Having been able to live in the Land of the Rising Sun is a privilege for an ordinary city girl from the Pearl of the Orient Seas.
It was only a wishful thinking to have been able to step foot in this nation but reality blasted my face 2 years ago, coming to this nation unprepared and scared.
There were a lot of things I was scared of in this nation:
First, this nation is not a Christian Nation and for a young Christian like me, I knew back then that I would be suceptible to temptation and drifting away from my faith in the Lord.
Yet, the Lord has blessed me richly to have been able to meet two families where His name has long been hidden.
I thank the Lord for providing me a church to which I draw strength and encouragement.
God's Love Grace Baptist Church (Mihara, Hiroshima)
CFAN Church Japan (Kure, Hiroshima)
Photo Credits : Daryl Salazar
Second, language. I came to nation to help people from different ages be able to speak English but never have I had formal learning of their language. It was hard to begin with, only a very few percentage of the population speaks English which is really challenging for me.
Photo Credits: Ikuho Okamoto
To overcome this challenge, I had to blend and be one of them. Going to supermarkets and malls were the only comfortable places for me to be in. Never have I exposed myself with the language alone even if I wanted to but students and colleagues were very helpful to me. With them constantly using their native language made me more familiar with the everyday words and life has gradually been easy each day. I may not be able to speak their language as fluent as other foreigners but to be able to understand what they are trying to tell me and me answering back in English makes a win-win solution for both parties.
Photo Credits: Sugano San
They say, Japan is a very serious country and I would agree to it. They are always busy and they are very particular with time, which is something diffferent from my country and so I learned to be more conscious with time. They too are very disciplined, whether it me crossing the street and waiting in queue which is something I really admire.
But if there is one thing I cannot understand in this country is the fact that they succumb themselves with work and extra-curricular activities.
Given the privilege to stay longer here, I pray that these people would learn to appreciate the little things in life and they will be able to live a life freely. It hurts me to see smiles that turns to frowns in no time. It pains my heart that they are very shy to express their emotions, I too have trouble expressing my emotions so I cannot imagine how difficult it is for them as well.
And so writing this is an appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to pray for the people in this nation to open their hearts and mind for the truth and for all the Christians here to never be weary in sharing the gospel and to be given more strength and wisdom to become the salt and light of this nation. God bless!