It’s been about two weeks now since our team left Toyohashi, Japan, and I wanted to share a little of what God did and how he blessed me in Japan. I tried to keep it as short as I could by giving highlights of each of our ministries, but God did so much, so forgive me if its kind of long! English Classes I taught two adult beginner English classes (one in the morning and one in the evening) with students ranging in age from 40-73. The assignment for the final class was to bring in a picture of your family to share with the class: Morning Class I had four students (3 non-Christians and 1 Christian) and while everyone was sharing, the Spirit led our conversation into the topic of the afterlife. One of my students was planning a small family reunion for a holiday in Japan called the Obon Festival. It’s three days long and families get together to visit their ancestors’ grave sites, pray to the ancestral spirits, and give offerings to them. She believes the spirits protect her and provide her with good fortune. I then asked the class if they all believe in life after death. Two of the non-Christian students said they weren’t sure, and the last non-Christian said she did, but she was only sure that she would be happy and that no one knows for sure what happens after you die. I finally asked the non-Christian in my class what she believes, and at first she tried explaining in English, but I prayed that the Spirit would convict her to take this opportunity to share the truth about Heaven in Japanese. She eventually did and I picked up some words, such as jyuujika (cross) and Iesu-sama (Jesus), that let me know she was sharing the Gospel with them. Evening Class I had five students (all Christians and members of the church), but only three could make it to the last class. God guided this class so that they could share their testimonies with each other. As each of them shared about their family, I asked them when they became a Christian and if everyone in their family was saved. As they shared, I realized that none of them had families where every member was a Christian, and this wasn’t limited to just my students; every Christian that I met in Japan had at least one family member that wasn’t Christian. It was either my parents aren’t Christian, my siblings aren’t Christians, my spouse isn’t Christian, or I’m the only Christian in my family. Rhobodendo (street evangelism) During training, our team prepared a 2 hour worship set to play at the Toyohashi train station. As we were setting up, Sam, one of our leaders who had gone on missions to Toyohashi before, explained that he was surprised to see people waiting for us to start. When he did Rhobodendo with his team two years ago there were very few people, and no one waiting for the team to start playing. It was pretty windy when we started worshiping, and it only picked up as we were playing; I knew that we were in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The whole experience was amazing. Many members of the church came to support the Rhobodendo and many other passer-bys stopped to listen and take a flyer that members of THCC were handing out. We actually played for an hour instead of the two we prepared for, so our whole team was irking to worship longer. Homestays I did two one-night homestays, but I want to focus on the second one. I stayed with a 37 year old woman named Akiko Kaneko (Akiko-san) who had a two year old daughter, a four year old son, and a non-Christian husband. Before she got married, she told her husband that she could only marry him if he promised to learn about Christianity and come to church with her. She did her undergrad in Seattle, so she’s fluent in English and teaches it to Elementary-age children at her home. Her first year in the states, her dad died unsaved and it was very hard on her. She wasn’t Christian at this time, and she saw her dad in an almost sovereign way; she always obeyed him and he knew what was best for her. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to finish her undergrad, but eventually decided to go back to Seattle for three more years where she met a Christian who invited her out to church. Akiko-san was attracted by the genuine sense of community at the church and wanted to learn more. After her undergrad, she went back to Japan and found a church nearby, which she started attending regularly. She said that the pastor there helped her immensely in finally becoming a Christian. After being saved, Akiko-san tried to minister to her Mom, but her mom had a hardened heart until she found out she had cancer. Akiko-san told me that her mom realized then that she might die soon and that praying to spirits was praying to humans who could do nothing for her; her mom began wondering about life after death and wanted to learn more about Christianity. Akiko-san’s pastor regularly visited her mom in the hospital for Bible Study, and was eventually saved in the hospital before she died. Relationship building Our team got to spend a lot of time with the college/young adult ministry known as Oasis. We went on an excursion to Nagoya (the nearest major city), and went out to eat with them several times. One of them, Motoi (who visited RWC this past winter), is a senior at a university near Tokyo, and he leads his college Christian group. The group consists of five people right now, and of course he wouldn’t admit it, but I’m sure it’s difficult for him to be open about his faith and to try and minister to his non-Christian friends. He says that most people his age see Christianity as a cult. Those who are in college began a small group after seeing how our church had small groups in New York. They’ve been trying to meet once a week for about three months now, but so far they’ve just had members of the church come, and we got to talk to them about how our church tries to reach out to non-believers through small groups. Hamanako Bible Camp (HBC) The third and final week in Japan we participated in a Christian youth camp for Junior high and High school students. Each member of our team was part of a small group, and tried to get to know the campers as much as we could. We also performed a skit, body worship, and taught the campers a praise song in English (In the Mystery by Hillsong). Most of the campers are the only Christians at their school and for many of them, this camp is the only time where they can worship and have fellowship with Christians their age. One of the counselors told me that some of the campers save up their own money to pay for the camp because their parents aren’t Christian and won’t pay for the camp. The most memorable part of the camp was a 45 minute worship session that they call “Bakusan” literally translated as “explosion of worship”. It was literally an explosion of worship. For nearly the whole time, the campers are jumping, dancing, clapping, and singing as loud as they can in worship. I don’t think I’ve ever expended that much energy to praise the Lord, and it was a huge blessing for me to be a part of Bakusan. The Lord deserves all of my energy and my loudest voice, and Bakusan was definitely an opportunity for me to carry that out. Debriefing When our team arrived back in New York, we spent a day debriefing, and one of the questions we answered for ourselves was “how have you changed from this missions trip?” There are obviously many changes that stemmed from this whole missions experience, including discipline with daily devotions and an increased faith in God’s power and in the power of prayer, but I think the biggest change was in how I interact with people. That sounds really general so let me explain it a bit. I wouldn’t consider myself a shy person, but prior to the missions trip, I wouldn’t make an effort to meet new people because my mentality was that I already have plenty of friends and fellow Christians to worship with, so what’s the point? However, after three weeks of having to introduce yourself to and talk to any new person we saw, I realized the value in putting yourself out there. God is always calling me to talk to lost souls, but usually I’m too anxious to obey him. When I finally just did what he pushed me to do, I got to hear how he changed specific peoples’ lives in Japan, and I got to share my faith with many non-believers. I could have missed out, and already have missed out on many memorable conversations, and on so many opportunities to further God’s kingdom. I’m so sad the trip is over, but I know that God will continue working through THCC. The opportunity to serve God through missions is always an amazingly blessed time, and if God calls on you to go and make disciples of all nations, whether at home or abroad, I pray that you will do so, and share the experience with me! - Jessica Kim
