Back home in Camarillo, the work continues

The challenges of conducting parallel ministries is that there is not a lot of breathing room.  As I return to the Celebration Church office (hopefully today after I figure out why I have no hot water in my house), I will turn my attention to local church matters.

The progress of the construction has been encouraging.  The goal had been to have services in the new addition by Christmas, but I'll need to check in with the foreman to see what, if any revisions are planned.

The new entryway

Interior ducting is in place. One of the new components of the addition is air conditioning! Although Camarillo is known for a very mild climate, we do get a few uncomfortably warm days in the summer. This will be a blessing.

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And it appears that the roofing is done and the window structures are in place.

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Please continue to pray for our church in Camarillo. As this addition will take us to 140-seat capacity, we trust that this construction will also take us to our next stage of growth and outreach to the community around us.

You know that an empty building doesn't make a church.  To see the people of our congregation, please visit our website, by clicking HERE.
Blessings,

PJ

Safely home

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Kairimashita!

Estou em casa!

I'm home!

Thank you for your faithful prayers over the last three weeks. It has been a blessing to serve.
Additional pictures will be posted on my Facebook account over the next day or so. Please take a look if you have an account.

Thank you again. It's laundry and nap time.

Iron sharpening

"Dude, all of your posts have food on them! Is that what missions is all about?"

So wrote a friend of mine last night on my Facebook account, where I've been posting the more social side of the work that I do here.

In actuality, food can prove to be a very significant part of how ministry is done. A review of the gospels finds Jesus often in the company of others taking a meal and using the opportunity to share some spiritual insight.

In Brazil (as in many other countries), relationships are built around meals together. And for Brazil especially, relationships will determine how effective you find your ministry.

As I prepare to leave later tonight, I am grateful for many people with whom I've shared a meal, a car ride, a conversation over coffee. Because it is in these contexts where I am able to learn more about South America ministry.

Yesterday, for example was a national holiday. Because of the timing, I wasn't able to schedule any meetings beforehand. But I was invited out to lunch with longtime friend, Tadashi Suzaki. Tadashi is the reason I wrote "iron sharpening" as the heading for this post. Tadashi is pictured in white on the right, below. We are pictured together here with his wife, Claudia and some of their very best friends.

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Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

Tadashi blessed me with the opportunity to not only share memories from the past, but to also see the current situation in Brazil, socially, economically and spiritually. As this holiday Monday lunch was followed by coffee and coffee followed by dessert, and dessert followed by hanging out at a new shopping center, followed then by dinner, we spoke together about vision, about restoration, about leadership, about boundaries, transitions, partnership, JEMS' future, as well as the future of the Holiness Church.

This wasn't what Brazilians often call "batendo papo" or shooting the breeze. These were thoughtful and informed conversations that will enable me to better develop how JEMS SA may best work in collaboration with our ministry partners here.

And the reason the time with Tadashi was different was because it wasn't a superficial 15 minute conversation. It was - let's see - he picked me up for lunch at 1pm and dropped me off at my homestay at 11pm - 10 hours of conversation. Not all directly one-to-one, but shared with others in our group.

What a blessing to be able to be sharpened by a person I respect and whose friendship I value.

This morning (Tuesday) I am packing my bags, getting ready to come home. Thank you for your prayers over the past few weeks. I suspect that I will arrive home and sleep for 24 hours! But I will be preaching this coming Sunday, so there is yet much to do.

I leave tonight at 11:55pm and arrive at LAX (via Miami) at 10:55am on Wednesday!

God bless you!

Ready?

2 Timothy 4:2 came to mind as I planned to rest a bit after the worship service at Santo Andre Holiness Church this morning. Someone sidled up to me and said, "I know this is last minute, but can you share some things at the youth and professionals Sunday School class?"

In case you might not know 2 Timothy 4:2 offhand, it says, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season."

"Absolutely," I answered, knowing that the prayers of many are accompanying me. Here was this morning's SS class.

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During lunch, I was able to meet with William and Wellington Tsutsumida about a possible JEMS Sports Ministry project to send a basketball team to Brazil in July 2010. They explored with me some of the challenges, but also the possibilities of bringing a tournament to pass in the city of São Paulo. This planning will be ongoing with our JEMS Director of Sports Ministry, Marc Takamine.


(L-R: Patricia, Wellington, PJ and William)

After a brief lunch, the meeting of the board was about to begin and I was also invited to meet with them. They expressed their great pleasure in receiving the Okada family to their church. Many hands were involved in making this possible. Most of those hands are connected to the people in this picture!



Tomorrow morning early, I will be traveling with Pr Maki Suzuki (seated, white shirt) to visit Acampamento Shalom where about 75 collegians are meeting for retreat during this 3-day weekend.