Double Talk

Roy Oshiro

It's been awhile.  Let me write the following to bring you up to date--and I won't be thinking about writing well, just want to tell you the information.

Before my Dad retired from Baptist Mid-Missions, it had been discovered he had prostate cancer.  After much consideration, it had been decided he would go the route of "watchful waiting", not taking aggressive action (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation).  This type of cancer grows very slowly for elderly men, we were told, and conventional treatment would only lower Dad's quality of life.  It was expected he would die of old age way before he could die of cancer.

When Dad went to Vancouver for his "Graduation" last year, his health was doing fine; we cannot thank God enough for arranging this merciful blessing!



Octegenarian?!

The cancer returned and has now spread to his bones, bringing pain keeping Dad in bed most of the time now.

The long and short of it is that it was decided in March my sister move to Okinawa and live with my parents, helping look after them while helping out at the Gushikawa Baptist Church.  She left this past weekend.  (Altho' this can be communicated in a few short sentences, it involved years of prayer and was the result of much godly counsel.)

When the possibility of her need to help care for my parents first came up, she was first concerned about her niece, Emily.  God had led my daughter to live in the apartment on the floor just above my sister, for the years she attended the Saitama University nearby for studies in nursing.  My sister had pretty much taken her under wings as if she were her own daughter, helping her find work, giving her much spiritual advice and help, even paying her rent.  Of course, she had felt reluctant to move to Okinawa, since this would mean she would have to leave her niece behind alone.  Well, the 2011 Earthquake changed all that, with the entire family of that niece--us--moving down to be with her!

There were many other considerations, but it seemed God took care of them one by one.  It couldn't be doubted that He was engineering my sister's move down to Okinawa at this time.  She left on the ferry Saturday.

They named her Emma Joyce

"I would ask for a double portion of your spirit," I told her one day previous to her leaving, "but with all that you will be facing in Okinawa, you probably will be needing every bit of it...and three times more what you already have. I can't take any away from you."

We have an unlimited God, her response reminded me: "June, God doesn't have to subtract to give more blessing!"

Besides, we're talking about her moving to Okinawa, not dying!

So, at the port, we reminded ourselves God would be giving three times His Spirit to my sister, but a double portion to me too.

More on this later.  (Thank you for putting up with several long blanks in my blogging.  It's not that nothing worth reporting was happening....)