Tsubasa & Rachel Yamanaka
About Us
From the region of Kansai, Tsubasa Yamanaka met Jesus in a powerful way when he was a young adult. While working as an adult, he grew in his faith while attending a few different churches before being led to Mustard Seed Christian Church Kobe, where he has been an active member since 2017. That was also the year he met Rachel, whom he would eventually enter a relationship with and then marry in 2020.
Rachel grew up in a Christian home in Huntington Beach, California. At 11 years old, she committed her life to Christ, 100%. God consistently brought Japan into her life, such as through Japanese exchange students and Japanese neighbors moving in next door. She sensed that Japan would be an important place in her life when she visited in high school. After graduating Biola University in 2015, she moved to Japan with a heart to serve however the Lord led. Since 2020, she has been joyfully serving at Mustard Seed Christian Church Kobe through leading worship, administration work, and children’s ministry.
In 2018, Tsubasa had a three-month internship at a Japanese American church in California. As he witnessed their missionary passion, especially for Japan, his own heart began to be led in the same way. In 2022 he worked as a manager and barista for two years at a café run by a Christian company, which would eventually become a turning point for him. The Christian company also ran a facility that provided educational and therapeutic care for developmentally disabled children. Since this facility shared the same space as the café, Tsubasa had the opportunity to serve drinks and meals to the children and their families. When he left the job, he received a letter from the children at the facility, and his heart was filled with joy. The letter was full of love, and it was clear that the children themselves had received God's love through his service.
Our Main Ministry
Tsubasa began to feel led to start a “children's cafeteria,” known as ‘kodomo shokudo’ in Japan. Kodomo shokudo is often an initiative that arises from within a community to provide a place where children can receive meals, especially those who experience food insecurity. Tsubasa’s hope was for children to know that there were adults who loved and accepted them – and beyond that, that they could know that Jesus Christ cares about them and loves them.
We know from passages such as Mark 10:14, Matthew 18:3, and Luke 18:16 that Jesus cares very much about children. He receives them, considers their special status in the kingdom of God, sets them up as examples of faith, embraces them, and blesses them. In short, Jesus makes it clear that children are capable of receiving God’s love.
Our hope is that we can establish a children's cafeteria which can become the very place where we share Jesus’ heart with children.
We would greatly appreciate your support in this endeavor, so that this ministry could be held in a healthy and long-term manner. For reference, an initial goal is to provide food for about 15 children, twice a month, for about $300.
Prayer requests:
• Please pray that the children will gather at the children's cafeteria, and that good relationships could develop between them.
• That the children's cafeteria will be open on a long-term basis.
• That the children, and their friends and family will be able to connect with the church through the work of the cafeteria. Pray that they could befriend the children at church.
• For teachers in the future who can provide learning support for children who need it.
Give online here or if you prefer to give by check, make the check out to “JEMS” and write our name on the memo line. Mail the check to P.O. Box 86047, Los Angeles, CA 90086-0047. If you have any questions please call the JEMS office at 213-613-0022 or email info@jems.org.