Setsu Shimizu (JCFN North America Director)
Happy Belated New Year!
What a year 2021 has been for you!??
I am the biggest recipient of JCFN’s blessings in the world!
For me, JCFN has been a very important ministry that I have been involved with for more than half of my life, becoming a staff member at the age of 25 and turning 54 this year. To be honest, I never thought I’d be a part of JCFN for this long! But I really appreciate it!
JCFN is a very unique one and only ministry in the world. This is also a very niche ministry that supports returnees Christians. I am the one who has received the most blessings in the world through this ministry! It’s no exaggeration to say that! And no, I’m not a returnee! LOL!
So, I give all the glory back to God for starting and guiding this ministry, and to all of you who are involved in this ministry, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Thank you!
30th Anniversary Started with a Challenge
JCFN’s 30th anniversary started with corona pandemic, then Lockdown! All ministries are now online. Also, due to the pandemic, some really sad and painful events happened nearby and worldwide. At the same time, some of the people I am personally involved with were going through very difficult times, and I spent many days praying with a mixture of tears and sighs.
But I was so encouraged by the testimonies of the “Where is that person Now?” video series as part of the 30th anniversary. Because although the circumstances were different, my dear friends who returned home shared with me that it was not during the smooth sailing that they experienced God close to them, but during the peaks and valleys of their lives after their return. Our hope is that even in the midst of the global difficulties, the Corona disaster, and in our own lives, the Lord is still working the same way.
The next 30 years!
That’s too long to think about. LOL, 30 years from now, I’ll be 84!
My prayer and expectation is that I will continue to follow Jesus’ leading, and that JCFN will also continue to be a ministry of raising up disciples of Jesus if God allows. It is my sincere desire to continue to live the gospel of Jesus and share it with you.
I ask the Lord to bless the work of JCFN for the next 30 years!