Partnership Prepared in Advance
Stirring from a deep sleep, Kronk bolts upright remembering all the details from earlier that day. Clarity strikes him as he realizes how they all connect and a plan forms in his mind, culminating in a single, definitive statement, “Oh yeah, it’s all coming together.” Now, I apologize if you haven’t seen the Disney movie The Emperor’s New Groove, but this line from that movie constantly finds its way into my mind. And whenever I’m able in hindsight to see God’s hand working over the days, months, or even years of peoples’ lives, I find myself hearing Patrick Warburton’s voice as Kronk telling me “it’s all coming together.” Let me give you an example.
I have a friend my age, named Kei, who regularly volunteers his time to help me study Japanese every week. He always congratulates me when I speak Japanese well at church on Sundays, but a year ago such things would not have been possible. You see, to understand Kei, you have to know how God made him. He is always generous, always kind, and has always had an interest in the world’s cultures and a heart for foreigners in Japan. But unfortunately, because of his disposition, Kei was regularly taken advantage of and verbally abused at multiple jobs by his bosses and coworkers. Eventually, his coworkers stopped talking to him, and he was left very isolated. He quit his job, quickly became depressed, and wondered if it even mattered to anyone whether he was alive or dead. His life entered a very dark and lonely place. As a last attempt to get help, he met with a counselor―who just so happened to be a Christian. She spent time with Kei and knew his love for other cultures and religions, so she pointed him toward religion to bring him hope, suggesting he start with Christianity. So Kei Googled churches in Sendai, and the first one he found was ours, Minami Yoshinari Christian Church! He met with our pastor, became a believer, began attending Sunday services, and decided that he was going to become a Japanese language teacher for foreigners in Japan. And wouldn’t you know it, a new foreign family from the United States, who could use some help learning Japanese, had just joined Minami Yoshinari Church a year prior. “Oh yeah, it’s all coming together!”
We have another friend, Mrs. Ōishi, who became connected to our church through a friend who suggested that she check it out. Mrs. Ōishi and her family moved to Sendai from central Japan because her husband had taken a job promotion. So she was new in town looking for a church and a place to help at just the time we were also coming to Sendai. And wouldn’t you know it, her job used to be onboarding foreign workers at her company, and now she was a stay-at-home mom looking for something to do. God had prepared another unexpected (to us) partnership and friendship! But, we should not have been surprised.
Nearly three years ago, a new agreement was made between LBIM and the JLBC to enter into a partnership and work together to further reach Japanese people with the gospel. This agreement was made through much prayer and faith that God is calling this partnership to exist and will see to any fruits that may come from it. And so, before this agreement was even made, Mrs. Ōishi’s husband was working his way toward a promotion that would ultimately lead his family to Sendai, exactly where God was bringing new missionaries. And Kei was finishing university and enduring a horrible work environment, abusive bosses, and apathetic coworkers, so that when prayers arose for assistance in Japanese language study for a new missionary in Sendai, God’s mighty hand raised up one of his children out from the darkness and into his light at our church with a place to belong perfectly suited for him.
So far, we have mostly been the recipients of much of God’s planning, but now we are beginning to be the participants with God in his plans for others. This summer (in August) our church planned its first Vacation Bible School since Covid in 2020. Our pastor and elders were very excited about it, but it has been a while, and the Sunday School group (and Elder Board) look very different now than it used to, so everyone wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But because of years of training received from our CLB camp, Inspiration Point, Alexa and I felt equipped and ready to answer the call to help plan a VBS. Our first real attempt at planned ministry in partnership with the Japanese church was something we had been prepared (years) in advance to do.
Now we look forward to what else God has prepared in advance. We look forward to partnering with Minami Yoshinari Church to plant a second campus further in the heart of Sendai in order to reach more of the million people living in our city. There have been eight baptisms at our church since we arrived (none so far really due to our efforts), and we look forward to hopefully being a part of many more to come in the future. A new family just started attending our church with young children the age of ours. There is a place prepared for them to belong. There is a Christian Art Group in Sendai that regularly puts on art shows; perhaps there is room for partnership there. In Seattle, we learned about and helped out in Rock of Ages Church’s Coffee Cart ministry. We’re hopeful such a ministry could have a place in Sendai.
All of this is to say, who knows what wonderful things God has prepared (Ephesians 2:1-10)! But I’m confident that when we look back at what God has done, and trace the stories of those around us, we can look in hope toward the future and confidently say, “Oh yeah, it’s all coming together.”
Paul and Alexa Fraser serve as missionaries to the unreached people of Japan.