The Hows and Whys

Tony preached a sermon the other day that got me remembering the last 5 years of our mission career.  We were working in the Tsunami zone, very close to where we invested 25 years of our lives and incredibly close to the epicentre of the 9.1 earthquake that happened there.

The earthquake/tsunami happened on March 11, 2011.  Because of our history in the area, it was only natural that we started working right away with volunteer teams and surviving church members.

One blustery cold day (it was still very early spring) we had been giving out food from our van when we ran out.  The Japanese were kind and appreciative, but they were also desperate for the supplies we were bringing. Under the circumstances, the now-empty van seemed pitifully small in face of so much need.

Our hearts were heavy as we drove away, leaving a line of hungry people.  We only had a paltry few snacks left which we figured we could divide between us and call it lunch, so we decided to go up the hill to a Buddhist temple where hopefully we'd escape the people and the sadness.  We could see a bonfire from where we were and we figured that needed checking out.

From the parking lot, we saw the stairs ascending to the temple, guarded by a huge statue of scary proportions. No one in our group wanted to comment that the statue now lay face down in the mud, broken into several pieces. 

There was second statute on the other side of the stairs that had precariously remained standing, but it looked like a gust of wind could blow it over.  We each said a silent prayer as we walked by, reminding ourselves that any power the enemy might be claiming here had no authority over us. There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of; still the area seemed inundated with the kinds of powers and principalities we’d been praying against ever since we had come to Japan. 

At the top of the stairs stood the temple Monk.

He seemed friendly enough (there were about 10 of us), so we greeted him. He stood silent for a moment, then asked, rather gruffly I thought,  

“Nan de kimashita ka?”

That’s a tricky question. because it can mean either, “How did you get here?" or "For what purpose are you here?".

I gulped and pointed to our van.

Then he laughed and said, (in Japanese), “You know what I mean; WHY are you here?”

I had a split second to come up with an answer, so I tried the truth.

“We've been passing out food all morning. We’re tired and just want a warm place to stand."

To our relief, he beamed his biggest smile we’d seen all day and opened his robed arms up wide as he directed us to the fire.  

Buddhists are very accommodating to other religions, especially if they are helping others.  We enjoyed the fire and conversation, and our American friends shared Christ in a most non-confrontational way which they often did.  

We all left warm and ready to carry on. And now, these many years hence, the question still resonates with me. "How did you get here and why are you here?"

A lot of our friends, even back as far as our college days, questioned our intelligence of picking 'the road less travelled'.

But we knew before we even married, that God was asking us to do the unusual.  We didn't know then how that looked, but we were committed to being that 'odd' couple who went out and did.

Gradually people either gave up trying to get us to act normal or just wandered away. 

 I’ll never forget the comment of one of Tony’s groomsmen who said the night before we were going to Africa, 

“You’ve always been weird!” 

As far as 'doing', we have to credit our Baptist International Mission Board who sent us and still support us, both physically and spiritually.  

So thankfully. we still KNOW how we got here and we KNOW why.

Paul says we're in a race.  One in which we need to give our best to what we've been given.  We're encouraged to run that race with grace and style and reach the goal that's been given individually to us.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,  who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

                                                            Hebrews 12:1-3

Love,

Marsha