God speaks to us in many ways. And He calls people to be
missionaries in many ways. Today we want to pray for Steven
Kunkel. God called him to serve in Japan when he was 15 years
old. Later Steven lived in Japan four years and he saw the spiritual
needs. Of the 127 million people there, only about 1 percent is
Christian. That became part of his missionary calling.
Steven prepared for service at Boyce College, part of Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Our church
supports both Steven in Japan and Southern through our
Cooperative Program giving.
Japan is one of the world’s most difficult mission fields. It’s
hard for Americans to fit into Japanese culture. The Japanese
language is extremely difficult for outsiders to learn. For example,
the Japanese don’t use letters to write; they use symbols. And
you have to learn about 1,200 different symbols just to read a
simple newspaper.
Steven has autism, which means he must focus on one or
two things at a time. But he says that helped him concentrate
completely on learning Japanese. Today let’s ask God to bless
and guide Steven as he serves in Japan.