There & Back Again
- Anna Gardner Herren
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
I said goodbyes in the land of Narnia and drove home this past week. As I prepare to leave the US in just three short weeks, I thought it was time to update you, to share a few ways I have seen the Lord at work this past month.
Praise the Lord, I am fully fundraised! God has truly provided miraculously, and I am so humbly grateful to each of you who contributed financially. Thank you for your sacrifice. God just provided in such a miraculous way -- and He used you! I never once doubted that He would provide, which is also such a gift - because it means that He has been faithful before.
Christ our Hope! Another friend of mine passed away this month. He was one month away from graduation. So much death. We are heartbroken, and yet -- we do not grieve as those without hope. I have been reminded recently of the beauty of the friendship of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. We recently had a cast party to watch The Lord of the Rings. Sam tells Frodo, "But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer." We are heartbroken, yet filled with hope and gratitude for the gift of salvation and that we will see him again one day.
I am reminded again that so many of my friends in Japan do not have this hope to cling to. In the aftermath of Easter weekend, pray with me that the gospel truths will spread throughout the city of Tokyo, bringing hope and light wherever it goes. I can't wait to return and join back into that mission!
I'd love your prayers for the MTW women's retreat in Tokyo during our first weeks there. We (as interns) get to go and serve! I am so thrilled to help and would love your prayers that this would be an encouraging time for these women, and they would be reminded that they are not alone in this fight!
Please pray also for my friend K. She leaves for the Netherlands soon, so this will be the last summer with her and the youth at Grace City Church! May it strengthen her young faith as she prepares to go out! (For those new to my newsletter, she became a Christian during my first summer in Tokyo, and we celebrated her "first birthday" last summer)!
Finally, pray that I would use this time well, and that my words and actions would be glorifying to God, and that I might steward well this third summer that I have been given to go and serve in Tokyo! I pray, too, that this is not the end! Of course, it is only the beginning of so much that God is doing ... Aslan IS on the move!
That's all for now! Enjoy this sneak peek into narnia, pictures from a little excursion we had on our off-day, and a hymn we sang under the cherry trees in D.C.!
Joyfully,
Anna Gardner Herren
John 3:30
(To the tune Edelweiss)
"May the Lord, mighty God
bless & keep you forever, Grant you peace - perfect peace -
cou'rage in every endeavor!
Lift your eyes to see His face
Full of Grace forever
May the Lord, mighty God
Bless & keep you forever!"
Pictures, Left to Right: Backstage on Broadway, Finally Made it to NYC!, Aboard Miss New York!
So thankful for your zeal to share the Good News of all the Lord has done and is doing to a hurting world. We will miss you and pray for your safety until you return. Mrs. Debby