Supernatural

Birds eat worms. Or so they have for as long as I could remember. I was going to meet T, my contact from Hosei University in the afternoon to go to a breakdancing club competition, so I stayed close to home and was doing park ministry in Kichijogi. We had shepherded the group to the park, and dispersed to start-up conversations through frisbees or other means. And yes, I do mean any other means.

As I sat down to read more of "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel, the person on the bench next to me moved. Great, I thought, another person running for their life. I looked down on the ground to find a worm willowing in the mud. There were birds over by the pond - this could be fun! The little 10 year-old child came out in me, and with mud crusted fingers, I walked my prize over to a group of greedy and clamorous pigeons. I threw the worm onto the ground, waiting for the immediate demise of the poor worm, but to my surprise, the birds did not even notice it. They continued to jump around, not even acknowledging the miraculous gift I bestowed on them. The early bird gets the worm, right? Birds eat worms, right? But not these! These were the birds who did not eat worms.

I had a quiet audience of one sitting on a nearby bench, quietly smirking and internally laughing as he read the distraught in my face and actions. He pointed to the pond and said, "The fish." Inside the pond, there are fish bigger than your cat. So I threw the worm, who only thought he has escaped fate, into the pond, to be eaten by the abnormal size fish. Since he was the initiator of the conversation, I sat down beside him, and we began to talk.

Talk we did, but communication came easier than it should of. This poor fellow, currently a young businessman, spoke as much English as I do Spanish. For those of you who know me, thats not much at all. But God had used ancient work in this mans life - He knew of Christ and of the Sesisho, or the Bible. I thank God for "The Passion," for by this movie, the Japanese people actually know of the story of Christ. Talk about background information taking coming to life!

He knew of the cross, and made the gesture of a nail going into the wrist of his hand. As I gave him the Gospel of John in Japanese, I would find verses in my English Bible and would have him look it up in his own language. He was open to learning more, so I pulled out our bi-lingual Steps to Peace with God tracts. He heard the gospel and was able to read it in his own language.

He understood. One of the last verses we use is Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and lets me in, I will come and eat with him, and he with me." We then ask the person, "Where is Jesus knocking? Where is the door?" He answered with the gesture of his heart. Many Japanese do not understand this very fact.

He did not become a Christian, but wanted to learn more of the Bible. I told him I would find a Japanese Christian who he could talk to and teach more of the Bible. For this I am glad, because many people push for salvations on a mission trip so they can check the box and move on with their life. I do not want this for the people I invest in - becoming a Christian is a big deal. It is not a prayer you simply pray. Becoming a Christian will change every day after for eternity. Praise God the people I have ministered to do not want to so blindly place their faith in God. Our God does not want a blind love. But that is a different story.

Supernatural means superseding the normality of nature. The birds who would not eat worms was a supernatural event. Even in the smallest ways, God uses supernatural events so the ordinary may experience the extraordinary love He freely gives. As we are commanded, make use of every opportunity. Especially the supernatural ones.

Pray for the contacts I have here! Sonya (J-girl) and I had dinner with N, my woman of peace from the begenning of the trip. It was amazing! She has so much love in her, but it is misplaced. She went to a Baptist church while living in the states and has had SO many God moments in her life. What a powerful testimony of divine appointments she will have will God calls her to Himself!

Pray for S, a man from Laos whom I was able to pour into. A case for Christ was laid down, and the gospel was presented. He too wanted God very badly, but He wanted his decision to have value to it. Praise Jesus for that. I am going to call him tomorrow to set up a time to meet and study the bible more.

Pray for T, my contact from Hosei University who took me to a club for breakdancers, not a university breakdancing club. Talk about translation error. But our relationship increased from time spent together, and pray God would give me wisdom in how/when to share the gospel with him.

Pray for T, the business man I spoke of from the park. Pray I will find the right Japanese Christian to connect with him!

Pray for H, a co-mamager of marketing at a huge international pharmaceutical company. God let me meet him at Starbucks, and we have dinner on Thursday night. May I be able to connect him with a fluent Japanese missionary who works with business men and professional baseball players here.

Pray for Y, a contact with great english pronunciation but lacking vocabulary. He learned english from music, and was very interested in Bible and wanted me to teach him. Pray I will be able to stay in contact for him, and so he will not fall off of the map.

Pray for T, a Japanese Olympic trampolinist who will be competing in Canada this week for the Canada Cup. He is interested in hanging out with me, and was interested in the Bible. Pray for times and opportunities for when he returns.

Pray for A, an American fluent in Japanese who works here. Pray I would be able to meet with him and pour the love of God into him.

Pray for Y and M, two contacts who were good ground but have totally fallen off of the map. Have not heard from them in weeks, which is sad. Pray that if I am to connect with them, God would do so.

Finally, pray for Me. Literally, pray for Dan. It is hard to juggle all these people and relationships. Sometimes I feel like I am cheating on a friend as I try to maintain these relationships all over Tokyo. It would be so easy to shut-down and do nothing. But living a life of purpose comes at a cost. Sometimes we walk into the harvest of another, and other times we sow what we will not reap. We in Japan are sowers, and take joy in being sowers. But the life of a sower is difficult - we must continually look at our life and work through heaven's eyes. Not always an easy thing for us as humans to do. Pray God would use me, and ignite me to further love these people.

Thankyou for your time in reading and for your prayers. Prayer is the number one goal and weapon of the mission in Japan - something you can help us in, even 7,000 miles away. Grace and peace be with you from our Lord Jesus.