Japan Reach Officers

I grew up going to church with my family. We hardly ever missed a service or a special event.If the doors were open, we were there!! My fondest memories growing up in church were hearing inspiring stories from visiting missionaries from around the world. I felt a tug in my heart to GO every-time I heard one speak. I wanted to be a missionary right away. But, life happened and my other dream of getting married and starting a family began. The dream of becoming a missionary began to vanish. I got to the point of being content with whatever God had for me to do. Little did I know, God did not forget the calling He placed in my heart. I had no idea it would be to the Japanese people, though. Since the spring of 2017 I have been pursuing this calling. I am very thankful I am not doing it alone. God has brought into my life some AMAZING people with unique gifts and abilities to join me on this mission. We are following Jesus and sharing His love as He guides our steps.

I lived in Japan for more than ten years as a missionary, graduate student, professor of Japanese literature, and resident director of two study centers: the Japan Center for Michigan Universities (JCMU) in Hikone and the Associated Kyoto Program Center (AKP) at Doshisha University in Kyoto. I was the first non-Japanese to train and perform in Japan as a traditional puppeteer in the style of puppetry commonly known as Bunraku or ningyō jōruri where I performed with the 170-year-old Tonda Traditional Bunraku Puppet Troupe in Shiga Prefecture.  I am also the founding director of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, based in Columbia, Missouri, which performs traditional Japanese puppet theater in the United States.  I am recently retired from the University of Missouri, and moved to Kobe to share God’s love with the people of Japan.

It was never my goal in life to be a missionary. To get on a plane, a train, or a bus and travel around the world telling people about Jesus. When I was young, I didn’t really think about religion that much. After I was saved I drifted from ministry to ministry as I tried to find my place in the church. I did campus ministry, music ministry, drama ministry, and anything else that might offer me a place. The truth is that I wasn’t really sure where God wanted me.

Recently I discovered that sometimes you have to be patient as God sets the stage for your place and all of the things that you did prior to that, helped you to prepare for what would eventually come. For me he had to raise up two other people, my friends Tina and Marty, to create a team that we now call Japan Reach. I am honored to work with such incredible people, as well as the many others who have joined us on this journey, as we work to fulfill a unique expression of God’s love to the Japanese people.