The EPJM trip from 27 May to 5 June was my 4th EPJM trip and my 2nd to Yamagata. Kelly (the team facilitator for this trip) and I shared the same sentiment that since both of us had served in the 1st Yamagata team in Dec 2023, it is important to continue to strengthen the good relationships already established with the Japanese pastors and their co-workers.
I’m thankful that we had a great team for this trip. Our gifts and strengths complemented each other, and we were able to adapt quickly to the unexpected challenges that came up during the trip. There was a time that we had to be vulnerable and openly addressed a difficult issue that could potentially derail our mission, and we humbly listened to one another and sought God for wisdom.
It was a great joy to meet the members from Kaminoyama Church again at the Kana Kame house. Their faces lit up when they recognised the two of us as returnees. We received the good news that a vision impaired lady who was a seeker when the team came last year has taken the step of faith to become a Christian! The team encouraged her to take the next step – to get baptized. During the evening session, our host’s son cooked us a sumptuous dinner. Although he had drifted away from his faith for a long time, he was willing to sit down to listen to a team member’s testimony this time, instead of remaining in the kitchen like last year.
We also reconnected with the community of Chinese-speaking Japanese believers, who worship with the rest of the believers in Zao Christ Church (ZCC). They are people of Japanese descent who grew up in China and speak only Chinese. Over time, some of these descendants decided to move back to Japan with their extended family in search of a better future. Knowing their background, I prepare a message and some Chinese songs for our fellowship. It was apt that a daughter-in-law turned up with her mother-in-law as the message that I had prepared began with the loyal love of Ruth for Naomi and ended with the faithfulness of God to His people.
One of the evenings, our team led an English Café session for kids. The kids (and their parents) were treated to a short video clip on the Noah's Ark. Everyone had great fun trying to be the first to answer the questions that follow.
The World Food Festival was another highlight for this trip. This is an outreach event held on a Saturday evening in ZCC, around 60 people who turned up this time. A team member, Wai How, whipped up a sumptous spread of Singaporean food, and we had the opportunity to mingle with those who came while enjoying the meal.
During the Sunday service, the team presented two songs. A team member, Kannan, gave his testimony that moved the missionary to tears, even though this was the second time that he was translating it. I had the privilege to preach a message to the congregation with Ps K acting as my translator. I was greatly encouraged when an elderly man stood up at the end to say that this was the first time he came back to church after a long period of absence, and the message had ministered to him. Sunday afternoon was spent learning to make soba noodles from buckwheat flour. Kelly’s sharing at the World Food Festival on the previous day, had encouraged an elderly member of the church so much so that he mustered up enough courage to use his “five loaves and two fish” to teach the team soba making, which concluded in freshly-made Soba for dinner.
The prayer walk in Yamanobe (a neighbouring town 30 mins away) was blessed with good weather. Though it had no church, God has amazingly sustained a Christian kindergarten there as a witness for Him. The team met the principal of the kindergarden, a white-haired, 80-year-old lady, who shared her joys and struggles with us.
What touched me most was to see the principal’s faithfulness to keep serving despite her current age, in such a challenging environment. All her teachers are non-Christians, and she has not yet found a successor for her role. Still, she continued to be God’s witness, setting aside a weekly chapel time for the teachers and children. Ps K invited me to pray for her. Besides committing various concerns to God, I felt the heaviness in my heart to pray for God to raise up a godly successor for the sake of the kindergarten and the people in this town. At the end of the prayer, she thanked us and said that she felt strengthened by our prayers.
The team also served the Yamagata Megumi Christ Church in an unprecedented way. The Pastor, Ps Y is a 4th generation pastor in his family. His church has moved to a new location since the last visit. The team assisted him with dismantling fixtures mounted on the ceiling, drilling through the structure, as well as weeding in the garden.
We met a new missionary attached to his church and she was amazed at Ps Y’s zeal to reach out to the people in his neighbourhood. We heard that Ps Y worked very hard and barely had a rest day. His father (who was also a pastor) had told him “you can have your rest in heaven”! Since moving to this new location, God had brought close to 10 newcomers to his church. Currently, he is also reaching out to a young man who has been learning to play the guitar from him. By God’s grace, they are making good progress as he has just started doing bible studies with him.
God has shown me the spiritual poverty of the Japanese despite their economic and material affluence. He has also shown me how hard the pastors and missionaries had to work, with little time left for their own family. Our theme for this trip was Come Taste and See! We began our preparation for the trip as early as March, and God had repeatedly shown us that this was His mission for us: to invite the Japanese to come taste and see His Goodness.
Nancy Lim
Yamagata Team
(27 May-5 Jun 2024)
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