Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Four Farewells at Once

It’s so hard to say goodbye to so many good friends, so many awesome men of God all at once. But that’s exactly what I (and the rest of Calvary Chapel Ginowan) had to do on Sunday. Josh Dean joined us for about 6 months, but due to medical reasons, he has moved on to the Tokyo area. Tsukuba City, to be exact. Josh was Pastor Tim’s friend back in Cali, in fact they went to the same high school! Somehow, Josh and I hit it off well from the start, and even though he was just here for a short time, I am going to miss him.


Daniel and Sosimo, well, what can I say about these two guys? They’re both Americans but one has some Canadian blood, and the other looks like a Mexican! Daniel spent over two years here, and has been such an awesome example of what it means to be joyful, encouraging, and warm-hearted. He encouraged many with the Word, and blessed us with his worship-leading skills. I loved making perogies with him that one time, and wish there could have been more moments like that. Sosimo and I used to tease each other non-stop during his first semester here. I called him Mexican, he called me little Bin Laden. But we both grew up a little, and enjoyed a lot of laughs with each other over the past year or so. Sosi is a man of faith, a man of action. I was always encouraged when I saw him and talked to him. Both of these guys are heading to Korea to help at a new Calvary Chapel out there.


Lastly, my dear friend Rob. “Big Red” came to Okinawa back in OH-FIVE! (Well, originally in OH-TWO, but that’s another story.) Rob and I have spent a lot of time together, and had a lot of good talks together. Rob is the ultimate servant, the ultimate humble guy. I could always count of Rob to help me with whatever I needed: a bento fetcher when I was sick, a car mechanic when I was broken down, a shoulder to cry on when I was broken down, a fantasy baseball victory when I was slumping… he’s the friend that never stops giving. I’m going to miss him so much. And where’s he going? He will be in Wakayama Prefecture, playing professional baseball with the Kishu Rangers. I’m so excited for him, and you know what the coolest thing is? He’s more excited about preaching Jesus to these guys than he is to play baseball for money. What a cool guy!


I’m going to miss all four of you guys. Thanks for showing me what it means to serve the Lord, and for helping me grow in many ways. I’m praying for all of you!


日曜日の夕拝では、送別会が行われた。4人の主のしもべは沖縄を離れてしまう。ジョシュ・ディーンさんは家族で沖縄に来ました。奥さんのレジーナは歌声が美しくてしょうがないと何度も感動しながら思いました。娘のクレアーちゃんも可愛かった!ジョシュさんは半年ぐらい沖縄にいましたが、急に本土に行かなければなりませんでした。今はつくば市に移動しました。ジョシュさんは本当に話しやすくてかなり気が合った。最後にジョシュにそういうことを言ったら、「トレバーと話すと僕のおじさんを思い出す」と答えた。ちょっとショックだった。けど、良い意味で言ったと思う。


ダニエルとソシモは性格が似ているけど個性もありました。ダニエルのお母さんはカナダ人で私を一番理解してくれたのはダニエルだったと思います。ダニエルもすごくきれいな歌声を持っていて何度もその歌声に癒された。ダニエルから一番学んだことは主の喜びだった。何よりもポジティブな性格は印象的だった。ソシモは若くて元気いっぱいだった。ソーシーの信仰の強さに励まされた。二人とも韓国の新しいカルバリーチャペルで奉仕する予定があります。


最後に、僕の大親友のロバートは関西に行きました。3年半前に沖縄に来て、謙遜でありながら強い信仰者だなぁという印象が最後までありました。僕は何度もロバートに頼りました。彼は忠実で優しくてベストフレンドの模範だった。カルバリーチャペルと言えばロバートの存在は本当に大きかった。賛美チームでギターを弾いたり、キッズクラブで教えたり、ユースリーダー、通訳者、なんでもやってくれました。3年半、お疲れ様でした。ロバートがいなくなったことは寂しく思います。しかし、ロバートは和歌山県でプロ野球生活を始めることは嬉しいです。今も伝道者・宣教師として活躍したいと述べたロバートに感動しました。確かに主に仕えることを信じます。


みんなの友情を感謝してます。主の祝福が豊かにあるように祈ってます。また沖縄においでよ!

4 comments:

Sosimo Strasburger Avila Jr said...

Alright here's the official...man Trevor I was a punk, i'm sorry for being a jerk man, but I do love you brada, and yes I'm already starting to miss ya. For the record yes im Mexican but not Just Mexican I'm also a lot of other things as well. It doesn't just stop at the Mexican...lol...God bless buddy
-Sosi

Joshua Dean said...

Sosi is Costa Rican too!

Joshua Dean said...

Trevor, Thanks for being such a blessing. You encouraged me a lot toward wanting to study hard to learn Japanese. Thanks again for the awesome dictionary. I know it's going to come in really handy especially now that we are here. Email me some time! ~josh

JMPerry said...

Yes...four better men could scarcely be found. Servant-harvesters, committed to the Kingdom, forgetting the wiles of "career" and gain to lay up treasures where moth and rust do not corrupt. Excellent brothers.