"We were told to give these to June-san whom he'd heard hadn't been feeling well, but with the caution that they could be fattening so please warn you to eat only one a day," my sisters said as they handed me the bags of treats they had been given. It was Okinawan peanut brittle, and the coating was hardened black sugar for which the island is famous. The candy was a gift from the same person who secretly cut down the tall weeds in my sister's backyard. It seems he is always looking for things we might need or want and ways he might help meet that need.
My parents had no idea that one of the boys attending summer camp--yes, the feller in the center on the top row wearing the wide smile-would drink in the Word; go on to participate in our outer island boat evangelism (that's him in the orange wind breaker); become one of the leaders in the Uken church and teach their daughters in Sunday School!
It was a happy day when he went to mainland Japan for Bible School; came back a few years later to marry a fellow graduate and lead the flock of one of the 5 churches Daddy helped start. Years later, when his wife's health problems erupted, the believers encouraged him to prioritize his wife's needs, saying they would always understand if he had to drop everything to care for her.
This is the situation he was in last year when 2 of the Waala MK's and 3 Oshiro MK's met him pushing his wife in her wheelchair. That's his mother coming in from the parking lot.
And then, this year, his wife had to be hospitalized for pneumonia, and he visits her every day. But if you think that made him tired, dark, and dim, think again. A few days after Janice arrived from the U.S., we were invited over to his home for fellowship. Bentos were ordered for the meal, and we J's simply bought drinks and dessert. A fancy dinner is not important, he felt; we talked, sang and prayed together. THAT was what was what he really wanted.
Thank you Lord, for Ishikawa Sensei.
