2007 <-    -> 2009

O land, land, land,
hear the word of the LORD!
Jeremiah 22:29

Autumn, 2008

   It is my pleasure to address you as the new chairman of Karuizawa Union Church. (KUC)
   My wife Gertrud and I have been missionaries with the Swiss Alliance Mission since 1992 living and working in the Kanto area (Chiba, Ibaraki, Yokohama). Our three daughters were all born and raised here in Japan and now attend the German School in Yokohama.
   We have been attending the summer conferences at Karuizawa Union Church almost every summer since we came to Japan and always did - and still do - enjoy the fellowship with different missionaries from various countries and backgrounds. We are thankful for the spiritual refreshment and encouragement we always got from the many speakers at the conferences.
   It was out of gratitude to God for his many blessings I have received over the past years to be actively involved in the leadership of Karuizawa Union Church and I aim to work hard to make sure KUC continues to be a place of refreshment and encouragement for many missionaries and visitors alike.

    In the past the town of Karuizawa, Japan's most popular holiday resort, has played a vital role in many missionaries' lives, the Japanese society and even in the royal family. At the Centennial Celebration of KUC in 2006 we learned that the founding fathers of Karuizawa Town and Karuizawa Union Church were instrumental in pioneer evangelism and their lives and ministries had great influence on Japanese society and history.
    Having such a great and blessed inheritance we are not just to sit back and marvel at our glorious past, but we have to step into our forefathers' footsteps to continue God's wonderful history in today's society.

    Although facing the challenge to balance preserving a historical church building and at the same creating a place for worship and evangelism that fits the needs of our current generation, I'm looking forward to a bright future. Around our summer program with the conference in early August as its centerpiece many other ministries have started to bloom or are about to take off.
    We are exited about the Christmas ministry that illuminates our church beautifully during the Christmas season, the coffee house ministry where local Japanese people get the opportunity to study the English language and the Bible. We are also grateful for the summer outreach where thousands of Christian literature is past out every year and many contacts with visitors are made.
    We are happily looking at some new prospects of having pre- and post marital counseling, weekday worship time in Japanese and a weekly service in English held by young Christians in our facilities.
    Please pray with me that Karuizawa Union Church continues to be a place of worship and evangelism where people will meet their creator and savior and many lives will be influenced and changed by the living God.

    Thank you for your prayers and participation.


In Christ.
Rev. Markus Baertschi
KUC Committee Chairman
Pastor at New Hope International Fellowship Yokohama