— Updates —

September 2024

How is God moving in your ministry/what can we celebrate with you?

We have been praying for a long time for new workers to join us, and God is bringing them! Stephen B. arrived this month and is settling into life in Japan and language study. He has a special interest in college students and will be involved in an English ministry in addition to his language acquisition. Another worker, Steven L., is planning on joining us in early 2025.

Our ministry partners, Pastor and Mrs. Yasuda, have purchased a building in the small town of Kaminoseki for the purpose of a church. A dedication was held this past Monday for the newly remodeled building, and it is our prayer that outreach ministries will soon begin there. Our teammate, Joy, lives on the third floor, and as far as we know, she is the only Christian in that town.

What is your greatest need? Anything specific?

New workers are taking over the leadership positions that we formerly held on the team. Please pray for a smooth transition, and that we will be able to coach and mentor them as they develop their own leadership styles. Pray for Lewis, our new team leader, Joy, our Women’s Ministry Coordinator, and Esther, our language coach.

What is a fun fact or unique incident that we probably don’t know about you?

We were commissioned as missionaries at Lake Tapps Community Church in 1992, and have lived in Japan since then. Halfway through our 32 years in Japan we transitioned from teaching missionary kids to church planting. Teresa enjoys reading, writing letters on real paper, and shopping for gifts. Bob likes to run (a very slow jog) and enjoys cooking. We have a son, Ben, who is in the navy and stationed in St. Louis with his wife, Morgan. Our daughter, Natalie, lives in Salem, OR with her husband Jonsey and our two grandchildren. An interesting fact about our time in Japan is that for the first 16 years we lived in an old house that didn’t have a flush toilet. It was like an outhouse inside the house and had to be emptied (by a “sucker” truck) each month. We have lived in our current home for 16 years as well, and it is much newer and has regular flushing toilets on each floor with heated toilet seats and no need for the “sucker” truck.

How can we be praying for you?

• Please pray that we will finish our final term well. We continue to teach outreach English classes at Yanai Grace Chapel and host a Discovery Bible Study in our home on Sunday evenings. Pray that God will continue to work through His Word in the hearts of our Japanese friends.

• Please pray that our team's transition to new leadership will go smoothly and that God will bless the team with unity, love, and effectiveness.

• Please pray that God will open the housing of His choice for us in the Salem Oregon area.

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May 2024

Our time in Japan is drawing to a close, and we expect to return to the U.S. in early 2025. God has blessed us with new workers who will be here after us and continuing the ministry here in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

• The ministry has changed somewhat in that much of our time is spent helping new workers become established in their ministries, learn the Japanese language, and adjust to life in Japan.

• We’ve continued leading a Discovery Bible Study in our home, and we partner with Pastor and Mrs. Yasuda at Yanai Grace Chapel by teaching outreach English classes and helping with their evangelistic Good News Club.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Our team will need new leadership as we retire, so please pray for a smooth transition.

• We also need wisdom to know which ministries to set aside, and which to continue as we spend more time on team development.

• Our team as a whole has really been hampered by various illnesses, so please pray that God will protect us.

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DECEMBER 2023

We appreciate our relationship with LTCC and your prayers on our behalf.

This week is the annual Christmas luncheon, and about 10 of our friends from our English classes and exercise group are expected to attend. They will listen to a concert and hear a gospel message. Would you please pray that God will use His Word in their hearts, and that we would be able to follow up with conversations about our Savior?

Our Discovery Bible Study has expanded in ways that we hadn’t anticipated. One English language teacher has been coming, and another is expected to join us. These young people are often isolated and lonely, and in great need of Christian fellowship. Pray that we will be able to minister to them as well as to our Japanese members who are continuing to attend.

This month we are handing out Christmas gift packages with tracts to people who are isolated or who have financial needs. Please pray that God will use these gifts to help us build relationships and draw people to Himself.

Next month our team will be continuing to work on our ministry plan for a new area in need of a church. Please pray that God will guide us in this and give us wisdom.

Merry Christmas,

Bob and Teresa

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JULY 2023

We’ve been looking to expand our Discovery Bible Study by inviting friends and people who seem interested, but as of yet, nobody new has joined us. We would appreciate your prayers that God would give us wisdom in how to encourage people to come, and that He would bring people to us.

We’ll be taking a break from our outreach English classes in August. We will have a “flowing noodle” party on August 6th at Yanai Grace Chapel, and we’re inviting all of our students to join us. Please pray that many will come with hearts that are prepared to hear the gospel.

Our team is considering a variety of strategies to increase our effectiveness in establishing churches in the area. Please pray that God will give us His wisdom about that. Pray too for those team members who are still in full-time language study to persevere.

