Please click on name and see a greeting from each one.

We arrived in Japan on September 23, 1980. As a result of the jetlag we were awake in the early hours of the morning when we experienced our first earthquake--WECOME TO JAPAN!! After that, earthquakes became the norm but still scary. For 3 months we lived in Tokyo for language training then went to the northern part of the main island of Japan, the Prefecture of Akita. Our Gilead classmate, Pat Kendall, and one other couple lived in the Missionary Home. After 2 years there, the two of us were sent to open up a new home in the Prefecture just south of Akita called Yamagata．In spite of our language limitations, while there we were able to help some learn the truth. This helped us to appreciate even more how it is Jehovah who makes it grow.
During the first 17 years we were in Japan, there were continuous new peaks of publishers and while the part of Japan we were in has experienced the slowest growth, we still were able to experience the truth that “Jehovah knows those who belong to him.”
The climate in northern Japan is much like the north and east part of the United States, it can be cold with much snow. One interesting difference is that the temperatures inside – say the missionary home - closely reflect the temperatures outside, in other words the Japanese are very good at enduring cold and Buddhism has tended to make ones refrain from complaining about such hardships.
While the climate to a degree and the language to a large degree were the initial difficulties we encountered, Japan is a very advanced country and so we have had the advantage of finding large department stores, well stocked super markets, not to mention whatever electronic device you could wish to have. This served to make the transition from a ‘western’ culture to the so-called ‘east’ a little easier for us. While in Gilead the prospect of being assigned to a country that had few cars seemed appealing, but Jehovah was and still is training us.
Often the Japanese friends would ask us about the differences between the culture in the States and in Japan. Actually by far the greatest ‘culture’ difference is between those worshipping Jehovah and those still walking according to the spirit of this world. The brothers here are serious and when they learn the truth, they do not half-heartedly do things. This can present a challenge as to being balanced which seems to the reason missionaries were sent to Japan. The last Gilead graduates came here in 1982. Since then, well over a hundred zealous Japanese missionaries have been sent out.    
From September 1992 we were given the privilege of circuit work and began in the southern-most Prefecture of Okinawa – it is warm! During the 17 years since then we have served in 6 Japanese circuits and the English circuit twice. One of the finest privileges we have had is to have worked with many couples in the English circuit who have gone to Gilead and served as missionaries in countries with more difficult living conditions than here in Japan.
One year was spent in teaching consecutive classes of the Ministerial Training School - which was a great privilege from Jehovah. One more privilege we are now looking forward to is spending 3 weeks in March doing the substitute district work. This will be on one of the 4 big islands we have never been on so we are looking forward to seeing yet another part of Japan.
It has been most interesting to see how the sign of the last days has advanced here. When we first came, many people were quite hospitable and there was some interest in religion. But now religion has ceased to be a factor in most people’s life and the topic has even begun to produce harsh reactions on the part of some. This change in attitude or heart condition has been remarkable. In the larger cities there is little meaningful contact between people. In contrast, we have found a major source of joy and refreshment in the congregations. The brothers and sisters are very, very respectful of missionaries, almost to a fault in some cases. We often have to be careful not to ask even where some needed item can be found as the brothers will buy it themselves and give it to us. Thus while the territory is now a very big challenge due to apathy [there has been zero growth for over 12 years] the congregations and the diligence of the brothers have been a sustaining source of comfort and encouragement.
While Japan is very affluent, the comparatively simple lives so many of our brothers lead has helped us to keep our eyes on the things unseen rather than being distracted by the glitter, and there is much here, of the world. We can reflect on our 30 years service here and truthfully say that Jehovah has been very good to us. We have more materially that we had before and more importantly, we have so much more spiritually such as the legacy of serving faithfully during the final part of the days and having many friends in the truth throughout the whole earth. There are no longer any “ends” to the earth as the good news has covered the globe without leaving a seam or gap.
We often think of how ones from the 69th class are doing and find it remarkable how many people we meet here in Japan that know of classmates that are serving in several countries in Africa, India, United States and South America. This shows that our worldwide brotherhood is firmly united in love and that no matter what our present circumstances may be, we all are working shoulder to shoulder in fully praising Jehovah.
May Jehovah’s warm smile of approval remain on all in the class as we complete our work of giving a through witness in our assigned boundaries. We are looking forward to much rich association with everyone.