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[1]

Our Family Has Grown

We weren’t able to bring our

parakeet, Pico, with us but we

have found a new friend - a

black Lab mix puppy. We named

her Tori - Japanese for “Bird”.

THE NINEVEH CHRONICLES

Fall 2010

In pursuit of being

and bringing the

Light of Jesus to

the unreached of

the world

IT’S BEEN A WHILE...Since our last newsletter a lot has happened...

Hmmm. Where to begin? Well I guess I

should start by apologizing for not keeping in

touch. I also thank you for your patience and

care for us. If you are receiving this newsletter it

means that you care (or at some point cared!)

about us and what God is doing in our lives.

That means a lot to us, especially in light of the

experiences of the last months.

We know your lives are just as busy as

ours , and reading a multipage newsletter isprobably not something you have time set aside

to do so here are two options: Print it out and

read it at your leisure (perhaps put a copy in the

bathroom?)...or...check out the the following

bullet points:

• John was commissioned into the United

States Navy as a Chaplain in December 09

• We now live in Okinawa, Japan

• Sarah has a job working at the Naval

Hospital as a Physician Assistant in the

Family Practice Clinic

• John is the Deputy Director of CREDO

Okinawa, a retreat ministry.

• John and Sarah also have been give the

opportunity to lead a service on Friday nightsfor young Marines.

• We have found a great church

• Scuba diving

• Plans for our future

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[2]

Same Direction. New Route.

For the last 9 years we had been living and

ministering in the Pico Union Neighborhood of

inner city Los Angeles. Our time spent with our

family at the First Evangelical Free Church of

Los Angeles will always be a treasured and life

shaping season.

We have always felt a desire to follow the

command of Christ to make disciples, with a

special focus on the unreached and underserved. As a result of our time in Los Angeles

we know that the inner city is the perfect place

for strategic discipleship. As we have continued

to think and pray about where God would have

us spend our lives, the city of Jakarta, Indonesia

has continued to pop up on our radar. So as of

now we are still “moving” in that direction.

However, we knew that there were still

things that needed to happen before we placed

our roots down somewhere. Some of these

things were tangible milestones like paying off

our school loans, getting more work and

ministry experience, and possibly having

children. Other things, although just as

important, were not as measurable: growth and

maturity in Christ, leadership skills, and

adjusting to change.

So as we explored and prayed, an option

that kept presenting itself was for John to serve

a three year tour with the Navy as a Chaplain.

We, somewhat hesitantly, pursued this and the

doors kept opening. Before we knew it, John

had completed his application, passed his

medical and background checks, flown to

Washington D.C. for an interview, and was

commissioned into the Navy. The whirlwind continued into 2010: Officer

Development School in Newport Rhode Island

(Jan-Feb), Chaplaincy School in Columbia, SC

(Feb-March), and finally arriving in Okinawa,

Japan April 12.

John was assigned the Deputy Director of

CREDO Okinawa. CREDO stands for Chaplains

Religious Enrichment Development Order and is

a Navy/Marine Corps-wide retreat program. So

far this is a challenging environment to both

work in and share the Gospel in...but that is

exactly what we were wanting.

God also provided the opportunity to lead a

weekly service on Friday nights for young

Marines, a ministry which Sarah and John love.

In addition God has continued to bless andconfirm this new direction in unexpected ways.

For example, Sarah had a great paying job

waiting for her at the Navy hospital which will

enable us to pay off our school loans within the

year. Also, Brad and Meghan Swenson, close

friends, arrived in Okinawa soon after we arrived

- another confirmation from God that we belong

here for now.

NAVY LIFE

Ministry in the Military

Top: John in his Navy

uniform preaching to his

class at the Naval

Chaplaincy School

Middle: John and his Dad

(Bob) at John’s Graduation

from Chaplaincy School.

Dad may have more ribbons,

but John is more handsome!

Bottom: John in his

Marine Corps uniform.

