In the photo: Missionary Brad Wordell, national pastor Rev. Nidaira, and a couple of LECC members.

This December, Dan and Andrea Jaspersen will be leaving their home in Cheyenne, Wyo., and traveling to the tsunami damaged city of Kesennuma, Japan, where they will meet up with Missionary Brad Wordell. They will be helping to open and operate a Christian Community Center in conjunction with the Lutheran Evangelical Christian Church (LECC), WELS sister church in Japan.

The Jaspersens will be assisting local church members in the daily operation of the community center. Their duties will include distributing relief items (including quilts sent by WELS congregations) and Christian informational materials, holding Bible studies, VBS type activities for children, and other community assistance and outreach projects as needed.

Dan and Andrea are well equipped and excited about this project. Before moving to Cheyenne, the couple lived and worked in Japan for four years teaching English. They both speak Japanese and have a deep love and appreciation for the Japanese people and their culture. 

WELS Christian Aid and Relief is also assisting the LECC with funding for several other relief projects in Kesennuma and the surrounding areas. Besides the community center, the LECC is providing storage sheds for families who have moved into fabricated houses with little or no storage space. They are also providing educational and financial assistance for a group of children who lost both parents in the disaster.

These and other humanitarian aid projects are helping the LECC build bridges to the gospel message so desperately needed among a people who do not know their only true Savior, Christ the Lord.

The Jaspersens will be in Japan for about a month. Other Japanese speaking volunteers are being lined up to continue the work they will start. Christian Aid and Relief will continue to assess the need and effectiveness of these projects and we will continue to support the LECC in its efforts to bring Christian compassion and the saving Gospel message to the people of this ravaged part of the world.

Please keep the Jaspersens and the people of Japan in your prayers. If you would like to make a donation to the work and ministry of Christian Aid and Relief, you can give a gift online. Or, you may mail a check to:

WELS Christian Aid and Relief
2929 N. Mayfair Rd.
Milwaukee, WI. 53222
(Please make your check out to WELS Christian Aid and Relief)