Hey friends! Long time, no see!
In this episode, my husband Drew & I talk about how God has been taking care of us through the massive transitions of moving back to the U.S. from Japan and being pregnant!
We also answer the first couple of questions that you guys submitted, this time addressing how we saw God moving in Japan and memories we want to take back with us to the United States.
We hope you enjoy the episode! Stay tuned for part two where we address how God has worked in our lives through community, scripture, and music. As well as relationships & purity.

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you.

No matter what your past looks like, you are always just one call away from a new life.

Trigger warning: su*cide, drugs

Keith felt this hole in his heart from a young age. His parents divorced and Keith struggled with anger and depression. After going to rehab for suicidal thoughts, he attempted to fill the whole and numb the pain with anything and everything - drugs, marijuana, partying, cigarettes, alcohol, prescription pills. Keith dropped out of high school, was financially irresponsible, and got arrested a couple of times.

Instead of just a hole in his heart, it took over his whole life so that Keith felt completely dead inside. The enemy wanted to take his life.

BUT GOD encountered Keith through music. The songs spoke to his heart and he knew he needed Jesus.

About his encounter with Jesus, Keith says:

“It took the devil three months to get to the point where my soul felt dead, my spirit felt dead, and I wanted to kill myself. 30 seconds after I prayed, I felt the stress that I used to have on my shoulders lifted. I felt this fire of Jesus’ love burning in my heart. I felt joy, I felt peace, I felt love. I felt like I was drowning in deep deep deep water and Jesus just pulled me out and just breathed the breath of life in me. I felt like at that moment that my spirit became alive, that I was reborn - I was regenerated like the Bible said. I felt at that split second as I called on the name of Jesus, He just came… I’m alive in Christ.”

Because of encountering the love of Jesus, God has transformed Keith into a new creation.

• Compassion & forgiveness
• Financial responsibility
• Willingness to serve
• Evangelism & preaching
• Speaking truth & life
• Feeling God’s presence

I hope you are encouraged by Keith’s story!

Bible references from the episode: John 10:10, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Luke 19:40, Matthew 6:33, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 3:4, Job 42, Romans 8:11, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 7:7-11, Psalm 2:4, Matthew 6:34, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Psalm 34:19, Hebrews 11:1, Isaiah 53:5, Ephesians 5:18

If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!

You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!

Yoji grew up in a family full of fighting, especially due to his father’s love of women and alcohol. When he was eleven years old, Yoji’s mother died of cancer. In his first year of middle school, his father’s company went bankrupt so he ran away, leaving Yoji and his three siblings to take care of themselves, which was difficult both emotionally and financially. Yoji felt like he had nothing to live for and spent a lot of his time hanging out with friends.

One day after hanging out late with his friends, Yoji couldn’t go home because he didn’t have his key, so he was wandering aimlessly around his town. A man invited him to a cafe to learn about Jesus. Yoji wasn’t interested in Jesus, but the coffee sounded nice. It was Yoji’s first time hearing about the Bible.

That very same day Yoji became a Christian and was baptized!

After that, he was refreshed and had peace. The circumstances in his life didn’t change, but now he had peace.

As he grew up, he wanted to become a pastor and prison chaplain, so Yoji went to Bible school which is also where he met his beautiful wife. They got married and now have three daughters and two sons.

When he was 31, Yoji started a church in Kumamoto.

About seven years ago is when the two boys joined their family through foster care and adoption and they are a blessing to the family. God has blessed Yoji’s life in so many ways!

Yoji encourages Christians to pray for Japan and to tell the Japanese people about Jesus. In Japan, there is only about 1% of the population that is Christian - and that 1% includes all denominations. Out of all the countries in the world, Japan is the 2nd least reached country for Christ.

Japan is an economically rich country, but there are many broken families and children trying to build a good life for themselves. Let’s pray for Japan and spread the Good News about Jesus!

Romans 10:14-15 “How, then, can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

Thank you Pastor Yoji for sharing your story! And thank you Drew for translating!

If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!

You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!