Two weeks before one of our mission trips to Japan I received a message from a Japanese student who attended the University of Missouri. She knew of a young man from Tokyo who wanted to join our missions team. His desire was to practice his English with us so he would be better prepared for college in America for the upcoming school year. My immediate response for him wanting to join our team was a big “YES!”
I thought it was quite brave of him to join our team without knowing any of us. He grew up as an only child and was getting ready to spend two weeks with several people his age and a few older people. ๐ He was going to experience being a part of a BIG family.
We Appreciate their Help
Anytime a Japanese student wants to join one of our trips we are so excited. They really help us out a lot with getting around to different churches, ordering food, interpreting our testimonies, and helping us talk with people when we are out and about. This is what I like the most. I am always on the lookout for someone to talk to whether it is on the train, bus, temple, or wherever else we go. It is so helpful having them along.
After the trip was over this young man shared a testimony with me. Here is what he said.
Testimony
I spent two weeks with the people of the Japan Reach team and learned a lot. The first is that it is fun to interact with people from different countries. It was interesting to live with the Japan Reach team and learn about overseas culture and eating habits. The second is the splendor of Christianity. There were few people who believe in religion in Japan and I was not very interested it it. However, it was good to know the importance of religion this time. In this way, I really enjoyed the experience that I can’t usually do.
I was Amazed
All I could do after reading his testimony was say “WOW!” What did he see? What caused a young Japanese man to have a change of heart in two weeks? He went from not being interested in religion before the trip to now seeing it is important.
I think the key words in his testimony are “In this way.”
In what way?
More to Come…..
Blessings,
Tina