Too Soon

JEMS South America Department shares its condolences with the family of Paul Yunouye. Paul served with JEMS as a short term summer worker in Brazil and Paraguay in 1997. 

Paul, front row second from left

His unexpected and untimely passing has left his wife, Moon Ja and two children. Our prayers are with them at this time.  We ask God to provide his comfort and consolation.

Online messages: Facing Depression?

West Los Angeles Holiness Church is now making Sunday messages available online.  The link may be found here.

One of my recent messages dealt with the subject of clinical depression.  I began the message with these thoughts:

Believe it or not, like it or not, depression is a common experience among Christians.  It may seem like a contradiction.  We ask how it can be that someone who has received Jesus Christ and who has access to the power of God can be depressed?  There are those who would even say that it is evidence of sin in that person’s life.

While that may sound like a reasonable thing to say, it does not stand the test of scripture, of personal experience or the truths of psychology. 

This morning, our scripture lesson is from 2 Corinthians 7:5-7.  

If depression is something you might be facing, take a moment to listen.  

Brazil connections

I was very happy to pay a visit to Pastor Hitoshi Yamada this week. Hitoshi is one of the pioneers of Brazil mission work among the Nikkei in northern Brazil. Together with his wife, Kathy, they served for 40 (Kathy) and 32 years respectively. It was a privilege to share stories about the challenges of working in the Amazon, although admittedly, his challenges of fifty years ago far outweigh mine.

Fiz uma visita para Pastor Hitoshi aqui em California central. Foi um dos pioneiros do trabalho missionarío entre os Nikkei no Amazonas.  Postei essa foto no Face e muita gente ficou bem animada em vê-lo de novo!  A vida de Sr Hitoshi e Sra Keiti foi bem marcante!