Pray with Japan, October 12, 2025
Lectionary Selection: Luke 17: 11-19
Prayers for Japan
Heavenly Father, I come before you with a spirit of humility and thanksgiving. I beseech you, Lord, to help your called-out people to build a world where Peace and Love can dwell.
Lord, as one of your called-out people, I lift the nation of Japan before your throne, a country of rich history and culture. Please bless Japanese people with your wisdom and understanding, so that they may contribute positively to world peace, justice, and reconciliation, and help them come to acknowledge your love and presence in their hearts.
Thank you, Lord, for the establishment of the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) in this country, which serves you on your mission fields. I thank you for the growing and nurturing leaders from the developing countries who are here to live together for nine months at a place where we are living together to overcome differences in religion, language, lifestyles, and cultural background—a place where we recognize each other`s dignity.
I also lift up the warm and resilient people from places that ARI serves from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Father, I stand before you with a humble spirit, asking for your grace upon these people, that they may be granted unity, peace, and prosperity. God of Glory, be a beacon of hope for those in need and help the nations grow in harmony and love.
Father, you are the pillar of Peace for this world. Precious Lord, build our hopes, dreams, and visions on the Rock of peace. May the Love through your son Jesus Christ bring to the end of all fears and all divisions in this world and renew our spirit every single day, and above all, Lord, give us wisdom to live in these pain-filled times of uncertainty and a fearful world. In your holy name I pray with thanksgiving. Amen.
Timothy Bernard Appau, ARI Chaplain
Mission Moment from Japan
Each year, the Asian Rural Institute hosts participants in its 9-month Rural Leaders Training Program in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, Japan. Participants, sent from agrarian churches and organizations throughout the developing world, come to train in sustainable agricultural practices, servant leadership skills, and community-building techniques. After completing the program, they return to their organizations to implement their learnings and train the next generation of sustainable leaders. For this article, we spotlight one participant in 2025: Sambulo.
Sambulo has governed his life on a vow of “closing the gaps” in his community by acting as a solution when problems arise. A native of Eswatini, he started his work in water supply engineering microprojects. However, the local school lacked a math teacher, so Sambulo volunteered to teach in his community. It was at this time that he found his passion for teaching. For Sambulo, teaching is one way he can contribute to the community at large.
Sent to train at ARI by the Organization of African Instituted Churches, Sambulo has a skill in picking up many underutilized ideas, which he hopes to bring back from his time here. For example, he has learned how to make organic fertilizers with locally sourced resources, a key component in starting organic farming in his community. Sambulo intends to take the knowledge he has learned to create an organic farming space within his community, where he can demonstrate the importance of these techniques to farmers directly and aid in implementing them throughout the area.
During his training at ARI, Sambulo began to recognize another gap within his community. With the only shop selling menstrual products being upwards of 7 kilometers away for some, he wishes to carry the information he gained about such feminine products back to his community. Specifically, he wants to teach his community how to manufacture them while also creating or affiliating himself with NGOs directly in the area to distribute said products to schools or those in need.
Trevor Haliburton, ARI volunteer
Partners in Japan