In the Bible we are told that “there is more joy in heaven for one sinner who repents than for ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.” How true these words are, not only referring to joy in heaven, but also to the joy we experience as we see our students give their lives to God.

To my surprise, the starter motor, which had not been running at all, suddenly started spinning vigorously, and the engine started immediately. Mr. Kiritani, who was watching beside me, stood there speechless, staring at me in amazement.

My name is Ilvia Lisbeth, I am 17 years old and I am in my final year of secondary school.

I arrived at UETIRG in 2018 because I wanted to learn new things and change my routine that I had at home. When I first arrived, life was very different for me, for example getting out of bed at 5 am, the work and the things they taught about God. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as Seventh-day Adventists because I had never heard of this church before.

Praise be to the name of the Lord!  Ten years have passed since we moved to Tsushima to share God’s love with the islanders who do not know the Lord. When we first came to this small remote island of Japan, I was really worried every day about whether I would be able to make a living as a volunteer missionary without a fixed salary and whether I would be able to support my family.