Yes, being a missionary in one of the world’s largest unreached groups can actually be… a bit boring. The same people come to the same meetings and show the same unbelief. This is why some of our prayer letters sound the same each month… because God hasn’t answered those prayers yet. But every now and then something unusual happens.
Last month we were finishing off our mini-concert to tsunami victims near Sendai. One old lady came up with two friends and said she wanted to chat. After the tsunami she had bought a very expensive small marble statue from a well-known and influential Japanese cult, hoping it would bring her luck.
Now after hearing the gospel, she said it gave her a bad feeling, and she asked if I could dispose of it for her. So I agreed and went to her house with some church members. There we explained that this idol (a carved image of a temple) was not a god and had no power to do good or cause harm. The Creator is the only real God.
She said “Please throw it in the sea!”
So later that day I headed out to the ocean. I put the statue in a plastic bag and tied it to a fixture on my surfski (light sit-upon kayak). But the conditions were windy and choppy, and I paddled with difficulty because the statue’s sharp edges dug into my legs.
After a while I decided I was in deep enough water and tried to get it out of the bag, but capsized. Now I was 600m offshore with a heavy small marble temple hanging from my upside down surfski! So I broke the plastic bag, and as it sank I prayed it would not be seen again until Judgement Day. I then remounted my surfski and paddled for an hour before coming back in. It’s nice to mix business with pleasure.
Please pray that this woman will become a Christian. And if you come to Japan as a missionary, keep praying expectantly. You never know what God will do!
By Rod, an OMF Missionary
