Hand in Hand Global Mission Support Blog Digest

This "blog digest" is brought to you by the ELCA Global Mission Support team. Here you will find posts and re-posts by ELCA missionaries, ELCA Global Mission churchwide staff, and other friends.

Major typhoon hits Japan: Missionaries okay

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Franklin Ishida

A major typhoon struck Japan Oct. 7, the first to directly hit the mainland in two years.

Typhoon Melor made landfall right around the central Japan city of Nagoya. And this is where ELCA mission personnel Charles Frederickson and Beth Borstad are serving at Meito Lutheran Church.

“We are hunkered down, wind is bad and so is the rain,” wrote Charles. ”Around our area there are a lot of leaves and minor branches down but nothing to serious. We have electricity.” Schools in the whole area were cancelled and the whole family was home together.

 

Elsewhere, two people were killed and more than 40 injured as the storm moved across densely populated central Japan, with winds gusting up to 198km/h (123 mph). Heavy rains flooded roads while the strong winds ripped the roofs off houses and knocked over vehicles on the highways. Many transportation systems, including trains, were brought to a halt before the storm.

Among Lutheran churches in the affected area, a tree at Chita Lutheran Church toppled over, causing damage to a neighboring house roof. According to the Rev. Naoki Asano of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, “this damage is small compared to other places.”

In the meantime, your prayers and support are appreciated for other disasters in Asia: the typhoons that swept through the Philippines and other parts of southeast Asia, the tsunami that hit Samoa, and the earthquakes in Indonesia. Check ELCA Disaster Response for more information on how you can help.

Y. Franklin Ishida
Director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission

In Memory of Jonathan Kühne (January 27–October 5, 2009)

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Hand In Hand

The average life expectancy here in the Central African Republic is just under 40 years. That means we attend a lot of funerals. Yesterday we attended one that was especially sad.

Jonathan was the 8-month-old son of the Rev. Mirco and Rahel Kühne. They are missionaries from Germany serving here in Baboua. They both teach at the Bible School and have been busy raising their three boys: Aaron, Daniel, and Jonathan. On Sunday, Jonathan became ill with malaria. On Monday morning he died of complications from a disease that kills way too many people. The funeral was held at their house in the afternoon. He was buried yesterday by his swing, down by their garden.

Please pray for the family and for the many others affected by this series disease.

Joe and Deborah Troester
Baboua, Central African Republic
http://africanwaterlog.blogspot.com

Paintings are his expression; bells are his inspiration

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Franklin Ishida

For Masayoshi Kimura, speaking his mind has become difficult after suffering a stroke. But his true heart and joy are in his paintings. And it was during his daily walks that Masayoshi Kimura heard the church bells from Kariya Lutheran Church, giving him further inspiration.

kanenoe28In 2004, bells were installed in the steeple at Kariya Church in central Japan. The congregation then took the bold step of ringing them every day at noon and 6 p.m. Most churches with bells in Japan dare not ring them regularly because neighbors consider them a nuisance. No one has complained at Kariya, and in fact the sound of the bells has now become a regular pattern in the area.

Early on, however, postcard-size paintings that featured the church’s bells started arriving at the church each month. Members wondered: Who was this anonymous “fan” of the church?

His identity was eventually revealed as his paintings continued to arrive each month. “Over five years, we are missing only one month,” says Kariya Pastor Yoshiro Ishida. It turns out, that was the month Kimura was hospitalized.

Kimura is not a Christian. He illustrates seasonal themes that strike his fancy, such as “harvest time” or “friendship.” “These are about our daily routines, the joys around us, and those things that are important for community,” he says. But there always is in the background a stylized cross-topped belfry with bells.

kariya-lcThe daily ringing of the church bells in Kariya marks the time for high school students across the street and for children coming home for supper. And the bells bring special joy to one neighborhood man’s heart, during his walks and as he picks up his paintbrush.

 

Y. Franklin Ishida
Director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission

Masayoshi Kimura’s paintings with the church bells can be seen at Kariya church’s website (in Japanese, but click top right button to advance through images.)

Sunday in Suriname quiz

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Hand In Hand

Resurrection Lutheran Church (RLC), Chicago, Illinois, sponsors ELCA missionary Kevin Jacobson who serves in Suriname.  The quiz below was prepared for RLC’s Sunday in Suriname mission event.    Thanks to the Rev. Kim Beckman for sharing this quiz!–Sue Edison-Swift
Sunday in Suriname Quiz

Answers:  1) A (September);  2)B; 3)C; 4)A; 5)C; 6)D; 7)A; 8)C; 9)B; 10)D
Learn more about Suriname by visiting www.elca.org/companionprofiles and then clicking on ”Latin America and Caribbean” and “Suriname.”   Learn more about how you can sponsor an ELCA missionary by visiting www.elca.org/missionarysponsorship or e-mail globalmissionsupport@elca.org.

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