Dear Family and Friends,

Joy to the World… This season is one giving us pause to reflect on the most important gift the world has ever seen: the Lord has come! 

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth… — Psalm 98:4a

Good morning! My name is Meng Aun Hour. I'm the country director for Asian Access in Cambodia.

I just want to take this time to share with you what God is doing through Asian Access / Cambodia... especially through the alumni of Asian Access.

Hello Friends!

It is Easter week here, and I am in Warsaw, Poland where we've been meeting with leaders representing the Persecuted Church.

Hi, this is Mary Jo Wilson with Asian Access, and I just wanted to give you a quick update. This week we're in Warsaw and you're wondering, "What's Asian Access doing in Poland?".

Real life examples

As I was watching the Olympics that happened in Tokyo where I live and minister, I was struck by each and almost every athlete who performs at these Olympic games—different team sports or individual sports or new and old or many different things. But as you know, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were supposed to happen last year in 2020. and then people discussed their opinions about a possible postponement.

Takeshi Takazawa, VP for Innovative Initiatives for Asian Access, thanks our prayer and financial support team for coming alongside us in prayer to impact the people of Japan and the athletes during the Olympics...

Hello Everyone!

We want to thank you for your participation and support for our work in Japan.

As you probably know, all the work with the Olympics that we tried to do didn't happen. However, the last few weeks, God has done some amazing things, and that's still ongoing. People are praying. We're signing up people for a million hours of prayer! Can you believe that?

My friends, 

I want to wish you all a very happy Independence Day this weekend! What a joy for those of us who are Americans to celebrate the freedoms we have in this world.

As one who works globally, I'm well aware of these freedoms. Every day, I seem to hear about the Persecuted Church. And we even have friends right now whose children are in custody. And it deeply impacts you when you know these things. It really makes you grateful for these United States—that we get to have these freedoms.

Hello Friends,

What a year you and I have been through and our entire planet. This COVID-19 has just slammed us, as the world has faced this crisis. And for those of us in the U.S., it's getting a little easier and we praise God for that.

Happy Easter from Asian Access! Joe Handley, current president of Asian Access, joins two of his former predecessors to share Easter greetings for all friends and supporters of Asian Access. Thank you for your friendship and partnership. Together, we celebrate our risen Savior, for whom we are all co-laborers.

Merry Christmas Everyone,

Hello Everybody!

Well, today is the last day we are in Japan. We fly out in a few hours, and we are heading back to California. 

We love it here in Japan. We're going to miss it here. But we are looking forward to being with family. It is a new season for us.

Hi there, friends! It's good to see you again, and we just want you to know how grateful we are for you this Thanksgiving season. Well, we know it's been a year of a lot of anxiety. And I'm sure many of you have been feeling that, whether it's the pandemic or the economy, or this week, the U.S. election, and we just want you to know we've been praying for you...

Here's a quick message from us as we head back to Japan for the last 7 weeks before moving back to the U.S. in December. We're praying for you,

Joe and Silk Handley...

Momentum

/mō-ˈmen-təm/ noun
PHYSICS the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity.

This month only, the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication is offering their recent plenary sessions available for free. Asian Access president Joe Handley was asked to share a plenary address on night two and you can watch these sessions here...

Watch Joe's interview with the Takazawas

Yesterday, we posted a video clip from Takeshi Takazawa (Takeshi talks Crisis, Danger, and Opportunity) in 2016 where he shares about the two Chinese characters for "crisis" which are made up of "danger" and "opportunity". He was applying it to the Great Japan Disaster (3.11.11). He reminded us...

Every crisis is a time of dangers and opportunities

Takeshi Takazawa is VP for Strategic Engagement for Asian Access. He is a gifted leader who has served our movement since 1988. Among his many strengths, he sees things well before others see them and he helps us understand deep things. The A2 Community all across Asia dearly loves Takeshi. In this clip, Takeshi shares about the two Chinese characters for "crisis" which are made up of "danger" and "opportunity". This topic has been referenced quite a bit recently because of COVID-19. "You've probably heard this," Takazawa starts out...

...

Creativity started before COVID-19 now deepening in Japan

God is clearly doing something new these days… While we mourn the deep losses of people and our sense of community living in isolation, there are signs of promise. We hope a solution comes soon for the coronavirus but during this season, something fresh is stirring. This video interview with my colleagues Joshua Hari and Jeffery Sonnenberg highlights some of what God is doing. In fact, as Joshua shares, it seems that God was preparing things in advance as well as setting the stage for fulfilling our longer-term vision for Japan. Watch and see what God is doing… And, pray: next week Japan is hosting an important webinar to help pastors best serve their communities and nations during this pandemic...

Every once in a while, you come across a powerful testimony that you just have to share. The other day, on a global prayer call with 50+ of our Asian Access global family, we had one of our leaders share the impact of the program on their country. The story was so compelling that we wanted you to be able to watch or listen… Take a listen! And, thank you for praying and partnering with us to see this kind of transformation happening...

A Reflection following Easter

Hello, Everyone! I trust you had a wonderful Easter gathering as we did here in Tokyo. It was a tremendous time celebrating our risen Lord especially in this unique season of isolation, social distancing, and stay-at-home orders. I was inspired by some of my times with Christ this past week‚ particularly as reading from Isaiah chapter 61, and it reminded me of what God's calling is in my heart for the current season that is so challenging for this world. Let me read it to you; Jesus repeats this in the New Testament, but Isaiah says...