Norton: Japan

The ministry to the deaf is a fruitful effort in some cities in Japan, including Kobe and Fukuoka, where this ministry creates a quiet yet unmistakable presence.

With the help of volunteers and short-term missionaries we are able to conduct classes to teach deaf adults how to communicate.

Because of the increased reach of missionaries through volunteers in Fukuoka recently we were able to reach more people in three weeks than career missionaries alone could have met in one year.

The deaf people of Japan are hospitable and eager to go out of their way to give Americans a firsthand look at Japanese culture. But in Japanese society at large the people are not always as friendly. Many are not open to exuberance or public displays of affection. This mirrors the spiritual darkness of the land created from a history of idol and ancestral worship.

But amid the dark the shining light of Christ is spread through the efforts of missionaries and volunteers who give their lives in a never-ending ministry.

Prayers for the missionaries are needed — that they will have strength and be able to presevere.

Prayers for the deaf people are needed — that they will maintain their relationships with the Nortons and other missionaries and that the deaf in Kansai and Fukuoka will have a growing hunger to know that one true and living God in Jesus Christ.

John and Nancy Norton
Japan