Life story ~ Testimony of a business person
Voice of a MOGs participant – Yuhei Omi
- Worked in a government-affiliated financial institution involved with the economic progress of developing countries. Lived in Jakarta.
- Transferred 7 years ago and is currently working for an Information and Communications Technology supplier
- Baptized on Dec 30, 2018.
- Family: wife, three sons, and a dog.
Hello. My name is Yuhei Omi. I am 58 years old and I have a wife, three children, and a dog (all male except my wife). I got to know about TMP around two years ago through Pastor Motomichi Harada, who worked with TMP to research and develop the Samurai Projects throughout 2020. Since that first introduction, I have greatly benefited from receiving regular 1-2-1 Mentoring from Pastor Takaaki Hirano who works for TMP. I have to admit that I have only attended the Marunouchi Office Groups (MOGs) twice so far, only being able to attend a few morning study sessions on Zoom since the Covid pandemic began. However, my wife and I have known Mr. and Mrs. Hirano since the time we were stationed in Jakarta 15-16 years ago, and we are very grateful for this relationship.
I was baptized on December 30, 2018 (it was my birthday). It was partly because of my persistent wife who tried to persuade me to become a Christian. However, a big part of my reason for becoming a Christian was my own desire to overcome the struggles of being a stressed-out businessman. I had been working for a government-affiliated financial institution for a long time. There, I had enjoyed (or maybe just misunderstood?) the thrill of being able to support Japan’s international economic activities under the slogan “Together for our Nation”, and of encouraging the economic progress of developing countries as well. However, about seven years ago, I was told by the Board of Directors that I was no longer able to work there, and was sent to my current company (an information and communications technology supplier). I am thankful that this job has allowed me to utilize my experience from my previous company to develop the financial structures required for projects such as exporting submarine cables and land cable networks. However, my transfer to this company was so unexpected and it caused me to lose my motivation to work. The transfer has forced me to come to God and ask Him to give me a sense of purpose in my life.
Since I became a Christian two and a half years ago with mixed motivations, I have to confess that nothing has dramatically changed in my life so far. However, in the midst of the status quo, studying the Bible 1-2-1 with Pastor Takaaki Hirano has been a tremendously refreshing time for me to focus on Jesus Christ. Pastor Hirano has led me through Deuteronomy, Matthew, 1+2 Timothy, 1+2 Thessalonians, but it has been the Book of Job which has impacted my heart most deeply.
Job was allowed to suffer precisely because he was a righteous, faithful follower of God. I may look like a good person on the outside, but I know that I am actually a bad person. So, I do not think that God would entrust me with the same kind of hard trials as Job. But now that I have become a Christian, I would still like to understand better God’s purpose for my life. I often think of the Anpanman song (Japanese children’s cartoon), “I don’t want to live with no answer to why I was born and what I’m going to do with my life… ♬”. I want to be led and guided by God through his Word, maybe in part through the various activities at TMP. I will patiently and yet eagerly wait on the LORD and wait for his timing. Thank you for your continued support. Amen.