Proverbs 22:2 “Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.”
We just got back from three weeks in South America. We visited Colombia, Ecuador,
Argentina and Brazil. This trip was largely a vacation we had been saving for as a family, but it was also a huge opportunity for us to prepare for Project Japan. We met lots and lots of people, had a chance to learn more about Covenant missionaries in Colombia and Ecuador, spoke about Project Japan with leaders of the Covenant church in Ecuador, several churches/pastors in Brazil, people we met on the metro or in the teleferico (cable car) and cafe workers in Argentina. We saw the enormous gap between the rich and the poor and were struck with a sense of helplessness at times in the face of such poverty. But whether we were at a Spanish tapas restaurant in Medellin, Colombia, or the executive suite of our hotel (gifted to us by one of Johnna’s bosses), we saw this truth that the Lord is Maker of them all. It is easy to focus on differences when traveling to new places, but this verse reminds us that we’re all on equal ground in one fundamental area – the Lord has made us all! We preached about missiology and making our lives our mission and our mission our life. We spoke about evangelism and seeing the image of God in everyone we meet. It was an enriching experience and you can click here and read more about it.
IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS IN BRAZIL
Remember the story about Johnna’s grandparents getting married in a Covenant 
church in San Diego that has since sold that property to a Japanese Church? Through that connection, Fabio met the pastor of the Japanese church’s English ministry named Ichibei Honda. Ichibei introduced Fabio to a man named John over email. John is the head of at JEMS – Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society . To Fabio’s surprise, John wrote back in Portuguese. He connected us to Daniel Abe, head of the Japanese/ Brazilian Free Methodist churches in Brazil. We met with Daniel in Sao Paulo (a 3rd generation Japanese/Brazilian himself) and learned much more about what life is like for Brazilians in Japan. Meetings, or divine appointments like this, are ways in which we keep seeing how God is caring for us and all our steps as we work daily toward Japan.
SPOTLIGHT CORNER!
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PRAISES
– October was our best month yet of financial giving. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
– A wonderful trip. Thank you for praying for our safety and all the details. If you want to see more pictures, be sure to friend us on Facebook: Johnna e Fabio. Click here!
– Connections with Nisei (2nd generation) and Sansei (3rd generation) Japanese descendants who now live in Brazil.
– Within just a few weeks, Fabio was able to eat in the most Brazilian part of Japan and the most Japanese part of Brazil!
– For Thanksgiving and soon Christmas, times to be with loved ones and reflect on the year gone by.
– It’s budget season for many churches right now. A few churches are voting on Project Japan this month.
PRAYER
– We received individual one time gifts, new individual partners and new church partners. It is so exciting to see the percentage of support pledged increase. We are still aiming for FEBRUARY 2015 to be in Japan. Pray with us for this miracle.
– That we would be reminded to see people as Jesus sees them regardless of social 
class, race, level of intelligence or appearance.
Grateful for you, our faithful partners, and the work that God is currently doing in all of our lives.
Happy Belated Thanksgiving and we wish you a very Merry, Reflective, Relaxing Christmas season!
Fabio, Johnna, Sophia
