The second session of the “Young Generation Global Mission Series” was held on Saturday, December 12, from 19:00 to 20:45.

We invited Mr. Roberto Junior as our guest speaker, a Brazilian who served at Asian Rural Institute in Nasu-Shiobara in Tochigi Prefecture from 2017 to 2019 as a Global Mission Fellow of the Global Mission Fellow Program, a long-term mission program in the Generation Transformation Program of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, targeted at the young generation Christians.

We recorded an interview film and showed it online.  He spoke of the reason for applying for the Global Mission Fellow Program, the activities of the program, how the experience as a Global Mission Fellow influenced his life, Christian life in Brazil, the young Brazilian life in Covid-19 infection, and social issues in Brazil.  There were only nine participants, but maybe because of the small size of the participants, many questions were asked, and they seemed to have participated very actively.

The support Mr. Roberto is doing to homeless people in Brazil, as well as the racism issues and a high unemployment ratio and how the young Brazilians are affected by it seemed to have attracted many attentions from the participants.  Even though there was a 12-hour time difference, and the actual distance was very far between Brazil and Japan, the participants could feel Mr. Roberto just by their side, and they could spend a very heart-warming time together.

When we hear the word ‘Ministry’, we seldom think of telling the Bible and Christian stories to others, but the mission activities of the Global Mission Fellow Program indicate ‘missionaries’  as the social activities that a person should dedicate oneself to, using one’s talents (experiences and skills) as a Christian.  Of course, Christian faith is necessary, but the interest in social justice issues and a will to wrestle with the issues are equally important.

The Wesley Zaidan is also an official application reception organization of the Global Mission Fellow, a long-term mission program of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church.  Anyone interested in the program is welcome to send a message to the address below.

Contact:  program@wesley.or.jp