FINAL SUPPORT UPDATE BEFORE DEPARTURE

Hello Everyone,

I hope this information finds you all well. Anyways, I have lots of great news to tell all of you.

However the first part of information I have to tell you is more on the bitter side. Tomorrow morning will be my last day here at South Yukon Church of Christ. I can not tell you how much I am going to miss everyone at this congregation. While I am pumped for Japan, I can not tell you how much this church has done for me the past couple of years and I am going to miss them all dearly. Thank you South Yukon for all the greatness you have brought to me. I could not be more thankful for everything you have done for me. I look forward to coming and seeing you all again soon.

Anyways, now to the happy stuff, first of all, I drove to Houston last Sunday and applied for my visa Monday morning. After spending a couple of days with one of my friends, I was able to go back and get my visa on Wednesday morning. I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning who had received the best present ever.

The last process of preparing for my trip was to purchase a plane ticket to leave for Japan. I was finally able to purchase it tonight for a fairly reasonable price. I will officially be leaving on September 8th at about 10 in the morning and arrive in Japan the next day at night. I could not be more excited to let you know that I am just extremely excited for this day to come.

After a long and busy summer of work here at South Yukon Church of Christ and trying to get all of my funds, visa, and plane ticket, I can happily tell you that I have nearly everything I need in order to leave. While I did reach my original goal of $15,000, the decline of the dollar has caused me to need to raise more money. It would really help if I could raise another $2,000. However, I am not going to worry about it too much because I know the Lord will bless me and find out ways for me to make it. However, if you would like to send a check still, feel free to send one with my name on who you are paying to since I will no longer be in Yukon to my house in the Tulsa area at:

1728 S. 152nd. W. Ave.
Sand Springs, OK 74063

Once again, thanks to all of you who have helped support me in this mission whether it has been through prayer or donating something. Without any of your help, this would not be possible. May God Bless each and every one of you.

P.S. The next time you receive an update, I will be reporting from Japan. Be on the lookout for all the great things God will be doing here in the next few weeks.

Japan Support Update

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

First of all, I wanted to thank each and every one of you who have taken part with me in this mission as I prepare for Japan. Today, I am coming to you with some great news.

This morning, I went to Oklahoma Christian University and interviewed with John Osborne. It is John's job to recommend people to work as English teachers to the Mito, Ibaraki school board. After visiting and talking with John, I felt a sense that I would have a great possibility to work there after I finish my mission work next April. While it is completely uncertain due to not knowing how many people will be leaving, it sounds like there will be some promise in being able to work for them after I finish my mission work.

After my interview, I came back to the church building and picked up the mail in the mailbox on the way inside. When I came inside and went through the mail, I found two letters from people that were addressed to me. After opening them, I found enough money that helped me reach and complete my first goal of $15,000. Although I have reached this goal, the price of things has risen and I am needing about 2,000 more dollars to give me some cushion just in case some kind of emergency occurs. However, I have risen enough to live without cushion and I thank you all for making this happen.

This coming Sunday, I will head to Houston to go through the process of getting a Visa. I am hoping that I can get it while I am Houston. However, if I cannot, I hope I will get it within the next week. Once my Visa has arrived I will buy my plane ticket. My original departure date was on September 5th, but it looks like I will be trying to leave on the 6th or the 9th depending on the price of tickets and that sort of thing. I do plan to leave sometime during Labor Day week however.

Whether you have donated to this mission through prayer or donation, I am extremely grateful for each of you and what you have done to make this possible. I pray that God will bless you abundantly as you have blessed me abundantly during this time. Thank you all for everything you do.

In Him,
Jared

Mission Support Update

Well as most of you may have seen on facebook or have heard, I finally received my Certificate of Eligibility in the mail today from Japan. This means that only two if not three more things need to happen in order for this mission to take place.

1. I have to send in this certificate with my passport in order to receive my visa. Once I have a visa in my passport, I will be able to live legally in Japan. This process will take about a week or two to complete this process.

2. Once I receive my passport and visa back, I will purchase my plane ticket to leave. As of right now, I am still trying to leave on September 5th, Labor Day.

3. I am still $365 shy of my original target goal of $15,000. However, I could still easily use about $2,000 more dollars to have as extra cushion just in case I needed to be taken to a hospital or other random things that normally fall in someone's lap that they don't expect. When I first made the goal of $15,000, I had a $2,000 cushion. However, our economy has caused me to lose some money with the exchange rate and now I only have enough to get by on. This money would also be used to help me buy a bicycle since I will not have a car when I am in Japan as trains and buses and a bike will be my only form of transportation.

I want to thank each of you for following me in this journey. I honestly could not have done any of this without any of you. As Paul mentioned in a lot of his letters, I thank my God every time I pray and I truly mean that. May God bless all of you in the ways you have blessed me.

If you would still like to donate, please send your tax deductible checks with Jared's Japan Mission in the memo to:

South Yukon Church of Christ
11700 NW 10th Street
Yukon, OK 73099

Also, please don't hesitate or feel free to call me at (918)269-7662 if you have any questions or would like to know more.

As I wrap up my last few weeks here in America, I am continuing to talk with missionaries and take my Japanese class to help improve my Japanese. I have also been working out every day trying to get back in good shape before I leave. I am hoping to be good and ready by the time I leave rolls around.

Well that is about all I have for now. Thanks you all for what you do and may God Bless You All!