Currently, we operate a successful English school from our home and do outreach in association with various churches and educational opportunities. As the baby boomer generation passes we see the need for an aggressive Christian leadership among the 30 and 40 somethings to fill the gap. We desire to see the challenges before us as opportunities and call to kingdom building
We live in the greater Nagoya metro area, with a population of over eight million. Specifically, we live in the Tono Valley which contains five "bedtown" cities of Nagoya, each with 50,000 to 100,000 souls. Together we teach English to about 100 students at our home. John also launching an educational ministry called KeAi Academy. We are missionaries with the Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society (JEMS). JEMS was created by Japanese church leaders in the United States to send people with multicultural connections to Japan for service.
John is from Allendale, Michigan and attended Reformed Bible College (now Kuyper College), Calvin College, The International Language Academy in Fukuoka, Japan, and Covenant Theological Seminary. He has a BA, a certificate in Japanese, and a Masters of Divinity. He is an alumnus of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and a former Christian Reformed Associate Missionary to Japan.
Kazumi, who grew up in the area where we are now living, has English teaching certification in Japan. She also has an Associates Degree in Home Economics and has a Certificate in Translation from Curtin University of Technology in Australia. Her gifts are in management, administration, and hospitality. She started her own English school business. Kazumi became a Christian and was baptized about 10 years ago.
