June 17, 2009
An outreach to government workers in Japan by Alliance Sunday school children demonstrates the church’s commitment to building bridges into the community. “Flower Day, or Hana no Hi (pronounced ‘hee’) as it is called in Japanese, is a day marked on the Christian calendar during the month of June,” says Alliance missionary Hazel Schaeffer, who serves with her husband, Don, at Kawaguchi Christ Church. “It is a time when Sunday school children bring flowers to city workers to thank them for their service and to ask God’s blessing on them.”
The church, which is located just north of Tokyo, began taking advantage of this opportunity to reach out to city workers about eight years ago. “Some years, the kids have been invited to climb up into the fire trucks and to wear the firemen’s gear,” says Schaeffer. “This year we went to two police [precincts], two fire stations, and the train station. This is also an opportunity to give these civil servants information about our church.
“By taking part in Flower Day, our desire is not only to thank our public servants but also to show them that we are here to serve,” says Schaeffer. One way that Kawaguchi Church serves the community is through English classes. During a recent class, a man came in saying that he had lost his job and was hungry. “He wondered if we had anything to give him,” says Schaeffer, who gave him money to purchase a boxed lunch. After he left, one of the students observed, ‘Church is a place where people find help and salvation. They wouldn’t get that if they went to the shrine or temple.'”
Another jobless man who received financial assistance from Kawaguchi Church wrote months later saying that he will never forget the kindness that the church members showed him. “He has since found a job and enclosed some money-way more than what he had been given,” says Schaffer. He also expressed interest in going to church sometime.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Japan.
What You Can Do
Praise God for giving Kawaguchi Church members open doors to make a difference in their city. Pray that those who receive ministry will respond to Christ’s love demonstrated by Alliance workers.