Printed as translated by Naomi Tashiro

I MET THE BIBLE for the first time in the spring of 1978. At that time my wife was teaching children’s Sunday school, and she was studying the Bible til late every night. On Saturday nights, she would have rehearsals for Sunday. She put up some pictures on a board and had me sit as a student. She seemed to be enjoying it very much, but I just could not believe what she was teaching. God created the space, the sea, the mountains, plants, and animals in six days. God also made a man. He took a rest on the seventh day. Jesus was resurrected. Sunday is the day set aside to go to church.

She said she would practice what she was teaching and did not miss church on Sundays except when she was ill. She did not go to weddings, religious gatherings, and parties and trips for the company I worked for. She said she would choose what pleased God. Sometimes I felt lonely to attend parties and gatherings.

I remember the story of Noah. God saw the world filled with sin, caused the flood, and only Noah and his family and the animals in the ark were saved. I heard about the story of a man who was following God. He was thrown into a hole where the lions were. God closed the mouths of the lions, and the man was safe. I told my wife not to tell children such stories, but she believed those stories from her heart and kept teaching. She was also singing songs that said, “There is only one true God” and “Jesus is the best.”

Before she was baptized, she threw away a small shrine in our house, charms, and charms hanging in our car. She burned them saying there were demons in those, and she could not live with those. Since we got married, we had been going to Ise Shrine every New Year, but she stopped going. She told me not to bow when I have to attend Jichin sai, which is to ask local spirits to bless a building project. I went with her to the church’s Bible camp. I also went to evangelistic meetings. But I could not respond to the invitation after the messages. Then I did not go to church. But I told my wife that I would go to church with her when I retire.

Last year, my wife had a physical check-up and was told she had a stomach cancer. The doctor also told her that the cancer had spread widely and could have spread to other organs. I panicked, but my wife was very calm. On the fourth of February, the operation lasted from nine a.m. to eight p.m. All of her stomach and parts of other organs were taken. The doctor said it was a rare type of cancer. It was a scirrhous cancer, and the doctor said he could not tell us what would come next. My wife never was discouraged about her cancer. She always said it was God’s plan for her. I told her I was frustrated because she trusted God so firmly and yet cancer was His plan for her. But she just said God is faithful and never makes mistakes, even when things seem wrong in human eyes. She also said that God was to change things for the better through the ordeal. I had seen her faith through sicknesses and accidents over the years, and I felt I saw God who really had been with her all this time. On the twenty-fourth of March, she came home from the hospital supported by prayers of church people and by God. In June, she asked me to come to church. I simply answered, “yes.”

On June 19, 2005, on Father’s Day, after 15 years, I went to church again. On July 17, Pastor Yoshimoto preached from 1 Corinthians 2:9, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Pastor Yoshimoto preached about the splendor of heaven. I was thinking about stories I had heard from my wife as I heard pastor preach. In heaven, we can talk to Jesus face to face. In heaven, we can sing with him. In heaven, Jesus is preparing a mansion for us. She had also told me only those who believe in Jesus can go to heaven. I was just laughing at what she was telling me then. When I heard pastor preach so passionately, I thought maybe what my wife was telling me was the truth. I could not understand in my head, but I thought I would follow the Word of God in my heart. I was able to respond during the invitation and I believed.

After that, pastor taught me the Bible personally. I am learning about God, man, sin, and salvation. I would never have thought about studying the Bible before. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” On October 2, 2005, I decided to be baptized.

John 15:16 says “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you.” God chose me and let me be baptized and let me walk in faith with my wife. I am grateful for that. Thank you to pastor and you all for your prayers. Please help me and walk with me as I join you today.

Friday, March 12, 2010

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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