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J A PA N E S E E VA N G E L I C A L M I S S I O N A R Y S O C I E T Y NEWSLET TER August 2012 my MT. HERMON BLESSINGS Rev. Rick Chuman, Executive Director This is our annual Mount Hermon JEMS journal edition. You will read articles written from folks who went to the different camps. Even though the ages of the writers might vary, one thing will be similar in all the stories, that being the reality of God. It never ceases to amaze me to hear story after story about the difference Mount Hermon has made in a person’s life. I’m also one of those who have been blessed because of Mount Hermon. I re-dedicated my life to Jesus when I went to Senior High Camp back in the summer of 1981. I had been away from the Lord my senior year in High School, and God graciously touched my life at camp. I remember calling my parents from a payphone (yes, we didn’t have cell-phones back then) and apologizing for having been so mean to them during my final year in High School. I also had some unresolved bitterness toward a brother in Christ. He happened to be at Mount Hermon that year. Right before communion, the speaker encouraged us to examine our lives. I knew what I had to do. I needed to forgive that one brother. God was working in both our hearts, and we were able to forgive one another and be reconciled to each other. I literally felt a wall of ice melt from around my heart. It was also at that Mount Hermon that I felt God place a fork in the road of my life. He told me that I needed to choose whether I was going to live my life for myself or for Him. I knew the answer. So I went home from camp and broke up with my non-Christian girlfriend and then once I entered college, I immediately joined Campus Crusade for Christ (we didn’t have AACF chapter at SDSU). Through CCC, I learned the importance of personal evangelism and accountability to other brothers. I grew tremendously in my first two years of college. Eventually this led to me going to seminary and becoming a pastor. But all this started because of Mount Hermon. Vol. 63 No. 3 In 1994, I went to Mount Hermon Career camp. It was there that I met my wife, Kathy. If you know Ponderosa camp, wall space was important in the auditorium because you could lean against something. Well, I placed my backpack next to the wall and went get a drink of water. When I came back, Kathy had moved my backpack and was sitting where I planned to sit. Undaunted by such “rude” behavior, I just squished my rear end between her and Chris Mason. When Ron Sugimoto asked for the seminar leaders to stand that night, I stood up and so did Kathy. It was then that I noticed she was rather attractive. And needlessly to say, the rest is history. She pursued me and I eventually gave in (okay, that’s my side of the story and I’m sticking to it…haha. You can ask her what really happened). So Mount Hermon not only brought me to closer to Christ but it also brought me a wife. God is good! Please enjoy the testimonies of Mount Hermon. I’d love to hear yours. Please feel free to e-mail me at RickC@jems. org if you’d like to share your story. Mount Hermon is probably the most influential ministry we provide to the Asian American churches. Thank you for your continuous support of this very special conference. Next year, Rene Schlaepfer will return as one of the speakers. The dates are June 30 to July 6th, 2013. One of the speakers for 2014 will be Tony Campolo. Hope to see you Mount Hermon in 2013! Have a blessed summer! 1 JAPAN MISSIONS Creative Arts Team and Staff visiting our Japan Missionaries Lowell Sue went to Japan with the JEMS Music Ministry Creative Arts Team and Mary Tabuchi went to Japan with the Holiness Youth Choir. They both met with the JEMS missionaries in various areas of Japan. It was like visiting with family and a blessing to see everyone doing well. This summer, the 2012 JEMS Japan Creative Arts Missions Team had the opportunity to utilize art, hula, music and sports as tools to share the Gospel to the natives of Japan. The team was comprised of Amy Lee (Art), Stephanie Lee (Music), Greg Lum (Hula), Andrew McMullen (Sports), Christopher John Sue (Sports), Lowell Edward Sue (Leader) and Kylie Yano (Hula). Together, they lead workshops and performed in two locations of Japan: Higashimurayama (west end of Tokyo) and Minamisanriku (coastline town destroyed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami). These were two places that were completely different from each other but they share the same need for the saving hope of Jesus. This 14-day missions trip was a blessing for many – the people that the team ‘loved’ on and the team members themselves. It was simply life changing! Burt and Kathryn Sue (JEMS Japan Affiliates) visited the team and are included in the team’s picture. Kevin, Nozomi, & Lia West (Missionaries—Nagoya) Lia is a very easy-going and happy baby. It must be the terrific care of their parents and her love of music and enjoying interacting with others. The youth choir shared at the seminary’s “coffee house.” What a great idea! It is a great ministry to have people “drop in” at the first floor coffee