Hello All!
We wanted to write and give a long overdue update as to what is going on with the mission.
As many of you already know, Andrea and I feel we are being called to serve in Japan. With Family Missions Company, the location of your first year in missions is determined by the leadership of FMC. The second and all subsequent years are determined by ourselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Early last year, while we were on a team retreat in Mexico City, we were having lunch with a local priest. When we were discussing what FMC and it's missionaries do, he told us not to forget about Japan! He went on to tell us how their suicide rate is one of the highest in the world and how they are in desperate need of the gospel. Upon hearing this priest speak of Japan and his 8 years of service there, Andrea thought God might be calling us there. We tabled the idea, wanting to dedicate ourselves to the General Cepeda post for the rest of the year, until August when traditionally missionaries seek the Lord once again to find direction. We went on a family retreat and felt that God was indeed calling us to bring people to Him in Japan.
The path to Japan is fraught with difficulties, not the least of which is that FMC has never been to Japan and we have no known contacts there. Andrea and I spent a few weeks in January trying to bolster some much needed financial support in order to afford the higher cost of living in Japan and are now in Louisiana researching possibilities of serving there.
The latest idea we have is to teach English. Turns out the country uses native English speakers all the time to teach the English language. Through some of our research I can get certified to teach in a 1 - 3 months and hopefully find employment there under a workers visa. This option offers several advantages. First we will be able to learn about the culture through visiting with the students we teach. We will be able to evangelize to the students through normal conversation and being interested in each others lives. We will be able to stay in Japan for an extended period of time (under a workers visa) and have ample opportunity to make connections with the Church's pastors and bishops.
All of this takes some time. In the mean time I am working here at Big Woods finishing some of the ongoing projects and repairing some things in need of a carpenter's touch. Andrea and I would like to be headed back into the field, Lord permitting, inside of 3 months. If nothing shakes loose and opens up for us in Japan, we have some other location options available to us. Please pray for us as we push forward and ask the Lord to give us clarity and guidance!
We love you all and continue to pray for all our family, friends and benefactors!
God Bless,
-The Quinns
