7月27日の午前4時9分、長年お世話になった敬愛する西海栄悦名誉牧師が、天に凱旋されました。
翌朝に奥様の祥子先生から連絡をいただき、驚きと同時にやはりか、という思いが交差しました。先生は何度もこのような修羅場を乗り越えてこられ、いつも生涯現役を公言しておられたので、もう一度！とお祈りしていました。
でも神さまは「よくやった忠実なしもべよ」と御もとに引き上げられたのですね。
告別式は、先生がいかに人々を愛し、慕われておられたがわかる素晴らしい式でした。そして棺で横になっておられる姿は、主からの使命を全うし、走り通した神のしもべのお姿でした。
先生の思い出はたくさんあります。私たちの牧者として、霊の父として、長浜純福音キリスト教会を建てあげてくださった事は決して忘れません。
先生、ほんとうにご苦労さまでした。ありがとうございました。
天でイエスさまと一緒にゆっくり休んでください。
At 4:09 a.m. on July 27th, our beloved Pastor Emeritus Eiyetsu Saikai, who had been a great help to us over the years, made his triumphant return to heaven.
The next morning, I received a call from Sachiko-sensei, and I was both surprised and relieved. I was praying that he would be able to do it again, since he had been through this kind of crisis many times and had always declared that he would be active for the rest of his life. I prayed for him. I prayed for him to come back again, but God said, “Well done, my faithful servant.
It was a wonderful farewell ceremony that showed how much he loved and adored the people. The image of him lying in the coffin was that of a servant of God who had fulfilled his mission from the Lord and had run all the way.
I have many memories of him. As our pastor and spiritual father, I will never forget how he built up Nagahama Pure Gospel Christian Church.
Thank you very much for your hard work. Thank you very much.
Please take a good rest with Jesus in heaven. )
