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| Tomiko Nakandakari and Family |
"...Are you ready for this? It's a bit complicated. It was a lady who was saved in Dad's ministry about 50 years ago, then married and moved to another island without a church, but has kept her faith all these years (Tomiko Nakandakari). Her sister, also saved around the same time, went into some kind of ministry, I believe. When her daughter Norimi--whom Tomiko had led to Christ--heard about his illness, she came to visit us in the first hospital last summer, and gave us the above update about her family and thanked Dad for leading her mom to the Lord "and starting everything" (she has led her two sons to Christ too). Wow! This week, she came again, this time with her parents, who were visiting Okinawa for New Year's. Her father's not saved yet, but her mom was in tears as she held Dad's hand and thanked him for his faithful ministry. What a rewarding time that was for him!"
My sister has been staying busy not only taking care of my parents but also forming and leading the church choir, teaching two private music classes. I don't know where she finds time, but I pray not only that God would give her the strength to do all she needs to do but also send her joy in it all. I've already heard of several of the blessings, some including accounts like the above, some like the below:
My sister says, some nights, she hears Dad, despite bouts with pain--morphine is no longer strong enough, so he is using fentanyl transdermal patches--mutter in his sleep, "God is so good", "Help me to glorify You", or "Thank You God". God is real and worthy of our all, those expressions tell us. I doubt my sister would trade those precious moments in the night for anything.
