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Japan
Japan
Population:
- ~126 million
Religions:
- Buddhism (80%)
- Shinto (70%)
- New Religions (24%)
- Others (14%)
- Christianity (1%)
The numbers do not add up since 84% of Japanese claim no personal religion, but most follow the customs of Japan's traditional religions: births are generally Shinto and funderals Buddhist.
Tony and Pat Schmidt
OMF Missionaries serving in Japan
Originally from South Africa, Tony and Pat Schmidt served in Japan for 18 years before coming to Vancouver to serve as British Columbia's directors of OMF in 1990. In 1997, Tony and Pat's desire was to return to the hard work of church planting in Japan. Today, they are shepherding a small church in Sapporo.
The following is taken from the latest prayer letter from the Schmidts:
"Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening." - 1 Samuel 3:9
The verse above is Hiroaka church's verse of the year. Tony gave a message a while back on Samuel and we were all touched by Samuel's heart to listen to what God had to say to him. This year, the theme for our church is "faith and prayer." The verse was chosen to encourage that attitude. The Lord immediately gave us some practice in "listening." Mrs. Uchiyama, for whom you have prayed for so much, is due to graduate from Bible College this March. This is no small feat for a small congregation of 15, with only one wage earner and three part-time earners. We welcome Mrs. Uchiyama from April. Please pray for her that God will really use her in our midst and that during this year, we may all know God's clear guidance for her future.