PJ on LA Talk Radio

Jimi Yamagishi and I were invited recently to appear on LA Talk Radio.  

The host, Guy Towe, whom I knew as part of my church in Camarillo, invited me to share about the ministry in South America.  Being on the public airways and being careful not to antagonize any governmental authorities, our ministry is referred to as a volunteer program. I'm not hiding our light under a bushel.  Just being clear.

The radio program was recorded and can be heard online here.  LINK

A brief report of PJ's ministry from June to September 2013

Thank you for your prayer support that made these three months of ministry possible.  In order to sustain the ongoing work of JEMS South America mission program, please pray that God will provide additional financial partners to meet my support requirements.

The video provides a look at the opportunities and open doors that God has provided for JEMS in South America.  It is also an invitation to consider investing yourself in the ministry.  We have volunteer programs, (minimum two to three weeks in length), which offer a firsthand look and  hands-on experience in service and cross-cultural ministry.  
Begin praying today about setting aside some time in January or July 2014 to see what God can do through your life!  

The song I selected to accompany the video is entitled, "Oceans" (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United.  The lyrics express the challenge of moving out of the shallow end of the Christian life and to trust God in the deep water.

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

This song was our JEMS Argentina Team theme song as we moved into unknown areas:  new cities, new people, a different language, uncertain expectations.  We came to embrace this song and the God who led us moment by moment.  

It's an exciting place to be.  Terrifying for some people, I'm sure.  But it's a place where one learns to depend even more completely on a God who is trustworthy and unfailing.  

Do you have that experience in your Christian life?  Do you long to have the heart-pounding, not-sure-what's-gonna-happen-next dependency upon God?  I invite you to step out in faith and walk with God on the mission field.  Any mission field.  

Make an appointment today to speak with your pastor and discover what opportunities await.

The video is available in HD.  Please take a moment to adjust the setting to 1080 in the lower right hand corner of the Youtube frame.  

For a change of pace today . . .

A recent JEMS traveler who skipped the obligatory JEMS training sessions was asked by a Brazilian young adult: "Do you know the name of our country's capital?"  The JEMS traveler answered, "Rio de Janeiro?"  

He was incorrect.  

JEMS provides a minimum of two days of training and assigned reading for all of its volunteers.  We don't want our teams to travel to other countries and be the ignorant and ugly Americans.

Test your Brazil IQ by taking the CS Monitor Quiz "How well do you know Brazil?"

Whether you're a travel veteran or are unfamiliar with anything south of Orange County, here is a chance to learn a bit more about one of the most exciting places on the planet!  

Start the quiz here

By the way, shame on you, CNN.

Back in the 626

Thank you very much for your prayers on my behalf.  I'm sitting in the JEMS Office after a week of recuperation to express my appreciation to God for his sustaining grace during these past three months.  

After three months away, I was able this morning to go to my auto mechanic to fix a problem with my car.  Just prior to my departure for South America in June, while running errands, I got into my car, and leaned across to open my glove compartment.  That resulted in several coins falling out of my pants pocket and onto the car seat.  A dime rolled off the seat and made a perfect entry into to the slot of my seat belt buckle.   

Not realizing that the dime had fallen into the slot, I tried to secure my seat belt, only to find that the tongue (that's what it's called) would not latch.  The coin was blocking the way. Not realizing what had happened, I tried to force the seat belt to latch, but only succeeded in wedging the coin in further.  

After several failed attempts to remove the coin, I gave up as I didn't have time to fix the situation before leaving.  To avoid a possible ticket, I simply buckled my seat belt into the passenger seat buckle whenever I had to drive.  

Why did I tell you this story?  

Much of my ministry involves working to build connections with people from other cultures and languages.  Sort of like buckling a seat belt, as it were.  Because we are not always familiar with customs and language, small things like gestures, a facial expression, an unpleasant attitude or the choice of vocabulary can obstruct our efforts to make those connections.  When we try to force things, the obstruction simply becomes wedged in even deeper.

Cross-cultural ministry requires wisdom, finesse and an outpouring of God's Holy Spirit to keep obstructions at a distance.  We prayerfully depend on the Lord to provide us with a sense of timing, wording and open doors.   

The caption on the bridge-building photo just above says, "Seek to encourage, to connect, to strategize, and to share a vision with those who will come after."  

I am grateful that God has provided many open doors for JEMS in South America through years of relationship and bridge building.  People like Rev Ray and Ryoko Narusawa, Rev. Roy and Nana Yamamoto and Rev. Sam Tonomura are still remembered in Brazil with fondness.  Our JEMS summer volunteers throughout the years have, for the most part, left positive impressions that enable JEMS to continue their ministry of service and servanthood.  

