“Inevitably, in any such enterprise there are two possible outcomes: success despite difficulty, or failure despite effort.” – Gary Brady
Fall Update 2024 (Part 01) — Riding Bikes
It was three months ago today that I led the singing at our Japanese church service for the first time. I had to step outside afterwards to dry my eyes. That afternoon, I wrote a future letter to my son explaining to him the significance of what that day meant for me and the larger story of our family. What’s funny is that I only got sixty percent of the words correct at best! But no one would have noticed. The brothers and sisters over here sing loud! And if they had noticed, they wouldn’t have cared. The Christians here seem so grateful that outside help has come. I’m reflecting on that stretch of four subsequent weeks with a smile on my face. It’s obvious now. The Japanese Christians were really leading me in worship.
“Riding Bikes”
Our missionary mentors were Stateside for four weeks in September and October. So, our training wheels were off. Sierah and I were on our own. I did not have opportunity during that time to do any preaching, but I’ll never forget the privilege it was to lead our brothers and sisters in God-glorifying songs that I did not even understand. It was a moving thing to behold. I hope some of you will one day be able to experience Japanese worship with us. Similar to our weekly, family bike rides, this span of time was a journey of exploration for us. And it was one that we were providentially prepared for by our missions partners. Glory to God!
Many things have transpired over the last three months. So, I’ve decided to split this update into two parts. This past summer, we attended “family camp” with some members of our church here as well as a few other churches in the Kanto area. This was our first time getting to meet and worship with Christians from other churches. Our traditional Japanese meals were eaten with chopsticks as we sat on cushions at floor-level tables. Balancing two little ones proved a bit of a challenge. (I also lost my toll ticket on the interstate during our return journey, though that’s a story for another time.) But it was a neat experience to get to have as a family and church family.
Hospitality Lesson
I substitute taught our missionary’s English class in town a few times. These “students” were a group of older retirees, trying to keep their minds and language skills sharp. I did not have liberty to engage with them in a full gospel-presentation during class—we covered Japanese religious topics—but we did get to do something special. As many of you saw on our Facebook page a while back, a few from that class came over to our house for a lunch Sierah made. My goal in having them come was to see a Christian home and exchange ideas about Japanese culture and Christianity. And here’s where I learned a big lesson. Those kinds of conversation are really awkward topics to bring up here around lunch! (At least in a group.) Oh well. It wasn’t everything I hoped it would be, but we did have informative conversation.
A funny thing happed while we were showing them around our house. We got to explain to them a Bible verse that we had hanging up on the wall. “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). They did not know these two words: Lord and rejoice. This was our bridge to introduce them to Jesus the “King of every day” who provides true joy to those who follow him. May those seeds grow. One of the ladies has since come to our home again to make bread with Sierah and chat. The training wheels are off!
Singapore
Late this past summer a group of ten members from a church in Singapore were traveling to different ministries in Japan, and our church here got to host them. On a weekday evening, we set up tables in the church and fellowshipped (mostly in English!) over snacks and good testimonies. In this group was a Japanese missionary who recently got kicked out of China. He is now working with the Chinese and Japanese youth in that church in Singapore. This missionary is a friend of our pastor here in Japan and came back a few weeks later to preach to our church on a Sunday. While Japan does have its challenges for Christians spreading the gospel, we face nothing like those doing missions work in China. Evangelism strategies can be the same: relationship building, hospitality, church invites, etc… The risks are not at all the same.
So many of you have reached out to us this past quarter to check in on us, or write birthday cards, or let us know you are praying for us. I wish I could say more than thank you! All of our needs have been met. The family here is happy and healthy. Our church family is doing well. Many of our assimilation challenges are behind us. But the biggest one still looms, as it will for some time—learning Japanese. I’ll write to you more about our progress in this area soon as well as the second half of our fall season!
(Note: Be sure to keep up with our weekly posts on Facebook and Instagram!)
Grace and peace,
The Pliskas
