Welcome to the December issue of VictoryBuzz

In this Issue

	To my dear partner in ministry
	Christmas (Campaign) time is here
	Singing in the Gospel Choir
	Pray for them
	Important News!

Pray for me

* Meaningful staff conference with JCCC from 26-29 Dec
* Fruitful vision trip to Sapporo from 1-4 Jan with Candy
* Ongoing wisdom, health and strength to finish my last month in Tokyo well

VictoryBuzz?

It's my newsletter to update friends and ministry partners. View my latest videos, photos and blog entries on my website.

May you and your family experience the mighty abiding Presence of Jesus Christ Emmanuel and Prince of Peace, this Christmas season, and a blessed New Year ahead!

Victor Toh,
Staff member of Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ

If you would like to join my support team or donate a one-time gift to support my ministry, please contact me.

This month especially, I'd appreciate one-time support that will help towards things like my plane ticket home, the national staff conference and unforeseen medical expenses I had to pay here in Tokyo.

To my dear partner in ministry

It’s that time of the year again when the whole world prepares to celebrate Christmas. Here in Japan, it’s especially painful to think that the vast majority have no inkling of the central Person of Christmas and the impact he can make in their lives.

But in the past four weeks I’ve witnessed pockets of devoted Japanese brothers and sisters, faithfully labouring to bring God’s message to their unsaved friends. I felt it an honor to join their ranks. At church, in the campus ministry and in partnerships across church boundaries, Christians are making the most of the opportunities of this season to invite their friends to come hear the gospel message.

Christmas (Campaign) time is here

For Tokyo CCC, we started our ‘Christmas Campaign’ at the end of November. First, at a Thanksgiving party we had a packed church sanctuary with more than 200 people. Then, we had a Christmas party where almost the same numbers returned. At each event we did not shy away from telling them clearly that they needed God, and that this is a great chance to know Jesus as savior.

I am amazed because of how God is drawing them to come each time. Our prayer has been to see more than thirty small-groups of Christians and non-Christians meeting to investigate the Bible together. And the groups are forming.

There are several guys I’m in contact with who have become interested in the Bible. Yusuke from Sophia University is one student who willingly meets with an American stinter and I every week. I’m excited by his level of interest, and the quality of the questions he’s asking. One comment he made was that he had never thought Christians would be so willing to discuss their faith, because he’d always imagined it would be awkward and private; it surprised him that we could have such a meaningful talk about our beliefs.

That makes me wonder how many curious seekers are there who are waiting for a Christian to take the initiative to tell them “I am willing to share my faith with you”?

Singing in the Gospel Choir

“Free” (our gospel choir) was asked to perform both at the Thanksgiving party and at two Christmas concerts. Although almost half of the group are non-Christians, we are already like family. During a dress rehearsal at a big gospel concert, we went on stage and had a rather awful sound-check. Some of us realised we were more concerned about how we sounded than we were about making God look good, so we held hands and prayed, confessing that we’d forgotten to sing for God alone. I saw the non-Christians putting their whole hearts into that prayer too. I don’t understand what’s going on in their hearts, but I believe God is working powerfully there.

At that concert, God answered our prayers and helped us perform for him. One of my friends in the audience shared that she could sense unusual excitement and joy from the choir, and that our performance reminded her of the power of worship.

Check out videos of our concerts at my website.

Pray for them

Please continue to pray for choir members Kohei, Rihito, Moeko, Natsumi, to open their hearts to Jesus even as they experience his love. During the last few concerts they’ve had opportunities to hear pastors preach from the Bible. Pray they will continue to think about what they heard and eventually come to invite Jesus to be the Lord of their lives.

Also pray for the other guys that I am trying to meet in evangelistic small groups - Mei, Yusuke, Hide, that we would have opportunity to make significant progress in understanding the gospel.

Important News!

I’ll be back in Singapore by Chinese New Year, after my two-year stint term in Tokyo. What’s next? Last month I planned a suprise visit to Candy in Nagoya and asked her to marry me. According to God’s steadfast love, he has prepared us to take the next step in our relationship. We are now engaged and will be preparing for marriage when we return.

I’m so thankful for your continued prayers in my ministry. Thank you for faithfully supporting what we’re doing.

One of the songs we sang at that concert says:

I don’t even know where my life would be
If you hadn’t shown, shown your love towards me
You broke the chains, chains that were binding me
Gave me liberty, and set me free!

This Christmas, as God’s beloved children who live out these words, let’s pray that many many souls will also experience this liberty and be set free from the false gods and empty promises that bind them.