Konbanwa from Hiroshima,

We left Kita-Kyushu Sunday morning and took a train (about an hour) to Hiroshima. There is a church here that we are working with for the first time. Last year after a concert in Hiroshima, a Korean Pastor came up to me and said, "I would like you to come to my church next year". So early this year I contacted him and he said, "yes! I sill would like you to come!".  We really had no idea what to expect for our stay here. We had an outlined event plan of course, but we didn't know anything else about this church. So we left Sunday morning ready for an adventure!


We got to the church just in time for the service to start. The congregation is a mixture of Koreans, Japanese and Korean Japanese (they grew up in Japan). So the worship songs were on the overhead in both Korean and Japanese, fun! That morning we shared (about 40min) the message of God's faithfulness. All of the translation went really well, which was something we were praying for. As I said, the Pastor is from Korea and is a missionary to Japan. English is his third language, but he was very quick to translate our message that day.


That afternoon we held a Purity Seminar. Pastor Lee told us how touched he was by our message. He had read through everything before hand, as he prepared for the translation. He told us that our hearts and desires for purity were the same as he and his wife. In their relationship, they waited to kiss until they were married. He told of how people thought they were strange. He has tried to talk about purity to the young people, but they feel like, "you're the pastor you have to say that!". So he was so excited to have us come from America to share this much needed message.



We have heard over and over again, that this is a subject that is just not talked about in Japan. Pastor Lee's wife was also very blessed as she read our message. She was so encouraged to find people who think the way they do. Over lunch today the pastor told us, "many people can do what you do. But you do it with a pure heart and that is why there is power behind what you do." He also told us, "I know you were meant to come to Japan. What you are sharing is so needed here. I know God has called you to Japan".


Monday we were able to work with another pastor and his wife, Nozomu and Kumiko Kato, when we went to minister at a nursing home. They are part of an organization called IGL (International Gospel League), originally based out of California. IGL has 4 pre-schools, 4 kindergartens, and many nursing homes here in Hiroshima. The principals and leaders of the schools are all Christians and about 10% of the staff are believers as well. The nursing home we went to that day, is part of this organization. Before we danced,  we were able to talk to some of the leaders and board members. (While sitting around a very large board room table.) They asked about our ministry and what we do, why and how are we in Japan. And what is the message you would like to get across to the Japanese people. The performance went well and we were able to share 3 different testimonies that day. Afterwards the man who is "2nd in command" at this facility told us how blessed they were by our dance and testimonies. He said that the boss wanted to talk to us, they were very interested in our ministry and how we could work together in the future. Unfortunately we were not able to speak to him, but we are going to stay connected to them through other contacts.

We had a few unexpected things pop up that day! One of which was a sweet 97 year old doctor, who wanted to write in Japanese calligraphy for us. She said traditionally this is a way to show gratitude, by writing in front of the guests. We had so much fun watching her with her big brushes and ink as she wrote large signs for each of us. We got to request what we wanted her to write such as love, trust, worship, hope, peace. This was a fun and unexpected blessing for us!

That night we were invited over to Pastor Nozomu and Kumiko's house (they live at the church) for chicken fajitas! It was so fun for us to have a meal from home this late in the trip! Mmmmm, salsa, sour cream, cheese! We had a wonderful evening of fellowship as we heard their stories of how they came to the Lord, how they met and testimonies of God working in their lives. (They lived in California for 16 years) Both of them have amazing stories which are too long to list here. But I will tell you that Kumiko was born premature and with out a heart beat, she grew up deaf and with many facial deformities. She shared about her struggles with the Lord and wondering why she had to go through so much pain, physical and other situations in her life, such as her parents' divorce. She ended up running to the Lord. As I said, it is a long story, but the most amazing part is the day that she heard something, yes heard something! There was a pastor who had asked her if she believed the Lord was the same, yesterday, today, and forever. She said yes, he said, then the Lord can heal your ears. She said no, that is impossible. And the pastor told her, you have made your God very small. The day she heard a sound she wondered what it was and went looking all over the house until she stood in the kitchen looking at the sink. There was a bowl in the sink and the water was falling, drip, drip, and she could hear it! She said she stood there watching, more importantly, listening to that drip for about 2 hours. She passionately told us that God is the same, yesterday, today and forever!

She has worked as a interpreter for the deaf, signing for many years. She got involved with "Gospel Hula", using dance movement, mixed with sign language to worship and to tell of who Christ is and what He has done. She now teaches "Gospel Hula" classes for young kids and adults. We asked her to show us one of her dances. And asked if she could teach us some steps. It was better than we could have imagined, when after dinner she got out skirts and lei's for all of us to wear as she taught us our lesson! It was so much fun! Things you never thought you would get to do in Japan! We were able to watch her dance to, "You Raise Me Up" and "The Power of Your Love". This was a fun and memorable experience with these wonderful people. They would really like us to come back next year, stay for longer and work with more of their organizations around the city of Hiroshima. It is so much fun to see the way the Lord weaves peoples lives together!


Worshiping our Amazing Lord!