Father, Glorify Your Name!
The phrase of my heart this month. What a whirlwind it has been, and so full of joy. As we reflect on this past year and prepare to return to Japan this May (Lord willing!), I have a beautiful story to share with you.
The Tatsunakuchi Village Church in Ishikawa had 3 communing members, all of whom were well advanced in years. Before our eyes, the church was quite literally dying out.
Pastor Kato (Kato-San, or Kato Sensei, as we called him) invited us to visit his church for the purpose of revitalising and encouraging his congregation. It had been a hard year for them. He hoped our presence would engage the community and welcome new people to their church.
We slept on the tatami mat floor of the church, sliding pews apart to make space for futons. We didn't get much sleep that first night. There was too much on our minds from learning about the dying church -- and from the slightly concerning smell of gas that was spreading rapidly from the shower closet!
Since we couldn't contact anyone about the gas leak, we prayed that it wasn't toxic ... and went to sleep. We woke up the next morning (by the grace of God!) and began a packed weekend of events: learning about the village from Kato-San, teaching kids camps, and visiting nearby parks & playgrounds to invite families to the church service and events.
Savannah hosted an art gallery exhibit while Faith and I prepared to perform at the Intercultural Arts Center. Differently from other places where we performed, Kato-San asked that we not speak openly about the gospel at our presentation. From my limited understanding of Japanese, I gathered that the village had not been nice to Kato-San and his family, because of their faith. They were shunned because they dared to believe in what many people saw as the "American god." Kato-San's daughters were treated as rubbish because they too believed in God. If we couldn't share our faith through words, was our visit pointless? As we visited the Tatsunokuchi Library, I was still brainstorming how to "sneak" the gospel into our presentation. We had come to see the photo gallery of works by Savannah (an intern) and Peter Bakelaar (our MTW missionary host).
As we walked upstairs in the library, I noticed what appeared to be a small theatre -- and asked if we could enter. Faith and I were granted permission to enter, and we encountered one of the biggest blessings of the trip: a grand piano, and a stage! For reference, Faith had only played transportable keyboards and I had only danced in a 5-square-foot space until this point in the trip, almost two months in! What a blessing to encounter this beautiful space, and what an even bigger blessing to be allowed to rehearse there! While Savannah and Mr. Bakelaar took up residency in the art gallery, Faith and I took the time to carefully rehearse each of our pieces. This allowed us to hone in on our story-telling so that we might communicate wordlessly what we could not speak aloud. As we were packing up to leave, a crazy thought popped into my head. The Librarian. I just kept seeing her before my eyes, and I felt that our work there was not yet finished.
"Could we do one more piece?"
Faith prepared to play one more song: Brahms Intermezzo in A major Op. 118 No. 2. Together, we would re-tell the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. We asked the Librarian if she would like to watch us rehearse just one piece, and Mr. Bakelaar explained what we were about to perform. Explaining the piece, he shared with her the true meaning of Christmas - in short, the gospel! Silently, we prayed that the Lord would glorify His name.
As I danced, I prayed. In the first section, I prayed that the Lord would show the Librarian God's perfect love which casts out fear. In the middle section, I prayed that the Lord would show her His peace which surpasses all understanding. I prayed through the ending that the Lord would show her His everlasting Love, who came down in the humble form of a child. In the final measures, I took off my headscarf, wrapped it into the shape of a baby, and lifted the "child" into my arms -- all the while praying that God would make himself known to her.
Only God knows the state of the Librarian's heart, but I hope and pray that a mustard seed was planted. As we were leaving, she came and hugged me - very unusual in Japan! And I saw that there were great tears in her eyes. I have been praying for her ever since.
While it is easy to think that a simple dance or piece of beautiful piano music has no power over our hearts, this is true only apart from Christ. If the Lord can use a crooked staff to point the way in the wilderness, He can surely use you and me. What I have learned is that God will be glorified, with or without us. But what a joy that He deigns to use us to share his glory!
How to pray:
Praise the Lord for seeds planted, pray for Him to water them and grow them! Pray for this Librarian.
Praise the Lord for 6 other interns coming to Japan this summer -- 3 girls, 3 guys! Pray for the Lord to prepare our hearts to hold fast to Him while living in a spiritually dark place this summer.
Pray that the Lord would supply our every need, especially for the three girls just starting fundraising this week! Their names are Rebecca, Joslyn, and Vanessa.
Pray that during our return to Japan that we would continue investing in long-term relationships and plant good seeds for the future of Christ's Kingdom & the Church!
How to give:
Pray! I can't stress how important this is. Prayer requests above :)
Serve! I would encourage you to find someone this week to pray for. Pray over them and share Christ with them. Just like God is no less present in Japan, we are no less called to be missionaries here!
Give! I have just over $10,000 left to raise in the next two months, but the Lord who owns the cattle on a thousand hills will surely provide for this mission if it is His will. Please pray with me that He provides for our every need in such a way that brings glory to His name! You can also give here: https://mtw.org/missionaries/details/herren-gardner
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." - Phillipians 4:19 And do you know how rich is his glory?
Joyfully,
Anna Gardner Herren
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