Dear Friends and family,
God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause Your face to shine upon us.
That Your ways may known on the earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
For you will judge the peoples with uprightness,
And guide the nations on the earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
The words of Psalm 67 speak for us. It is our prayer that God would be gracious and continue to bless us all. Without His shining presence we fear living, but with His presence we have so much to rejoice, give thanks and hope for.
In May, Edie and I officially retired from our work in Japan to return to our house in Philadelphia. It was difficult leaving what had been our home since 1970. Yet we knew it was time for us to come back to the help meet the needs of our family, and challenges in America.
Two days after arriving back in Philadelphia Cal had hip-replacement surgery. Three weeks later we began our summer in Wildwood, New Jersey as the house parents for 28 staff serving at the Boardwalk Chapel, a summer ministry of the New Jersey Presbytery of the OPC.
Wow, what a summer! Edie was challenged to prepare the evening meal for 28-32 people with 4 different dietary needs. She cooked gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian, and normal as well as remembering special allergies some of them had.
Interacting with the staff on a personal as well as a group was a blessing. God sent a wonderful group of young people from all over the USA, who loved the Lord and wanted to share the good news of the gospel with everyone they met on the boardwalk. It was a true blessing to see, hear, and enjoy young people talking with people of all ages about Jesus their Savior.
We enjoyed a mini family reunion Labor Day weekend with three (Mari, Esther and Dan’s) families visiting us in Wildwood. Luke’s family made it here from Japan for several weeks in late September and early October before Dan and family returned to Angola. Our house was full. (Including Pri’s sister and her four kids there were 16 of us!! )
FAMILY
- Matt, Annette and 5 children moved to Sendai, Japan still serving with World Evangelization for Christ.
- Mari is a family counselor working at 3 churches in Pittsburgh. Her husband, Jim, is taking online counseling courses at Liberti University. They hope to start a joint Christian counseling center in the near future.
- Daniel and wife Priscila are the only doctors at a 500 bed rural hospital in Angola, Africa serving with Christian Health Service Corps.
- Esther and Rob have recently been accepted by SERGE (formerly known as World Harvest Mission) as medical missionaries to Guatemala. They hope to raise enough support to leave early in 2018.
- Caleb is a paramedic with the Philadelphia fire department. We are very thankful he and Lisa live only a few blocks from us giving us many opportunities to play with their 2 cute kids.
- Luke, Chieko and their 2 girls live in Tokyo where Luke has a business as a Fuji mountain guide.
Little by little Edie and I are settling into life in these United States. Taking care of 8 grandkids (those living in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, missing the 7 grandkids in Japan, and 3 in Angola) teaching ESL at a city church, getting involved in international student ministry, visiting family in VA, FL, NJ, catching up with friends everywhere, home repairs, learning how to use our first i-phone, has kept us busy these last few months.
We would love to hear from you all and would even enjoy your visiting us in the City of Brotherly Love. We are not far from the Italian Market, and Independence Hall and other historical sites.
We miss Japan, and all our dear friends and 2 son’s families, but we are thankful for the opportunities God has/is affording us to serve him here. We have aches and pains that tell us we are not as young as we used to be. Edie is going through some sciatic nerve pain in her left leg making it difficult for her to walk or stand. I still have to go to the physical therapist weekly and keep up with the daily exercises for my hip.
It is our constant prayer that all the ends of the earth will praise Him. We so long to hear of the day when Japanese are turning to Christ daily in numbers too great to count!! We continue to pray that many of those who have heard will believe.
We thank you for your faithful prayers over the years and ask that you not stop! May our gracious Lord pour out His blessings on you in 2017 and may you always know His special love for each of you.
Thanking God for each of you,
Cal and Edie Cummings
1217 Wharton St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Email: iesuoai17@gmail.com