Saturday evening we flew from Okinawa to Tokyo. Sunday we met the Jastrams for worship in Shinjuku, a suburb slightly west of downtown Tokyo. We experienced a traditional Lutheran worship in Japanese. The small congregation was very warm and welcoming.
The building where a congregation of the Japanese Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) meets.
A fairly typical Lutheran post-worship coffee time!
After fellowship post-worship and a hurried but delicious lunch of grocery store sushi we joined for a worship led by Rev. Jastram. I was honored to bring the Word of God to the community gathered there for worship in English. We met two Americans – one teaching English and the other with the military. Rev. Jastram is working to gather Confessional Lutherans together for Word & Sacrament while at the same time praying the JELC will recognize the error of their decision regarding women’s ordination and re-enter fellowship with the LCMS. He has also been of immense value as a fluent Japanese speaker, translating Lutheran materials from English into Japanese.
Please lift up the Jastrams in prayer as they continue to minister to the people of Japan, a country where less than 1% of the population is Christian. Pray also that the Holy Spirit might bring many more Japanese to faith in Jesus Christ!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 