The Need for Hope
Day 3
Kobe
Yvonne started the day with a God-ordained conversation on a morning walk near a Buddhist temple. She met a lady who began talking about the importance of knowing truth. Yvonne shared the gospel and how Jesus still does miracles today. They talked for an hour! Please pray that God’s truth takes root in her heart.
After loading up with breakfast and lunch from 7-Eleven, we took three different types of trains south to Kobe to meet with Rev Iwagami and his wife, Yoriko. Rev Iwagami is the president of Immanuel General Mission (IGM), a Wesleyan-Holiness denomination with a longstanding partnership with The Wesleyan Church. He also pastors a local church in Kobe and teaches at two Bible colleges.
They hosted us beautifully in the church Rev Iwagami’s grandfather planted over 50 years ago. It was an honour to present a matau pounamu carved by our own Andrew Doughty. We had a great time connecting and hearing the history and current reality of IGM, and more broadly, the state of the Church in Japan. Yoriko shared the remarkable story of her grandmother’s escape from Hiroshima - see photocopy of book excerpt, “Flee To The Mountains” in the images below.
When talking about Japan’s ageing population and the greatest needs the gospel can meet, Yvonne asked why the birth rate is declining. Without missing a beat, Yoriko replied, “There is no hope.” Equally heartbreaking and energising — there is such a need for the hope of Jesus! Robin noted that the major issue with mission in Japan is that most forms of church and Christianity are too ‘Western’ and there is a great need for a contextualised expression of the gospel for Japanese people. We are so aware that hope needs to be communicated in a culturally compelling and sustainable way, and this work both humbles and excites us as a team.
There is a lot of planning and discernment to come, but we are excited by this early connection and the potential beginnings of a relationship both with IGM and with Rev Iwagami and Yoriko themselves. Their legacy of faith and prayer is nothing short of powerful!
