Aoyama Gakuin
- Anna Gardner Herren
- Jul 27
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 31
A month ago, when I sent my last newsletter, we had the opportunity to speak to a couple of college classes at Aoyama Gakuin. We told the story of Ruth, and I demonstrated her story through dance. Afterward, my friend Kanako (a dancer), shared her life story. It was so cool to see her sharing her faith in public. When I first met her just two years ago, she was not yet a Christian. Now, she is speaking boldly about her faith before her peers!
I was encouraged to see her grow so much in her faith. After she spoke, students asked questions, and some of them were really deep. One student wrote afterwards:
These college kids in Tokyo are really asking big questions that only God can answer. Please pray for their teacher, Mr. Byrd, as he seeks to proclaim the gospel in their lives through this class.
That Friday, the interns and I spent a night on the little island of Kamakura with Kanako’s parents. Even though they are not Christians, they are grateful to us for our role in Kanako’s life over the past few years. As we spent the day with them, I had opportunities to ask them questions. From them, I learned a lot about Japanese ancestor worship, which prevents many Japanese from becoming Christians.
Mrs. Kizu said that she is not free to believe in God, like her daughter, because she was chosen to be the grave-keeper for her husband’s family.
Mr. Kizu worships many different gods (of multiple religions!). He says that he wants to learn about the God of the Bible, but he doesn’t know how.
Pray with me that God would move in their hearts and reveal to them His truth!
I keep coming back to the truth that we can do no good apart from Him. Yet, our labor in the Lord is never in vain. Pray that God would go with us and move through us and encourage others because of us to Seek His Face!
Amazing!