David and Goliath

Today was an interesting day. At first, "Joy Time" (the name of our Saturday Sunday School), seemed as though it was not going to take place. I sat outside on the deck of the Sumida family residence and waited. I prayed that if it was to be, that the Lord would bring the students, and so I continued to wait. I knew Nagisa was not coming today since she had already called. On top of that, Setsuko is out of town right now, so if anybody came I was going to do it by myself today. Fortunately, Setsuko had already given me the consecutive Japanese translation for the story of David and Goliath, so if anyone came I would be ready to read in English and then to read the translation in Japanese. Well, just when it seemed that nobody would come, Yuki and her mother came! Praise the Lord! Also, Setsuko's parents decided that they would join the lesson too! I was amazed. Now, there was Yuki, and three adults. The Lord had provided 4 students! Hallelujah!

We began the lesson by reviewing the days of the week. We drilled the English names and then used them to practice saying our likes and dislikes. Yuki said, "I like Monday." I was surprised, since I don't like Monday very much. Then Yuki said, "I don't like Wednesday," perhaps because of the classes at school she had that day. We all agreed that we liked Saturday and Sunday.

Then it was story time. I read the story of David and Goliath taken from the children's Bible. As I read, I was so thankful because for the first time I was not only teaching children, but I was teaching the parents too. The Lord really encouraged me through this. After the story, we all played Sugoroku using the days of the week. We all had a great time! Yuki's mother thanked me and even asked if I would be here during the summer. So, it seems there might be a need for longer summer program. I will surely be praying about this. We'll see what happens.

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT: NIIMI STUDENT OUTREACH

The past few weeks the Lord has put it upon my heart to reach out the the people in Niimi, the city where I work and live during the week days. So after work on Wednesday, I went to Niimi college to reach out to the students. I brought a basic guide for students to understand the Gospel and become saved if they should choose, and a copy of the New Testament in both English and Japanese. I spoke with a few students on campus who walked by and even shared the fundamentals of Christianity with a girl who claimed to be Buddhist and had never heard the Gospel. During this time a Japanese man approached me. His name is Shusaku, "Shu" for short, and he is a new student at Niimi college. I told him that I am a Christian and that I am here to share about Jesus and he replied, "I am also a Christian!" It turned out that Shu had accepted Christ about 6 years ago, but since then has not read much of the Bible. He said he prays and that God has helped him through some really difficult times such as with his illness. Shu has a brain disease and is prone to having seizures 2 or 3 times a year. But, he is here in Niimi studying to be a nurse to help the poor children around the world. I was amazed. What faith he must have to simply believe in Jesus without much Biblical understanding.

Then as I went home, I ran into another student named Ayano who lives in the same apartment building as I do. I recognized her from a Bible study I had attended a couple of weeks before at a local teacher's house also in Niimi. Ayano is not a Christian, but the Lord has led her to the company of other Christians through the teachers at her school, so she has since showed great interest in understanding. Therefore, upon meeting her again, and having already agreed to meet with Shu on Thursday to study the Bible (the next day), I also invited her to the Bible study and she was excited to come. So, as of now, I have begun teaching/discipling a Thursday night Bible Study. Our first study was from the book of John and it was a tremendous blessing. We began with a song, "At the Cross." First, we translated the difficult words of the song from English into Japanese and then we sang in English together. Then we prayed, in both Japanese and in English. My prayer in Japanese is pretty simple, but the Lord has blessed me with the ability that I was not sure I had. Hallelujah! Then we dug into the first chapter of John. Next week we will be studying creation and the Ten Commandments and perhaps other things if the Lord leads, since ultimately I am trying to paint a clear picture of what it means to be a Christian and how to live the Christian life. The Lord has shown me that Shu needs to be discipled and Ayano is very close to receiving Christ and I am honored to be used in the furthering of such life giving processes. Praise the Lord! I will continue to reach out to Niimi students and may the Lord bless us with more students!