Neon.
The Statue of Liberty.
A women that looks childlike with hair in pigtail braids.
The Lord whispered those things to some of my teammates as we were seeking Him before we went on our first Treasure Hunt a few days ago.
Yes, Treasure Hunt. Did I recently become a pirate, you ask? Nope. But I did seek and find some hidden treasure in downtown Osaka, Japan, where my team and I are living for the month – the 5th month of my Race. (Yes, FIFTH month. I can scarcely believe it sometimes.)
“Be led by the Spirit” epitomizes the direction of Jef, our ministry contact this month. He is a friend of my squad leader Zach, who will be living in Osaka doing missions work and life here after the conclusion of this month. Jef encouraged us to enjoy Jesus in the people that we meet – in ALL of the people that we meet. Believers and “pre-believers.” He encouraged us to “find the gold in people that already reflects our Creator,” of which they are typically unaware.
One way to find this gold is through Treasure Hunts. Spend some time seeking the Father to give you specific things, words, images, that will lead you to a person whom He wants you to encounter.
So, my team and I prayed and got the three aforementioned things:
Neon.
The Statue of Liberty.
A women that looks childlike with hair in pigtail braids.
To the streets of downtown Osaka we go!
We first saw a guitar shop with the Statue of Liberty in its logo. Perused through and prayed as we did so. No “treasure.” Across from the guitar shop stood a building with a Statue of Liberty figurine on top. (Really?! Two Statues of Liberty within yards of each other in a Japanese metropolis? Ok, Holy Spirit.)
We climbed a couple of flights of stairs in this building and stopped at this colorful shop with neon signs and clothes hanging in the window. And yes, there was ANOTHER miniature Statue of Liberty right in front of this shop.
We enter.
It’s a retro toy/clothing shop with a little café area in the back. And the only person working there? A young women with a quirky and childlike style, wearing her hair in pigtail braids.
Cha-ching!
Through her handy “spoken Japanese becomes typed-out English and vice versa” app, we had a conversation with this precious woman.
“How did you find this shop? How did you find me?”
“We asked God who He wanted us to meet, and Jesus led us to you.”
“WOW! Really?!”
“Yes!”
The conversation continued, ending with us making plans to see her again. So, my team has a lunch date in a couple of days with this precious woman, who may not yet know the great wealth that she is.
One thing this amazing day reminded me of is that God desire to be the details. In our every step. How many more encounters would I have if I intentionally sought His heart for direction, and then boldly followed it? It would be so easy to have cast aside things like “Statue of Liberty” as our own thought and not the Holy Spirit, (cause, how are you going to find a Statue of Liberty in Japan?!) but He proved Himself faithful.
These truths from Jeremiah 29 so resonate with me:
“Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations…”
He declares that we WILL find Him, but to find something, we need to look for it.
Have you been looking for treasure – looking for Him?
From my heart,
Erika Venese
