Rambling Notes from Japan
Here are some blog posts that we hope will make you feel a part of things, and help you understand how to pray better for us and Japan. Please see our external blog in Blogger, if this page does not display correctly.
Bath or Baptism? (Part 2)
Baptisms in Japan, let alone decisions for Christ, are still too few and far between. The challenge of reaching even a small percentage of this country for Christ has been one that deeply discourages many a missionary. Recently I read that 99% of the missionary force serves in countries where at a majority of the population are believers. With Japan's 0.5%, I'm not sure whether that would make us the bottom (or top?) 1%, but it is a challenging field and a challenging work. So, today was a great day of victory.
During the baptism celebration lunch, our "international division" at church sang choruses of a song in Hindi, English, Indonesian, French and Japanese as a reminder that we are different people (and nations) in one body under Christ. It was a taste of heaven, where peoples of all nations will surround the throne of our God and Savior with collective praise. Keeping that image alive in our minds is an inspiration in the challenging field. Click the image (above) to see the whole baptism celebration group.