My husband, Ron, and I lived in Japan for
five years and while he worked on a contract with the Japanese Navy, I
played. We had base privileges for
everything but our housing; as civilians, we had to live in the “cho”
(neighborhood).
Most of the Navy wives taught
Conversational English to the Japanese and at some point in time, I had heard
each of them make the comment, “Oh, I have to get home to teach a class in
fifteen minutes.” Often there was annoyance in their tone. I didn’t want to
develop that attitude toward teaching so I had no desire to take on any
students.
I remember on one of my trips home
to visit family in California, I was asked, “And what do you do with your
time in Japan?”
A sense of guilt washed over me as I
answered almost ashamed, “Nothing much!”
On the flight back to Japan I began
to bargain with God. I told Him, “Okay, if You want me to teach English to the
Japanese, then they’ll have to come
to my house, knock on my door, and ask me!” I thought I was being pretty
safe with those conditions. God has such a sense of humor . . . THEY DID!!!
I was home only a few days when a
Japanese neighbor who worked in a Muscular Dystrophy hospital in Kawatana where
we lived, knocked on my door and asked if I would be willing to come to the
hospital to have Conversational English lessons with one of her patients.
Nobuyuki Aramaki had been employed
in the hotel industry in England as a young man so he already knew English.
When his illness became debilitating, he returned to Japan and eventually had
to reside in this hospital. He was now wheelchair bound and only had the much
labored use of his right hand to control his electric wheelchair. All other
life functions had to be done for him.
During our lessons Nobu would choose
a subject and we would discuss it. If I used any word that he didn’t recognize,
I would define it at length. He was especially interested in understanding our
“slang.” Americans automatically know what is meant when using a slang term so
I was a bit challenged to find English words to define slang. How would you
explain like water off a duck’s back, handy as a pocket on a shirt, that’s about the
size of it, what are you up to, ace in the hole, it’s up in the air, a shot in
the dark, etc.
One serious subject Nobu wanted to
discuss was the issue of abortion. Since I am pro-life, I had brought some
printed materials and pictures with me from the states. I took these to the
hospital for our next lesson, not realizing until I arrived that he was
personally involved with this issue and was under great conviction by the Holy
Spirit.
I learned he had advised some
friends to abort their baby because they were not married and would “lose face”
if the pregnancy was discovered. Now his counsel was weighing heavily on his
conscience. I was so glad God stopped me before showing him the materials I had
brought, which would have overwhelmed him with even more guilt and remorse.
The approach I took was to share the
love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. We had been using a whiteboard during our
previous lessons so I wrote the word S I
N in big letters on the board. I explained that we all sin and fall short
of the glory of God. Then I took a piece of paper and covered up the word. I
told him that even though our sin may be hidden, it is still there and we know it is still there every day. Then I
took the eraser and wiped the word away and assured him, “When we invite Jesus
to come into our heart, HE completely
wipes our sins away. They are no longer covered
but they are GONE, deposited into the depths of the sea to be remembered no
more.”
With that, Nobu’s eyes got as big as
saucers and he smiled happily from ear to ear. He understood and saw that there
was a hope for him in Jesus Christ. That was the beginning of Bible lessons
instead of English lessons.
When I had shared the extent of my
instruction in English, I invited a local pastor to continue with Nobu’s
discipleship. The Japanese have many gods and the biggest challenge is to help
them forsake all others and cling only to Jesus. I planted, Pastor Sasaki watered,
God made the increase.
It was not long afterward that I
received an invitation to Nobu’s baptism. What made this so exceptional was
that it would have been expedient and totally understandable to sprinkle Nobu with water in a ceremony on the
hospital grounds. After all, he could not move, but Nobu wanted to be baptized
“as his Lord and Savior” had done, by immersion. This procedure required setting
up a privacy tent on the beach so that his clothes could be changed afterward.
Gallons of fresh water and a nurse from the hospital had to be in attendance to
bathe the salt water from his body and redress him. A canvas hammock was used
to lay him in and two strong souls carried him in and out of the water.
When the day arrived, many of the
local Christians we knew, both Japanese and American, were invited to join in
this celebration. A potluck dinner was set up in the pavilion on the beach. When
the time came, we all marched down to the water’s edge to witness this
extraordinary baptism. Spontaneous singing and praise to God broke out as Nobu
was lifted out of the water.
The ceremony was especially
significant to me. I had watched many baptisms in stateside churches and even
one in a swimming pool at a friend’s house. However, I had never been baptized
by immersion myself since I was sprinkled as a child in the Methodist church
and considered that to be adequate (I
don’t like getting my face wet). As I began to see and appreciate the
extent to which Nobu was willing to go to be baptized “as his Lord,” I was
convicted that I, too, should be baptized by immersion.
The next time the base chapel
announced a baptism service, I was included. We went to the waterfalls and
enjoy a picnic afterward. It was April, in Japan, and the falls were raging
with snow water melting off the mountains. There were five of us baptized that
day all freezing with chattering teeth under the thunder of the most beautiful
falls imaginable.
My baptism by immersion is very special to me. Our God
is an awesome God to use a Japanese man in a country across the world to bring
it to pass.
“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism
into death,
that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans
6:4)
“For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
(John 3:16)
“He has
delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us
into the
kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption
through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)
"Jesus said… ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes
to the Father except through Me.’ ” (John 14:6)
“Nor is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven
given among
men by which we must be saved.” (Acts
4:12)
Nobu and I continued our weekly lessons for three
years and became very good friends. He remained a strong Christian until he went home to be with the Lord.
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