UNEXPECTED MISSIONARIES
UNEXPECTED MISSIONARIES
continued from page 11
Laura + Chris Dakas
CAFÉ +
COUNSELING
IN JAPAN
IN JAPAN, RENEE WILLIAMS
OPERATES A CAFÉ AND COUNSELS
PEOPLE STILL RECOVERING FROM
THE 2011 TSUNAMI.
Ken Walker
W
hile Foursquare Missions International
(FMI) Missionary Renee Williams doesn’t
have a background in food services, she
says her primary task at the Watermelon Café in
northeastern Japan is caring for the community.
That includes informal counseling and leading
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F O U R S Q U A R E Leade r
RESTAURATEUR IN ALBANIA
WI
AN
BR
RE
Renee Williams
monthly “Heart Care” workshops for residents
who are still recovering from the 2011 tsunami.
After seven years of disaster relief trips to the
area, an opportunity arose in 2018 to take over a
community café operated on weekends by a couple
from Tokyo. Renee discussed the idea with her
senior pastor, who agreed this was of God.
“This disaster created an open door for
ministry that may never happen again in my
lifetime, so I want to do all I can to share God’s
love with them,” she says.
TH A VISION TO REACH THE ALBANIAN PEOPLE, CHRIS
D LAURA DAKAS FOUND THEIR MINISTRY NATURALLY
ANCHING INTO OUTREACH BUSINESSES, INCLUDING A
Rachel Chimits
STAURANT AND BED-AND-BREAKFAST.
C
hris and Laura Dakas went to Albania
when Communism fell in 1991.
“When we first came,” Laura explains,
“there were other missionaries starting churches,
but Chris and I wanted to help their physical
and spiritual needs. Providing jobs and modeling
service with integrity were important.”
So, they bought an empty building and
launched The Stephen Center, a multifaceted
ministry that included a printing press, which
became the first Christian bookstore in the
capital city of Tirana. Today, in place of the
printing press and bookstore, the site hosts
Tirana’s first American-style restaurant and bed-
and-breakfast.
“We’ve had times of weariness,” Chris says
matter-of-factly. “But the knowledge that The
Stephen Center is God’s work and not ours allows
us to take time away and rest. My advice is to
never think there’s only one way to do missions.
God likes working outside of the box.”
To read more about these four
missionaries, visit foursquare.tools.
SPRING 2020
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