Japan is amazing! I have been so blessed to be here, pioneering what ministry will look like in Japan for the World Race. This month I have the special opportunity to live with host families while I am staying Japan. But I don’t only get to stay with one host family but I get to stay with 3! Also, the families I am living with as well as my team, are all non Christians which is great because we have the unique opportunity to be an example of Christ to them everyday. So this is a three part blog series highlighting the families I get to stay with, ways to pray for them and a picture to the beautiful heart of the Japanese.
The first family we are staying with is the Ishizuka Family. Their family consists of a father and mother, Yuki, and an eleven year old son Ryo and six year old daughter Maria and they have been so sweet to us. We have the opportunity to stay with this family because Maria attends the preschool run by the host church we are working with. This family has taken hospitality to a whole new level. They both speak english very well and are very interested in America and strive to love on us in any way possible.
Yuki grew up near Tokyo and she has the opportunity to participate in an home stay in Canada and was thrilled with the idea to have people come stay at our house. She went over the top in serving us when we came here. She bought us new towels, robes, slippers, soap and lotion. She makes us amazing breakfasts in the morning were we have 10 different options to chose from and always makes us extra food even if we don’t need it. Yuki is also very smart and is very interested in Christianity. She has asked us some great questions about Christianity, what a relationship with Christ is like. Its been really cool to talk to her about Christianity and also talk about things like traveling, American culture, teaching her words like YOLO and swanky. Its been such a joy to get to know her and love her.
Yasuhisa works for Emirates Airlines. He works extremely hard for his family, working from 9 am till 1 or 2 am every day during the week. When he is home, he is a great father who strives to love and support his family and kids. He loves to play games with his kids, take them on adventures, watch Ryo play soccer and cuddle with Maria who is an absolute snuggle bug. He has been great, wanting to serve us as well, taking us to fun places like Kyoto and have “deep” conversations about sports, American politics, Japanese culture and anything else we could talk about. He loves to ask hard questions about religion and we have had a couple of great conversations about what a relationship with God really looks like. Please pray that God continues to speak to his heart
Ryo loves to play soccer and will often play 2-3 times a day. Maria is a lively 6 year old who loves her parents very much and is very smart. She can speak english very well, though she is shy, and is the best reader at our preschool.
Our family has introduced us to traditional Japanese food such as sashimi, sushi, tempora and many other things. They took us to Kyoto and showed us all around and they have treated to amazing meals and adventures. We have been so blessed by them and we are so sad that we will be leaving them tomorrow. Please be in prayer for this family, that God will continue to work on their hearts and make himself known to them.