God has also blessed my time in South America.  My ability to speak Portuguese is a gift of God.  It creates just enough curiosity that through the blend of  teaching God's word, a unique talent for cross-cultural relationship-building, a good sense of humor and flexibility, doors continue to remain open or are now opening.  

    

Please pray as JEMS South America Department launches its newest missions strategy in Brazil.  We are inviting Brazilian Nikkei to serve with JEMS cross-culturally in Argentina.  Lord willing, I will be leading a team of Brazilians to serve this January in three cities:  Buenos Aires, La Plata and Colón. 

Please pray for this January project:

1.  That the Brazilians who have indicated their interest will follow through.  Four have already dropped out.

2.  That my back pain will be resolved.  (I was just diagnosed on Friday with arthritis in my lumbar vertebra.  This is causing pain in my back as well as pain and weakness in my legs when I am walking.)

3.   Pray overall that others may be led to join my prayer and financial support team. I am unable to serve full-time with JEMS as my support requirements have not yet been reached.

Thank you so much!  It's good to be home.  Make sure to see my tongue-in-cheek post called, "Top Ten Reasons I'm Happy to be Home!"

Blessings from Pastor John!

Top 10 reasons I'm happy to be home!

In case you didn't know, I'm home.  And I have 10 reasons why this is a good thing!

1.  Family.  I have a new granddaughter!  

Need I say more?

2.  My bed.  I've counted over 30 different sleeping arrangements over the past 90 days.  These have included a mattress thrown on the floor, an overnight bus ride, and beds in twenty different cities and three different countries.  There is nothing like coming home to one's own bed.

3.  Toilet paper.  South America, as a rule, does not have the kind of plumbing that allows for the flushing of toilet paper.  Your soiled toilet paper is placed in a waste can next to the toilet.  It's nice to be home and flush away.

4.  Tap water.  Nowhere in South America is it a good idea to drink water from the tap.  The issues could range from bacterial to mineral content causing mild to major discomfort.  One never just fills a cup with unfiltered tap water to drink.  All drinkable water must be purchased in bottled form.  

5.  Mexican food.  Although a staple of Brazilian cuisine is rice and beans, it is not the same.  Those who ask if Brazilian food is anything like Mexican food need to look at a map of the Americas.  

6.  English.  God has been so gracious to bless me with the ability to speak, preach and pray in Portuguese.  But simply being able to speak English with my homies is a genuine source of praise.

7.  My car.  I haven't driven in three months.  You miss it when you don't have it, believe it or not.

8.  Non-suitcase life.  I've lived out of a suitcase for three months.  This means a limited wardrobe and the constant concern for where I might encounter a washing machine, or whether the day will be sunny enough to dry clothes hanging on an outdoor line.   I have three identical black polo shirts in case you are wondering why I'm always wearing the same clothes in those Facebook photos.

9.  Receipts.  Although this was a mission trip, it was also a business trip.  This means that every expenditure has to be accompanied by a receipt.  Every expenditure.

10. Technology.  At home you can expect to find a wifi or 3G connection at little or no cost.  In South America, the search for wifi is much more of an adventure.  In fact, my favorite application was something called "Mandic Magic," which enabled me to find nearby wifi signals if I wasn't in a familiar location.  

And international 3G? It was something to be used sparingly.

Please don't imagine that I was unhappy to be in South America.  Far from it!  I am blessed to be able to serve there.  The people have been warm and welcoming.  It's just that it's also nice to be able to come home, be renewed and refreshed, before heading out again.  

Thank you for your prayers and support!  

Blessings from PJ

The world isn't California

One of the challenges of cross-cultural training is convincing people that how they dress in California may not be okay elsewhere. 

In the last decade there has been much press coverage given to the circumstances of western women working, living or traveling in Arab countries, and their need to observe the more traditional expectations of women in those cultures. It has become commonplace to see female news correspondents wearing the traditional niqab or veiled head covering, together with wrist-length sleeves and ankle length skirts in order to avoid offense in these Muslim-majority areas. The example of this respectful observance of cultural norms and traditions is an important feature of effective cross-cultural interaction.

I continue to revisit this principle and make the effort to instruct others that the somewhat accepted southern California churchwear of tank-tops, shorts and rubber slippers would not be permissible in public in Brazil. 

This is a difficult principle to convey to people. But it is also a way for the agency to measure an individual's teachability and openness to change. 

