The Strattons

Nathan (Nate) and Azusa met in Eugene, Oregon in late spring of 2000: He was a student at Eugene Bible College, working on his bachelor’s degree in missionary studies after having spent two years as a short-term missionary in a church in Yokohama, Japan. She was in the U.S. taking classes at Lane Community College and then later at Eugene Bible College, working on improving her English skills and learning about ministry.

After graduation in 2001, Nate went to Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan as an assistant language teacher in the JET Programme. He was placed in a town near Azusa’s hometown in Kumamoto, and shortly thereafter they were engaged to be married. Then in March of 2002 they were married. Since then the Lord has blessed them with four wonderful children.

For many years both of them sensed a strong call to ministry in Japan but did not see full-time ministry an option. In the meantime Nate completed his JET contract in two local high schools. He then worked for the YMCA, and then later moved on to working for a local board of education in junior high schools, where he remained up until March of 2019. During these years Azusa was very busy as a mother and then later as a ‘homeschool mom’ of (eventually) four! She was also busy ministering to young women.

Some months after joining their current fellowship , their loving missionary-pastor and his wife needed to return to the U.S. after many years of faithful service. Nate and Azusa then found themselves in a pastor-less church, wondering what to do. Nate, along with a Japanese brother in the church, Takahiro, began leading the Sunday services; but they realized that something more was needed. That was about seven years ago.

After several years of not having a pastor and while he was taking an evangelism class led by an ABWE missionary, Nate was reminded of the great need for pastors in Japan–so many churches here have no pastors–and also of his heart’s desire to minister in Japan. It was then that he and Azusa SLOWLY began taking steps towards finding a way to serve full-time in their local church (Siloam International Christian Church) and beyond.

More than a year before they began the application process for ABWE, Nate and Azusa decided that the 2018-2019 school year (April 2018 to March 2019) would be Nate’s last working Japanese junior high schools. They wanted to find a way put their efforts into full-time ministry. In November of 2018 they began the process of applying for long-term service with ABWE, with the expectation of becoming pre-field missionaries by the summer of 2019.

At the moment, due to visa complications, the Strattons are not yet able to travel to the U.S. as a family to begin their pre-field ministry and training. Instead they have begun as short-term missionaries in Japan until they are able to obtain a visa for Azusa.