David & Jenny Harris

Welcome

Thank you for stopping by.  We are David & Jenny Harris, missionaries with Baptist International Missions, Inc., working in Aomori, Japan.

Our home in the States is Atlanta, Georgia and our home church is the Peoples Baptist Church of McDonough, pastored by David McCoy.

We hope that this site will help you to know more about our family, our location, our ministry, and a very special Friend.  Please, make yourself at home and be sure to let us know if you have any questions. 

This site will be updated from time to time, so feel free to stop by often.

What's New?

Here are a few notable news items:

• July 2008 marked 13 years since we arrived in Aomori City
• August 16, 2008 commemorated 20 years since we arrived in Japan.
• Jannah is finishing her final year at West Coast Baptist College
• Juliana is in her sophomore year at West Coast Baptist College
• Our September 2008 prayer letter is available
• Prayer cards are available
• The financial situation in Japan at present is not good.  The exchange rate has really gone down lately.  To see the current rate, click here.  Praise the Lord that gas and kerosene prices have gone down.
• Last update - 11/10/08

What We Do

In August of 1988, we arrived in Osaka, Japan with an 11-month-old daughter, ready to tackle our first goal of language school.  Before we left the States, a veteran missionary gave us some valuable advice.  He said, "Your first 30 years of language school will be the hardest."  He assured us that is would get easier after that! 

That bit of humor carried a great deal of wisdom.  This IS a difficult language!  It is not so difficult to learn, as it is to use.  There are thousands of characters in their writing system and several levels of politeness in speaking.  There are also many hidden meanings as well as predetermined statements that seem to have no meaning that one is just supposed to figure out!

Despite the difficulty of the language, Japan is a great place to live and work.  The Japanese people are a hard working and kind people.

So why are we learning such a difficult language and why have we lived in Japan for 20 years? 

Our heart's desire is to see people come to know the most wonderful Friend a person could have - Jesus Christ!  To tell people the miraculous story of Christ and His power to change lives is a blessing beyond compare.  To do so in a land where many areas are almost untouched by Independent Baptist missionaries is challenging.

The purpose of this site is not to raise funds for the work here.  Instead, our intentions are to...

• Inform

   To help you to know who we are and where we are working.  It will also show you our ministry.

• Challenge

   Can you imagine a place where there are cities of 150,000 and more that have NO Independent Baptist churches or missionaries?  We have SEVERAL such cities in our area!  Then, there is the city in which we are working which has 310,000 people and ONE Independent Baptist Church!

• Encourage

   We will tell you a fascinating story of a living Savior and how He has led us this far.  Also, we will introduce you to people whose lives have been changed and a church that is proclaiming the greatest story ever told in a very needy place.

We hope you will enjoy this information and...

Pray for Japan!

"Then saith [Jesus] unto his disciples,

The harvest truly is plenteous,

but the labourers are few;

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,

that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."

Matthew 9:37-38

Urgent Prayer Request

Our dear friend and former pastor, Dr. James Rushing went home to be with the Lord on September 20, 2008 at 11:14 am.  Please be much in prayer for the Rushing family. 

1st Report

A very dear friend and former pastor, Dr. James Rushing, has been diagnosed with cancer.  It seems to be a very aggressive type.  Bro. Rushing has already had two tumors removed in the past few months.  We just spoke with him by phone today.  He is really having a difficult time.  Please help us pray for a miracle!  Pray for healing.  Pray for his family.  Pray for a speedy recovery!     -posted Friday, July 25, 2008

Update #2

Jenny just spoke with the Rushings this morning.  It seems that doctors have given up hope and do not expect Bro. Rushing to live more than three months.  We are not looking to man for help, but to our Lord who is the Great Physician.  Please pray for a special doctor's visit that will take place from Monday to Wednesday, August 25-27.  Pray that God will heal Bro. Rushing.    -posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Update #3

We just got word that Bro. Rushing's condition is critical.  The family has been called in.  It does not seem that it will be very long before a very dear friend goes to his reward.  We are still praying that the Lord will spare Bro. Rushing and give him more years of service for His kingdom, if it is His will.     -posted Monday, September 15, 2008 (Japan time) 

(For those who may not know, Bro. Rushing was our pastor when Jenny and I met as seniors in high school (1980/81).  Bro. Rushing was the pastor of the Lake City Baptist Tabernacle in Forest Park, GA.  Bro. Rushing and Jenny's father, Bro. Albert Gober, married us in June of 1985.  Bro. Rushing was our pastor until he entered full time evangelism in 1991.)