January 25, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

Family update

We celebrated some milestones last year. Leith turned 50 in October. He celebrated it with the Lord by running his first marathon. The official time according to a high tech running watch was five hours and four minutes, but Leith claims he must have run farther than the 42.2 kilometers! So much for willingness to age gracefully and stay up to date with technology! I think that what bugs him most is that two weeks earlier, Joy, almost 21, beat her Dad’s running time by 20 minutes in the Chicago Marathon (also her first)! This past fall, Joy signed a contract with Army ROTC and is now a cadet, perhaps the smallest (we mean toughest) one in the Midwest. Leith tells Joy, “Don’t tell my Navy buddies that you went Army!”

Karin graduated from high school in June and began her freshman year at DePaul University. She enjoyed working and learning at her first real job in Hawaii last summer. She has been testing her athletic prowess on a girls rugby team. It’s hard to believe that two of the Fujii children are off to college already. Joy and Karin are both international relations majors. This fits them well, having lived overseas. Joy has already been able to work in her field, having done a summer internship in Albuquerque. She was excited to know that real people are using her research and writings.

Mark, 16, has tried his hand at drama this year, finding out how much work and commitment are involved. He just performed in “Great Expectations” and feels a great sense of accomplishment.

Lani, 13, our basketball girl, is currently playing JV. She is especially enjoying friendships with girls on the team. Mark and Lani’s international school opened a new campus in Bangna. We are thankful for the school’s leadership and their faith in God, having purchased this land at a strategic time last year. Now, land and housing prices are soaring, as Bangkok experiences a revived building boom. We will be moving close to their school and BIT in February.

Carol was in the United States last September to join Karin’s freshmen orientation and to help the girls settle into their new living situations. She also spent time with her parents and her brother’s family in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Leith and Carol are very thankful that Mom and Dad Hamada are enjoying the Southwest after having lived in the Washington, D.C. area for over 40 years.

Partnership with Bangkok Institute of Theology

This has been a very full year. We are grateful for the continuing partnership with the ministry at BIT. We have a vision for investing in the lives of individuals. It was a joy to see the first class that Carol first taught English to graduate recently, and it was encouraging to see how God has led these students to serve in a variety of different ministries.

One of our joys is being able to invest in the lives of BIT students in the classroom, serving together at camps, one-on-one, and in cell group gatherings. This Christmas a lady named Ta, who sells beverages at BIT, received Jesus into her heart. Our students and faculty have shared the love of Jesus with her over the years. It has been a joy to partner with our students and faculty where God is working.

We also praise God for an evangelistic thrust in the media called “Power for Life.” This occurred last year with advertisements unexpectedly appearing in the media. The campaign offered a free book featuring well known Thai Christian celebrities giving testimony to their relationship with Christ. The response has been positive and is for many their first introduction to Jesus Christ. People are being reached through the media in a way that the local churches have not been able to do.

As you know, the tsunami has been a very sobering event for us, especially those personally affected. The loss and suffering are overwhelming. Recently, some BIT professors are praying and considering how they might support and partner with the churches in the south to be apart of the long-term restoration process.

Would you please join us in praying:

• For Issara, as he ministers in the northeast, and for Ta to grow in her relationship with Jesus.
• That God would continue to touch the hearts of those who have read “Power for Life.”
• For tsunami survivors and integrity for organizations involved with rebuilding and restoration.
• For our students who have left this year due to disciplinary issues—for healing and true repentance for God’s continued grace and healing in their lives. If God wills, one day we hope that they may return to BIT.
• That our new home would be a blessing to all who enter.

Thank you for joining us as we partner with others in God’s work here in Thailand.

Gratefully,

Leith and Carol Fujii

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 12