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Our
story
In the spring of
1999, I went to Japan and to ship my personal
belongings back to Canada. It was not a fun trip,
but I was able to visit my brother in Tokyo at the
time, and met his boss at Sanwa Bank as well. Upon
returning home to Toronto, I saw Midori and my
other friends at the Friday Bible study I lead at
Knox Presbyterian Church. Midori dropped a
bombshell: she said she wanted to be baptized. What
a pleasant surprise! Here's a picture from our
bible study group at Knox house:
Back in January,
I had been asked by Peikang Dai to lead a Bible
study in Japanese for Knox Presbyterian Church in
downtown Toronto. At the Monday evening meeting of
the International Ministry ESL program, I made an
announcement and personally invited all of our
Japanese guests to come to the Friday Bible Study.
Midori was one of the Japanese students to come to
my study. At the Bible studies we sang songs such
as "As the Deer", "Shine, Jesus Shine", read Bible
stories, and prayed for each other. One of the
stories I read to Midori was the parable of "The
Good Samaritan". Little did I know what an impact
this story would have on her.
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Since
Midori had indicated that she wanted to be
baptized very soon, I was concerned that
she might not be getting enough Christian
training, and consequently offered to give
her as much time as she wanted to read,
study, and pray together. I introduced
Midori to the Knox Library ladies
including Reima Robertson from Toronto so
that Midori could learn from Christian
women who had had a long walk of faith.
Reima shared with Midori how she had come
to faith as a Christian, and shared the
words of the hymn "As I Survey the
Wondrous Cross". It was during this time
that Midori and I began regularly praying
and reading the Bible together. We also
read novels in Japanese such as "Shiokari
Pass" by Miura Ayako, and novels in
English such as "The Lion the Witch and
the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. We found a
nice coffee shop with a comfortable sofa
near Spadina and Bloor where we would
enjoy a mug of coffee or herbal tea while
reading and praying together. I was very
happy because I had never had this kind of
friendship before.
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In September
after I came back from my cousin's weddings in
Western Canada, I began to think seriously about
Midori and where our relationship might lead. We
began meeting almost every day, and increased the
number of friends and events that we participated
in together. Midori had the chance to give candies
and chocolates to all the children who come to the
door on Halloween, and we held a "Miyazaki Hayao
Viewing Party" in our living room with some of the
Miyazaki videos I collected. Midori also started
attending "Grace Toronto Church" led by pastor
Murai. This Japanese church in Toronto helped
Midori understand her new faith from a Japanese
perspective. We were able to participate and enjoy
the friendship of many members of that church
together.
I introduced
Midori to my sister Christina and brother in law
Stefan when we stayed with them for a week Indiana
over New Years. When I had visited Japan earlier in
the year, I had met my brother's boss at Sanwa
Bank, and Sanwa Bank was now asking me to come to
Japan to work for them. Since accepting this
position meant that Midori and I might be
separated, Midori wanted to know whether she ought
to come back to Japan or not: Midori wanted to stay
longer in Canada and was applying for immigration,
but she also wanted to stay with me.
On the last night
before I left Toronto, as we sat together in the
lobby of the Royal York Hotel. I told Midori that I
would not cause her to lose face to her friends and
family if she were to follow me back to Japan. As I
left the airport at Toronto, my mother said to me
that she sensed that I had turned over a new page
in my life. Later in March this year after we were
both back in Japan, we visited her parents together
in Yamaguchi, and set the course for the wedding
day we are celebrating today.
Many of our
friends from Toronto are with us here in Tokyo, as
many have come back to Japan following the
completion of their studies. We are pleased that
many of these "Toronto" friends have been able to
make it to the wedding today as well. Although we
are not planning on holding any more wedding
parties such as this one, we do hope to plan fun
trips and events in the future and hope you will
all continue to bless us with your friendship and
support.
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