The year 2019 represents the fifty-fifth year of partnership between JEMS and the Japanese Brazilian Church. Our efforts began in South America in 1964 when JEMS sent its first career missionary couple, Rev Ray and Ryoko Narusawa to serve the the Nikkei Church Federation and the Free Methodist Church.
Since those first years, JEMS has sent more than four hundred short-term, mostly summer workers to serve among the churches in the Nikkei community.
Pastor John was able to travel to South America this January to personally thank the representative churches (Nikkei Free Methodist, Nikkei Church Federation and Holiness Church of Brazil) for their faithful partnership over the years.
In commemoration of this fifty-fifth anniversary event, Pastor John presented commemorative plaques to each of the representative groups. (pictured left to right, below: Igreja Evangélica Holiness do Brasil, Igreja Metodista Livre - ConcÃlio Nikkei, Federação Evangélica Nikkei do Brasil).
At the New Year's service of the Federação Evangélica Nikkei do Brasil:
The presentation to the Holiness Church took place at the annual pastors' retreat in Panorama, over four hundred miles from the city of São Paulo. That presentation was filmed and is available here:
Thank you again for your prayers on my behalf. God bless you in this new year!
