"Mom, there's something I need to tell you."
But by the end of last year, things had started to change. K started going to church regularly. He invited me to play Christian (!) music with him at open mic night. He decided to stop studying for a special certification so that he could spend more time learning English to use for ministry. He began to pray about who he could invite to join our Bible study. And over Christmas break, he finally decided to tell his mom that he had become a Christian.
At first, he wasn't sure how she'd respond. Would she be skeptical of this foreign religion? Would she even understand what he wanted to communicate? Maybe she'd be angry that he had turned his back on his Japanese heritage-or worse?
In the end, her response was somewhat indifferent. "OK," was all she managed to say. No fireworks, no fist fights, just "OK." But two weeks later, something big happened. During a lull in one of their conversations, she said, "You know what, K? Something's changed. You've become a better student lately and a better son. And you've made me want to be a better mother." K told me later that though she couldn't understand it, "the change she noticed was the Holy Spirit."
God is working out his resurrection life in people like K all across Japan, and others are starting to notice. And that's the way it is supposed to be. "After all, it was Christians that first attracted me to Christ," K told me. "Who knows what may happen with my mother."
Written by Brooks Cain. Brooks and his wife, Riva, are missionaries serving with MTW's Global Youth and Family Ministries in Nagoya, Japan. You can follow the Cains on their blog, thecains.wordpress.com.
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SEE MOREPray for Japanese college students wrestling with new faith. Pray that they would have the courage to give their lives to Christ and not fear their family's reaction.
Pray for God to break through cultural barriers to draw Japanese men and women to Himself. And for God to call more missionaries to serve in Japan.
Pray for youth around the world to come to faith, and pray for missionaries who minister to the next generation. Young people often impact their whole familes for Christ.
Pray for the relationships missionaries are developing with Japanese men and women. Pray for common interests and connections to be a bridge to the gospel.
Pray for the men and women in Japan who have been attending church to make a public commitment to Christ and to express their faith through baptism.
Please pray for the rebuliding efforts in Ishinomaki, Japan, and for church planting efforts in the region that have begun since the 2011 tsunami.
Pray for the U.S. church to send workers to Japan where less than 0.5% of people are Christians.
Pray for the Japanese to realize that money, health, education, and material possessions do not satisfy the human heart.
Pray for God to call college students to Japan for 2019 summer internships.
Pray for children in Japan who are attending Christian school and influencing their families for Jesus.
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