Births, Deaths and Weddings

When we had our final service at Otaru in March 2008 after eight years there, it was a sad time for us. It was the end of one very important chapter in our lives and we were leaving people that we had got to know and love so much. Little did we know then that we would once again be involved in ministry in Otaru. Recently the church has seen a birth, a funeral and a wedding, all in the space of a couple of weeks. When we were in Otaru, one of the hardest times for us was the illness and subsequent death to cancer of Akio Sasaki. His wife remarried two years ago and had her first child last month. Around the same time a man (also called Sasaki) who David had baptised in 2005 when he was in his early 70s was hospitalised and died a week or two later. His funeral was last Thursday, the first church funeral since the pastor's death in February. Then on Sunday, after the service, there was a wedding! It's quite a story but basically it was an older couple who had been living together for a few years, both then came to faith in Jesus and wanted to be married before God before being baptised. It was a great occasion, with some moving speeches and testimonies afterwards too. One of the most touching moments was when the married couple sang one of their favourite hymns accompanied by the husband on the guitar. It turned out the guitar had belonged to Mr Sasaki who died last week and his wife had given it to the husband. The folks at Otaru have been through much in these past months and it was so encouraging to see them rejoicing in this couple's faith and marriage and looking forward to the double baptism later in the year. Another man has also confessed faith in Jesus and will be preparing for baptism too. For Otaru Church June always means the Sun Kids Festival, the big outreach of the year which always draws many local children. We trust there will be yet further encouragements for the church on that day.