He Calls Us to be Faithful

Kazuake Kuwano came to Brazil in 1934 when he was just a toddler. His family immigrated from Japan and signed an agreement with the Brazilian government to work the land for three years in exchange for citizenship. His father, worked for pittance on a coffee plantation (even though he had been a highly paid mining engineer in Japan.) Afterwards, they were able to buy a small farm of their own. The family survived by eating and selling the fruits and vegetables that were produced on their land.

When he was six years old, Kazuake’s mother, Eki, became deathly ill. When no doctor could help her, she turned to her Buddhist religion, but found no relief. A pastor from the Holiness church prayed for her and she was healed. After that both Eki and Seigoro were baptized. A few years later, the family moved further inland and began to attend a Free Methodist church. Then Kazuake’s father died, and Eki had to go to work.  

In Japan, she had been trained as a barber, but in Brazil in the 1940s there was no such thing as a woman barber! A Japanese man let her work in his barber shop and Eki became quite well-known. A national magazine even wrote up an article about her. She did good work and when she cut children’s hair, she invited them to come to Sunday school. Soon there were more children than adults coming to the church. Kazuake was also attending the Sunday school and his teacher challenged him to not just take in what he was learning, but to always share his knowledge with others. Kazuake never forgot that. For the rest of his life, he taught Sunday school wherever he went.  In fact, he participated in a church plant in another city, and through the various Sunday school classes, it grew into a full-fledged church.

Today Kazuake and his wife, Junka, are over 90 years old (pictured above); their son, Ricardo, and his wife, Mami, are strong leaders in our local church. I love the story of this family! They didn’t do anything impressive by the world’s standards. Kazuake’s mom cut hair and invited people to church. And the church grew! Kazuake never preached a sermon, but faithfully taught Sunday school, and the church grew! Don’t underestimate what God can do through you if you faithfully serve Him.