Dieter and Shelley Schmidt

Missionaries to Japan

Dieter was born and raised in eastern Switzerland, and trained as a bricklayer and mason. At 19 he used his skills to help missionaries in Japan, and there he got his call to the mission field. After a period of English study in the U.S., he earned a bachelor's degree in theology from Berkshire Christian College in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Across the ocean, Shelley grew up in northeast Brazil as a missionary child. She was home schooled and also attended an American school. After two years at Gordon College she transferred to the University of Massachusetts and graduated with a bachelor's degree in elementary education with a bilingual emphasis.

In 1984 they moved to Switzerland, where Dieter served as an assistant pastor in Swiss Reformed Church. They were especially active in youth work and home Bible studies. They left for Japan in 1989 with their three daughters, Andrea (1983), Hannah (1985) and Rebekah (1988).

For eight years the Schmidts' main ministry was being boarding home parents to missionary children in Tokyo. Church planters work all over Japan, but there is not always an American school for their children to attend. The boarding system was set in place to have a home away from home for those children who lived too far away. For the Schmidts it was a very fulfilling time to care for the 12-18 year olds who lived with them and attended the Christian Academy of Japan (CAJ) nearby.

For two years, Dieter worked as the technology coordinator and then on maintenance staff of CAJ. Their other involvements have been English teaching, German teaching, and working in an international church. It was exciting to see a second service in Japanese evolve.

When the Schmidts return to Japan for their next term they will be joining a team of church planters in Western Tokyo.