house and experience “live” music and being able to interact with the seminary students, Christian musicians and others. The coffee house is below the seminary and therefore never short of staff. It is a modern-day “FISH” hangout similar to the 1970s JEMS ministry where folks had a place to just “hang out.” Gayle Gutierrez & James Ogata (Missionaries—Machida) On Sunday nights, the Machida Bible Church uses the beautiful Machida Christian Center for their service. It was a rockin’ Southern Baptist-style service. The youth choir truly enjoyed their worship service. When the choir sang “You Are Good” the congregation jumped up and joined us and rocked the house! This was the choir’s 27th presentation in 15 days and they were a little tired until they experienced this service. They were instantly rejuvenated! What a great experience to see such a worshipful, innovative service. Gayle works with the center and James Ogata is retired. Michael, Chris, & Luke Mason (Missionaries—Sakai) They are currently transitioning into their “house church.” This Fall Chris will resume her role at Kansai Christian School (KCS) as the first- and second-grade teacher’s aide and the Bible teacher for grades 5 and 6. Michael will once again serve as the chaplain at KCS and will speak at the monthly allschool chapel times (Grades 1-12) He will also be the camp speaker at the all-school campout in October. Luke is now taller than Chris and is doing exceptionally well in school and music (piano). They ask for prayer for the church transition and as they share Christ with the students. The Masons visited the Nagoya Coffee House. SOUTH AMERICA MISSIONS Many thanks to those who were praying for me as I undertook a new mission exploration to Buenos Aires in August. This study trip to Argentina has been on my heart for over a decade as JEMS begins to investigate opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with Nikkei in that country. Through such tools as Facebook and through existing relationships, I was able to open a dialogue with the Centro Nikkei Argentino, the preeminent Nikkei community organization in Buenos Aires. The Centro Nikkei is an 22 NEW FIELDS: ARGENTINA Rev. John Katagi important portal for JEMS in a community that has been known to be closed to outsiders. Additionally, I was able to to make contact with two Nikkei pastors in Buenos Aires: Pastor Luis Yonamine of the Megumi Kyokai, and Pastor Rubens Uezu of the Iglesia Evangelica Japonesa (pictured left to right). JEMS has been invited by Pastor Uezu to utilize his church’s campground to offer a JEMS youth program in 2013. JEMS South America Department is hoping to send a study team to Buenos Aires in January 2013 to visit the campground and to further our relationships with the local pastors and church community. In this way we hope to better determine the viability of sending a JEMS Team in July 2013. Please pray that this door will continue to remain open. Muchas gracias!! AACF AACF Leadership Team (Revs. Victor Quon/Melanie Mar Chow) Discipleship is about people, not paper. It is interesting to note that Jesus never wrote a book. His ministry was not so much about leaving behind a doctrine that we could study, but touching the lives of people, whose stories could be told. Certainly, Jesus spent a great amount of time teaching his disciples, but he also led his disciples as they followed him walking from town to town. They saw him act with compassion when he cast out demons, healed the sick and raised the dead. When they had seen enough, Jesus then trained them to do the same. They were learning and acting out lessons of faith and love. This is also why we had yo-yo’s at LTC. One of our campus ministers taught others how to yo-yo as an example about how to learn something not just for ourselves, but to act out the lessons we learn with passion and apply it to how we become passionate about our faith and desire to share that with others. AACF UCLA alumni, Thomas Chen and AACF Biola/SJSU alum Esther Chen, husband and wife, were our speakers for the week who came to share not just about the importance of being Christ’s disciples, but the importance of discipling. He built on the theme verse of 2 Timothy 1:13 and especially encouraged the students to know more about why they follow Jesus. “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” Please pray with us for how these messages will stay with our student leaders and be replicated in each of our fourteen ministries on our campuses. For more information, please visit our website, www.aacf.org. Patterns: Replicating the Faith and Love found in Christ Jesus This year at our annual Leadership Training Conference (LTC) we learned about fractals. Fractals represent a pattern that is replicated. The picture for our conference was a fractal tree that begins with a single cross. Smaller crosses begin emanating out as the tree is formed. The visual was designed by a San Jose State AACFer, Keith Tsui. This fractal can be analogous to how the body of Christ begins to form only when we touch the lives of people with his faith and love. PNW WARM BEACH CONFERENCE "Hope Unleashed" Hebrews 6:19-20 