Bio

Kenji Saito was born in Brazil. He came to Canada as a baby and grew up in Vineland, ON, near St. Catharines. He attended the U of Western Ontario and after graduating with a B.Sc. in Biology he joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ and worked at Western for four years before switching to the Navigators. Kenji has been on staff with the Navigators for nine years, spending the first two and a half years at the University of Waterloo and the last six and a half years back at Western. He has been a CMDS associate staff member at Western since 2001. Kenji is married to Munjula, who is also involved in ministry.

Western U Group Update

October, 2007

I’ve been working with the CMDS Student Chapter at Western for the past six years, together with my wife Munjula. Six years ago, we started things with a lunchtime prayer meeting and it’s amazing to see where God has brought us. We start every year with a kick-off steak barbecue, and this year we had record numbers of 90+ attending. Our weekly meetings include worship, devotionals, testimonials and talks given by doctors and dentists as well as others who share their experience, their lives and their expertise. We have an annual fall retreat and also have small groups serving the homeless in London, and care packages that we give out to medical and dental classes during exams.

Last spring, as we met with the new group of student leaders for the ’07-’08 school year, the direction for the group became apparent. This year, we want to make Western CMDS more accessible by changing the language we use to promote events. Recognizing the diversity of the Christian backgrounds that the students are coming from, we’re showing a few of the videos from the Alpha course in our weekly meetings to address foundational questions and generate discussion. The student leaders and I are excited about the opportunity that God has given us to minister and witness to the medical and dental students at Western. It is a privilege to serve and guide these student leaders who are highly motivated and willing to take the initiative. It is my desire that students connected with Western CMDS will have resilient faith throughout their training, their practice and their life.

Please prayerfully consider supporting me as a minister during this current year.

Thank you!

- Kenji Saito
kenjis@navigators.ca

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October, 2006

This year Western CMDS has continued to build on the previous year. Our annual Kick-off BBQ was again a great success with 40 first and second year students attending and enjoying some of the best steaks they have ever eaten. This momentum continued with 20 first and second year students participating in our second annual Fall Retreat in Grand Bend, the first weekend in October.

The second year leadership students have done a great job of leading and building community, particularly during our weekly meetings on Friday evening, with more than 30 first year medical students and six dental students joining us in our activities. This includes Bible studies, times of worship as well as physicians and dentists sharing on a variety of topics. Almost 80 students are now on our e-mail list. Other things that are happening are a weekly lunchtime prayer meeting and a mentorship program connecting doctors and students, with some people meeting in person and others via e-mail. It was great to have one student attend the national conference this fall and the big event to end the calendar year was our annual Christmas dinner, hosted by the Koudys, giving the Edmonds a well-deserved break.

The New Year began with four students attending the student conference in Winnipeg. The New Year also was the beginning of students volunteering once a month at a street mission drop-in centre and soup kitchen. Our Friday evening meetings continued to go well and in January we had our second annual Superbowl party, which is intended as an opportunity for students to invite their non-Christian classmates and friends. Other special events of the second half of the school year included a Curry Fest at the Saitos’ which was also a send-off for students who were graduating, and a Dental student appreciation night with tasty desserts along a dental theme (Mmmm, gingivitis cupcakes).

In march, we had four students attend the CMDS Student Leadership Conference. They will be part of our core leadership team for next year. The new vision for next year includes Western CMDS offering a variety of small groups for students to join and a couple of the students being involved in seeing an Eastern Canada Student Conference take place.

- Kenji Saito
kenjis@navigators.ca

To support CMDS' student ministry and Kenji Saito at Western, and encourage medical and dental students to "Integrate Faith and Christian Ethics" into their professional practice, please click here to make a Staff Donation.