A letter from Carol and Leith Fujii in Thailand
September 25, 2009
Precious Friends and Family,
Today we’re in the midst of preparations for the next and challenging conclusion of our time back in the United States. The last couple of months have flown by as Lani has relocated and begun her studies at Saint Mary’s College; we’ve visited with churches and friends in California, Chicago and New York, while at the same time having quality moments with Mark as well as with Joy and our new son-in-law, E.J.; we’ve been a part of our parents lives in their home. We’re thankful also to have been able to be in telephone contact with Karin in Guider, Cameroon, during her recent hospitalization with malaria. There have been some good moments of quiet, but this time back in the United States has definitely been a lot more of “living out of the suitcase!” And a lot more of this is about to come!
During the next four weeks, we will be going off in separate directions, Carol to the Southwest (New Mexico and Arizona) and Leith to the Northeast (Pennsylvania and New York) as speakers with the PC(USA)’s World Mission Challenge 2009. This campaign is designed to place a mission co-worker like us in personal contact with as many of our 173 presbyteries and 10,000 congregations as possible. It is exciting and a wonderful privilege to be in these final preparations with such a committed, talented and diverse team of mission co-workers who will engage in the important task of developing and strengthening partnership connections with the church. With our 43 colleagues in mission, we are representatives of all 220 of PC(USA)’s mission co-workers who serve in 53 countries throughout the world. Please uphold us in prayer as we go forth.
Mee and Por are BIT alumni who have been in the United States for three years. They’ve recently returned to Thailand to become part of the pastoral staff at Sathorn Church.
Though our attention focuses on matters immediately in front of us, our brothers and sisters in Thailand are on our hearts, and we look forward to being with them again at the end of October. Just before Leith left Bangkok, he was delighted to welcome Mee and Por (Taweesak and Chulalak, BIT alumni) back from the United States where they had an amazing time of personal growth, theological training and vision for ministry. You have partnered with us in prayer for them as well as in the ministry God had been preparing. They have experienced God deepening their faith and dependence on Him during their three years in the United States. They return to begin a new phase of ministry, confident in our God Who is able to do “exceedingly beyond what we can imagine” (2 Corinthians 2:10). Mee and Por will join the pastoral staff at Sathorn Church, a part of the seventh district of the Church of Christ in Thailand, reaching out to neighborhood youth through a soccer ministry, which is how Mee came to know Jesus Christ. We are thankful to God for all who have loved, prayed for and invested in Mee and Por these past three years. We are also thankful to experience a model of “hands-on partnership” in mission with U.S. churches.
Thank you again for praying and upholding us during World Mission Challenge 2009.
Gratefully in Christ,
Carol and Leith Fujii
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 110
