October 16, 2009
By Ken and Kathy Young, serving in Japan
Editor’s Note: Ken and Kathy Young are reaching out to ordinary people in the Hiroshima region of Japan through Hope House, a holistic ministry geared toward helping families of patients in the medical center, as well as Bible studies. The following is an adaptation of a recent update from the Youngs.
Sometimes we feel like we are living in someone else’s missionary story. Events brought on by God’s leading stun us.
Recently, we led a Bible study in the farming village of Daiwa Cho, a 40-minute drive from home up mountain roads and through valleys tiered on both sides with rice fields and pine- and bamboo-covered peaks. The drive is breathtaking, but the evangelistic Bible study is awesome.
The study meets in the home of a Christian family. About a third of those who attend are Christians. The other two thirds are not just non-Christians; until now, these Buddhists and Shintoists had never heard the gospel. Many are influential farmers in their 80s.
During the first two sessions, 12 people attended; 16 came yesterday. People bring other friends each time. In fact, we were told afterward that one of the non-Christian women publicly announced the Bible study and invited people to come during the area’s gathering for Buddhists.
Ready for Good News
Explaining the gospel to regular folks who had never heard anything about Jesus before is not just a privilege but also a thrill. For example, yesterday we read Mark 2:1-12, the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man who was carried by four men and then lowered through the roof in front of Jesus. We emphasized what Mark recorded: Jesus has authority to heal, but more than that, He has authority to forgive sins.
In the Japanese Bible, the first page of the account ends with Jesus saying to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” I read that out loud and then asked, “So, what happened?” As everyone turned the page, I heard some of the people gasp. Then, a couple of them, filled with wonder, quietly said the next words: “He got up.”
Friends, this is fun! How privileged we are to be telling the good news of Jesus to people who really have not heard and are completely open. And, the fun increases. Maybe we are at the starting point of a movement of people to Christ in an area where, up until now, only the worship of spirits prevailed.
Please continue to pray for all of us missionaries in Japan. We work in the country. Others on our team work in mammoth cities. But all of us are taking the good news of Jesus to people who are part of the largest Unreached People Group in the world. We are witnessing for Christ to people who have never heard and likely will never hear unless we tell them.
Thank you for praying. Thank you for giving. Keep up your good work. We all will continue to do ours.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Japan.
What You Can Do
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