Chandler & Debbie Im’s Mission Report (July-Dec. 2022)
Warm greetings from Tokyo, Japan!
I hope and pray that you are doing well under the guidance and protection of our Good Lord.
Below is our short summary and highlights of our July-Dec. 2022 ministries in Tokyo.
Waseda International Christian School (WICS)
Since Jan. 1, 2021, Debbie and I have been serving at WICS Secondary School (Grades 6-12) as its Vice Principal, and Principal & Chaplain respectively. Currently, we have 33 students (representing 10 passport countries), and five full-time teachers, besides us, from three countries.
- Two new teachers arrived in July from overseas. They have been adjusting well to WICS and their new life in Japan.
- August 24: firstWe always thank you so much for your prayers and financial support.day of school
- Sept. 22: International Festival
- Oct. 28: Sports Day
- Dec. 1: Parent-Teacher conferences (including a special presentation by a Sophia Univ. representative)
- Dec. 12-16: Annual Christmas Spirit Week: special X-mas messages and activities in the afternoons
- On August 14, at the Japanese church we attend, I delivered a message on the suffering of Christ and its implications to Christ-followers.
- On Oct. 17-22, I participated in the Lausanne Asia Congress in the Bangkok area. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and networking with old friends while making new connections there. About 520 participants were there from 35 countries.
- On Dec. 15, I had the privilege and pleasure of baptizing a WICS 5th grade student. She, a Chinese-American, had accepted Jesus through our weekly Wed. chapel services and Bible classes, and enthusiastically wanted to be baptized. She and her parent do not have any church membership or affiliation. Therefore, with the parent’s written permission and blessings, I baptized her at WICS.
- On Dec. 16, WICS had a Christmas charity concert to raise funds for children and youths in Ukraine. About 100 students, parents, and guests participated; we raised 101,110 yen ($770) that night. The money was donated to Josiah Venture’s Ukrainian Crisis Fund.
- On Dec. 17, I had the privilege and pleasure of baptizing a whole family: the father, the mother, and their baby. Debbie and I had known this couple since Nov. 2018, and we had a few pre-marital counseling sessions with/for them in 2018-2020. (The Filipino husband is a Ph.D. student at Tokyo University; the Korean-Japanese wife works for an American company.) I officiated their wedding –in both English & Korean– in Tokyo in Oct. 2020. In Oct. 2022, they had their first child, a baby girl. Currently, they do not have any church affiliation (yet); they are “between churches” now. Their family members and close friends from Canada and across Japan watched the baptism ceremony via Zoom as well. The couple–now a family–is one of the specific reasons as to why the Lord sent us to Japan, we believe. PTL!
Personal Update
- On Dec. 20, both of us received Japanese Permanent Resident visas, which are equivalent to American Green Cards. We are grateful to the Lord for this special gift for us during the Christmas season.
Prayer Requests
Please pray for the:
- WICS’ 12th and 11th graders as they get ready for college applications and preparations (SAT, TOEFL, etc.).
- Evangelism seminar on the Japanese ancestor veneration practices that we will be facilitating in March 2023 at our Japanese church during the evangelism week.
- Physical health & well-being of our two mothers in Southern California and Hawaii.
We always thank you so much for your prayers and financial support.