The Lord, who makes everything good.　

I have told a few stories about myself at prayer meetings at Wakimachi church, but I have not told many stories about myself, so I would like to introduce myself and share my testimony.



I was born and raised here in Wakimachi in 1979. I was weak from childhood and often visited Oshima Hospital. My family environment was not so good, and I did not eat much food. At that time, Dr. Kimiaki Oshima, a Christian doctor, enthusiastically introduced me to Wakimachi Christian Church.

　My mother immediately took me, who was 6 years old at the time, to the church.

I was very impressed by the way so many adults around me were listening hard and praising loudly. I thought to myself as a child that those big adults were the "real thing. I learned the important teachings of Jesus in church school.

　

Eventually, I was baptized at the age of 17. After graduating from high school in 1997, I left the prefecture to find a job. I lived in Nagoya, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo. Unfortunately, I was away from the church for 12 years during that time. I was married in Kyoto when I was 22 years old. I now have a 21-year-old daughter, a 19-year-old son, and two college-age children.


I started working for a consumer finance company and worked hard for my two small children and my family in the service division, where I became a restaurant manager and was given the position of assistant manager (supervisor). My rise to this position was good, but the restaurant where I worked was open 24/7, and I was also open 24/7. My young wife, who was three years younger than me, had a hard time raising our child, and she couldn't take it anymore. Even now my heart still aches for the pain I caused my ex-wife. After the divorce, I got custody of the children and became the father and son. However, my ex-wife brought someone new into the family and asked for custody, and I lost custody due to a family court ruling that it was financially better to have both parents than a father-son relationship.

In 2011, I moved back to Tokushima and my grandmother and father died, leaving me alone with my mother.

I lost custody of my children, and I began to hate everything about reality, so I started to escape to alcohol. I drank alcohol every day, all day long, starting in the morning. I hated being alive and didn't care about anything anymore. I fell asleep, and my mind was in turmoil. At that time, I suffered from depression and panic disorder.


　My mother was sad to see me like that, so she went to church and asked the pastor and church members to pray for her son. At that time, my mother prayed, "If my son can quit drinking, he and I will give everything to God, so please help Shin-chan.



Her prayer was heard.


　She felt an irresistible urge to go to church. When I went to church, people were very kind to me, a weak, unemployed drunkard with nothing to show for it. I remembered that church, which I had been away from for more than a decade, was a place that gave me peace, even though it was a tough place to be.

I was wandering around at the time, thinking, "It's okay for me to be here!" God gave me a wonderful place to stay, even though I had been wandering around at the time, unsure of where I was going, and feeling uneasy. I was overflowing with gratitude.

I was able to understand the Bible more deeply, which I thought was difficult when I was a child and still is difficult today. I was able to rediscover the great and deep love of God and His church. At the same time, I reflected on my own sins and repented. I wanted to live in reality and keep my eyes on God instead of running away to drink, and as I went to the service every week, I began to have a strong desire to know God more and more and to work for Him.


As I prayed about this daily, God clearly told me during the United Church of Christ in Wakimachi in 2018 that it would be true. In fact, He also gave me a little bit of service in the church.


He also said, "We will all be transformed into the same image as the Lord, from glory to glory, without covering our faces, looking at the Lord's glory as if it were reflected in a mirror. This is the work of the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

I had a genuine desire to be led from glory to glory by the work of the Holy Spirit, to be transformed into the likeness of the Lord, and to always look up to Jesus.


I trusted God's leading and decided to make a commitment. 3 years ago, when my theological studies and schedule were almost set, I was found to have a serious illness. It was a disease called cirrhosis of the liver. It is a disease with a poor prognosis and there is no cure. I felt very sad. I was in despair. But unlike before, God was there for me. I prayed, "Please use me as a vessel to preach the Word of truth.

I prayed without giving up, "If it is the Lord's will, may I be made to live for God and people. And God said, "It will be done.


　Then, I was given a time to study. I am so grateful for the opportunity to study the Bible and theology at Samkong Memorial Hall.

I am not very smart and have a poor memory, but I pray that I will study hard and be sent as a preacher of the Word of truth, and that I will be able to talk about God to those who do not yet know Him.

　I currently live in Wakimachi with my mother and a cat. When I entered the seminary and Kassui Bible College, it was difficult for me to go to Kanagawa Prefecture because of my mother's weak legs from hip and knee surgeries and my own panic disorder. However, due to the Corona disaster, online worship services at churches have become popular, and I was able to conduct this study while in Tokushima. And after three years of curing the disease, the person with cirrhosis was able to recover to live a normal life, although it is difficult to live longer than normal people.


We know that God works all things for the good of those who love Him, those who have been called according to His plan." Romans 8:28.

God works with us to make the best of everything.

God makes the best of the worst, trials, and misfortunes. It is a wonderful thing. I have repented for not relying on God in the past, for running away to drink, for leaving the church, but I have to pay for my past mistreatment of my body. However, this near-death illness has made me realize that there is no time to waste and that I am being kept alive by God.

God made it possible for me to study while I was in Wakimachi, and before I knew it, all my problems had been resolved. God had prepared the best for us. I am truly grateful.


I could have chosen to live a quiet life, taking care of myself for the rest of my life. It may be a bit exaggerated, but I made the decision to risk my life for this dedication. I will continue to pray and walk as a faithful servant of God, never fearing, trusting and seeking the Lord, so that only His glory will be revealed to me.　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　May 2023 Wakimachi Christ Church Shinji Okada