We appreciate the prayers, support and encouragement from you all at LTCC, and we pray God’s blessings upon you as well.

Love,

Bob & Teresa

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FEBRUARY 2023

God is answering the prayers of many who asked Him to send additional missionaries to Japan. Praise His name and His timing! 

~ Last year the Reisters welcomed two families, the Lees from Hong Kong and the Rices from Oregon. They are all adjusting well to life, school and culture in Japan. 

~ Two more career workers will come this year. George and Joy will arrive in March.

~ Two short-term workers will join the Reisters this year. Elizabeth will come in April for six weeks and Amelia will be arriving in May for a one-year stay.

Bob says, “We’re excited for each worker the Lord is sending us, but we also know that there will be major adjustments for them living in a foreign country, and for us as a field. Another challenge for us in leadership is to try and provide the best member care and ministry opportunities that we can, so that through the Lord’s strength their labor will be both fruitful and meaningful.”

Prayer Requests

• Please pray that God will provide for all of the new workers to join us this year. Pray that Joy will be provided with a work visa so that she can come as planned.

• Pray that God will give us wisdom as we work together with our new members to develop ministry plans for each one of them. Pray too that God will help us minister to each of them socially, emotionally and spiritually.

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OCTOBER 2022

In the midst of the pandemic, it has been a long and arduous process to bring their new workers, the Lee family and the Rice family to Japan, but God has done it, and they thank you for your prayers.

As a team they are meeting weekly for prayer and to encourage one another through this transition into missionary life. While they all aspire to plant new churches, during this time of training each family will be choosing an already planted Japanese church with which to fellowship. This will be an important environment to practice the language being learned, to serve, and to join with Japanese believers in worship.

Pray that God will give the newly formed team the ability to encourage and help one another. Pray that they will be able to display God’s love and grace as they get to know one another.

Please pray that God will help each of the children, Lukas, Abby, and Matheo as they adjust to a new language and culture.

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MAY 2022

Since Japan has opened up again (pandemic), things have been moving quickly. The Reister’s are expecting two missionary families and one has arrived already from Hong Kong. The Lees have moved into a house and are getting settled in. Their three year old son has just begun preschool and is having some difficulty because he doesn’t speak Japanese. Pray for easy language acquisition and a smooth transition.

The Rices (from Oregon) had to delay their arrival because Laura had a miscarriage and is recovering. Their new arrival date is May 27th. The Reisters have been unable to find them a house to rent yet. Pray for Laura’s health and wisdom in their search for a house.

Bob and Teresa are holding English classes and weekly Discovery Bible Studies in their home. Pray for their Sunday night DBS members as they discuss Baptism. It is a very big step there in Japan.

Bob and Teresa really appreciate the love and care they receive from their family at LTCC.

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January 2022

It seemed just a short time ago we welcomed 2021 with a sigh of relief that 2020 was over and any day the pandemic would be as well. But, since COVID conditions in our world don’t seem to be improving anytime soon, we decided to take an opportunity to return to the U.S. in December to visit our family and celebrate Christmas together. We came back to Oregon on December 9th, and our son, Ben, and his wife Morgan, flew in from Virginia a few days later. We had about ten days together as a whole family, and it was wonderful.

As we have mentioned before, some ministries in Japan have been put on hold or not expanded because of the pandemic. We are asking the Lord to allow our new teammates to enter Japan and also that we would be able to restart our Discovery Bible Study at the park and expand the one that meets in our home on Sunday evenings.

Prayer Requests

• Because of the omicron variant, we’ve run into some barriers in returning to Japan. Please pray that God will take us safely back to our country of service.

• Please continue to pray that God will open Japan’s borders to our new workers who are waiting to enter. Pray that the Rices and the Lees will not become discouraged as they wait, and that God will provide for their needs. Both are in temporary housing right now.

• Please pray that each member of our family, including the newly baptized ones, will walk daily seeking to do the will of our Heavenly Father.

• Pray that God will give us wisdom as to the timing and method of initiating and expanding Discovery Bible Studies among our neighbors and friends.
  

For more news from the Reisters, and info about how to order a book Bob has published, click here to see their latest newsletter. It also has a good update on their family with pictures.

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AUGUST 2021

Please pray for the Good News Club that meets in a park near them every Saturday. A pastor and his wife lead it each week and share bible stories and sing songs with the children who attend. For years, only two children have attended, but lately they have had up to twenty-one students coming and some have accepted Jesus as their savior!

Pray for the leaders, Pastor and Kayoko Yasuda, that they will have wisdom and strength as they share with these children. Also, pray that they will have opportunities to meet the students parents and share the Gospel with them as well. Pray that the ministry will continue to lead and encourage students and that conditions will continue to allow for safe gatherings each week.

