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Home > News Release > SNI-Online 201210-02

Seicho-No-Ie News

Followers in the U.S.A. Send Picture Letters to Four Missionary Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake

Iwate Missionary Area Sends a Thank-You Card with Children’s Messages

In June of this year, the followers in the U.S.A. made picture letters for the Missionary Areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake with wishes for recovery. The letters were subsequently sent from the Seicho-No-Ie United States Missionary Headquarters to the Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki Missionary Areas. They were a source of great encouragement to the followers in these Missionary Areas.

On the second day of the 55th International Spiritual Training Seminar (held from June 8 to 10 with 43 participants) these picture letters were drawn during the workshop to practice the Sundial Way of Life.

About 40 picture letters had freely-drawn illustrations of flowers, insects, human beings, the earth and so forth. They were sent to Japan together with messages in English, such as, “I send love and light to your heart,” and “You are in my prayer. We are connected as one. Shine forth strongly and cheerfully.”

At the Iwate Missionary Area, these picture letters were shown to the children at the Sunday School. Joy spread among the followers.

Thirteen children from the Sunday School in the Iwate Missionary Area attached pictures of themselves and wrote messages on a vellum paper, such as “I am working hard at swimming and calligraphy,” and “I will practice the piano hard,” and mailed it to the United States Missionary Headquarters. The followers in the U.S.A. who received it expressed joy, saying, “I felt the children’s genuine feeling and was moved“; and “I received strength from the children who have hope for the future and are living brightly.”

Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara, Bishop of the Seicho-No-Ie United States Missionary Headquarters, remarked, “I was pleased that they accepted the American followers’ truthfulness that was conveyed in the picture letters. I introduced the message card from the Sunday School attendees at various events. The path to recovery may not be easy but I hope that we can continue to help them.”