by CRASH Japan
“Maybe I Should Become a Pastor,” Said the Buddhist Priest
When Tim Cole, who grew up as a missionary kid in Japan, first found 100 people evacuated to a Buddhist temple in Onagawa on a CRASH needs assessment trip, the priest was hesitant to receive any help. But as they talked, they realized the priest had gone to the same kindergarten Cole had attended as a child.
When the priest's wife heard that Cole and the others with him were Christian pastors, she told her husband, "You should have them teach you how to give effective sermons." After commiserating a little about the difficulty of preparing interesting talks week after week, one person in Cole’s team suggested, "If you speak from the Bible, that will make a big difference." The priest thought that was an interesting suggestion.
Because of the connection they were beginning to build, Cole's team was able to leave food and jackets and ask what else was needed. Cole gave one man his duffle bag because he really seemed to want it. The evacuees especially asked for rubber boots.
On Cole's next trip to Onagawa, he made sure he had a good supply of duffle bags and rubber boots. His wife, Katie, also brought boxes of homemade bread and cookies, and while passing them out, the priest's wife came up and introduced herself.
In Katie's own words:
She got animated when I told her that Tim and I had met in Karuizawa. She told me that she has lots of good memories of Karuizawa because her grandparents are Christians and used to take her to summer camps at Megumi Chalet [Christian Conference Center]. Of course words flowed easily from then on and among other things she said, "Maybe I need to get my Bible out and start reading it again."'
I asked if life was a lot different having more than 80 people in her "family" instead of five. She laughed and said it was good—something her husband had actually hoped could happen someday. He's told her he wished he could run some sort of program to get people to come to the temple… but wasn't thinking an earthquake and tsunami would be the reason it would happen. He even jokingly said, "Maybe I should become a pastor." I can't help but wonder what God is doing there and will do in the future. Is it possible to hope that God might bring that whole little "flock" of people who are camping out at a Buddhist temple to salvation in Him?
“Maybe I Should Become a Pastor,” Said the Buddhist Priest
When Tim Cole, who grew up as a missionary kid in Japan, first found 100 people evacuated to a Buddhist temple in Onagawa on a CRASH needs assessment trip, the priest was hesitant to receive any help. But as they talked, they realized the priest had gone to the same kindergarten Cole had attended as a child.
When the priest's wife heard that Cole and the others with him were Christian pastors, she told her husband, "You should have them teach you how to give effective sermons." After commiserating a little about the difficulty of preparing interesting talks week after week, one person in Cole’s team suggested, "If you speak from the Bible, that will make a big difference." The priest thought that was an interesting suggestion.
Because of the connection they were beginning to build, Cole's team was able to leave food and jackets and ask what else was needed. Cole gave one man his duffle bag because he really seemed to want it. The evacuees especially asked for rubber boots.
On Cole's next trip to Onagawa, he made sure he had a good supply of duffle bags and rubber boots. His wife, Katie, also brought boxes of homemade bread and cookies, and while passing them out, the priest's wife came up and introduced herself.
In Katie's own words:
She got animated when I told her that Tim and I had met in Karuizawa. She told me that she has lots of good memories of Karuizawa because her grandparents are Christians and used to take her to summer camps at Megumi Chalet [Christian Conference Center]. Of course words flowed easily from then on and among other things she said, "Maybe I need to get my Bible out and start reading it again."'
I asked if life was a lot different having more than 80 people in her "family" instead of five. She laughed and said it was good—something her husband had actually hoped could happen someday. He's told her he wished he could run some sort of program to get people to come to the temple… but wasn't thinking an earthquake and tsunami would be the reason it would happen. He even jokingly said, "Maybe I should become a pastor." I can't help but wonder what God is doing there and will do in the future. Is it possible to hope that God might bring that whole little "flock" of people who are camping out at a Buddhist temple to salvation in Him?
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