Divine Coincidences

This morning I'll tell you another story about those interesting, exciting and Spirit-filled days in the small 700-year-old town of Yoshioka.

As I mentioned last time, a big part of our week was spent at a small country church built there by a true man of faith, Dr. Abe (pronounced "Ah - Beh").

By the time we arrived, the small medical centre he had built had added a preschool that attracted just about every family in the community, along with a church that offered Sunday services and weekly Bible studies. 

As with all things old and traditional, Yoshioka was changing into a bedroom community for Sendai, and along with the changing nature of the population, we were seeing new convenience stores, a gas station, revitalised government offices and the beginnings of a new preschool. 

Not unexpectedly, Dr. Abe’s  clinic/preschool/church was starting to slip. 

But it was not going to go silently. The people were still filled with enthusiasm, and every local festival day in Yoshioka was always well-represented. 

One of the big days in the fall was an annual “Sports Day” festival, held at the little municipal park behind the church. The routine never changed:  the school singing, the time-honoured games and races, and of course a large and elaborate picnic on the grounds.  

On this particular day, it was bright and sunny, with the promise of a good time to be had by all. Tony stood up to pray over the picnic, (As pastor, he was also the “Encho" or headmaster of the school). He did his best, blessing the kids and parents and as always, trying to squeeze in a catchy Gospel message.

Suddenly, out of nowhere came a gust of wind.  No; not just a gust. This was a continuing blast of biblical proportions. Banners, plates, food, awnings and small children were going helter skelter.

As soon as Tony could excuse himself, he headed back to the church.  He said he had some "yoji" which is a convenient escape word in Japanese for "business you cannot ask about". That was a word our son Trevor used in first grade when he decided to leave school rather than jump into the freezing cold swimming pool. But … another story for another day.

This particular “yoji” concerned the small temple that sat next to our church. It was as old as the town itself (700 years) and its point of pride was a carved stone column that stood over twenty feet high and was graced with a bit of Shinto philosophy on the front. 

But the part that grabbed Tony and me the first time we saw it was on the back of the column. When the stone masons had carved the edifice, they had left chisel marks on the back: some cutting grooves top to bottom and some going from side to side. Right there in the middle was a perfectly carved symbol of a cross. Whether it had been done intentionally or not was, and still is, a mystery.

But we claimed it.

From where we stood, this seemed like an obvious prophecy. This shrine ruled over that part of town for over 700 years, but its days were numbered. Read on to the end and I’ll tell you something really amazing.

But at this moment, Tony felt nothing but rage for a bunch of demonic trouble-makers who had dared to strut their stuff over a bunch of mothers and young children … OUR mothers and young children.

Yelling at the top of his voice into the wind, Tony said, "Listen!  I've had it with you guys, I’m telling you, stop it!!  You have NO authority here and I want you to leave!!"

He headed back to the park and the festivities continued. Oh, and the wind stopped completely.

Later, as we were picking up plates and hanging the banners again, he told me what he had done, I said with a gasp, "Honey!  Are you crazy?  What made you so BOLD?  Aren't you afraid you're overstepping your authority?"  (nice supportive wife things you say). 

He just smiled and said, “Well, what can I say? When Christians pray, coincidences happen.”

Epilogue: Yes, Yoshioka church finally fizzled out, but years before it did, someone came to the church and asked us if we would be interested in buying the temple.  Apparently, no one existed as an owner (700 yrs old), and it was for sale for back taxes. A local fellow with an eye for profit paid the taxes, got a deed, and came to see us. “Obviously,” he told us, “No one here is going to buy it since it’s so full of evil spirits. But,” he said with an all-knowing smile, “I figured that as Christians, you wouldn’t be afraid.”

It would have been a wonderful addition to our property and I regret to this day that we weren’t able to take him up on his offer. But unfortunately, our faith wasn’t enough to come up with the  expensive price tag. 

Not to be undone, the man brought in a team of construction workers from Tokyo with no direct spiritual ties to the temple. They removed the stone column, tore down the temple, and sold the property to an out-of-town realtor who wasn’t afraid of the spirits, and he built an apartment on the site. A part of me wants to yell, “Yeah God! You did it!!” And another part wants to cringe in the corner and admit that we just couldn’t handle a bunch of spooks. Yep, I got questions when I get to Heaven. 

But how can I forget that cross that was on the back of the stone……..hmmm. Maybe God is in control, even when we can’t understand

Till next time, 

Marsha