Greetings from Ishinomaki, Japan! It has been about a week since my squad and I arrived and started working in our ministry. Japan is an extremely complex culture and in only a week I have begun to see the intricacies of God’s work here.
We arrived in Ishinomaki on a cold, snowy morning at 6:30am last week. Having not checked the weather (of course) I stepped off the bus a bit dazed wearing my Chacos and ready to take on the day. I had not slept in about 40 hours. Our travel day(s) had started in Atlanta with a flight at 6am, a 5-hour layover in Toronto, a 14-hour flight to Tokyo, a 1-hour bus ride to the main bus terminal, a 2-hour wait, then a 7-hour ride finally into Ishinomaki. Once arriving in Ishinomaki we were picked up and greeted by our host, Rich, who runs a ministry out of a quaint coffee shop in town called J’s Café. The guys were shown our sleeping quarters in the upstairs of the café and the girls to their house by the Oceanside. We were given that first day off to recoup form the travel and lack of sleep. Most that day was spent getting a bearing on the places we needed to know in town (grocery store, bank, etc).
Ishinomaki is a city of 165,000 in the prefecture of Miyagi that resides in the northern region of Japan. The city’s main source of industry is seafood production and processing. Fish factories and oyster boats are everywhere and it seems most everyone we meet is in some way connected to the industry. The closest major city is Sendai, which you may recognize as the city that was devastated by the 2011 tsunami. Ishinomaki, being a coastal city, was also greatly affected and the aftermath can still be felt. The people still here, those who were not displaced or passed away during the tsunami, carry an unseen burden with them. The aura of the town is heavy. People tell painful stories recounting the events of that fateful day. They talk of the change that the city has undergone and remember love ones lost. Japan as a nation, despite being ahead of much of the world in technology and commerce, is one of the most unreached places in the world in terms of the name of Jesus. Only around 1% of people here identify as Christians and even in that many have a muddled understanding of Christ, mixing his message with the teachings of Buddhism and Shintoism. Even those who practice Buddhism, Shintoism, and other religions do so mostly nominally, following the teachings in terms of tradition and not spirituality. The people of Japan are very goal and work driven, leaving little time for anything else in their lives. This has led to alarmingly high rates of depression and suicide in the country. The people of Japan are in need divine Hope and Freedom.
The ministry that we are serving with is through a coffee shop called J’s café. The owner, Rich, is an American man who has been serving in Japan for over a decade. His wife, Emmi, is a Japanese native, wonderful with her English, and an immaculate host. If I was to give an unofficial slogan to Rich’s mission it would be “to carry out and spread the gospel of Jesus to every man, woman, and child in Japan, by acting in a manner as Christ would.” The home base for his operation is the café he runs. It looks like your average American coffee shop, consisting of about 5 tables and a couch, a book shelf, and a coffee bar. His main goal is getting people into the shop, building relationships and trust with the patrons, and then sharing the hope and Gospel of Jesus. Our ministry has been to serve as Rich’s hands and feet to reach as many people in the community as we can. It has been an absolutely amazing and humbling experience so far. There is a myriad of things we help with including, but not limited to, English conversation lessons, hosting concerts and movie nights, rolling around town meeting locals and handing out flyers for events, kids camp, fix ups and improvements to the shop, performances at outdoor markets, dance classes, etc. It has been a wonderful paradox of staying busy but finding rest nonetheless. The people we have been able to meet and spend time with are so kind and easy to talk too. People’s guards come down quickly (despite the language barrier) with a small bow and a smile. The curiosity for Christ is encouraging. Once conversation has begun, people are open and understanding to the Gospel. It is hard to share Christ with people who speak little (if any) English and who’s only concept of Religion is Buddhism or ancestor worship, but in only a week I have seen God breaking down those barriers and building bridges of understanding. It is evident the divine work which is being done and it is humbling that we are being used as a vessel for that.
My toughest personal struggle to overcome thus far has been putting aside what my idea of ministry is and laying myself down to the will of the Lord. In our Western/Americanized society, the concept of ministry goes along with reaching some goal, meeting a number, or checking a box. Ministry is either deemed a “success” or not. I’ve realized this is an arrogant mindset and eventually detrimental to one’s Mission. When we put markers on what makes ministry successful or not, we are taking our God’s infinite power and capability and putting him into the box our human, finite minds. Instead, our only mission should be striving for the glorification of God and Gospel. If I spend all day and receive nothing but rejection of the Gospel, is that not a beautiful day in ministry serving my Lord? Who am I to say what seeds are being sown by God? Who am I, steeped in sin, to question the intricacies of God’s perfect plan? Churches and ministries all over the world are losing the essence of why Christ died for us in the first place because they are too concerned with prosperity and so call success rather than bringing glory to Him. Our God is so much greater than anything we could conceive, why do we disrespect him by putting borders on what he can do through us? As followers of Christ, I believe we are called to put others first, make the Gospel known, and bring glory to God. If we consider these things above all else, we will see revival like no other, whether that is in Nashville, Auburn, or Ishinomaki.
Again, I am so thankful for all of you out there that are supporting me, praying for my team and me, and following my writings here. You do not know how much it means to know I have people back home that care. As always, my prayer is that I can keep my eyes fixed on the ultimate glory or bringing Christ to all nations. Love you guys.
For His glory, not mine,
Parker
