Dear Friends and Family, Hello everyone! We hope that you are having a good summer. We have been spending a lot of time at the pool which is Yuki's favorite place to be. The weather here in Dayton has been wonderful this summer. We are very excited to announce that Noriko is expecting our second child in February. She has struggled with morning sickness for the last couple of weeks, but God has been graciously carrying her through this time. This news was quite a surprise for us in the midst of this busy support raising process. However we have always desired to have a second child and many people have prayed along with us for God's perfect will regarding this matter. He obviously answered those prayers by choosing this season of our lives to bring it about, so we are very excited to find out how this perfect will of God will be manifested in our lives ahead. We also know that one of the major work that the Lord has been doing in our lives right now is to grow a heart of utter dependence on Him. We have begun to see that this pregnancy is one of God's ways to accomplish this work of His in our lives by proving His all sufficiency in bringing the work of deputation to completion. Our plans have changed for departure because the baby is due in February. We are now targeting to leave for Japan some time after the baby's birth around March or April of 2010, so that Yuki could make a smooth transition to school which starts in April. Chad spent three weeks in Wheaton, Illinois for a course on second language acquisition. It was a very challenging course for him, but he gained a lot of good information and techniques on how to learn a second language. He also discovered many of his weaknesses in language learning and how to work to improve them. Besides during those three weeks God blessed him with the opportunity to fellowship with many missionaries in the class preparing to serve all over the world. It was a great encouragement to Chad to see how others share in his struggles and fears toward language learning. Recently we have had the opportunity to speak at our home church and several small groups in Dayton, Ohio. It has been wonderful getting to know more people and it is such a joy to share with them the message that God has entrusted to us about His heart and work for Japan. Please join us in prayer that whatever the eternal work that God has started in those people's lives though the seed of the message, He will continue to bring it to completion. We have another church group meeting scheduled in September and are also in the process of talking with others about speaking engagements. It has been a little over a year since we started support raising and we have been absolutely marveled to see God's provision of many financial and prayer supporters. We still have a long way to go in terms of monthly support to meet our requirement of 100 percent before departure. Would you please prayerfully consider how you can help us discover more of God's chosen people and churches to be partners with us in our service in Japan? Here are some practical ways that others have helped us to get connected with those supporters: We would like to take a moment to thank all of you who have contributed toward our ministry in these ways.
Noriko's Pregnancy:
Second Language Acquisition Course:
Support Raising Update:
Prayer Request:
Sincerely,
Chad and Noriko Snow
