~Isaiah 55:10-12
I still don't quite know how to put into words the totality of the incredibleness of our mission trip to Japan. It was so much more than I ever expected going into it. My eyes were opened to a culture that is at once so similar to my own and yet dramatically different. When I learned about LST, I had the misconception in my head that the people we would be studying the Bible with would not be very proficient at English. I thought there would be a language barrier. But there wasn't. It was incredible. In the duration of the project, our team read the book of Luke with 48 people on a regular basis. Most of those people were incredibly close to being fluent in English. It was like God cleared the way for us to really have spiritual conversations with these people. Some had a little familiarity with the stories, but some people had truly never heard. The culture is fused with influences from Shinto, Buddhism, and even Hinduism. The syncretism is so confusing- even for them. Not all of them, but at least a lot of them were truly searching for something more. But, at the same time, it is so hard for them to shift away from the idea of "I am Japanese, therefore I am Buddhist." 6 weeks just did not feel like enough time. But, it was such a joy to be able to share Jesus with them. I have to remember that my job is only to plant seeds, trusting that God will faithfully water them. I have to remember that God was at work in the lives of these people before I got there, and he will continue to be now that I am gone.
We saw so much evidence of this truth. This was Ian's fourth summer to go to Japan with LST. In that time, he has never had a reader choose to follow Christ while he was there. He was getting a little discouraged, and was wondering if LST was really making a difference. So he prayed that God would show him something to let him know the work was really worthwhile. That very weekend, we made a trip to visit the church in Mito (the church he worked at the first two years), and he saw one of his old readers - she had been baptized 2 years earlier, and was now a member of the church. And not only that- her mom and sister had been baptized!!! And not only that, her sister is now going to ACU - our university! He was so excited!!! The thing is that when we share Jesus with someone- we never know what kind of impact it will leave. Some of my readers may choose to follow Christ and I will never know until heaven. But how exciting it is to share the truth of life with someone! There was a woman that Sarah read with, Nanako, who had been very close to becoming a Christian about 10 years ago. But just at that time, she had given birth to a daughter who has mental disability. This caused her to doubt God, and just recently she has begun searching again. This was her third summer to read, and on the last Sunday we were there she came and ate lunch at the full church luncheon, and she brought her daughter with her! It was so neat to see the church ladies just embrace her daughter. They showed the kind of love that Jesus asks us to show, and it was beautiful. Also, there is a man named Segami-san who has been studying the Bible for over 40 years. He wants to become a Christian so badly, but he finds it difficult to take that last little leap of faith. He asks for all your prayers.
My readers became true friends. It was so hard to leave them. Everyone was so kind and gracious. The church members were so generous and hospitable. It was so neat to see their dedication in a country where it is completely different from the norm to call yourself a Christian.
While I was there, I got to read a book called "Messengers of the Risen Son in the Land of the Rising Sun." In it, it talked about Sarah Andrews, the woman who founded the Numazu church where we worked. She came to Japan 100 years ago, a single 23 year old woman who spoke absolutely no Japanese and had not a dime to her name. It took all she had to get the ticket to sail to Japan. It took her 3 weeks and she went through a lot of hardship and a lot of sacrifice, but she was passionate about telling the Japanese people about Jesus. She perservered through countless trials, including WW2, but she lived her entire life in Japan as a missionary. Because of her, 5 churches were built, all of which are still alive today. I was privileged to meet people that follow Christ because of her love and dedication. One 80 year old woman at the Numazu Church married a man who became a Christian because of Sarah, and because of that she became a Christian. A few years later, she bribed her brother into going to church (literally paid him money to go sit in a pew every Sunday), and despite his resistance, he is now a pastor in Japan and the instigator of LST coming to Japan. Now, her son and daughter-in-law are Christians, and her grandson, Nobuki, is going to ACU. He will graduate with a degree in Bible this year, and hopes to be a missionary. I didn't know any of this before going to Japan. It is so incredible to realize that one woman's work could affect so many lives, so many years after she has died.
While I was there, I started to have this feeling that Japan is sort of a forgotten country for missionaries. When I would tell people I was going to Japan on a mission trip, the most common response I heard was, "what does Japan need?" It's like just because it is an economically stable country, they need Jesus less than poor people do. If I could ask you to pray for anything, it would be that God would send more Christian missionaries to Japan.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field." Luke 10:2
Interestingly enough, this year is the first year that ACU will begin offering Japanese language courses. Ian and Sarah are starting this year and I will start next year. Please pray for us as we consider God's will going into the future.
Thank you so much to all of you who helped make this possible for all of us. It has touched more lives than we will ever know. Please keep living out God's love in your own lives, so that in every area of the world people will see hope in Christ.
Much love and thanks,
Marabeth