Bob and Teresa lead a Discovery Bible Study each week. One of the challenges they face is knowing how much their students understand of the Gospel message. Please pray for them as they try to meet the students where they’re at and share the good news with them. Pray that each student will understand their own sin, the sacrificial death of Jesus, and have the faith to believe in Him.

Moving forward, Bob and Teresa hope to expand their Discovery Bible study and begin another one with an exercise group at the park. Pray for wisdom for them to determine when it is the right time to begin the new group. Pray for safety as they navigate these outreach ministries during the pandemic. And pray for softened hearts among the people they will encounter as they move forward with another group. 

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April,2021

Prayer requests from the Reister’s April 1st prayer newsletter.

祈 Pray for open hearts to the gospel among our English students, and that new students will join.

祈 Please pray that our Evangelism training will bear fruit in our witness. Pray that God will guide Ariel as he teaches.

祈 Pray for others to join our Discovery Bible Study along with Mr. Kawamoto. Please pray for wisdom as we decide when and how to begin this study.

And here are the most recent activities and prayer requests from Bob and Teresa:

• With their recent refresher course in evangelism, they are looking at different ways to share Christ. They ask that we pray for them to be encouraged in continuing in this effort.

• They requested that we pray for a former Bible study member who is putting off being baptized. Her name is Yoko.

• Bob is trying to evangelize local fishermen by accompanying their Pastor friend to the long wharfs on the Ocean. Bob has created tracts that are attached to small packages of squid bait to give as a gift and open conversations.

To learn more, CLICK HERE to read their April 1st Prayer Newsletter

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October, 2020

Bob and Teresa Reister met at Central Washington University in the Elementary Education program. Bob had sensed God’s leading into missions and they both desired to use their training in teaching on the mission field. They moved to Buckley and Bob taught at the White River School District while Teresa was an assistant manager at the Sumner High School pool. During that time they joined Lake Tapps Community Church. Their family grew and in addition to their daughter Natalie, God gave them their son, Ben, who was born in Puyallup. During the six years they lived in Buckley and Sumner, they prepared for going overseas under the counsel of Pastor Lyle Birkey and went to candidate school with Christar in 1990. On September 7, 1992, many from the church met at SeaTac to send them off for their first ministry of teaching missionary children in Yamaguchi, Japan.  While it was initially only a two-year commitment, they remained there as teachers for 16 years. After their students graduated, they transitioned into church planting and mission leadership in Japan. They have appreciated the encouragement, prayers, and support of LTCC for over 28 years. Bob & Teresa will be joining us for our Missions Emphasis Weekend the first weekend in November.

Prayer requests:

祈 Please pray that God will bless each of the meetings that we’ve been able to schedule. Pray too for His protection as we travel.

祈 Our coworkers in Japan are gathering for a time of fellowship, worship, prayer, and rest. Please pray that God will guide their time together and give them refreshment and encouragement.

祈 We’re looking forward to “Renew” at our mission headquarters in Texas. It’s a time of reflection and interaction about our previous term in Japan and our future ministry plans. Please pray that God will use this time to equip us for our next term.

祈 Praise the Lord for giving us 95 daily prayer partners! We still need five more before we return to Japan. Please pray that God will provide people to pray.

祈 With COVID–19, returning to Japan has become more complicated. We are still targeting early January to go back. Please pray that God will open the necessary doors and guide us through the process.

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July, 2020

We returned for our Home Ministry (furlough) on March 2nd, just before the coronavirus pandemic emerged in the U.S., While we’ve been unable to complete our normal furlough activities, we have been blessed with a good time of rest and some good times with family as well. We are thankful for God’s continued protection and provision. We have plans to return to Japan in January 2021 if God allows, however right now the country is closed.

Prayer Requests:

• We continue to need wisdom for how to connect with our churches and supporters in a way that is both responsible and encouraging. (We will be flying to the East Coast to see our son and daughter-in-law as well as various supporters this month.  Please pray for good meetings and times of fellowship.)

• Before we return to Japan, we need 100 daily prayer partners, and so far the Lord has given us 50. Please pray that the remaining 50 will be provided.

• There are many people in islands and towns around us in Japan who have little opportunity to hear the gospel. Pray that God will send workers to join us in Japan.

• Right now there is heavy flooding in Southern Japan in addition to a spike in coronavirus cases in the larger cities. Please pray for God’s mercy for the Japanese people, and that they would turn to the Savior.

To get more of a feel for the ministry in Japan and to see a recent video about the work, sign up for the Reister’s prayer letter by emailing Bob & Teresa at TheReisters@mac.com