This week we said goodbye to two great men of faith. One was a well-known American Nisei who together with his wife Kathy, forged a ministry in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. The other was a Brazilian Nisei who made it possible for JEMS to work in South America.
Hitoshi Yamada grew up as a son of immigrant farmers in the San Gabriel Valley. After graduating from Cal Poly Pomona and Talbot Seminary, Hitoshi joined Kathy to serve as missionaries in Brazil. They also raised their two daughters on the field.
They served with the mission CrossWorld (formerly called Unevangelized Fields Mission or in-country as MICEB), establishing new churches, teaching English and holding youth camps for Japanese people living in the Amazon basin. They spoke English, Japanese and Portuguese. Hitoshi was predeceased by Kathy in 2014. Hitoshi passed into the presence of Jesus and reunited with his beloved Kathy on April 13th.
Although Pastor Hitoshi Yamada did not serve with JEMS, I certainly felt kinship with him and Kathy because of their love and commitment to over 40 years of service in Brazil. They led many, many children and adults into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Our other loss today was Pastor Key (pronounced Kei) Yuasa. I look to Pastor Key as my spiritual and cultural mentor in Brazil. While it may not be completely true to say "everything I know about Brazil, I learned from him," it wouldn't be too far from the truth.
He was there at the beginning when Rev Sam Tonomura and I made our first visit to Brazil in 1990. Counting on my fingers and toes, that adds up to thirty years of friendship. (Photo 1990 above, at Camp Panorama in São Paulo state. L-R: Geraldo Sadoyama, PJ, Pastor Luiz Hashimoto, Pastor Key Yuasa, Rev. Sam Tonomura).
Were it not for Pastor Key's advocacy on behalf of JEMS, it's doubtful that we would have the impact that we have there nor in South America. God opened the doors for us spiritually, and Pastor Key opened the doors for us culturally and relationally. I count it a great privilege to have known him and been shepherded by him.
Pastor Key was predeceased by his wife, Tereza, pictured here in 2013 at the Holiness Conference Pastors' Retreat.
Ours was not only a ministry partnership, but an abiding friendship as well. Thank you, Pastor Key.
Godspeed.