God was at work in so many wonderful ways – here’s a glimpse: Children’s Camp: Leaders: Steven Taki, Kristen Shimabukuro, Benedict Mau and Chong Ahn. “It was a blessing to lead the children and watch them interact with each other. We took the kids on a faith walk—blindfolded, they needed to trust us as leaders. They did well and then we used that as an experience base for them to put their trust and hope in God.” Nichigo Camp: Outreach to Japanese International Students: CoDirectors Ribeka Hirokawa and Satomi Oshima; Speakers: Mao and Setsu Shimizu. Great news! Four people accepted Christ. Praise the Lord! In addition one person made a decision to be baptized. Each person at camp those who are Christians, newly born, or seekers – we were each touched by the love of God! Youth Camp: Allison Bhang and Karstin Jacobson (Sr. High and Jr. High directors) Speakers: David Sim & Nathan Mochizuki. “As first time director, I wanted this camp to be a very fun and enjoyable for the leaders and youth; a time to slow down from our busy lives and spend quality time in fellowship and with God. I prayed for peace and freedom. My expectations were blown away. No matter how much we planned and prepared to make camp special, it was the youth that made camp. Whether it was sharing life with a new friend, praying for each other, bringing the natural joy that they have, or taking one for the team by eating not one, but three wasabi oreos in a food eating challenge, the youth were such a blessing. I am so thankful and blessed to have been able to be a part of what God is doing through JEMS Warm Beach. God is so so good! I want to say a special thank you to everyone who made camp possible and to the youth for being so loving and passionate.” Special Camp for the developmentally challenged: Joan Hirata, Team Lead with Phil Yamamoto, Chris Murphy, & speaker, Joyce Brooks. “We prayed that we might see our campers through different eyes… not just that we would see them as our God sees them, but to see Him at work in them. Our ever-present God showed His light and power in our time together, we were so privileged to be witnesses. I believe God healed one of our campers of back pain as on the first day he was frequently signing “hurt” and pointing to his back. We prayed and prayed and laid hands and after that there were no complaints. I saw new emotional facial expressions as we worshipped in song… eyes closed, and different kinds of dancing!” Adult Camp: Core Team: Daphne Yamauchi, Keith Igarashi, Bob Klimek, Todd Nakata, Anton Lee, Keith Igarashi, Carolyn Shimabukuro and speaker Richard Nakamura, fifteen year veteran missionary to Japan. This year we created a new position of ministry. Rev. Keith Igarashi was our pastor in residence to provide spiritual support over all the camp divisions. We are finding that in addition to meeting as an Adult Camp we also play a key role as adults to cover the entrire camp in prayer. A first timer in the Adult camp shared, “I was brought to tears by the special camp video and song. God used them in a powerful way to show his goodness to all.” As a six division camp, we experienced some amazing relational dynamics. “Meal-time buddies” give the Adults one-on-one time with Japanese students to express love and encouragement to students to practice English. Youth have topical seminars like “Special Camp” where youth visit this camp and interact by helping with crafts and sharing snacks. Saturday night we gather together and each division contributes to the Family Nite program. What a unique time of joy and vitality: From Holy Hula, recognizing Jr. High Camp’s 15th year and High School Camp’s 10th year, the prayer and the commissioning of All Seasons Counseling and Spirituality Center. We culminated our time with a communion service that was a time 3 of heartfelt surrender and the sealing of God’s truth by the Holy Spirit. We truly have Jesus as the anchor of our soul – our hope is in Him and we are unleased to love and serve God and others for His Kingdom’s sake. Next year’s conference will be dedicated to AACF’s 40th anniversary. 23 Plan now to come and participate. August 15-18, 2013. do YOU have an UNWANTED VEHICLE? You and your vehicle can become partners of JEMS Ministries while earning a much deserved tax break! The top photo shows a 2002 BMW 325ci in need of major engine repairs which recently sold for $3000. The 1998 Mercury Villager sold for $1050. The donors generosity is helping support JEMS ministries and deputating staff. A great way to support the work of JEMS ministries is through the donation of your car, truck or van. We even accept disabled and wrecked vehicles too! We handle all DMV paperwork and towing is free. The process is FAST, EASY and hassle free. All you do is contact JEMS at 213.613.0022 and we will have our car broker, who has been assisting charities since 1997, contact you. We can accept vehicles in most parts of the US and Hawaii. IN MEMORY OF The Rev. Dr. Roy Yoneo Ishihara Rev. Roy Ishihara will be remembered as one of the founding pastors of JEMS. At the Mount Hermon Conference Center in 1950, Nisei pastors from Northern and Southern California met