Corrie Schwab — MTW, Japan

Introducing Fushiya Christ Church

Here’s a photo of my church from late July:

On a typical Sunday, there are about 20 of us worshipping together.

A Muffin Story

My church shares lunch about once a month, usually when we have a guest preacher. This past Sunday, my missions team leader had been invited to preach as part of a special missions-focused service. So I knew we would have lunch, and probably a few extra guests.

For weeks now, I’ve been looking for a way to show my gratitude for how kind and welcoming the church has been to me. Recently, I’ve started experimenting with baking here in Japan, so baking something for lunch seemed like a good opportunity to give a gift to the church.

I had set my heart on pumpkin muffins—one of my favorite fall treats in the US. But there were a few hurdles to overcome. First, canned pumpkin, though available on Japanese Amazon, is ridiculously expensive here. Second, all-purpose flour is hard to find, so I had to research the proper combination of bread flour and cake flour to use for my recipe. Third, I had to mix up each batch separately and bake the muffins one tray at a time in my tiny oven.

Since church attendance has been hovering around 20, I decided to bring 30 muffins to the lunch on Sunday, expecting the extra 10 would be more than enough for guests. I was wrong! As the church began to fill up before the service started, I felt increasingly nervous.

Then I realized how self-centered my reaction was. The sanctuary was full for the first time since I’ve been attending, and instead of rejoicing, I was wallowing in embarrassment! So I quickly prayed, “God, you can multiply the loaves and fishes; I know you can provide enough food for our lunch. Please multiply my muffins!”

I don’t know whether God literally multiplied them—I didn’t have a chance to count! But I know we had mounds of muffin halves for every table, and people kept telling me that they couldn’t stop eating them, yet we had leftovers to pack up and send home with each of the guests. My church friends loved getting a “taste of America,” and the women who cooked the meal seemed genuinely blessed to have some extra food to offer.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for God’s blessing on Fushiya Christ Church. Pray that our recent missions-focused Sunday will inspire us all to share the beauty of our God and his gospel with those around us.

Please keep praying for the conference my team is hosting at the beginning of November. Praise God that more than 500 people have registered to attend. Pray for health, safe travels, and protection from spiritual attacks for everyone who comes. Pray for God’s peace to cover my team during the final preparations.

Please continue to pray with me that I will find opportunities to make friends with Japanese people who are not Christians.

Read Previous Missions Updates