I admit that I do have some favorites: Kyomi the reader I knew from previous years, Mitsue the 67 year old woman who runs marathons on her free time, Izumi the Pre-K teacher, Shizuka the woman who has traveled a lot and speaks English like an American... and well, they are ALL my favorite.
Here is a picture of one of my readers, Yuko, and her daughter Sakura (it means cherry blossom in Japanese).
I can definitely see God at work in our reading sessions. From the very first time we started in the Luke workbooks (taken from the gospel of Luke) somehow I`ve found all the words to say and the right questions to ask to get the reader to start thinking deeper. Of course, it is all because of God`s work. One of my most favorite things is after we`ve finished a lesson, I ask the student if they have any questions... and they start delving into deeper questions and the meaning of the story. What does this mean or why did they do that? Oh it makes me so happy that they want to understand. Nodding your head and saying "yes" to the question, "do you understand?" is very common... even if you have no idea of what is going on. Please continue to pray for us and our reading sessions as we progress more into the life of Jesus.
Another thing that is exciting is that a lot of our readers are returning from previous years with LST. Everyone has a reader that has already completed the Luke book and now are studying in Acts, John, or a compilation book of the gospels call Good News. That is very encouraging. It is a long process for a Japanese person to become a Christian. The idea of living a different life, other than the Japanese way (a mixture of Buddist and Shinto) is so foriegn, it takes years to change the heart. So thank you to all the people who have supported us and who continue to support us as we help spread the word in Japan.
Today, the weather has been beautiful! We were able to get out of the church building and walk around for awhile. It was really refreshing to be able to breathe fresh air and not inhale rain also. We, at least the girls, have been cooped up in the church building for a couple of days... we started to get a little silly. Amen for the sun!
2 comments:
Tanya, I'm so glad y'all are doing well and you're getting the questions and the chance to discuss the Bible with your readers! I wanted to tell you that Valia Spacky from Ukraine will be here in August staying with us so you'll need to brush up on your Russian!!! Love, Leisha
I'm glad things are going well for you! Meanwhile, back in the states, we get to help move you in to your new house. Nice place, but next time you move, we'll have to make sure you're actually around to do some of the moving :p
P.S. - Please tell Masaaki I said "Hi"!
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