Eric In Japan

Giving my testimony in Japanese!

I know I haven’t updated you on my life these past few months, so, here’s the lastest in several significant areas of my life and ministry. Thanks!!

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Hello, dear friends at Grace,

It’s been too long! I have so much to share with you. But first, a quick note: my plans for the summer have developed pretty rapidly, and include 2 trips home. Sound crazy? I think so too!    * I’m a groomsman in Dan Estes’s wedding, and, wonderfully, I’m actually going to get to be there. It’ll be quick whirlwind of a trip, but I will be at Grace on Sunday, June 5th. [That was short, but awesome!! Just got back to Japan.]   * I’m making another, longer trip back to America during summer break because, even more wonderfully, I am dating an amazing girl and Rachel and I want to spend time together with each other’s families, friends, hometowns — and churches! We will be in St. Louis roughly August 11-17, so the Sunday at Grace will be August 14th. So, see you soon!

In the meantime, let me do my best to fill in the information gap — six topics and prayer requests.

1. Here in Nagano prefecture, life has basically returned to normal after the earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear plant crisis. But, these things continue to be weighing on the minds of all Japanese. The church has sent several teams to the devastated areas, and their stories are a mix of heart-wrenching and hope-inspiring. Some Japanese people are especially disturbed because of the way the Japanese government handled the situation, hiding the truth to save its own face. A pre-Christian man told me yesterday that he’s afraid his children will inherit something very different than the relatively free and prosperous Japan of today. As Jon Junker put it, “I don’t think God is going to let up on Japan.” He wants the Japanese to turn to him. Pray with us for hope to break out of the darkness here!

2. We see hope taking shape through the work of local churches. Sincere thanks from me, from the Junker family, and from your brothers and sisters in your partner churches here in Japan for your prayers and your support in all forms. I wish you could have been here yesterday at the family festival — seen the adorable kids running around (watch out — sticky hands and faces from cotton candy and snow cones!), believers age 9 to 89 mobilized together in serving, and non-believers (we prefer the term “pre-Christians”!) walking into a church for the first time in their lives. Because you all had a significant part in building that. Isn’t partnering together for the Gospel exciting? Pray that the “seeds” of love planted there and through the ongoing ministry of the Japanese church will grow!

3. My involvement here has been varied and continues to develop, thanks in great part to owning a car. Wow — thank you for blessing me with the means to do that! So, I am now a part of the support staff for the children’s sunday school program along with Rachel, and we’ve been increasingly involved lately with the youth, from planning “social skills” games (a big need for youth in Japan!) to team-teaching a lesson on God’s way in relationships. The name for the youth group is WACKY — We Are Chosen Kids, Yay! (I’m serious!). We spent lots of time with our young boys especially at snowboard camp over the winter break, and the church is still seriously intending to do a homestay with Grace families, though there’s no time frame determined yet. Pray for our students — the future leaders of the Japanese church!

4. Rachel and I also have unique opportunities as Assistant Language Teachers in our respective Japanese public schools. We continue to build relationships with our teachers and students, and occasionally we get opportunities to share about Jesus, invite to church or something like the family festival, or give away neat evangelistic materials (like a Japanese comic book that tells a completely Biblical story of Jesus’ entire ministry!). But the great thing is, it isn’t just us — almost every school in Japan has one native English speaker as an assistant to the Japanese teachers of English. Our predecessors prayed that God would bring Christian English teachers to our area, and he has! We have 3 other young, Christian teachers from America within an hour of us, involved at our church and with the Junkers’ ministry! And the opportunity to work together extends even further through a Japan-wide organization called JET Christian Fellowship, which links people doing what we are doing through retreats, Bible studies, and resources. Rachel and I got to help with the planning and leading of the most recent national retreat, and Jon was our speaker (!!) — equipping us with the vision to reach Japanese effectively by understanding the culture and trusting God to use the special gifts he’s given us. Please pray for opportunities for all of the Christians here teaching English to be bright lights for Jesus during our daily work.

5. One of the gifts I’m most thankful for right now is my parents’ visit. It was wonderful to be able to share my life in Japan with them at the end of March. It’s also wonderful that they can be help you and I stay connected. Thank you, Missions Committee, for inviting my mom to share about my situation, and thank you all for continually showing them your concern for me — they always share that with me and it’s really encouraging. Their visit made me consider ways Grace and the Japanese churches can continue to benefit each other. I’ve already mentioned the postponed homestay — that will be a key part of building our boys into future leaders of Japan, so thanks for your flexibility and understanding. But, what about future short-term teams? In the past, we have focused on children and used English teaching camps for the “vehicle.” My time here has made me think we can find a better match for both Grace and Japan. I believe we need to change the focus to family, particularly reaching men. And, we need to change the “vehicle” to a greater felt need than English, as Japan is passing new laws to include much more English in the schools. Two needs I see that bring Grace to my mind: 1) biblical teaching about marriage and parenting, and 2) a biblical response to evolution (accepted in Japan as fact, with no alternative view presented, and a huge barrier for Japanese people accepting the Bible as truth). These are just ideas that I have begun discussing with the Jon and Pastor Takeshi, but, please pray and think about how Grace can continue to give (and also receive) through this special partnership.

