Serve
Family follows call to church start ministry in Japan
serve
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n 1977, while Dale Huckabay was stationed with the U.S. Marines in Okinawa, Japan, he fell in love with the culture and the people. Thirty years later, when his family hosted an exchange student from Japan, Dale, along with his wife and son, began to feel called to serve among the Japanese people. Then, when they read a story in CBF’s fellowship! magazine about the need for short-term mission workers in Kanazawa, Japan, the call became even louder. Dale, a bi-vocational pastor at Tulledega Hills Baptist Church in Henryetta, Okla., and his wife, Dana, who works for Weight Watchers, began contemplating the possibility of following this call. “God was definitely working,” Dale said. “Dana and I were both able to take a leave of absence from our work, and every possible obstacle was quickly overcome.” As part of a partnership between CBF and the Japan Baptist Convention, the Huckabays are working for six months with two churches in Kanazawa, a city of half a million people located along the Sea of Japan. Dale serves as pastor of International Baptist Church, a new English language church plant of Kanazawa Baptist Church. The church attracts internationals living in the coast city, as well as locals who are
Dale and Dana Huckabay, front row center, serve at International Baptist Church, a new English language church plant of Kanazawa Baptist Church.
learning English. Dana works primarily with the Kanazawa Baptist Church kindergarten, an important outreach ministry for the church. She teaches English to the children and plans programs for the parents, such as cooking demonstrations and outings. Their son, Nathan, works as a teacher’s assistant in the English department at a local college. When the Huckabays arrived in Kanazawa, the pastor told them to “see Kanazawa, make friends, and invite people to church,” and this is what they’ve been doing. The
Serve in Kanazawa, Japan What you will do: • Teach a weekly conversational English class
Huckabays’ presence in Kanazawa has been an encouragement to the community of believers there. “The people in the church here really want this project to work,” Dale said. “They are so hoping that God will use something to begin to reach their loved ones, and they believe this might be part of God’s plan for that.” As the Huckabays complete their assignment in December, they hope that God will call someone else to continue the work they’ve started.
What is provided: • Bicycle for local transportation • Possibility of additional money based on the local ESL program
• Assist with a kindergarten program on weekday mornings and network and fellowship with parents of the children who attend
Your requirements:
• Attend worship services, weekly prayer meetings and neighborhood and associational meetings
• Have a bachelor’s degree (though no teaching experience is needed)
• Participate in the JOY CWF program, which combines teaching English, providing pastoral training and offering a fellowship time
• While there is no age limit, you must be in good health
• Assist local pastor in other mission activities
• Commitment to a two-year term of service
• Responsible for round-trip airfare and secure funding for half of living expenses.
• Typical days are 7.5 hours and weekends are considered holidays Are you interested in serving in Japan through the CBF and Japan Baptist Convention partnership? To learn more, contact Chris Boltin at engage@thefellowship.info. Additional opportunities are listed online at www.thefellowship.info/serve. fellowship!
October/November 2011
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