Above is the Gardner Spring Auditorium, built in 1939 on the campus of my high school, Chaffey. I played a Steinway Concert Grand for thousands of students at the annual talent show in 1966. It was since condemned (lead paint/asbestos, etc.) and millions were spent to completely upgrade it to today’s industry standards, even conserving the intricate carvings of the ceiling and installing new and comfortably padded seats. It seats 1750 today.

I have a dream to be a part of miracle services to be held in the very auditorium where I beamed with pride from the stage nearly 60 years ago! I hope I am humbled enough now that the Lord can entrust me with the honor of being an instrument of His glory with marvelous signs and wonders of visible healings, drawing sinners to this historic place with many conversions resulting. God promised to give me “the desire of my heart.” THAT is my desire. (OH, and the auditorium is about 5 miles away as the angels fly…hmm…where have I seen that 5 before?). Expect a coming announcement!

A Sign in the Heavens
God has given me another “sign” to hang onto. Venus, the morning star! Early mornings, before the sun rises, it is the brightest object in the eastern sky. From my prayer chair on the 2nd floor of our home, I pull the shutters up and get a fabulous view of the planet I have gazed upon since a grammar schooler fascinated by my first love, astronomy.
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19 NKJV).

The “prophetic word” has been confirmed to me by many signs that I will help reap a great harvest of souls! We are in a very “dark place” in America but “a light that shines” in even dark places, is soon to rise upon us: “the sun of righteousness with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:2). Observing that brilliant light as I did again early this morning, surrounded by darkness, I am filled with hope. I sense that morning star is “rising in my heart!” Daniel 12:3 says the soulwinner will “shine as the stars forever and ever.” I used to think only of myself as that bright shinning star admired by all. But the Lord has changed my heart. I want to be but one star in the sky, surrounded by others just as bright or brighter. I want my son, Nathan, to outshine me! I want my daughter, my son-in-law, my grandkids, those saved at the Gardner Spring Auditorium and, yes, even you to join me in the sky as rewarded soulwinners! Venus has no light of its own. It only reflects the light of the sun! Let’s reflect His light!

NATHAN’S REPORT FROM TOKYO…
Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ. This month the Cherry blossoms bloomed in Tokyo. The city was truly beautiful, but the beauty was brief and after 10 days the flowers fell and won’t return again for another year. For many Japanese this represents the brevity of life. With Easter Sunday yesterday, I’m reminded of John 12:24-25 where Jesus says: “…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life this world will keep it for eternal life.” We celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus this Easter! Our risen king is alive!

But many Japanese don’t know this. All they see is an endless loop of reincarnation or a life that ends in nothingness. But we have the hope of Heaven and eternity, and the Kingdom of Heaven is here now! This month through discipleship and evangelism we have sought to share these truths. Japanese need to know that there is hope and new life available in Christ! One of my disciples named Hiro had a terrible car accident late last month. He hit a motorcyclist causing his car to be totaled and injuring the other person. Hiro was already struggling with anxiety and some depression but this trauma caused him to spiral even further into depression. As I heard about this I was deeply grieved in my spirit for him and was praying continually for him. I reached out and invited him to church as he had been coming semi-regularly, but he told me his depression was too great and he didn’t think he could come. I told him I understood but that I believed the enemy was keeping him away from church and that if he came he would be blessed. Thank the Lord he ended up coming!

While speaking with him after service he was in tears. He asked me why God would allow this to happen and felt as if he struggled trusting God. I encouraged him with truth and then prayed over him against a spirit of fear and depression. He felt peace afterward and weight lifted off. I’ve been meeting with him weekly and he is overcoming! He’s felt more peace & joy, and was fined a small penalty for causing the accident. Thank God for His grace/provision! Hiro is growing in the Lord and looking to get even more involved in our church.

We have seen others whom we are discipling or have met come to our church regularly and we even had a girl who is an incredible singer and pianist accept Jesus recently! Her name is Aika. When we first met at her concert, we complimented her and told her what a fantastic artist she was. She was deeply moved and told us that she never hears such things from Japanese people. I believe this moment was a seed planted which resulted in her accepting Jesus months later! Another seed was recently planted as our team did outreach ministry in Ueno Park (a major park in Tokyo where we frequently go). There we did our usual worship and prayer ministry and had good conversations.

A young Japanese man stood by me. I turned to him and began speaking to him. I was amazed to hear that he spoke nearly perfect English in an American accent. I learned that he studied as a student in Santa Barbara, CA for a season. He was drawn in by our music and that we were foreigners as it reminded him of his time in America. I asked what he was doing in the park and he told me he had recently walked away from his job and was wandering the park for two days trying to overcome deep depression. As my team leader Jonny and I prayed over him we felt strongly that he should know that he was seen and known by God. He told us that it was his birthday. We quickly realized this was a divine appointment and God had brought us to the park to meet him on this special day. We affirmed him, prayed over him, and shared the Gospel with him. We got his contact information and hope to meet him in person again soon. His name is Hayato, please pray for him!

Additionally, we have had Bible studies and community nights weekly and have had wonderful times of fellowship, prayer, and vulnerability with the Japanese Christians in our community. This past week I led our men’s Bible study as well as our community group Bible study. These have not only brought us closer with our community and disciples but have helped us to pray for one another, confess sins, and challenge each other in our faith. This is a deep need for Japanese people as there is such a deficit of such an opportunity, even in many churches.

The leadership and I have been especially praying for and helping some of the men in our community who have been hurt to forgive and to overcome past pains from negative experiences in the church. The enemy seeks to divide but our team’s desire is to bridge the gap even further between churches and individuals as we need strong Christians and strong churches here! Please pray for me! I am prayerfully still looking to move to a location closer to our church and ministries. We are also in the coming week scouting out a new location for our church which is more central in the city and easier for our members and those we are evangelizing to reach.

Please pray for the right location that is low cost of rent and where we can freely worship without noise complaints. We also may start having church in the park more as a means of outreach and to be more open with our faith since the weather is warming up. We had our easter service in the park the other day and it went incredibly well! All of this is possible because of your prayers and the generous support which you have given. Thank you again for partnering with me in this call. I hope some of you can even visit me someday in Japan! Until then, I look forward to sharing with you more of what God is doing in this nation. It’s an incredible new season!