Video: JEMS Summer Mission July to October 2014 (Version 1.0)

Pastor John pictured with Pastor Daniel Abe, the superintendent of the Brazilian Free Methodist Conference (Nikkei),
and Pastor Luiz Hashimoto, the president of the Brazil Holiness Church

With much gratitude for your prayers and financial support for my ministry this past July-October.  The video below (Version 1.0) provides a peek at the various activities that were undertaken.  

Language isn't my thing.

At my age, language acquisition is a God thing.  As one who doesn't speak a lick of Japanese, I take no credit from those who suggest that I have an aptitude or facility for language learning.  May I say in the kindest way I can?  Baloney!  Someone very close to me once said, and I quote, "You're a complete idiot when it comes to languages."  

That statement was so true.  But it also served to show the incredible nature of God's provision for my ministry in South America when I began serving in Brazil some twenty-three years ago.

May I say it again for those who haven't caught up yet . . . It's a God thing.  I'm bordering on 63 years of age and have recently taken up Spanish.  Who does that?  Especially when I'm not always clear what day of the week it is without looking at my smartphone.  

I post these videos for you, not to show off.  God forbid!  I show these to you to remind you that God can do incredible things when we are willing to be used by him.

I hope to continue to grow my Spanish fluency.  But first, here is a brief excerpt of my sharing in Portuguese at the Igreja Metodista Livre de Sorocaba (Sorocaba Free Methodist Church) on September 28, 2014.

 
Translation: "(God is) opening the door to Argentina.  We are also working in Paraguay. Now I will go to Lima to investigate the possibility of doing ministry in partnership with the Nikkei churches there.  I would like to ask for your prayers for our ministry here in South America."

Switching gears. In Lima, I'm able to use my rudimentary Spanish at introductory meetings with pastors.
   

The following Sunday, I was asked to briefly preface my morning message with brief greetings in Spanish at the Misión Cristiana Holiness in Lima, Peru.  My interpreter was also at the ready in case I stumbled!



Thank the Lord because he is good!

Thank you for partnering financially with my language studies this past August!

Relationships are fundamental!

In 1966, a program called Reading Is Fundamental was created. The program was founded on the principle that reading was foundational for a literate society.

In missions we would make a very similar statement. We would say that relationships are fundamental. Relationships are the key to ministry because they provide us with the ability to interact and socialize with others. While many training and seminary programs focus on theology, missiology and other "ologies," not much focus is placed on the importance of learning how to relate to others. The result is a group of men and women who are intellectually capable, but who are unable to connect with others on day-to-day, seemingly mundane matters. 

But it is in the reality of day-to-day where most people live, not in the stratosphere of ideology.  One learns this sitting in the home of a immigrant housewife who has just lost her husband. Or counseling an adolescent unsure of his future.  Or comforting a farmer who has lost his crop to a flood or to drought. These real life situations are where the rubber meets the road, as it were.
 
I'm grateful for my recent visit to the city of Belėm, in the Amazonian rainforest of northern Brazil. To meet and talk with students about their hopes and dreams for the future.

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit a farming colony called Tomé Açu, founded by Japanese immigrants in 1926.  To meet with the first Sansei president of the Japanese Association and to listen to his plans for the colony in the years ahead.

Also in Tomé Açu, it was a blessing to see continued the rich legacy left by Hitoshi and Kathy Yamada, UFM (MICEB) missionaries. I was invited to share a Bible study, where I selected the theme of righteousness using 1 Peter 1 and the illustrations of a Japanese kanji.



As much as Tomé Açu seemed like the end of the earth, we had the opportunity to go 40 kilometers even closer to the ends of the earth to a very remote farming colony called Jamic. There we met immigrant families whose closest neighbors were three kilometers away, and for whom grocery shopping means a two-hour drive on dirt roads when dry, and impassable when raining.  



Boarding a balsa ferry to cross the river on the road to Tomé Açu.



Crossing a curiously engineered bridge traveling from Tomé Açu to Jamic




Home visit in Jamic





What does a home visit look like?






And forget wifi or 3G! Even telephonic communication required a super tall antenna! 



The art of relationship begins here. Listening, comforting, encouraging.  This is what people yearn to experience before opening their hearts to the gospel. Relationship-building is fundamental! 

 .    

I love small groups!

Click to enlarge photo

Questions and answers. Reflection and laughter. The intimacy of a small group. 

I enjoy teaching the Bible. While preaching is generally the medium for reaching larger groups, I enjoy the dynamics of discussing scripture around the table, in a circle of chairs or in the comfort of a living room.  

Jesus used both environments, speaking to thousands on a mountain or to hundreds along the shore of a lake. He also met people in their homes, reclining at table over a meal, or simply instructing the twelve disciples. 

I'm grateful for the flexibility of a format best suited to the needs of the groups to whom I serve. 

