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Caring for the children of OMF missionaries involved in full-time language study. The main purpose of this ministry is to enable parents with small children to have adequate time to devote to Japanese language study. There may also be opportunities to assist in other ministries held in Sapporo.
As OMF encourages both husbands and wives to engage in full-time language study, we would like to offer support to the families in our OMF community. The time of language learning for OMF missionaries is of great importance to the efficacy of their future ministries in Japan. It is very difficult for missionary families to balance the demands of family life during this intensive time of language study. By providing childcare, you will be enabling the parents to delve more deeply into their studies and have time for their class homework. You would look after the children mostly in a nicely equipped room in the OMF Japanese Language and Culture Centre (JLCC), which will become a familiar and safe place for them. JLCC is located in north-east Sapporo. The families who are studying there live mostly nearby. Sapporo is the biggest city in Hokkaido (1.8 million), but the area around JLCC isn’t too busy. It’s easy to get around by bike, but there is good public transport, too. The Japanese Language and Culture Centre is located in north-east Sapporo. The families who are studying there live mostly nearby. Sapporo is the biggest city in Hokkaido (1.8 million population), but the area around JLCC isn't too busy. It is easy to get around by bike, but there is good public transport too.
You would look after (play with, take out for walks etc.) young children, mostly pre-kindergarten age, while their parents study Japanese, normally mornings and afternoons, Monday to Friday, or part of those days. You (on your own) won’t look after more than three children at any one time, as we take children’s safety concerns very seriously. There may be opportunities to do something with older children, too – English (or other language) conversation, help with a monthly teens’ group etc.
Experience in caring for or working with young children, including basic first aid knowledge, is essential. Something like a practicum in a kindergarten would be very useful. You will also need patience, a love for children and flexibility. A working knowledge of English is also needed, however, other languages ability could be an advantage (such as Chinese or Japanese). Having initiative and a sense of humor will prove useful for this role, too.
You could be living in a small apartment, have a room in a “share house”, or even share an apartment with a single missionary enrolled in language study. You need to be able to cope with cold weather, since Hokkaido winters last for about four months and bring a lot of snow.
Japan needs workers to partner with the Japanese church in the task of sharing the gospel and making disciples.
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