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Today's Featured Biography

 
Jennifer Kemp Sakata

What an amazing journey this continues to be...my husband Craig and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary April 29th, while our ten-month old was perfecting his army crawl at home with Ms. Kathy and Mr. Bob--(the Mr. and Ms. is our way of making sure Ethan learns to respect his elders...yes, it's a southern thing!)

Four years ago, we landed in the corn fields of central Illinois so that I could serve as pastor at the Washington Presbyterian Church. Meanwhile, my husband Craig took a position as an engineer in Research and Development with Caterpillar. (We're grateful he continues to have a job.) It's been a great four years "cutting my teeth" as a pastor and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to do what I love.

My calling has recently taken another turn though, as I happily don my cut-off jeans and hit the floor with our baby boy Ethan. In January, I resigned my pastorate for now.

Before all this adventure and getting lost among the corn rows, I graduated from Mount Holyoke (Women's) College in South Hadley,MA with a year at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine--yes, it's VERY cold there, all but about a month!

After graduating with a psych/education BA and certification for elementary education, I lived with college pals in Brunswick, Maine and worked for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship-- a campus ministry. Then off to Boston, MA for five years teaching Kindergarten and Frist-Graders. Some day I hope to write a book of all the funny things kids said during my teaching years!

Fuller Theological Seminary came calling and I headed off to Pasadena, California where I learned to love the mountains--REAL mountains and spent lots of time at the beach! Met some really terrific people, and graduated MDIV with a Fellowship Grant which allowed me to spend a year ministering and working on racial reconciliation issues in South Africa, where I lived for a year. I met some of the most amazing people in the world, and continue to be in touch with several of them.

While in Africa, I realized how incredibly ignorant I and so many of us are, of the incredible suffering and injustice that wraps the very existence of so many people around the world. Amidst the suffering and poverty, there was incredible joy--unexplainable actually. Among my highlights was a one-on-one conversation with former Archbishop Desmond Tutu and being given my own African name while being told by Mama Nobom that I have a "black soul"--a comment I will always treasure.

After my year there, my grant allowed me to buy this really cool plane ticket called a round-the-world trip ticket which allowed me to visit friends in London, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Fiji before returning to sunny CA! Who knew such a small-town girl would have such an incredible opportunity--WOW! I loved every minute of it--even the bungy jumping!

Before my year in Africa, I met my husband Craig at our church in Golden, CO, where I completed my final internship prior to being ordained a Presbytertian Church (USA) minister. While in Colorado, I again melted in the mountain vistas and learned to enjoy lots of things, including cooking, tennis (I'm quite horrible, but loved playing with Craig!), cycling--my husband is an avid cyclist, and sitting in botanical gardens!

Ahhh...as Louis Armstrong sang...what a wonderful world...

Of course, in the last 20 years, I've seen my share of very difficult times as well...things that I trust and hope have built my character and person. But since we see and hear enough of yuck on TV and in the news, I'll spare us anymore!

I'll miss seeing you all in July, but would love to hear from any of you now that Holly has done the work of tracking me down after these 20 years! Thanks for that.

Joyfully,
Jennifer

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