Because preaching doesn't generally encourage interaction, frankly, you get the most interesting comments and questions in the context of small group study.  Like the question I received last week about the practice of bigamy.  Sometimes the conversation can go off the rails here, but it provides a good opportunity to be stretched and to test my understanding of God's Word, his nature and his purpose for our lives.

September 15 - mid-term update

It's my privilege and honor to be able to convey the message of God's word. In Argentina, Paraguay or Brazil; whether to adults or to youth and children; in English, Spanish or Portuguese, it is a great joy for me. None of this would be possible without the partnership of local churches and pastors who make their pulpits and classrooms available for me to share. 

Today marks the month and a half point in my ministry in South America. I'm grateful for your ongoing prayers and financial support of my ministry. I still have a ways to go before I can begin to turn my heart toward home.

Tomorrow I leave for Brazil's northernmost state in the Amazon River basin. I will be serving in two cities: the capital city of Belém in Pará state, and a Japanese colony about six hours distant called Tomé Açu. I will be in that region for about a week.

Your gifts make this possible! Please make a gift this week! http://JEMS.org/onlinegiving

Post-COPANI Get-together in Buenos Aires

It's super amazing that in just two short years, through the support of organizations like Centro Nikkei Argentino and COPANI, we've been able to develop friendships with young people from the Nikkei community here in Argentina. I love these guys!! 

 

Es una cosa muy impresionante como nosotros nos volvimos amigos tan rápido! Agradezco mucho el apoyo del Centro Nikkei Argentino y los organizadores de COPANI por su colaboración en ayudar en el conocimiento de los jóvenes de la colectividad Nikkei em BAires. Gracias!

Woohoo!

 

Terminé mi curso intensivo de español ayer y recibí un certificado de terminación. Muchas gracias para sus oraciones!  

I completed my Spanish-language intensive yesterday, and received a certificate of completion. Thank you for your prayers!

Ahora yo voy a Buenos Aires para encontrar con amigos de la comunidad Nikkei. Yo también voy a predicar en dos iglesias Nikkei: la Iglesia Metodista Libre de Buenos Aires y la Iglesia Evangélica Japonés (LaFuente).

Now I will go to Buenos Aires to meet with friends from the Nikkei community there. I will also preach in two churches. First in the Free Methodist Church, and second in the Japanese Evangelical Church of LaFuente.

A response to questions and concerns

Some have asked about the length of time that I am on the field. Why does Pastor John have to stay so long in South America? The other question that arises is most often about the state of my health.

To answer the first question, you would need to pull out a map of South America. Have you done it?  

As you can see, it's really a large continent. Travel times themselves are quite long as distances between cities require bus travel or if we are fortunate, air travel. It's often easy to compare or imagine that travel in South America is equivalent to scooting around Southern California. This is simply not so. At home in LA, I have the luxury of hopping in my car and going wherever I need to go. However in South America I have to rely on the bus schedule or the available flight schedule. I also have to determine whether the travel dates and times are the most economical for the budget that's been set up for me by JEMS.

Compound that with the question of actually meeting people. In South America as anywhere, people aren't always sitting at home or in their office waiting for me to show up. Many times schedules must be juggled in order to make certain that meetings can be made. My month-long stay in Paraguay will probably be the most calm of the time I spend in South America this trip. I am daily committed to studies in the Spanish language, meeting with my professor for a four hour daily intensive. As I arrive at the end of August my schedule will markedly become more agitated.

From August 29 I will spend three very quick days in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In that brief time I will be meeting with community leaders as well as preaching in two different Nikkei churches in that city. From Buenos Aires I go to Sao Paulo Brazil. There in the first week I will attend a regional denominational conference. My second week will involve traveling in the state of São Paulo, visiting pastors and churches. My third week will take me to the northern part of Brazil, to the Amazon region, to the city of Belem. There I will meet with one of the larger Nikkei churches in that region. The fourth week of September will take me to the city of Sorocaba, where our JEMS short-term worker will be placed. I will meet with the pastor and our worker for about four days. The end of September and the first days of October will return me to the city of São Paulo where I will meet with pastors, leaders and churches in the greater Sao Paulo region. The second week in October, I will meet Pastor Rick Chuman in the city of Lima Peru for a week of meetings. By mid October I will be on my way home to Los Angeles.

Why such a long time? I refer you again to the map of South America. Although it's difficult at times to get a sense of scale, Brazil is about the size of the continental United States. If you were to turn the US on its side, you would get a sense of equivalency in terms of distances. From Sao Paulo to Belem for example, the equivalent distance would be from LA to Miami. São Paulo to Sorocaba might be compared to the distance from Los Angeles to San Diego. But imagine going to San Diego on the train, or a bus. You know that your time really is not your own when you're subjected to non-personal forms of transportation. Add the travel time from homestay to bus station and you realize that a 2 1/2 hour bus ride could easily become a four hour trip.

It's easy to imagine when you're in Los Angeles that visiting friends in other cities could probably be done in a week. However when overseas, another set of rules seem to apply, whether we want them to or not.

I am very grateful to God for his provision during this trip. Perhaps some of you are concerned about matters related to my health. I've been very open about my health situation. But at the same time I'm convinced that this is an important calling for me to fulfill. The opportunity to serve the Lord here brings such joy to my heart. It's something that you cannot imagine. I had the chance today to share with my Spanish-language professor that serving as I do in South America has been perhaps one of the most fulfilling and joyous times my life. Scripture tells us that a joyful heart will take us many more miles than a heart that is unhappy (Proverbs 17:22). Without seeming to be preachy, I think it's important for all of us to discover that place where God gives us a sense of fulfillment or joy.

To those that have expressed concern for JEMS' wisdom in permitting me to serve for such an extended period of time overseas, I would thank you for your concern. But also invite you to pray! It's certainly good to know that there are concerns, but it's even better to know that you are undergirding me with your prayer support. I suppose that it's in the nature of our culture and perhaps even a characteristic of my age group that we are less prone to take risks. Perhaps it's easier or more comfortable to remain at home. But if I were to do so knowing the work that remains to be done, and the opportunities that God has set before us, I think I would find myself seriously unsettled.

Two of the songs that have meant so much to me in the last year come out of different ministries. One is called "Oceans." http://youtu.be/dy9nwe9_xzw  The other is called "You Make Me Brave." http://youtu.be/6Hi-VMxT6fc  Both of these songs challenge us as followers of Jesus to step out in faith and to take risks for the sake of God's calling in our lives. I've taken the words of these songs to heart. Perhaps you might say that risk taking is a job for the young, for the healthy. But I believe that God will use whoever has a willingness of heart to serve him. It is a place for now that God is enabling me to be and I thank him for that.  Zechariah 4:6 reminds us, "Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

Thank you again for your concerns.
Pastor John
JEMS

Closing second, opening third

My second week in Paraguay is coming to an end, and as I began my third week it was a delight to join the Sunday School program of the Free Methodist Church two days ago here in Asuncion, Paraguay. 

From the fun of picking kids up at their homes . . .

       

To see the joy and friendships of the children . . .

           



            

To watch their hands-on participation in the kitchen . . .

          

To my own tiny contributions n their class with my very rudimentary Spanish. Fue una gran alegría participar con los niños hoy en Escuela Dominical. Yo hable' un poquitito en español.

           


As I enter my final week of language study, I am grateful for the opportunity to be here, to learn as well as to serve.  Pray with me that God will continue to bless the young lives that are being cared for here under the ministry of Pastor Koki and Mari.    

Tools of the trade

JEMS Paraguay Team 2014

Let's see what's in my toolbox for cross-cultural ministry:

One of my first tools is the ability to make connections.  This involves  overcoming obstacles and finding common ground. What obstacles are there?  

​Culture

​Language

​Natural resistance of people.

It's not an easy task.  My mission trip in February took me to Lima Peru for the first time. My host pastor and a leader from his church picked me up at the airport.  Neither of them spoke English.  

After 14 years of ministry in South America, in which Portuguese has served me well, I was confronted with my need for Spanish.  I had avoided learning it, but as God opens doors to Argentina and Peru, it becomes clear that I need to learn.

Nelson Mandela said, "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."  

The message of the Bible is not a head language, it is a heart language.  We need to be able to share it heart to heart.  For that reason, I am in Asuncion, Paraguay this month taking a Spanish language intensive course.  You can partner with me through your prayers and financial gifts.

Looking through my toolbox, there is a second tool:  it's a construction tool that helps me build bridges and establish partnerships with churches and community groups.

Whether it's language or my ability to get around, I need to trust God to open doors and to enable me to continue building bridges for the gospel to be shared with the Nikkei community in South America.

As I serve, I'm reminded that everything I do, I do with a need to depend on the empowering grace of God.

Hudson Taylor, missionary to China and considered by many to be the father of modern missions said:  "God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him."  It’s natural as humans to think about what we cannot do.  Our limitations.  But rather than focusing on what we can't do, we must begin to see how our lives can be utilized when we put our modest abilities into the hands of God.  

A search through the toolbox reveals a final tool that I often use.  It is an invitation tool.   A large part of my ministry involves inviting people, groups and churches to “Come and see what God is doing." Whether they are North Americans, Brazilians, whatever nationality - there is much to see and do on the mission field!

Come and see what God is doing in our world.

Come and see what God can do through you.

Expand your world view.

As we take these steps, we assuredly grow in our relationship with Jesus.  

Learn how you can respond to God's invitation to serve him today. Take a moment to watch this brief video: