Although it is summer in Los Angeles, with expected highs this week in the mid-90s, the seasons are inverted in the southern hemisphere. It is winter in Brazil right now.
Pictured (L-R) are JEMS "Summer" workers, Diana Lee and Holly Yamagata, bundled up in warm clothing. The temperature at the moment in their city of ministry is 60 degrees.
They've come together to serve in the city of São José dos Campos, two hours north of São Paulo. They've spent the first part of their mission serving in three different cities and two different countries.
Diana has served in Sorocaba, Brazil and Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay. Holly has just completed ten days in the city of Presidente Prudente, Brazil.
Now they meet to serve in the Japanese Free Methodist Church in São José dos Campos. It is a church that has been blessed by the service of several other JEMS workers in years past.
Thank you so much for praying for our workers as they face the challenge of serving in a different country, culture and language. While most of our workers love the warmth of the South American culture, all admit the difficulty of listening and trying to understand Portuguese all day long. More tiring than the physical exertion can be the stress of trying to understand and be understood in a different language. We are thankful that the host churches provide interpreters to serve alongside our JEMS volunteers.
As August rolls around, please also be mindful of the JEMS team going to Japan to serve the Brazilian Nikkei community there. We are blessed by the partnership and servant spirit of the Okada family (pictured L-R: Mark, Lilly, Leighton, Lauren, Luke, Lindsey and Pam) who will participating in a summer camp ministry.
Also accompanying will be Lauren's fiancé, Matt Eng (pictured in photo, right). Pray for them as August is really the hot and muggy season (mushi atsui).
Just a reminder that January is summertime in South America and is really the ideal opportunity to be involved in a short term mission as schools are out and young people are involved in camp ministries.
NOW would be the time to begin praying about reserving your spot as a team member or as a solo worker to serve together with national staff in Brazil.
If you have sufficient Spanish language ability, an opportunity to serve is also available in Buenos Aires, Argentina in a camping ministry.
Visit the following link at JEMS.org for application information.
While they are not serving with JEMS, I ask you to join me in praying for two of our JEMS alumni who are following their love for Brazil with a six-month mission.
Rianna (pictured right) and Alyssa (left) are serving together with an organization called 27 Million which is confronting the issue of human trafficking. They are currently stationed just outside of Rio de Janeiro in anticipation of trafficking issues related to the upcoming Olympics.
They wrote, "You have shared your heart for Brazil with us so openly and we are thankful for all we've learned through JEMS and our multiple trips to Brazil with you. As you know, we both have a huge heart for the issue of human trafficking and are excited about this next step forward specifically combatting trafficking in Brazil."
May God bless and protect them as they serve in a challenging and somewhat edgy ministry situation.