6. In some ways it seems like I just got here, but, I am also thinking about what my next step will be. My timeline has changed a little bit, so I will now be finishing my working contract at the end of next March, instead of next August. That’s when Rachel finishes as well. At that point we’re hoping to open a new chapter together, in America — at least at first. We still have a heart for Japan and wonder how God will use our knowledge of the Japanese and culture. Our time in the schools here has fueled a desire in both of us to work with children and youth. Rachel is working toward becoming an elementary school teacher, rather than strictly an English teacher. And me…I’m not sure yet! Please pray that God will continue to reveal his desires for us and prepare the way forward.

In closing, I want to say again how much I appreciate the investment many of you have made in me over many years. Coming here, I thought it was time to change the world…but seems like first of all, God’s got to change me. I keep realizing, “It’s time to grow up.” That process is made immeasurably easier by realizing that I have supporters who care about the progress inside of me as much as the progress in the mission. Above all, you point me to our North Star, a Savior mighty enough and patient enough to establish his kingdom through love, in any nation or heart. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is Lord!

Eric McEachron

We hardly felt the earthquakes where I live. My friends here in Japan are all fine. We’re praying with you for the areas along the south west coast.

Dear friends — Ohisashiburi desu ne! (“It’s been a while, hasn’t it!”) There is lots to share from life in Japan. For one, I haven’t written anything yet about my job switch! I can tell you a little bit.

I used to work full-time at a private, English conversation school. I thought night classes from 3 pm to 10 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Now, I’m still paid by the conversation school, but I work at a public junior high school. I do team-teaching with the English department teachers and serve as a sort of mascot for internationalization. My position, common throughout Japan, is called “ALT” or “AET” (Assistant Language/English Teacher). Most of my friends here who are foreigners like me are ALTs. So I knew all about the position. What I didn’t know is that I would love it — and that it would provide

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»Sorry for the long delay in writing.  I have had some really busy days with a few curveballs!

»I got a Japanese tutor and suddenly my learning has picked up quite a bit.  I had hit a slump for a while, but my tutor is quite intense and seems to want me to learn Japanese in like one day, so I have to work hard!  It’s really a blessing to have some help, it was much needed.

»This last weekend was a highlight of my time here so far — a retreat with 30 other Christian young people teaching English all over Japan!  We represented 8 or 9 home countries.  The speaker was a Japanese female pastor from the Assemblies of God — I was a little skeptical at first, but she was wonderful, always encouraging us, talking from her own life with winsome transparency, never brow-beating us with the truth. Her English was not perfect, but she was quick to laugh at her own mistakes and always got her meaning across. She told many stories that are good testimonies of how God can use one person to make a big difference!  I was inspired to make prayer a really intentional (perhaps even scheduled) part of my daily life and ministry here.  She also gave us the Network spiritual gifts test (same one Grace Chapel uses, I think): I ended up with high teaching, discernment, hospitality and leadership.  I believe my answers were greatly influenced by my experience with the youth at Grace!  Finally, she prayed a blessing for each of us individually: for me, she prayed that I would have opportunities to use ideas I have for my work, and that God would provide me with a network and others to do God’s work together.  It was such a refreshing time.  I came back feeling spiritually “all here” for the first time since coming to Japan.

»The timing of the retreat was really good, because my supervisor just asked me to change my job position and begin work at a public junior high school — full-time!  It will mean a complete opposite daily schedule.  Now I will work Monday through Friday from 8:30-4:30, instead of evenings Tuesday through Friday and all day Saturday. The change will be effective beginning October 25th — quite soon, in my opinion!!  Next week is the transition week.  Please pray for me.  This is an excellent opportunity to strengthen my connection to the Japanese people.  I will be interacting with Japanese teachers and students every day.  It’s a chance to be a light in a much bigger way than I can with my current position.  Please pray that I will teach with excellence and find favor with my co-workers and students.  Also, the change will mean a 40 minute bike ride to and from work every day — and this area will be getting very cold in a month or so! — so please pray that God will provide the means to get a car soon. (A car will also cut my commute to Azumino Family Chapel in half, so I will be able to be much more involved in the ministry there.)

»Thanks for your care and concern for my life here. May God richly bless you!