Friends,

On Monday, May 2nd, a team of 5 will fly to Japan. We have a full schedule of church visits and meetings with the missionaries and members of the indigenous church with whom we work in Japan, the Reformed Church of Japan (RCJ). We fly home on May 13th.

Besides myself, the team members are:

• Rev. Lendall Smith, president of the CDM and a long-time member of the CFM
• Mr. Luke Brown, member of the Hatboro, Penn., OPC who served many years on the CFM, particularly on the Japan Mission sub-committee, during which time he built several mission structures in Japan on behalf of the OPC (back in the '80s)
• Mr. John Voss, member of the Orland Park, Ill., OPC and a builder with many years' experience
• Mr. James Yaegashi, son of missionary Kaz Yaegashi who is fluent in Japanese and thus able to help the team by interpreting and navigating

Please pray for safety in traveling to and in Japan. Pray that the Lord will bless us with wisdom as to how best the OPC can come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in Japan and be a help and encouragement to them during this time of great strain and great opportunity.

We have been encouraged to hear reports from the RCJ of their various presbyteries developing their own sub-committees, specifically with the purpose of reaching out to this segment of their own church. We hope to learn more about these efforts and see if we can further bolster them.

Friends, as we hear of disasters in our own country, specifically the tornadoes sweeping through the South, the devastation in Japan starts to fade in our memories. Even as we pray for and work with those who have been affected by the tornadoes (and, yes, that work is beginning to move forward), we must not forget our brothers in Japan. Please continue praying. Your prayers are priceless.

Yours in Christ,

David
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David Nakhla
Disaster Response Coordinator
The Committee on Diaconal Ministries
THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
607 N. Easton Rd, Bldg E, Willow Grove, PA 19090
Off: 215-830-0900 Cell: 562-760-7606
Skype: david.p.nakhla
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