LCMS World Mission Blog

“During the last few weeks of my teaching at Lutheran Language Institute (LLI), I asked many students, ‘What did you learn about God or the Bible during your time here?’ I will tell you about two responses both from my Tuesday evening class, the rest you can find on my blog. The high school girl I told you about last month said that she learned, ‘Jesus loves us all the time.’ And another woman in the class said, ‘I’m already a Christian so I didn’t learn so much new about the Bible, but I learned how to share my faith from you. I want to tell my family and friends.’

“After that I would ask, ‘Are there any other questions you have about God or the Bible you would still like to learn about?’ In this Tuesday evening class, I would ask the high school girl after every chapel message if she had any questions. Every week, she would always say she had no questions. The woman in the class who is a Center Church member would sometimes explain the message a bit in Japanese if she thought it was difficult, because she thought surely there must be something she doesn’t understand yet and wanted to help. But other times, we would just move on.

“Well, when I asked the question this last time, she said ‘Yes!’ Her question was, ‘Is Jesus human or God?’ Wow! So that’s what she has been wondering this whole time we thought. So, God opened up the chance to share all about how Jesus is both human and God, and what that means for us. Sometimes you don’t realize what is or isn’t getting across, so I’m so glad I got to share that with her. I was also able to give her a Japanese/English New Testament Bible, and I pray she will continue to have questions and find the Truth in God’s word.

“And how about me? I learned so much! Most of all, my faith has grown so much stronger as I wrestled with the students questions about the Bible, as I experienced being in a country of 1 percent Christianity, and was challenged by other missionaries around me. I really look forward to sharing about my experiences with all of my supporters upon my return to the United States this year.”

• Visit Carol’s blog to learn more about her time in Japan
• Pray for the LCMS missionaries in Japan
• Search open service opportunities in Japan