It was the vision of Jay Bell, a staff member at the Long Beach California church, who opened Asia to Grace Brethren missions. After four years of serious prayer by Jay and his wife Jan, the Long Beach church sent the mission’s first missionaries to Asia.
One of the couples sent was Cecil and Debbie O’Dell. Japan was already on the hearts of the O’Dells through their ministry to Japanese students in Long Beach. They became missionaries to Japan in 1984, choosing Hoya City in the greater Tokyo area to begin their ministry. They and the missionaries who joined them have had to exhibit exceptional commitment and perseverance, because of the hardness of the soil in Japan. As is true in all resistant populations, evangelism is done through relationships, leading to small groups. The key to reaching Japan is prayer. The spiritual powers have blinded the minds of the people.
At present, the church in Tokyo is seeing the Lord’s blessing through the faithful ministry of Ralph and Joan Justiniano, who use a variety of methods to reach the Japanese. A branch work in Okinawa is seeing the Lord’s blessing under the leadership of a former member of the Tokyo church. In addition, the mission more recently acquired a center in the mountainous region of the country, called North Star, which serves as a base and bridge for the ministries. Further, the O’Dells pursue their ministry in Long Beach, reaching out to Japanese students, many of whom return to Japan as faithful witnesses.
One of the couples sent was Cecil and Debbie O’Dell. Japan was already on the hearts of the O’Dells through their ministry to Japanese students in Long Beach. They became missionaries to Japan in 1984, choosing Hoya City in the greater Tokyo area to begin their ministry. They and the missionaries who joined them have had to exhibit exceptional commitment and perseverance, because of the hardness of the soil in Japan. As is true in all resistant populations, evangelism is done through relationships, leading to small groups. The key to reaching Japan is prayer. The spiritual powers have blinded the minds of the people.
At present, the church in Tokyo is seeing the Lord’s blessing through the faithful ministry of Ralph and Joan Justiniano, who use a variety of methods to reach the Japanese. A branch work in Okinawa is seeing the Lord’s blessing under the leadership of a former member of the Tokyo church. In addition, the mission more recently acquired a center in the mountainous region of the country, called North Star, which serves as a base and bridge for the ministries. Further, the O’Dells pursue their ministry in Long Beach, reaching out to Japanese students, many of whom return to Japan as faithful witnesses.
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