Dear everyone,

Hope all of you are doing well.  Last week we took a short trip to Lake
Sagami near where we live and took my father and Mari's mother with us.  We
took a hot spring bath and refreshed our bodies and mind.

I have been working on my correspondence courses.  The beginners course,
Jesus Christ's Love Invitation is completed.  The course outline is as
follows (1) Who is Jesus Christ? (2) Easy to Believe, (3) Anything Wrong
with the World, (4) Starting over Life Again. But How?  (5) What Is Church?
The Intermediate course, God's Eternal Plan will be completed soon.  (1) Man
Created by God, (2) The Origin of Man's Sin, (3) God's Blessings through
Abraham and the Old Covenant, (4) God's Blessings Fulfilled in Christ and
the New Covenant, (5) God's Eternal Plan.

Up to the present time, 13 individuals (12 non believers and 1 believer) are
having taking correspondence courses.  Three of them have finished the
beginners course.  and taking the intermediate course.  The rest are taking
the beginners course.  I made each course short enough for them to finish
it.  In the beginners course I focus on Jesus Christ in the New Testament,
which is easy for Japanese to read and understand.  In the intermediate
course, I take upon a whole scheme of redemption from God's creation of man,
man's sin, covenant with and blessings through Abraham, Christ, and church.
I regret I do not have a time to translate it in English for you to read and
examine what I have to write.

Since October 8, 1998, my home page has been hit 600 times, 80 times a
month.  I have been trying to make the page more meaningful to
non-Christians who seek the truth.

In the beginning of this year, Tsuyoshi Suzuki came to me and started
worshipping with us in the Japanese assembly.  He was a luke warm Christian
and sporadically attended the Tachikawa congregation, which is our sister
congregation.  Although he wants to become a member of Yokota church of
Christ, Nao (minister for the Tachikawa congregation) and I think he should
remain to be Tachikawas member until he keeps his attendance in Yokota for
one year.  After that, he will be officially a member of Yokota.  I do not
want it to appear that I am stealing a member from other congregations.

The two Japanese men, who found the Yokota congregation through my home
page, regularly attend our worship service.  Of course they are not
Christian.  One of them came to me with a personal problem.  I suggested to
him that he take my correspondence course.  Now he finished the beginners
course and is taking the intermediate course.  He said, "It has been
difficult for me to see man is sinful and I am sinful.  If I change my life,
I have to admit that I deny my past life."

This semester I teach New Testament World,  Intro to the Old Testament, and
Genesis for Japan School of Evangelism.

We always appreciate your support and prayers.  May God bless you all.  Masa
and Mari