under the ministry of IKE AND JANE FOSTER. Their fruit remains through her faithful life of service for God!

Click phto for a closer look and use your browser's back button to returnHere’s Another Biggy: It is the wedding of MATTHEW BURGETT to AI FUJINO in one of the most fabulous weddings I’ve seen.! First, it came on another TRIPLE 40th Anniversary of Ai’s parents, CHISATO & SUMIKO FUJINO. Second, it is aClick photo for a closer look and use your browser's back button to return missionary story – the result of American parents and grandparents obeying THE COMMAND TO GO! And Third, MATT and AI are coming to Japan as missionaries too! Again, it just gets better and better The parents are Mike and Sandy Burgett and Larry and Ruth Burgett are the grandparents – proud as peacocks no less! Me too, because I got the joy of tying the knot for Ai’s parents 40 years ago! Matt & Ai’s wedding was in the Eastland Baptist Church in Tulsa on the 14th. It is marvelous how God works in people’s lives!

       I have just returned from Hong Kong and the 5th Anniversary of the CORNERSTONE BAPTIST CHURCH planted by our missionaries SHOJI & JUNKO YOSHIDA.  It was truly an international meeting with people from Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and China.  I had the joy of leading EUGENE KUMMEI, 17 to the Lord!        

Next up, is the 40th anniversary of the CHOFU BAPTIST TEMPLE, the 50th anniversary of the SHIMIZU BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH and the 5th anniversary of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in HONG KONG! I will be preaching at each occasion. On their anniversary the CBT is sending out HONOH & YUKO TOKORO to China (Shhhhhh, I’m not supposed to tell that!). YUKO is also from the FUJINO’S church in Nagoya, Japan! Wow! Look at all this – God is at work inside and outside Japan!

We’re still not through with the biggies. Next up is NAGOYA Bible Baptist Church started by BILL HATHAWAY 50 YEARS AGO!!! Bill and his son, JIMMY are coming for it in October. We’re gonna have a big time, for sure! By the way, Bill Hathaway also won Pastor Fujino to the Lord over 40 years ago when he was 16. Pastor Fujino lost his father in WW2 but God’s love healed the bitter grief in his heart! Now he’s preaching that love of God pastoring the Southside Bible Baptist Church in Nagoya, Japan!

Click phto for a closer look and use your browser's back button to retrunNow we come to GEORGE KING and his people. They finally, finally found a great facility for their permanent new home for the church!!! How faithful and patient they have been! It’s a good location on about a quarter of an acre and has two buildings on it. One is a warehouse needing to be redone like we did to BILL NEEL’S CHURCH in Tajimi. We are already started on George’s project. PLEASE PRAY AS THEY NEED MORE FUNDS TO FINISH OUT BOTH BUILDINGS SO THEY CAN GET IN IT!!!

Isn’t it wonderful to be on such a winning team like ours!!! You & me, plus the Lord means “We Can’t Lose!!!” Pray with me that souls will be saved, members will catch fire anew, and young people surrender to heed the harvest call!

Two more things: My website is now underway:  Thanks to Bro. DONALD TARVIN of Kansas City for his big help! He and Belinda will be helping me manage it. My prayer letters will be here as well as a hard copy sent you snailmail. Please let me know if only the softcopy on the web will do.

The other thing is PRAYER for the group of Japanese pastors and people who will go with me joining Bro. Bruce O’Neal with the MANNA program in UGANDA for Bro. SATO our missionary there this summer. We hope to give him a big boost in his work in an evangelistic campaign and plan for a feeding station in the near future.

Finally, the Lord is blessing on furlough here in the US, in between the trips back & forth to Japan for Clara and for these big events on the field. Thanks to Clara’s pilot daughter with NWA I can fly for free. I’m having a Big Time on Furlough! I look forward to my visit with you too! If I can be of help to you at a special time, please let me know and I will do my best to work my travels into your plans

All my love,
Lavern & Clara.

Click here to download this letter in MS Word Format

 

"Cast thy bread upon the waters:
thou shalt find it after many days."

Ecclesiastes 11:1


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