Paul Aita's 40th

[Haruo]

In about an hour I'm going to head up to Japanese Baptist Church to attend commemorating the 40th anniversary of Dr. Paul Aita's ordination to the gospel ministry. The actual anniversary was, I gather, January second, and Dr. Aita spent it at a couple of refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese (aka Thai-Myanmar) border, attending a great campmeeting featuring the baptism of over 450 people (11 of whom he personally dunked). These are refugees who will eventually (perhaps soon) be resettled largely in the United States, and who will be one of the main sources of "new blood" in American Baptist life. Praise God for the blessings He has bestowed on and through Dr. Aita, and for the refugees He is sending us.

Tomorrow there will be another celebration at Japanese Baptist, in this case a Greater Seattle Area Clergy Prayer Summit with ABCUSA General Secretary, Roy Medley, which I shall not attend on grounds of laity.