My own lesson came during my first trip to Brazil in the city of Campo Grande. I was preparing to attend an evening event at the local church. I asked the pastor's daughter if it would be permissible for me to wear shorts to the service. She said it would be okay. Upon changing and joining the pastor and his wife in the family's living room to leave for the church, I was told, "Pastor John, you cannot wear those clothes. It is not appropriate attire." Of course, I remonstrated that their daughter had given her okay. "No, Pastor John. Those clothes will not be acceptable." So I went back to my room and changed.

That transition between insisting on what I thought was okay and what the people within the culture thought was okay can sometimes be a long journey. I have worked with many people for whom the transition was a rough and rocky road. One example of the cultural norm running head-on into personal preferences is the "no shorts in public rule." By shorts, let me be clear that we're talking about what were once called "bermuda shorts" or cut-offs. For the most part, except for campgrounds, soccer games and beach cities, wearing shorts has not been the cultural norm for professionals in Brazil. 

In urban contexts, at church events, at the shopping malls, men always wear long pants. And although I am not positive about this, I think this was also true for women. Even in their leisure hours, people simply didn't wear shorts in urban settings. On the other hand, wearing shorts in the privacy of their homes or for our workers within the confines of their homestays was not an issue.

Here is where north clashed with south. "Why can't we wear shorts? Why do we have to wear long pants when it's so hot?" When cultural values do battle with personal preferences and convenience, it can be challenging. I found that saying, "Because that's the way it is" to not be very helpful. By the same token, explaining the culture and custom of the country wasn't helpful either. The training had to address the more personal issue of choosing to be a bridge rather than a barrier.

Americans learn slowly. I don't remember any other time in the history of middle east conflict where women journalists observed the Arab tradition for clothing. It seems to be a more recent shift. But the fact is we also weren't at war with everyone in the world with the potential of creating more tension.

For good or for ill, allowing our personal preferences to give way to an acceptance and embracing of cultural norms is about bridge building. It's about not choosing to permit a relatively minor temporal, physical matter to become a barrier that results in eternal spiritual consequences. It may be helpful to think of the familiar biblical passage in a slightly different way: "What good is it for a person to gain the whole world and lose their soul?" Paraphrased, "Sure, you can have your way, but will it cause someone to not hear what you have to say because they can't get around the way you're dressed?"

No one said that building cross-cultural bridges would be easy. Not everywhere can nor should be like California.

What's wrong with helping?

I was to learn the importance of right words on my very first visit to São Paulo as a JEMS director in 1992. Addressing a meeting of thirty pastors and leaders, I shared JEMS' vision for work in Brazil. 

I spoke through an interpreter, thus giving me the opportunity to read the audience reaction during the side-by-side interpretation format. My comments were no more than three or four minutes, but I noticed that after one of my comments that there was a wave of reaction. Neither smiles nor approving nods. 

After the meeting I was approached by three of the leaders and very graciously, but firmly instructed on my use of language. In my presentation I had stated our agency's intention to "help the Nikkei churches of Brazil." Can anyone spot the problem? 

No? The problem was in the use of the word "help." As one of many emerginging nations, Brazil had a particular sensitivity to the idea of being the "little brother" in the economic and global political environment. 

The idea of "helping" the Nikkei churches, though completely unintentional, had the sound of big brother helping the more unfortunate little brother. The leadership of that group heard it as the intention of some mighty USA-based enterprise "swooping to the rescue of the Brazilian Nikkei churches." 

In Portuguese the word "ajudar" is defined as helping those who are helpless or without strength or resources. I learned from the leadership that a better word, a word that would best express my intention, would be the verb, "partner." 

Far from being one-sided, the relationship would be collaborative and equal. That difference would lay the foundation for a good relationship between JEMS, as an international agency and the Nikkei Brazilian leadership. 

In this partnership, we north Americans have received so much from our Brazilian Nikkei counterparts. Their emotion and expression of worship, their openness and warmth in relationships, their fervor for prayer and praise. In most cases, it is clear that who helped whom was not the way you might think. 

This also indicates how very careful one must be in cross-cultural communication efforts. A wrong word can close the door. I must say that even with the unfortunate wording of my first official contact, people responded graciously to our initial overtures to establish collaborations. 

Today as JEMS workers come to Brazil, they are instructed as to the use of language and wording in describing the purpose of their ministry to the church in Brazil. And yes, there are still moments when I cringe when a young JEMS worker will say with enthusiasm, "we're here to help you!" 

We have a lot to learn yet.

Old friends, new opportunities

Recent meetings enabled me to reconnect with the Kunihiro family. Some of you may remember Hideo Kunihiro who served as the challenge speaker at Mount Hermon Main Camp in the late 1980s. His nephew, Stephen, is a friend of mine who works in an interior city in the state of São Paulo. 

