Pray for Japan - Day 5 - Kids' School

Thanks for embarking on this journey of 10 days of prayer for Japan with us! We know that God needs to be at the center of all we do. He is the reason we are going to Japan in the first place! We want to cover the nation of Japan in prayer. Although sometimes it's hard to ask for it ourselves, our family also needs prayer as we begin to make final preparations for our move to Japan.

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.' "

Matthew 19:14

For our fifth day, we'd like to humbly ask for prayer for our kids' schooling. This is both for our remaining time in the States, as well as when we get to Japan. Mason is currently doing 2nd grade fully remote, and Kaili is doing preschool work at home too. Mason's school district is looking into when to open the schools back up to allow for students in the classrooms again. They are giving parents a choice between a hybrid in-person/remote model, or staying fully remote. In Japan, we are planning to have both kids start in the Japanese school system. Because the Japanese school year starts in April, Mason would actually start 2nd grade in Japan this April, even though he is in the middle of 2nd grade right now in the States.

• Please pray for discernment on whether to keep Mason home fully remote, or to have him transition to the school district's hybrid in-person/remote model. Either way, he may end up switching teachers (as teachers will only be either hybrid or remote), which--if it happens--will likely be a tough transition.

• Please pray for Mason's school transition. Either he will be able to start the Japanese school year on time (if we make it to Japan by April), but miss the end of the American school year. Or he will complete 2nd grade in the States, but have to transition to a Japanese school after the school year has already started (if we make it to Japan by June or later).

• Please pray for the kids' transition in general. This is one of our greatest concerns and prayer requests. Our move will necessitate leaving behind friends and family, and come with the need to learn a new language, make new friends, and adjust to living in a new place and culture. That's hard enough for an adult, let alone our two young kiddos.

• Please pray for Malia and me (Jeff) to be able to parent Mason and Kaili the best we can through this big transition. We want them to know in their hearts and remember that our family is more important than our ministry.

Find the rest of our 10 Days of Prayer on our website: walkersinjapan.com/blog

Thanks and blessings,

The Walkers

Jeff, Malia, Mason & Kaili