John and Erico Houlette, Three Streams Ministry
Houlette Happenings at a Glance
- – Pastoral Leader Retreat in Miyagi/Sendai canceled due to limited attendance; Fukushima (7/10-12) and Iwate (10/23-25) are forthcoming.
- – I will travel to Kumamoto, Kyushu 5/29-6/1 with representatives of Crash Japan and the Salvation Army, to assess the needs for emotional care in the aftermath of the major earthquake in April.
- – Our project team is making plans for a Pastoral Leader Retreat in Nepal 11/14-22. Pray that God would raise up Japanese pastors to go and for plans and finances. We desire to serve Nepali pastors with integrity and in culturally appropriate ways.
- – I started teaching a class at Sendai Baptist Seminary class for ministry leaders on 5/9, with six eager students. It is a once a month practical class on self-care, spiritual formation and leadership.
- – I facilitated a two-session orientation for new pastors at the Conservative Baptist Teamwork meetings 5/18-19.
- – Eriko presented more findings from her research at the Northeast Japan Mission Network meeting on 5/25.
- – I completed the Sendai Half-Marathon in a time of 1:56.50 on 5/8.
- – I will teach at the Salvation Army Emotional Care Seminar on 7/6 and at the Kakudai Seminary in Furukawa on 7/13-15.
Mercy Care
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.” Lam. 3:21-24
Recently I have experienced a ministry gut kick. Things have been going very well. God has been bringing encouragement and healthy ministry practices to many via mentoring, classes and seminars. And then came March. In the ensuing seven weeks I began helping a pastor/church navigate burn out and then performed two funerals for suicide victims leaving two widows, three fatherless children and two son-less mothers to ask why. Devastating pain, anguish and sadness. The fathers of these men also took their own lives. Yet there is merciful hope….The first man was a believer as is his wife and daughter. The second man left a note asking God for forgiveness of his sins and to save him. The first woman is now ministering to the second woman who has no understanding of Christianity. In God’s grace and mercy, he has formed a life giving affinity group. Please pray for Eriko and me as we facilitate these two women gathering and sharing life, pain and the hope in Jesus.
Ministry of Prayer
- For the Pastoral Leader Retreats. More leaders are experiencing burn out.
- For the families of the suicide victims.
- For Hokushin Calvary Church in Fukushima and their pastor Masanori Kuba who is on a sabbatical. I am preaching there twice a month.
- For Eriko’s research in the earthquake zone.
- For ongoing teaching, mentoring, coaching and counseling ministry.
- For wisdom on how to provide emotional care for care givers in Kumamoto.
- For our support needs. The dollar has weakened 8% over the last few months, raising our support need to $400 a month.