February 2019 Tsushima Volunteer Mission Report

God never gives up, and his timing is perfect beyond our thoughts!

Hi Everyone

During the past two weeks, we have had a wonderful evangelism program at Tsushima Island and Kyushu mainland Japan. Throughout this time, we saw God’s miracles and his perfect guidance again.

Every year we invite Japanese Gospel singer, Noboru Morishige from Hawaii, to our nature school at Tsushima Island for a special concert. This year it was challenging for us to gather many people to come to the concert. Especially during May, because many people are very busy with farm work and other activities related to our culture. We visited many families to let them know about the concert, but most mentioned their busy schedules and lack of time. Thus, we continued to pray to God and surrender to His will.

On the day of the concert around five minutes before it started, only a few people had arrived, and we were a little discouraged. But, just after the concert started, I received a call from a friend. She asked me to bring some of the public high school students to our school to show them our work. Amazingly over twenty high school students and their teachers came to our school and listened to the concert.

Among the group, I noticed that there were some students whom I had taught English when they were elementary school kids, as part of the English program we had. Sadly, these students were forced to quit our English school by their parents because we taught them about the Bible and prayed with them in Jesus name. I could not understand at that time why God allowed for such as thing to occur. After the students were withdrawn from the school, we were unable to share the message of Jesus with them, and I almost gave up. But God never gives up. Seven years passed since that occurred and God gave us another chance to share the message of Jesus.

Noboru spoke clearly and graciously about the purpose of our life and the love of God. All the students and teachers were listening seriously to Noboru’s gospel message and songs. After the concert, we gave them his CDs along with Bible messages. From that experience, we learned that God never gives up on people and his timing is perfect! Praise the Lord!

After the concert at Tsushima, we went along with Noboru to Kyushu in the mainland to spread the Gospel. We first arrived at Oita SDA church. The local church members welcomed us happily. I observed there was a young man who looked very different from a typical Japanese. He was wearing handmade clothes made with hemp. I thought he could be from Africa.

Before the concert started, Noboru and I had a chance to speak with him. While we talked, we learned he had been wondering across Japan for over six years without being able to contact his parents. On the day of the concert, he happened to pass by the church when he saw the advertisement for the event. He also shared that before he was wondering throughout Japan, he had been in Ethiopia for several years to learn the culture. There he met people keeping the Sabbath on Saturday. He did not understand that Jesus died for us, a very important part of Bible. He just followed their rules to purify himself from his sin by keeping the law.

Noboru and I explained to him what Jesus did for us on the cross. After we talked, we all prayed taking turns. When his turn to pray came, he confessed sins which he could never tell other people, and suddenly started crying because he knew for the first time that Jesus died for him to forgive him and to save him forever. He told us he was suffering because he thought nobody could forgive the sins he committed many years ago. After he confessed his sins and knew that he was forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus, he had peace and believed that Jesus is his Savior. Praise the Lord! Jesus loves all people so much because he created us. Please pray for him so he can start his new life with Jesus.

We have learned that God guides us every day so we can meet people who do not know Jesus yet in his perfect timing! Please pray for our ministry and for us to meet more people who are suffering without Jesus, so we are guided to share the message of hope Jesus brings.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38 – 39

Kimiyoshi Kurihara

JCSI (Japan Christian Service Int’l)

Director

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