Youth Camps: Serving outside Belém

Belém. The temptation is to say "Bell - emm." But the city name is properly pronounced "Bay - layng." It is the Portuguese word for Bethlehem and JEMS is serving these two weeks on a Bible school campus just forty minutes outside of the city. (All photos may be clicked to enlarge)



The setting at the Palavra da Vida (Word of Life) Bible college in the town of Benevides is beautiful. But pictures don't easily convey the heat and humidity of the region.

We began our ministry at the ICEA (Igreja Cristã Evangélica de Amazônia) church by meeting with our Brazilian team counterparts from the city of São Paulo. JEMS' program of combining national and international teams still needs some tweaking as we lacked adequate time for team-building and prayer together.



We began our time together with a half-day boat cruise on the Amazon River. We were blessed to be able to share this time with members of the West Covina Christian Church team, which was here on another separate project. That was also the infamous boat cruise that PJ struggled with, but got a horse ride as a prize!  Although our programs were separated by only three miles, this boat trip was the only occasion we had to see the other US team.



It was also a special blessing to introduce two Iwanagas to each other: one from the US and the other from Brazil. West Covina team leader, Cameron, on the right, and JEMS Team member, Jessica from São Paulo, on the left.



At the end of the boat cruise, the JEMS team was able to enjoy a special treat at Cairu, an ice cream shop that specializes in tropical fruit.



The next day, some were already at work, serving in the Sunday morning worship service in ICEA.



On Sunday afternoon, we were on the bus to the campsite with a number of the staff members and cabin leaders.



After a day and a half of staff training, we received the first week of campers, ages 6 to 11.



Of course, camp would not be complete without an accident or two.  (I missed a step and fell on the concrete at 4AM on my way to the restroom).



By Wednesday, we were providing the arts and crafts workshop. The team members were also integrated into other task groups and committees, such as worship team, programs, games and others. All were quite busy.



 

 

Friday Noon marked the end of Week One of Childrens' camp. After a half day of rest, we were ready to receive the youth (ages 12-18) on Saturday morning for Week 2.





Please pray as week 2 is underway. It will run until Thursday noon.
 
I will also be preaching in Portuguese at ICEA on Sunday, August 2 before catching an afternoon flight back to São Paulo.  On August 5th, I will be boarding a flight home to Los Angeles. 

A major change of plans

Dear friends and supporters,

Since the beginning of the year, my plan has been to end the summer with a fact-finding trip to Japan. It was to be my first visit to that country.  My purpose was to visit the ministries of the Brazil Holiness and Free Methodist churches and their work among the dekasegi (South American Nikkei workers in Japan). As optimistic as I have wanted to remain, the reality is that I am daily having to endure pain and take the necessary pain relievers to allow me to move from place to place here in South America.

I may have also been somewhat psyched out by a co-worker's comments about the amount of walking I would have to do in Japan, the rush to catch trains or other transportation, the multitude of stairs and lack of basic access. In anticipation of the time that I'll need to spend on my feet in Japan, at this point I find that upon serious prayer and reflection, I am less inclined to undertake this trip.

The difference for my service in South America is that I am blessed to have the networking here where long-time friends and pastors have kindly provided transportation. Being my first visit to Japan, conditions and relationships are not the same.

Please be assured that I am not afraid of any work, ministry-wise (I've been invited to preach and teach Bible in Portuguese, as well as provide English classes), but the simplest of tasks, such as walking, has become very difficult for me. I've spent this last week at a youth camp in the Amazon area. It's really a nice facility, but I have found it painful to walk even the shortest distances from place to place. As Clint Eastwood said in the movie "Magnum Force," 'A man's got to know his limitations.'

