Dear Family, Friends and Prayer Warriors,
We hope this finds you all well and enjoying the blessings of knowing our precious Jesus!
Here is a little update from our end.
*Due to Covid-19, JEMS mailing address has changed for now. From now on, please send your checks to this address. Possibly, this will be the mailing address until the end of the year. We’ll keep you posted: JEMS, P.O. Box 86047, Los Angeles, CA 90086-0047
COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES
The Covid 19 shut-downs continue to limit the ministry that we can do through the church, unfortunately. We have sought to use this time to build an online presence in order to reach more of Japan. We also continue to keep in touch with those we have been building relationships with via text. We are also excited to have an open-air gathering planned for this Saturday at a nearby park with many of them!
SERENITY’S HEALTH CONDITION
Now, for an update on Serenity. She is now five months old and brings much joy to us all. She loves to explore and is already crawling! She is very doted on by all of her siblings, who fight daily over who gets to hold her. In spite of her generally happy existence, her labs have grown steadily worse.
This week we were sent for our second visit to the transplant specialist, Dr. Kasahara, for an in-depth examination. He told us that Serenity was now a candidate for a liver transplant. There is fluid accumulating on her liver, and according to medical literature, she would have a life expectancy of a mere six months, without transplant.
He said that we didn’t need to rush to do the transplant right now, that we probably had a month or two yet, but that it would be better to go ahead and do the preparatory exams. This includes 7-14 days of hospital admission for Serenity to have in depth exams, and one day of exams for Fabio to determine if he is compatible to be a live liver donor.
This has been a year of MUCH learning and growing for us through this challenge. We have encountered Jesus in a new and fresh way and His Word has been coming alive to us afresh! We are actually *excited* in spite of apparently unfavorable circumstances! We were both filled with so much peace and faith yesterday while speaking to Dr. Kasahara, and even felt an inexplicable JOY bubbling up in our hearts. What a crazy grace!
This is one of the many passages that the Lord has been speaking to us.
Romans 4:17-21
“He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
We are still believing that it is God’s promise to make Serenity healthy and whole! We are looking forward in expectation to see how He will bring that about.
NAGASAKI POSTPONED
We had a meeting with Pastor Ueda, who oversees this church and our future move to Nagasaki, and he suggested we consider not moving to Nagasaki this year, for the following reasons:
- Serenity’s present health concerns;
- The best hospital to treat her condition is 1.5 hours away from here;
- Due to Covid-19, the people on the island of Kyushu, where Nagasaki is, are not excited about receiving Tokyo people because most of the Covid cases are in Tokyo. Going there to try to start new “religious gatherings” would not be seen with good eyes.
While on one hand, this makes us feel like the wind got taken out of our sails, on the other hand, we feel that, as much as we want to make this move, we must respect the time we are living in and the community we hope to be working with. We also now believe that this “delay” is also strategic. It has certainly not been in vain, as the Lord is birthing in us a deeper vision and a greater passion for what the ministry in Nagasaki will be!
Thank you for being with us on this wild ride! We will keep you updated as we are able.
GRATITUDE
- This season is drawing us closer to God, building us up in faith and equipping us for the next season;
- Our childrens’ lives have been stabilizing into more natural routines;
- Our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ and faithful supporters;
- Opportunities and projects that we have been working on due to Covid-19. *We’ll announce soon!
JOIN US IN PRAYER FOR:
- Serenity’s healing;
- Outreach projects during new Covid-19 reality;
- Increase in financial support to cover the budget;
- God’s rich blessings on our friends and partners’ lives and families.
“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
Not wavering,
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