for prayer and launched the Mt. Hermon Nisei Christian Youth Conference, which would later become JEMS Mount Hermon Summer Conference. And, in the following year, JEMS was incorporated in the State of California. Rev. Roy was a very practical, down to earth pastor who took interest in people of all ages, especially youth needing help. Rev. Roy understood the culture of the 70’s, listened to the needs of youth and encouraged the idea of starting a coffee house ministry in Gardena. This led to the beginnings of the FISH ministry, and on March 24th of this year, a 40 year reunion brought together nearly 100 former FISH participants at Gardena Valley Baptist Church. The first leader of FISH, Luther Matsumoto of Oregon was present. Rev. Roy was also involved in a drug rehabilitation program, reaching out to the members of the Yellow Brotherhood by inviting them to the Mount Hermon Summer Conference. On a personal note, in early 1971, Rev. Roy Ishihara, then President of JEMS Board of Directors invited me to consider serving as its Executive Secretary. I deeply appreciated his confidence and faith as I accepted the call to fill the vacancy left by Rev. Paul Nagano. A brief history of Rev. Roy Ishihara was provided by Mrs. Roy (Dorothy) Ishihara and family: “Roy Yoneo Ishihara was born in 1922 in Oceanside, CA but grew up in Gardena, CA. He was one of six children of Toshiji and Ei Ishihara, who owned and operated the Fujiya Seed Company. He graduated from Gardena High Scholl where he lettered in track. From there he attended Azusa Pacific College until 1941. Shortly after transferring to Pepperdine University he had to leave midsophomore at age of 19 due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the 4 Contact us today about a vehicle donation. It is the environmentally friendly, tax-payer friendly and trouble-free way to donate your vehicle! Don’t have a vehicle to donate? Please tell your friends! August 9, 1922 – June 4, 2012 By Rev. Dr. Sam Tonomura resulting evacuation orders. The family then left for Utah, where Roy attended the University of Utah and graduated with a B.A. in Speech. He later attended Eastern Baptist seminary in Philadelphia. After the war the Ishihara family moved back to Los Angeles where Roy enrolled in California Baptist Theological Seminary’s graduate program. He received his MDiv. in 1948. He was ordained at Evergreen Baptist Church and became a pastor of Gardena Valley Baptist Church. In 1951, Roy married Dorothy E. Miyahara and in 1954 moved to Sacramento to pastor at Mayhew Baptist Church. With their three children, Roy and Dorothy moved to Hawaii in 1957 to become the first pastor of Kailua Christian Church. In 1965, the family of seven moved to Los Angeles where he helped with the family clothing business. Roy, Dorothy, and their two youngest daughters moved to Kona in 1976 where he assumed pastorship of Central Kona Union Church. After spending a year in Japan, Roy moved to his coffee farm in Captain Cook in 1988 to retire, but continued to minister at churches throughout Hawaii.” In 2009, at the 60th Anniversary of JEMS Mount Hermon Summer Conference, Rev. Roy and Dorothy Ishihara were invited as honored guests with other founding pastors of JEMS. All were recognized with deep appreciation for their faith and vision that launched the annual Mount Hermon summer conferences and world wide ministries of JEMS. A memorial service celebrating the life of Rev. Roy Ishihara was held on June 10, 2012 at the Central Kona Union Church, Hawaii. MT. HERMON 2012 5 JUNIOR HIGH by Garron Tsushima My name is Garron Tsushima. My name might sound familiar because I have the tremendous blessing to be married to Cynthia Tsushima, the JEMS Mount Hermon Youth Camp Coordinator. This was the second year I had the privilege to serve as the Dean of Men at Junior High Camp. God has been doing great things at Junior High camp, so I jumped at the opportunity to share some of those things with all of you. Camp is growing at a constant rate. Where we once had open spaces still available leading up to camp, in the past couple of years we are now maxing out. And each of those students that God is calling to camp is being changed and transformed by the Spirit. They are having an encounter with Jesus Christ and the Gospel message, and just like in the gospels, you can’t have an encounter with Christ and walk away the same person. The same is true of the students that God has entrusted to us. This year our speakers, Micah Gilmore & Eugene Ho, took us through the book of Ephesians. It’s amazing to see God’s sovereign hand in choosing that book for our camp to study. First we learned what Christ has done, and from there we learned who we are in Christ (our identity) and how we are to live. I was floored to hear the struggles and hardships that many of the students were going through, but as the week progressed it was a blessing to see how the Lord was ministering to them. 6 They no longer identified themselves with those struggles and sins and things of their old self, but as beloved, redeemed sons and daughters. They found a renewed identity in Christ. For myself personally, my “Aha” moment at camp this year came through not my primary job as dean, but my secondary job as camp photographer. I love being able to take pictures during the week of camp because it allows me to capture so many special moments. Things like parents praying for their child’s cabin leader, cabin leaders kneeling beside their students mourning over their sin, conferees with arms raised high and stretched out in worship. Moments like these and so many more remind and affirm me that this ministry is worth it. This life of service as a disciple of Christ is worth it. God is worth it. All the hours of planning, preparation, meetings, prayer, shopping. It’s all worth it, even for just one of those moments. Even just for one soul. We head into camp with certain hopes and expectations but God never ceases to go far beyond that. And for that, I am so grateful to be part of this ministry. “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 SPECIAL CAMP I served as a camper aide for the first time. People have asked me what it was like. I have no other way to describe it other than to say that it was the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to God’s kingdom here on earth. The only way a camp like that can work is if everyone there (even the campers, to an extent) puts others needs before their own. While it is physically challenging due to the 24hour care and the tremendous amount of planning required, the Lord works through the people, making it possible for everyone to do more than they could ever do on their own. The selflessness and the attitude of servitude from everyone create an environment where you can witness Christ living through the people. The entire camp becomes this amazing loving family, where despite the differences of age, gender or background, the normal societal barriers don’t exist. The men that serve as camper aides can be used as an example of what I mean. They are, for lack of a better term, a typical group of men of all ages and backgrounds. But at special camp, they are not typical at all. The tender care they provide to the campers is like the loving care of a father to his young child. You see these men holding hands with the campers. You see them act silly to bring laughter to the campers. You see them dancing with their campers, and comforting them when they are sad. Simple tasks to help them get ready for bed or eat a meal is done with loving care. For this week, these guys let go of the burden of all by Stephanie Suzuki, Special Camp Aide the things that the world has taught them about how men interact with other men, and they express the love of Christ to the campers. It was so moving. And that is just one of many examples. You saw this expression of love everywhere. From camper to camper, from aide to camper, and from aide to aide. Right after camp ended, I had to buy gas for the drive home. While I was filling up at the gas station, I looked around at the people there. Out of habit, I was ready to smile at the people and greet them with brotherly love. I looked around and realized that these people did not just experience what I did. Most looked away, and the few that made eye contact with me smiled back at me warily, wondering why I was smiling at them like that. It made me realize the gift that God had just given me. By showing me a glimpse of what His kingdom is going to be like, I can now contrast it with this world. This world is dark and cold and miserable. How much easier it will be for me to not desire the things of this world. I’ve always struggled with letting go of things like financial security, worldly success, my reputation, comfortable lifestyle, etc. I think it will be easier now. I have been mourning the loss of my worldly family (due to a recent divorce) and even that will be easier now. I have a ton of peace and hope and look forward to the coming of His kingdom. 7 REFLECTIONS #1 I had a Mount Hermon moment the other morning as I walked from my office to the local elementary school. I took a big deep breath of clean air, slightly damp with morning mist...and that's what brought me back to Mount Hermon—waking up early, staying up late, and being outdoors, away from the LA smog. It was that first deep breath stepping out of the cabin each morning or the silent late night walks back to the cabin after sharing at the campfire: clean air, slightly damp with morning mist. Mount Hermon is a weeklong summer conference in the Santa Cruz redwoods with all the other JEMS churches. I remember going to Family Camp when my dad emceed dinner. Every night he awarded a dinner table with a pot of fresh gohan. During the afternoon free time, my friends and I went swimming, creek walking, and hiking. We stayed up late and ate candy at the Fountain and played Ping-Pong. It was a week of hanging out with church families and convincing everyone's dad you needed another ice cream cone. Each summer from junior high until I went to college, I spent a week at Mount Hermon in a cabin with other crazy girls and a cabin leader. It was the week of hanging out with friends, singing worship songs, and learning about God. At every camp I heard sermons, attended