On the first full day in Belém, our team was treated to an Amazon River excursion. It included an unexpected hike of twenty minutes in the sand, in 90 degree weather, in 95 percent humidity, to arrive at an island restaurant. Needless to say, it was quite the chore to get from Point A to Point B. I mentioned to my hosts that because of my back issues, I would find it difficult to return to the excursion boat. As a result, he went off to find a resolution to my problem. By God's grace, this is what he came up with:



You know, I hated being a burden to those who traveled with me that day. As a result of my experience, I have spoken to JEMS Executive Director, Pastor Rick Chuman, and upon discussion have decided that I would not pursue this exploratory trip to Japan. I have subsequently written to the two pastors in Toyohashi and Eichizen with many apologies, describing my situation and they have agreed to permit me to withdraw from this ministry commitment in Japan at this time.

Rick is still researching the possibility of his continuing the trip in my absence. This contact with the Brazilian Nikkei in Japan is an important networking contact for JEMS. Please pray that doors that have been opened may provide good avenues of ministry. I also appreciate prayer for my own physical situation.

 

Tenho passado uma semana e meia na cidade de Benevides no Pará no norte do país. Durante esses dias eu fiquei consciente do estado da minha saúde. Tenho sofrido com problemas de coluna que estão causando dores em minhas costas e em minhas pernas. Tenho uma condição médica chamada "spinal stenosis" em inglês e a situação está piorando. Diariamente estou tomando remédios para aliviar o dor. 
 
Até agora tenho aguentado esses problemas em outras cidades do país por ajuda dos amigos que me leva pra qualquer lugar de carro. Mas aqui pela estrutura normal do acampamento eu não estou conseguindo andar nem mesmo nas distâncias curtas.   Estou descobrindo que estou sofrendo com mais e mais dores de costa e de perna.
 
Alguns dias atrás durante uma conversa com pastor Rick Chuman, eu falei sobre minhas dúvidas sobre uma viagem planejada para conhecer o Japão. Eu tenho o receio de ser uma carga para outros e não quero atrapalhar o ministério no Nihon. Por este motivo, estou achando melhor para desistir e não ir mais ao Japão em agosto. Não tenho nenhum problema com trabalho entre as igrejas (fui convidado pregar, ensinar a Bíblia e mais em português, e também ensinar aulas de inglês). Mas tenho bastante ansiedade andando e ficando muito tempo em pé. 

Estou pedindo mil desculpas porque eu sei que os pastores tem arrumado seus calendários para receber Pastor Rick e eu. Mas pra mim está ficando claro que eu não posso fazer viagens para lugares desconhecidos com essas problemas de saúde e dor.
 
Pastor Rick falou hoje que ele esta ainda disposto para visitar os ministérios entre os dekasegi. Pedimos suas orações pela orientação de Deus neste sentido.

Arrival in Brazil and John Lee

The final days of June marked my ministry transition to the country of Brazil. The transition of my Portuguese speaking ability was delayed as I struggled with the Spanish which refused to un-imbed itself from my brain.

The day after my arrival in São Paulo, I welcomed John Lee, JEMS newest staff member: Director of Sports Ministry.

Our partnership would continue for eleven days as we traveled through the length of São Paulo state. We visited seven cities in that very brief time period and covered over 700 miles.

Our team grew instantly and providentially on our second day of travel as we invited the participation of a volunteer interpreter to serve with us for the week of ministry. With my Portuguese delayed, I needed help with the English to Portuguese interpretation needed for John Lee's presentations. Sara Hakamada was a Godsend. She is a self-taught English speaker, who was initially discipled by one of our past JEMS workers, Justine.

This newly organized team traveled throughout the state to introduce John Lee and to explore potential sports ministry partnerships.






PJ, Sara and John Lee in Bastos, SP

Returning to the city São Paulo and presentation of JEMS Sports Ministry:

Alessandra (pictured), came to faith in Christ through a JEMS English Camp in the 1990's



Throughout the state, opportunities were afforded to preach and teach from God's Word.




Sara returned to her home in Marília on July 8th after serving faithfully for a week of ministry with PJ and John Lee. John Lee returned to Los Angeles on July 11th after a fruitful ministry visit. Thank you for your prayers.

