Tonight was SOOOO amazing! I guess this hurt ankle is definitely not for not. Wakarimashka (make sense?)? This week, I was in charge of preparing the Bible discussion part of the BEST club meeting. Apparently, it was a good thing. It seems as though a lot of students in Japan have never heard of the Bible, much less read it. Instead of reading the Bible, I thought it would be good for students to have some background about it, and know who Jesus was. I made a short powerpoint about where Jesus was born, what he did, where he traveled, how he died, etc. Then, we split into groups and Meg and I each led discussions about things Jesus did. It was absolutely amazing!! We read about Jesus calming the storm (not walking on water), Jesus feeding the 5000, and healing the sick. Last week one of the students, Kazu, came up and asked how to read the Bible, like what I do. So, this week, I sort of walked through what I do when I read stories from the Bible. I envision them, thinking about it like a movie, setting the scene, etc. Then, I ask questions. I am definitely a psychologist, so I ask a lot of "why did this person do that? Why would they think that? How can they change that?" questions. I am also my father's daughter, so I play the devil's advocate and like to argue with myself about the verses. It was absolutely amazing! By the end of it, Kazu, Shin, and Fumiya (the 3 students in my group) were all asking questions and learning to read the Bible on their own. They even took 2 passages to read this week and want to talk about next week! :D Apparently it took a sprained ankle and lots of bedrest to make me realize how much power I have by just preparing and praying. The prayer especially paid off, I believe, because Meg said she had the same group as last time and they were almost silent the whole time, but this week she only spoke twice, and the rest of the time the students were talking non-stop! At one point they were even comparing Buddhism to Christianity, and two students were even pointing to particular verses that helped them realize they wanted to follow Jesus instead of anything else. How powerful is that?!?! Man, God is so good :) Even Mrs.Shin (I've decided she's my favorite right now) decided to come to tonight, first so she could give me a ride, second so she could check out my talk tonight. In her words, "usually I teach, children listen. Tonight, you teach, me student". She's been having MAJOR issues with her achy shoulder, and tonight she was reminded to have faith, from the storm story. She has been involved in ministry for over 25 years, and she still was reminded by a simple story of a miracle and Jesus's power. Wow.
Just a thought, if anyone wants to explore the Bible and what it says, what it means, who Jesus was, or why people followed and still follow him, please let me know :) I would love to look into that with you when I'm back in the States :) One of the great things about the Bible is that you don't need anyone to tell you what it means, what you should read, or what to think. If you pick it up and start reading for yourself, you might just be changed. You might even get happy. You might even find something bigger than you could have imagined....
1 comment:
Glad to hear some good is coming of your pain after all. Good work seeing the brighter (and yes, hotter) side of things. You're doing well.
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