The Beginning of the End

The beginning of the end is a time when you start to see things in larger ways than you had ever before. I think we all experience it; we've all realized, at one point or another, that a journey we're on is closer to the finish than it is to the start.

For me, it usually happens with a book or a TV series.

But now, at the start of the fifth week of our six-week trip, the beginning of the end is upon us in a much bigger way than my latest book.

We've had over 100 hours of reading time, close to 20 readers, and quite a bit of time to process it all.

This past week, I talked a lot about the death of Stephan and the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch because, well, those were the lessons most of my readers were on. It's led to some pretty interesting conversations.

The questions are what I love the most.

I have readers that have asked if Stephan was God like Jesus was. It was a question I don't think I'd ever have gotten the experience of answering if I hadn't come to Japan. That question led us to talk about who God is and why Jesus died and why that sacrifice is powerful enough to be once for all.

Other readers ask about the culture and customs of the Jewish people, and I give illustrated history lessons (that I enjoy immensely).

And with other readers, the questions just flow. We talk about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of baptism, patience, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and countless other things.

With the help of my team mates and a lot of prayer, I've come to realize just how much the Gospel is impacting our readers. Many of them stay longer than an hour and ask deep and searching questions. Some, to be sure, come only to practice their English, but when the seed finds good soil, it shows. Please, pray that I would have the eyes to see it.

For many of my readers, I'm not the one doing the planting--that happened several years ago on another LST project to this same town--I'm watering. I feel so blessed because I get to see buds appear and leaves uncurl from a seed that someone else planted long ago.

But, I also want you to know how hard it is to be a Christian in Japan sometimes for the people that live here. Less than one percent of Japan's population is Christian, but it's easy for that to just be a statistic. What it means is, if you're a Christian in Japan, or you're someone who's heard the Gospel and is starting to really believe, then your friends, your parents and grandparents, your co-workers, and nearly everyone else you meet isn't a Christian. When everyone around you is living indifferently to the most amazing thing in your life, discouraging often doesn't begin to describe the feeling you can get.

Please, pray for the people here, and encourage them in any way you can. They're genuine, beautiful people that want to know God, and we will always be in need of each other's love.

Thank you so much for all of your support!

Peace.