seminars, acted out skits, and played ridiculously messy games like peanut butter elbow relay races, capture-the-flag with flour bombs in the rain, and ultimate Frisbee with cantaloupes. But that's not what I thought about as I walked to school. I didn’t think about some convicting message I heard because I honestly can't remember a single sermon or camp theme in the many years I attended camp. It wasn't crazy games, sermon illustrations, funny skits, or embarrassing moments— all though there are plenty of those. What came to mind as I walked were the faces of the men and women who served me at camp all those 8 by Kari Yahiro years: the cabin leaders of my cabin and the ones next door who prayed over me, the staffers who took care of me when I was injured and sat next to me on the benches when I couldn't participate in the games, the older men and women who invested in me for those weeklong camp experiences, and the ones who continued to invest even after their camp obligation finished. When I was a conferee, I never imagined I'd be sharing the love of Jesus Christ while teaching English in a remote dairy-farming village in Japan. It's not because I didn't love Japan back then, but I was so angry with God and had so many doubts about Jesus. Though it took a few years after my last summer as a conferee to finally develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I'm thankful for those weeklong God experiences every summer that pointed me to where I should’ve been all along. I haven’t yet had the opportunity to go back and serve at Mount Hermon to "pay my dues" but... Thank you to all the cabin leaders and staffers who served me throughout my years at Mount Hermon. Thank you for praying for me even when I didn’t believe God heard prayers. Thank you for trusting that God had bigger plans for an angry and rebellious teenager who always seemed to get hurt at camp. Thank you for having faith that God could use a weeklong summer camp to change hearts, especially angry teenage ones. Thank you for loving Jesus and faithfully serving Him so one day I could do the same. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2 REFLECTIONS #2 by Carol Kiyotoki It has been 15 years since I was a Career Camp conferee at Mt. Hermon, so the opportunity to attend this year was a real blessing. I had accepted Christ at Mt. Hermon in my junior year in high school at Main Camp many moons ago (I'll take the fifth on how many moons ago). Once I stepped out of the car onto the grounds, that familiar feeling came over me again. Thankfully, some things never change. Each aspect of Mt. Hermon was a blessing in a different way. The morning and evening speakers, pastors Dr. Ken Fong and Steve Langley caused us to search our hearts and minds, sometimes to the point of being uncomfortable, but motivating us to shed our pride and become true "followers" of Christ in every sense of the word. Our free time in the afternoon gave me the chance to rejuvenate through walks through the redwoods, shooting a few baskets, canoeing, catching up with old friends, indulging in a scoop of ice cream, or just taking a much-needed nap. Mt. Hermon is a beautiful place. But after such a long absence, I realize that the fellowship with the community of old and new friends is at the core of this gathering each year, and is what makes me appreciate it so much. I savored the moments of being reunited with friends I hadn't seen in years. Sweet memories resonate, and new ones are born. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful gift. 9 10 11 JAPANESE EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY SOCIETY 948 E. Second Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 213.613.0022, 213.613.0211 FAX E-Mail: [email protected] www.jems.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Address Label LETTER from the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR This summer we had several short-term summer mission teams (19 individuals) go to South America. We also had the Creative Arts Ministry Team (7 individuals) go to Japan. There were over 1350 individuals that attended the JEMS Mount Her- mon Summer Conference. Summer was also busy for AACF as they sponsored their Leadership Training Conference (84 conferees) in June. Now that Summer is winding down (my kids go back to school on August 21st…yea!), I know that Fall is not that far off. I’m looking forward to some cooler months and the normal routine of having the kids back in school. But it also reminds me that the year will soon be over. Rick Chuman 12 Ever since the recession, JEMS has been working to cover yearly shortfalls. This year is no exception. I ask that you continue to pray for us. I also ask that you might consider a special donation to our General Fund which has a significant deficit. I know that JEMS truly plays a valuable role in the life of the Asian American churches through the ministry of Mount Hermon. So many leaders, pastors, seminarians have come out of the ranks of Mount Hermon conferees and cabin leaders. Please help us continue this wonderful legacy. All glory to God! Thank you for your prayers and support! New 2012 JEMS Logo:
