Commemorating 2 Anniversaries
--Report of Mission Tour to Brazil--
| (Tohon Newsletter Vol.2_No.4_Total No.8) By Rev. OGAWA Motoi Vice Director of Tohon Overseas Mission Dept. Rev. TAKASHIMA Takayuki (executive of Tohon Grand Church; the chief missionary of this tour group), Rev. OGAWA Motoi (Vice Director of Tohon Overseas Mission Dept.; attendant), Rev. SOHARA Michihiro & Rev. MATSUI Sadao (voluntary members) visited Brazil from 6th through 27th day of June. We have two main purposes of our visit to Brazil this time. One is to attend the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Tenrikyo Mission Headquarters in Brazil and another is to perform the service to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the foundation of Tohon South America Mission Center located in Campinas. On the 10th day of June, the 50th anniversary of H.Q. located in Bauru was held in large scale. We four stayed there for two days. As a newly built members’ house, where we stayed in, was on a street, we could hear a lot of buses coming to H.Q. from everywhere in Brazil night and day. Some were from Amazon Delta located more than 3,000 km (about 1,900 miles) far from Bauru, taking 3 days by bus. They made vows so sincerely with deep emotion. About 6,500 people, including some from next countries & Japan, were assembled there on the day. Our Tohon’s Mission Center in Campinas made pilgrimage to Bauru with 28 members. On 17th day of June, we performed the 5th anniversary service of Tohon South America Mission Center, welcoming 45 adult members & 10 children. Rev. SOHARA Yoshio, the head of the Mission Center, read his determination in his prayer that he would try to do his best so as to attend the Convention commemorating Tohon’s foundress NAKAGAWA Yoshi’s 80th anniversary with more Brazilians than the last time. Then the message of Tohon’s head minister was read aloud in Portuguese. And Rev. TAKASHIMA’s speech followed it with interpretation by Mr. IWAO in Portuguese. All of us enjoyed the reception after the service very much. It was full of warm & friendly atmosphere. We can remember their good smiles. After that, we visited Tohon’s new missionary couple, Mr. AKIYAMA Hideyuki & Mrs. AKIYAMA Erika, in Curitiba, who came to Brazil last December. We performed the enshrinement service in their house, dreaming bright future. At last we visited Uruguay & Argentine. In Buenos Aires in Argentine, a large sanctuary building of Tenrikyo Buenos Aires Fellowship (belonging to Kawaramachi Grand Church) was under construction. One of us asked Rev. Sin Yanki, the head of the Fellowship, “How do you convey the Path where they don’t have the habits to present offerings to God the Parent?” He answered clearly, “I teach people offering and administer the Sazuke, and then they will be saved in 100%, not in 90%.” Yobokus in Japan, even missionaries are not necessarily bright or cheerful because of kinds of reasons, and we may be sometimes doubtful on the providence of God the Parent. I realized that we should only administer our sacred Sazuke, overcoming kinds of human concerns. We hope that our mission tour would be good to Tohon’s members in Brazil and that many experiences we had there & people we met there would be good hints to us. Return to the top of the page. |
Back to the 
page.
