Jim and Evie Olson (Evie is pictured below with the group of her "grand-students) moved back to Seattle in 1989 after some 30 years of ministry in Japan. They were naturally attracted to Japanese people in their community. Friendships developed. Jim and Evie practiced the "open door policy," welcoming many into their home. Some asked Evie to teach them American cooking. Others wanted help with English conversation. Some wanted to know about the Bible. As the ministry developed and numbers grew, Rock of Ages Lutheran Brethren Church welcomed them to use their facilities. Many members at the Rock began assisting where they could.

As a few of these Japanese people came to know and trust Christ, they desired to worship in their own language. The first Japanese worship service began in the fall of 1990. Since then hundreds of Japanese have heard the gospel and seen it in action through Japanese Ministries. At least 35 of them were baptized here. Others heard the message here and were baptized after they returned to Japan.

Japanese Ministries endeavors to meet the felt needs of the Japanese. Many Japanese have said they were attracted to Christ through the love Christians had shown toward them. This was true in the early Church, and we see the love of Christ alive and effective in the same way today.

We celebrate the past 20 years of Japanese Ministries, praising God for what he has done, and participating with joy in his ministry today. Three of the people who were blessed by Japanese Ministries share their testimonies:

KUREHA TAKAISHI
In Japan it is quite unusual to grow up in a Christian environment. But I did. That is to say, my mother is a Christian and as a child, I went with her to church and other Christian activities. I was baptized when I was five years old. But when I entered junior high school I became very busy with sports and stopped going to church. When I was around people who didn't know about Christians I was too embarrassed to pray or talk about God.

Even though I believed in God and knew he was always by my side, I didn't go beyond that point. When I was six years old, we went to see a friend off at the train station. When the train started to move I started to run alongside it. I didn't know how dangerous this was. I slipped and fell between the moving train and the platform. It is a miracle that I am alive and standing here today. Even after that and many other events in my life I still could not accept God completely.

But I was given the opportunity to change when I came to Seattle and someone said to me, "Even if you cannot accept God completely, God still loves you as you are. Even if you have not opened the door of your heart for twenty years, God is still knocking. And even if you would try to turn away from God, he will hold your hand." These words helped me turn back to God. I am so happy I can stand here and say these things as a Christian. I am also thankful to the many people who gave me this opportunity, to Roger Olson and the Japanese Ministries and to all of you here at Rock of Ages.

MISATO SHIRAI
The kindergarten I went to taught Christian teachings, so I remember reading from the Bible and praying before I ate. But I think I did this halfheartedly and because everybody else was doing it. So as a kindergartner I was exposed to the Bible and to God a lot, but when I entered elementary school I didn't read the Bible very much and I didn't think about God much anymore either. It's as the Bible says, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:21).

But still I had food to eat, a place to sleep, a place to learn, and awesome friends. Just because I fought with a friend it didn't meant that I wouldn't get supper. And even if I didn't do my homework sometimes, it didn't mean that I lost a lot of friends. Even when I wasn't thankful for all these things I was provided a great environment and I was able to enjoy it. The Bible says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24). I realized this truth when I came to Seattle and heard the testimony of my friend Honami. It made me think of my past. I know this was God's message to me. God had helped me realize this through Honami's words.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). To be honest I really don't know much about "eternal life." I haven't died yet. But I can believe God. And I can believe that Jesus is my Lord. God's love will never end. Because God loves me I can share that love with other people. I am sure this love is eternal and even though it doesn't have one certain shape it will not disappear. I want to share this great love I have received from God to many people.

YUKA MATSUBARA
(pictured rigth with "Mama" Sue Olson)
When I was little I thought there was a God. I thought about why people are born and why they die. Looking at trees, animals, stars and the sun or other things in nature I would wonder, "Who made all this? Do they have life and talk or communicate?" I would wonder about the different things on earth and be amazed. Even though I believed there was a god I did not know what it was to be a Christian. I also thought that I had not seen God nor had God answered me after I had talked to Him. But I was praying, "God, if you are there show yourself to me and answer me."

Six years ago my grandmother committed suicide. I was 14 years old. The shock was unbearable. After that I could not trust anybody and my heart was empty. "Why did she die? Had grandfather been mean to her? Whose fault was it?" These are the kinds of questions that were constantly in my mind. I also blamed myself for not being able to help my grandmother. And I wondered, "Why do I have to have this terrible experience? There must not be a God."

As the Bible teaches, I have sinned a lot. God took my sadness and came to me. My sins were forgiven and he saved me from darkness. And I believed God. My grandmother's death made me very sad. But it also showed me that there is nothing more important than life. It helped me see how important my one and only family is and how wonderful friends are. It helped me be saved from the darkness with the help of Christian brothers and sisters. The life I have lived so far has not been a waste. The hard times I have had have not been meaningless.

Everybody will die someday. No matter how good your medicine is. No matter how many good things you do. No matter how much money you pay. But God will never let you go. He is always watching you and will lead you to the right path. "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:6-7).

pictured left: Rei (middle) and Miku (right) translate Isaiah 48:17 from Japanese to English for Dave Wills during "Talk Time"

Pastor Roger Olson serves as director of the Japanese Ministry at Rock of Ages Lutheran Brethren Church in Seattle, WA.