The next step for PJ is a camping ministry in the city of Belém in the Amazon rainforest.

Returning to Asunción, Paraguay

The ministry of JEMS began in Paraguay in 1992, with PJ visiting the border town of Pedro Juan Caballero. In 2008, in response to an invitation to visit the capital city, PJ went to Asunción for the first time.

Over the years, it has been a blessed time of relationship building with the community youth, the local church and with other mission organizations. In 2015, the Nikkei church in Asunción would face a big challenge as the missionaries serving there returned to their home in Japan. I wanted to see how the leadership transition was progressing.

Local church ministry: caring for the new church leadership.

Fellowshipping with the local church children and youth


Meeting with the family of my father's cousin. He immigrated to Paraguay in the 1960's


Networking with church and mission leadership in the city of Asunción, working to connect them together.




Fellowshipping with youth from the Asunción community

Argentine ministry and partnerships

It was both a blessed and busy week as my ministry began in Buenos Aires. I arrived in-country with much trepidation regarding my Spanish ability. But after spending the first three days with my non-English-speaking Nikkei pastor, I found that the Spanish I had learned in August of 2014 was able to flow much easier.

The week was spent reconnecting with churches and leaders as well as having evangelistic opportunities. I traveled from city to city speaking as the occasions arose.

An evangelistic Bible study in the city of Quilmes, Argentina:




Teaching the Bible in Burzaco, Argentina

Tutoring barrio children and working with camping staff in Moreno, Argentina




Dinner with youth from the Nikkei community of Buenos Aires


Preaching at the Megumi Christian Center in Buenos Aires.


Thank you Lord, for open doors and opportunities to share the good news of Jesus in Argentina. Please pray as plans are underway to field a JEMS team from Brazil to serve in Buenos Aires in January 2016.

WLA Holiness 60th Anniversary

June 14, 2015 - 60th Anniversary Celebration of the WLA Holiness Church

Worship and Celebration Service

Sunday, June 14, 2015; 10:00am

Joint Service (English and Japanese) with guest speaker, the Rev. Kenneth Ashitomi (First English Department pastor), and the Rev. Eiichi Paul Suzuki, former Nichigo-bu pastor.

Commemorating God's faithfulness over the years and to express appreciation to long-time members and friends of West Los Angeles Holiness Church

Celebration Luncheon to follow!

History 
 The origin of the West Los Angeles Church dates back to 1936 when home meetings were held in the Sawtelle area. Along with Kumaji Yoshimoto, Kamako Nakada took an active part in leading home Bible study groups. Unfortunately, due to the war and the relocation and incarceration of Japanese on the west coast, the group was forced to abruptly terminate their fellowship. 

After the war ended and the West Los Angeles residents returned, the mission commenced with renewed zeal. In 1949, the Los Angeles Holiness Church initiated a regular outreach into the area. Kyujo Nakada, husband of Kamako, was one of the converts baptized at the Los Angeles Holiness Church. A Bible study group began meeting once again at the Nakada home. This group later became the core of the West Los Angeles Holiness Church. 

Five years later, in the spring of 1955 with the purchase of some property on Iowa Avenue, the mission church was born. Eighteen Los Angeles Holiness Church members transferred to and became charter members of the newly organized West Los Angeles Church in June of 1955. 

All photos below may be clicked to be enlarged!

 
Dedication of the Iowa Street Building in 1955. Those in attendance included pastors and members from other southern California Holiness Churches. (Click photo to enlarge)

     
The dedication service was held in July 1955, and Kumaji Yoshimoto was appointed as lay evangelist. Kenneth Ashitomi was appointed as student pastor in September 1956. He organized and laid the foundation for the inception of the English-speaking Department. 

Upon his graduation from the Fuller Theological Seminary in June 1961, Ashitomi was appointed as the first full-time minister of the English Department. In 1962, David Hosomi came from Japan to enroll at Azusa College. He assisted in the ministry of the church.