Jesus Everywhere

Our friend "Kana" (name changed for safety) is both a dancer and a DJ...AND a Christian! This is a crazy concept for most Japanese people, but she sees her work as a DJ as her mission field to share the gospel. Many people who work as DJ's in Japan have broken family situations, and don't run in the same circles as the <1% of Christians who live in Japan. Because of this, Kana may be the only Christian they ever meet. When she meets DJ's, she introduces herself to them as a Christian because "otherwise they may never meet a Christian at all." She became a Christian two summers ago when I first came to Tokyo, and it has been really neat to watch her grow in her faith over the last three summers.

Although I had never been to a club or a bar before in my entire life, Rebecca and I went for the first time with Kana to support her and to check in on what she was doing. I knew she was a Christian, but I was a little worried - does she really know what it means to live like a Christian? However, when I visited one of the clubs that she works at, I was pleasantly surprised. She introduced us to the other DJ's (and anyone we met) as her "church friends." They were of course shocked. Christians can go to bars? Is that allowed?

I don't really like alcohol, or drink it often (except in Communion!), but I found that it is a wonderful conversation starter - Japanese people are normally very closed off, but while they are holding alcohol, they open up and want to tell you all about their lives!

This girl told me that she went to a Christian school in Nagoya when she was younger. She told me that sometimes she reads the Bible because it is nostalgic for her. Here we are, showing each other our favorite Bible verses! I showed her an app on the iphone where you can read the Bible in Japanese. She downloaded it right away and was excited about it! Pray that my friend "Lira" (name changed for privacy) will continue to read the Bible.

After I talked to Lira, the funniest thing happened. I met another person who went to a Christian school growing up. He was a famous DJ at the bar in Shibuya! We chatted about our favorite Bible verses. He said that of course he wasn't a Christian, but he learned English at school by reading the Bible. When I showed him my app with the Japanese Bible, he was shocked! He had never before read it in Japanese. We chatted about Bruno Mars and famous pop singers afterwards. I may never see him again, but I will keep praying that the Lord will use that conversation to remind him sometime that Jesus can be found, even in the most unlikely of places.

‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40