Happy New Year 2013

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:9-11)

Dear family and friends,

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all, we are so looking forward to this time of celebration with loved ones and sharing the joy of the reason for Christmas. The book of Philippians gives the reason we have to celebrate clearly “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Imagine the powerful force of love and good that we could be in this world if we could learn what it really means to make Jesus our Lord.

As Christmas day approaches, even in Japan the old Carols are being sung and played all around. The familiar and sweet words to one particular song have been playing over and over in my mind “Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.” These words do a lot more than merely describe the blissful baby Jesus in his manger bed so long ago, they speak of a beautiful peace that comes with knowing that you belong to God and knowing that your soul has found what it has been searching for since the day you were born, that truly is the most peaceful rest.

This year has been very eventful for the Walkers, those of you who have befriended us on Facebook have been kept up to speed on all the important (and not so important) things going on in our lives. What stands out now looking back over the past year is that God is still faithful and we are still growing. Life in Tokyo is a constant challenge, but not without blessing. This season always inspires us to count our blessings and give thanks!

Jonathan
I am thankful for the wonderful friends we have made at Horizon Chapel and think of them as family. Although we have only being there a couple of years, good-byes have become very hard, but it's something to be expected living in the city. I am also incredibly blessed by the students at HLS and the English Bible group on Fridays, I love teaching in Japan and hope that I may earn more opportunities in the future. I am also so thankful for our precious little family, I have the best wife and daughter who continue to bless me every day.

Fumi
I felt God's big hands surrounding me and my family through out this year. I was constantly reminded that God is my strength in many different ways. As a result of that, God has restored peace and hope to my heart in all the aspects of my life. God restored my hope and passion toward my work. Even though it has been very busy as usual, I enjoyed the opportunity to learn new skills as an assistant director/teacher trainer. God has been pouring so many blessings into my life through my precious family. God is working in Jonathan's life intensely for His glory, it gives me hope for what He has in store for us. Also, it has been such an amazing blessing to watch Kira growing in love of God and excited about Jesus in her heart! I already witnessed Kira being a bright light for Jesus to her Ji-ji, Ba-ba and Ne-ne. This also gives me a great hope for her future.

The verses of the year for me were;
"You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts, And said to you, 'You are my servent, I have chosen you and not rejected you. 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'" (Isaiah 41:9~10)

“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Kira
We asked Kira what she is thankful for and she said “Jesus.” We asked why and she said “because his light shines to me.” (her exact words). This year Kira has been very excited about her friends at church and at school, she also loves all her family very much and we treasure every minute she gets to spend with them on Skype.

Please continue to pray for our family as we seek direction for the future and patience for the present. Thank you to each and every one of you who are reading this, for being our friends and support. You are a treasure to us! May you have a fantastic 2013.

All our love,
Jonathan, Fumi & Kira Walker.

Happy new year 2012!

Dear friends & family,

Happy New Year! We hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration!The JFK Walkers had a blessed holidays with the Sakata family in Fukuoka. As we welcome 2012, we look back at this last year and the year before and are amazed to see how far God has brought our little family. If you are one of our many friends on Facebook, then this newsletter is more of a review of events we've already been sharing with you than and update. Looking back at 2011 we can definitely say that we have been both blessed and challenged in ways we never imagined. If we can describe our lives in one word since we moved to Japan it's “BUSY”! Busy is a good thing most of the time, but often this past year busy has turned into overwhelmed, and that is where we have been seriously challenged as individuals and as a family. However God is faithful as always, and this is where we have truly been blessed!

Kira:
We thank God for all the friends and opportunities He has brought our way this year, we especially thank God for His continued blessings through Kira. It has been so wonderful to watch Kira grow and develop this past year, she has a gift for spreading joy wherever she goes. Kira loves school and she loves her friends, we are so thankful for her teachers (Fumi's co-workers) who have given her so much and have helped her grow in so many ways. Kira also loves singing and dancing, sometimes we try to sing with her and she says “No Kira to sing, I want to make your heart happy”. Our hearts are so happy! Recently Kira has been sharing excitedly with everyone that she has Jesus in her heart, our prayer for her is that this passion and enthusiasm for her Jesus may never fade but only thrive throughout her life, and that she may never forget to use what God has given her to bless others and glorify Him.

Fumi:
I am in awe and very proud of what my wife had achieved and endured this year. Fumi is doing a great job at Seta International School(SIS), and Kira just loves having her mommy as a teacher at her school. Since the earthquake, SIS had to downsize in many ways. Together with all of the teachers and staff, Fumi had to take on many more tasks than teaching. It has been challenging but a great time to learn new skills including teaching 1st grade level reading and writing and giving school tours in English to potential student and family. Fumi also got her Japanese driver's license (on her first attempt!) and it has come in useful when we've needed to rent a car for certain occasions. Fumi says her Japanese is gradually coming back, Kira enjoys talking to her mommy in Japanese or at least “Kiranese”. Fumi has also enjoyed being able to speak to her family regularly and see them more often.

Jonathan:
To be honest 2010 was a low point for me in many ways and that is partly why we didn't send out a newsletter last year. I am thankful to say that this year has been much better for me. I still find life in Japan incredibly challenging, not to mention learning to speak Japanese. I've had to rely on a lot of grace and mercy from God and others to keep moving forward day by day. If I have one goal this year, one resolution, it's to be a whole person, to cope with the requirements of everyday, to meet the expectations of those who rely on me, and most of all to glorify God with every aspect of my life. As always my heart is for ministry and I am extremely thankful for opportunities I've had through Horizon Language School to “serve God by serving others.” (their slogan). This year we will be starting a second HLS in Setagaya, I am blessed to be a part of this and look forward to what God has in store for this year.

Of course we can't look back on this year without remembering the earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Leak, Typhoons and other disasters that struck Japan this year. The worst part of all for those of us living in Tokyo, was the terrible shaking of the earthquake and the scare of radiation exposure after. My heart is still warmed as I remember the outpouring of love and concern from the world to Japan because of this tragedy. Please keep praying for those still trying to cope with loss and the long road to recovery. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support for our family over this whole transition period. Keep it up! :)

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all, may God richly bless you and yours in 2012. We love and appreciate each one of you!