Traveling to a land an ocean away with a language incomprehensible to all of us, our small team from BG wondered a bit about our purpose. But onward we traveled during Holy Week and the result was much blessing!
Caleb and Christina Yu are good friends with the Hata family, who are leaders at Shukugawa Bible Church (SBC), in Nishinomiya, Japan. The Yus and Yukarie Hata worshipped together at Park Street Church in Boston years ago. The Stauffers and Titus were hanging onto their shirttails, trusting that God had a design for this group.
Our team arrived separately but soon joined together to finalize our plans for a kids’ ESL camp. The church has a history of ministering to children and adults wanting to learn English as a second language. But this was the first time to combine these outreaches into a mid-week overnight camp for 6 to 12 year olds. The days were few but intense and enjoyable! We sang worship songs in English and Japanese, played games to connect with each other, heard Bible stories, and did crafts that illustrated the theme, “The Great Adventure.”
We found SBC’s arms wide open to us. The people welcomed us warmly and soon treated us as family. The children and parents were curious and respectful, as Japanese culture dictates. We interacted every day with church friends—visiting them in their homes, going to the shore, playing soccer, walking amongst the blooming cherry trees. At the end of the week plus, the sadness at departing was mutual. A friend that I’d made said she looked forward to heaven where there’ll be no language barrier!
We were humbled by SBC’s commitment to serving Jesus whole-heartedly, the children’s discipline, and the extent of the church’s outreach. Please pray that the seeds planted in children and their families will grow. The gospel was clearly spoken and our new friends said that this might be the only time some of these children will ever hear the good news of life in Jesus.
What a privilege it was to be part of this work! Thanks for your prayers and interest. Living with Jesus is indeed a Great Adventure!