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Thoughts from Sarah

Moving to Okinawa has been an exciting and challenging transition

for me. I am incredibly blessed that I have been able to continue working

as a Physician Assistant (PA) on island here. This job is even more proof

that this is where God wants us to be at this time. Over 50% of the

spouses of military members are unemployed while living here due to the

limited amount of on-base jobs and the inability to work off base (due to

language barriers and employment laws). I actually got in touch with a PA 

here before even moving who informed me of an open position at a Family

Practice clinic and also put in a good word for me to the “higher ups” at

the hospital. By the time we arrived I already had a contract waiting for

me! The job is very similar to my previous job, but all in English instead of

Spanish. Though this aspect is easier, the “small town” feel of the island

and the rampant rate of depression especially among the young wives

and moms here makes it still a very challenging position. I can hardly go

anywhere now without seeing some of my patients. This definitely has

good and bad sides to it, but mostly I see it as a way to be even more

open about my faith with patients since they can also interact with me

outside of clinic. As I mentioned one great challenge here is ministering to

young moms and wives who have never been away from home and are

now in a foreign country, far away from friends and family, with their

husbands deployed in Afghanistan or other places and suffering from

depression and loneliness. Many patients seem to make appointments

 just to be able to talk to someone. Please pray as we try to find the best

way to reach out to these families as 10 minute medical appointments

aren’t always the easiest way!

One exciting part of my job here is in getting to do a large amount of

prenatal visits and women’s health. This is something I was very interested

in and was just starting to do at my previous job. I have even learned how

to use the ultrasound machines and there is nothing more exciting then

showing parents their baby’s heartbeat at only 8 weeks gestation! I get

quite a bit of practice too as there are an average 100 baby deliveries per

month at our hospital.

On top of all the challenges and opportunities at work there is the

excitements and difficulties of adjusting to being a military spouse

stationed overseas. Military life is so different from how I grew up and the

life I am used to, not in a bad way, just very different! It’s not only a

different culture, but the military has their own language too. Living in a

military community has that “small town feel” as I described above and

does provide a very safe atmosphere. People feel connected because we

are all here for the same purpose. Because there is a sense of “morality” i t

can be easy for everyone to feel like they don’t really need to know Christ.

Pray that we can learn to share what true Christianity really looks like.

God has stretched us in so many ways here and we have grown in

our trust of Him as a result. We look forward to see how He uses us!

Island Life

Okinawa is a beautiful

and fascinating place.

More historically

associated with China

than Japan; years of

Chinese, Japanese, and

 American control have

produced a uniqueculture. Add that to a

tropical climate and it

 makes Okinawa a

fascinating place to

live. Come visit!

OUR NEW HOME:

OKINAWA

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Future Plans

So here we are, in the Navy, living in Japan.

If even a year ago you would have told us that

this is where we would be, we probably would

have laughed at you. We take this lesson in the

futility of man-made plans to heart when

thinking about the future. We don’t trust in our

plans, we trust in God. But that doesn’t mean

that we don’t have a plan.

 As we mentioned on p.2,we are still moving

towards the mission field of Jakarta, Indonesia.

We feel Jakarta is a strategic location for living

out the Gospel, as it is the capital city of the

world’s largest Muslim country and is a place of

much spiritual and physical need. If and/or

when we end up in Indonesia is in God’s hands.

Prayer Requests

If you believe God hears and moves in

response to the prayers of His children, we

would appreciate it if you would bring thefollowing requests to the throne of our Father

and King (if you don’t believe that God answers

prayer then we will pray for you!):

• That the goal of knowing Christ will stay

our priority in spite of new and confusing

situations and environments

• That we would be faithful to seek and

take the opportunities God give us to share

His Love and Truth

• That we would be able to be good

stewards of the experiences we will have

here.

• For more clarity and confirmation in

God’s plan for future ministry

• For wisdom and good health as we

begin to pursue starting a family and/or the

adoption process

Stay in Touch!

Here are some ways to stay in touch in

between newsletters:

• we are both on Facebook (this is the

easiest way to stay in touch!)

• Skype us!

• Sarah’s Okinawa blog:

Rope in the Ocean

• John’s Chaplain Blog:

The Cross and Anchor

• John’s personal blog:

Nevertheless

Diving in Okinawa

The waters around Okinawa

are some of the world’s

best for SCUBA diving.

Every time we descend we

are amazed at the varietyand beauty of God’s

creativity. In addition

to diving for fun, we also

hope to get our SCUBA 

instructor certifications

here, something that may

prove useful in the

future.

SCUBA