Ibiuna STC has a big hall in which about 1,000 people can be accommodated and also Hozo Shrine, where the ancestors of Central and Southern American countries' members are shrined.
While Seicho-No-Ie Brazil has now been making an every effort to obtain an ISO14001 qualification which is "a standard for environmental management systems to be implemented in any business, regardless of size, location or income," (Wikipedia) Ibiuna STC has been renovated. Other than a main hall, Hozo Shrine, they have a tower to memorialize miscarried children, senior citizens' homes, which is run by SNI Brazil in which 28 people can be accommodated at a maximum. One of what impressed me most is a design gap between a tower to memorialize miscarried children in Japan and here in Brazil. The Japanese tower is an image of a mother who carries a child, on the contrary, Brazil's one is consisted of two curving lines and a ball. According to the responsible person of the STC, Rev. Paulo Fujinaga, those two lines express a man and woman, and the ball symbolizes a soul.
It took an hour and half by drive to Ibiuna STC from our hotel, what I concerned about was rough road and the way they drive a car. It means that it is very dangerous! Despite that streets there are very narrow, they drive at a high speed and came close to our bus. Although it is meaningless, I found myself trying to fend off those coming up cars in a bus seat.
Today, we had a leaders' meeting which was held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. 79 leaders from 13 countries attended the meeting under the guidance from Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi. All remarks were translated into the following four languages; English, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. It was truly an International Meeting! Those leaders had a hot discussion about how to realize "Carbon-neutral Movement," "Internet Lecturer," and "Afforestation."
Today's dinner was a Japanese course meal. It was very satisfactory and so delicious! I'll show you some pictures I took.
There are lots of graffiti on the wall in the city. But isn't it artistic?
A freeway taken from a bridge nearby Japanese town
Group photo at Ibiuna STC. There were 27 participants from United States, they are a part of them.
Tower memorializing miscarried children
Recycled bins
Brazil Headquarters' building
There are plenty of Portuguese books available at a book store in the building
"Masaharu Taniguchi Street" is five-minute walk from the Headquarters
Tetsuya Abe
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