Positive Signs

Another month into the year already! We continue to live life in the States while keeping a watchful eye on the situation in Japan. While we still have no definitive departure date, there are positive signs that things could change in the coming months. Japan's border closure is still set to tentatively expire at the end of February, though the Japanese government will re-evaluate that in the coming weeks. It's a great sign that Japan is contemplating reopening the borders as soon as March, that it's not a foregone conclusion that the borders will stay closed. While COVID is currently surging in Japan due to the omicron variant, the number of severe cases remains relatively low. As such, the Japanese government has opted to not declare a full state of emergency at this time. And since omicron is now circulating in the country after all, keeping the entry ban in place makes less sense. We are hopeful for the entry ban to be lifted in the next few months, possibly as early as March or April. Until then, we continue to prepare for our eventual move.

Praise:

• Praise God that so far, Japan has avoided another full state of emergency! There are positive signs that, despite the omicron surge, things might improve enough for Japan to consider opening its borders again soon.

• After a slow December, we are thankful that Jeff was able to get more consistent pharmacist hours in January and into February.

• As we knew Japan's borders were going to remain closed through at least the end of February, we decided to renew Kaili's passport in January (even though it didn't expire until later this year). Praise God it was approved in only 10 days!

Prayer:

• Please pray for Japan's COVID situation and for the borders to open soon, all in God's timing.

• Please pray for our upcoming 10-week online church-planting training with our Cross Project teammates both in Japan and scattered across the U.S.

• Please pray for our informal Japanese language studies.

• Praise God for new supporters! Please pray for our continued partnership development. We have $204/month left to raise following a couple budget increases.

We would love to hear from you, whether it be to share your prayer requests or to simply catch up. Please know that we think of you and pray for you often.

Thanks and blessings,

The Walkers

Jeff, Malia, Mason & Kaili