PJ and Stephen meeting in June 2013

He asked me if I had been in contact with his brother, Joseph in the city of São Paulo. I acknowledged that I hadn't seen Joseph in some twenty years. 

PJ and Joseph

The result of that conversation created an opportunity for me to follow up with Joseph and to learn that, in addition to being a surgeon, he was serving on the pastoral staff of the Christian Missionary Alliance Church in the Vila Ema section of São Paulo. 

Through his kind arrangement I was invited by the senior pastor to speak at the church on Sunday, August 18. What I discovered was a church that was very eager to learn about JEMS and about the short-term mission projects that JEMS is creating for Brazilian nationals to serve in other countries. In addition to bringing the morning message, I was able to share with them about JEMS interest in reaching out to the Nikkei community in Argentina. That community being approximately 85% of Okinawan descent.

As an interesting bit of coincidence, the Vila Ema church is predominantly of Okinawan descent as well. They showed a high level of interest in the possibilities of working together with JEMS in future short-term missions.

The pastoral staff, pictured below, was warm and welcoming.  Senior Pastor Artur and his wife, as well as Pastor Joseph and his wife.

Pr Artur and esposa

Pr Joseph and Marcia

Please pray that JEMS, through their local contacts in Brazil and by the work of the Holy Spirit, can encourage the Vila Ema church to organize and put together a team to serve the Lord in Argentina for perhaps two weeks in January.

Introducing Lowell Sue to Brazil

"Someone somewhere once wrote about traveling with musicians, but I don't remember what was said or who said it." - John Katagi 

I have been privileged to serve alongside Lowell Sue for the last nine days as we visited churches and various ministry leaders in seven South American cities.  It has been what Brazilians call "uma correria!"  (quite a race).  Beginning in São Paulo with pastors' meetings, we also had the opportunity to meet with various worship teams, children's ministries, dance groups, Kings Kids programs, in Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo states.

A meeting with the worship team and Salt ministry of Santo André Holiness Church yielded an impromptu worship time with Lowell and Brazilian Nikkei brother in Christ, Yukio.



In Campo Grande, we were blessed as the worship team sang a homegrown worship song for us.  These still photos convey only a part of the joy and exhuberance of this group.

Campo Grande group photo:

Traveling to São Paulo state, we were able to witness the arts ministry of the Pompeia church as they commemorated Father's Day.






Father's Day (August 11) was a blessed day as Pastor John was invited to preach in Portuguese (with Japanese translation) at the Free Methodist Church in the city of Marilia, followed by a full day of ministry.

Lowell led a workshop in the afternoon, then sang and shared at the evening worship service.  (with PJ providing translations in Portuguese).

We continued our research in the city of Bastos and finished our time in the city of Presidente Prudente.

Odaira Family, Bastos

Group in Presidente Prudente

We were tremendously blessed by the response and the openness of the churches, pastors and people we met.  

As Lowell returns to the USA, it is time to pray and reflect on next steps.  His purpose was to explore the possibilities of bringing Creative Arts teams to South America.  Now we will wait on the Lord for his orientation and leading. 

Thank you for your prayers!
Please remember me (Pastor John) as I continue my ministry here through the fourth week of September.

Hula comes to São Paulo state (not ULA, but HHHula)

God can use anyone and he can use any thing!

JEMS South America mission was blessed by the presence of Rianna on our Argentina-Brazil survey team.  She had been invited by the Bastos Holiness Church in São Paulo state to share a hula performance with the congregation during our visit there.  But along the way, we discovered that hula would be a wonderful tool to teach, to engage and to be the basis of ministry.

One of the first things to be taught was the word was spelled and pronounced, Hula, not Ula.  (The initial H is silent in Portuguese causing people to mispronounce the word).

An impromptu hula workshop in the city of Marília

The full hula performance in the city of Bastos (low definition video) and an opportunity to share testimony.

A high definition excerpt of the above hula presentation can be seen here:


Rianna was also invited to lead a hula workshop for a dance class in Bastos (2 videos)




Hula performance in Presidente Prudente.

Pompéia

Other performances and opportunities to share occurred in Tupã in São Paulo state . . .




and São Paulo's Bosque church.  

Bonus!  Presentation of poi balls (a form of dance from New Zealand) in Caraguatatuba.



While hula is a beautiful and graceful art form, it also offers a wonderful opportunity to express worship and adoration to the Lord.  Thank you, Rianna for sharing with the people of Brazil.  

My prayer is that the arts:  dance, theater, music and other art forms will become a part of the outreach of JEMS South America in the years to come.  2013 was a wonderful beginning.