Whether here at home or overseas, I'm blessed to be able to share God's Word. It's a privilege to be included in the preaching rotation at the LA Holiness Church during the interim period in which they are in a pastoral search. I've also been invited to speak at a family conference of the South Bay Presbyterian Church later this fall. Please pray for the ministry and message preparations.
Having mentioned those speaking engagements, my apologies to the congregations that have invited me annually to provide missions-themed messages. This season has been an unusual one as I've been sidelined by a multiplicity of physical challenges. Thank you for your patience and support as I journey toward normalcy in my health.
I was especially blessed this week to meet with a Brazilian Nikkei pastor in LA. Pastor Joseph and Márcia Kunihiro (he is the nephew of Hideo Kunihiro, who some remember from Mt Hermon) were in town to accompany their son to start college in southern California. They are currently serving in a church plant in the Interlagos neighborhood of São Paulo city. Several years ago, I spoke at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church where he was serving in Vila Ema, SP.
We discussed plans to partner with his church in forming a missions team to serve in January on the Buenos Aires missions project. After all, it is much closer geographically and the costs will be less prohibitive.
Speaking of the Kunihiro family, I may have failed to mention in an earlier report that I met the daughters of Dr Hideo Kunihiro back in January of this year. Those who went to Mount Hermon back in the 1980s may remember Dr Kunihiro as our main camp challenge speaker: the Nisei with the Texas drawl. Well, after twenty years in South America ministry, it was bound to happen . . . I met his daughters, Kiyoko and Ruth at a special New Year's worship service in Liberdade, São Paulo. It was a delight to meet them both and a relief to be able to switch from Portuguese to English.
Please remember me as I prepare for an upcoming missions ministry in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. I will be traveling together with Pastor Rick Chuman as we network with pastors, leaders and laypeople in Brazil during the first week in September. After Pr Rick returns to the states, I will continue on to serve in the cities of Asunción, Paraguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina. There I will be sharing the good news of the gospel, teaching from God's Word and providing some leadership training for the Nikkei churches there.
Please consider supporting me financially for this season. I'm grateful for the brother in Christ who donated a one-time gift that will cover the entirety of my dialysis costs in South America this summer.
