The Champions, IM missionaries in Japan

God has blessed in so many ways since we’ve been here. One of the biggest ways has been through friendship. Not long after we arrived, we met a family in the park near our house. Their kids are around the same age as our kids, and they quickly became friends. That has been such a blessing in helping our kids adjust to life in a different country.

What surprised us, however, is that when we told them that we’re missionaries and about our church, they were eager to come for a service. Christianity is foreign to most Japanese people, and they are usually hesitant about going to church when they first begin to learn about it.

We found out that the husband had been to church some as a child. That had been over 30 years ago, but there was enough of a seed planted then that they were open to coming now. And God is working in their hearts. (Let that be an encouragement to those of you who feel like you’re not seeing any fruit from your labor. Those seeds are still good even after 30 years!).

God has also given Billy a good friend from the church. If you have ever been to Japan with Free Will Baptists, you likely know of Mr. Kazama (or Kazama-san as they say here). He is 83 years old and has more energy than most people half his age. He is also one of the kindest, most hospitable people we know. He has done so many things for our family since we’ve been here.

Recently, he and Billy have been spending time together in perhaps an unexpected way: playing tennis. Kazama-san has played tennis for more than 40 years, and Billy has played less than half that many matches. Perhaps it goes without saying, but Billy still hasn’t beaten him. He’s only 83 after all! That time has been both an encouragement for Billy as well as a good time for him to practice his Japanese.

Speaking of Japanese, both of us have been studying Japanese with the same teacher that Sunni studied with when she first came to Japan 12 years ago. Many of our missionaries here studied with her, and she is a great teacher and a faithful Christian.

We are learning the language, but we are also learning about the culture and how to better minister to Japanese people. Learning Japanese is hard, but she makes it easier and fun. She is now retired from the language school she taught at, so we are very thankful for her willingness to teach us. It has been a blessing to us in many ways.