by Thierry and Kailene
It is a remarkable joy to see the LORD at work. There are many Psalms of rejoicing at seeing the LORD’s works, whether in creation, in salvation, or in His comfort and protection and provision and guidance for His people. The story of the wedding of Motonori Matsuzaki at Kailene Falls on Sunday 25th January feels like just such a wonderful testimony to the provision and guiding hand of our gracious LORD.
The story begins way back at the beginning of our Tokyo Marunouchi Partnership journey in 2018. I was working in Kyoto University’s Tokyo office, a fabulous office in the heart of Marunouchi (Shin-Marunouchi Building) overlooking Tokyo Station. I was doing some research into the worldview of people working in Marunouchi for 2 days a week and also dreaming and planning and working on the initial ideas for the Tokyo Marunouchi Partnership work for three days a week. Actually, at that time, I was going to call it Tokyo Station Partnership. However, discussions with a patent lawyer led to the conclusion that there would be some copyright issues with using the name “Tokyo Station”. So, I went with Tokyo Marunouchi Partnership instead.
With the initial idea developed, I wanted to begin to put the idea for the work together as a Powerpoint presentation and as a brochure (both short and long versions). And so I was looking for someone to help with design for these presentations. A friend (James Wright) suggested a friend of his, whom he met at a previous church. That friend was Kailene Falls.
Kailene is a Graphic Designer by training. She was born and raised in Minnesota in the US. But when she was a teenager, she got interested in Japan and Japanese culture and began learning Japanese. She then studied both Japanese and Graphic Design at university, before coming to Tokyo to work as a Graphic Designer after graduating from university. Having done a good number of years at a Japanese graphic design company, Kailene decided that she would like to begin working as a freelance graphic designer. It was a large and scary step, beginning on her own. And who would be her first client as a freelance graphic designer? Well, in the LORD’s wonderful providence, I would be her first client, and Tokyo Marunouchi Partnership.
We clicked from the start. Her designs were just perfect for what we wanted to do. She combined stylish graphics with the slick Tokyo city-centre feel, and all by the grace of and for the glory of Jesus Christ. Even now, 8 years later, pretty much all of the TMP graphics are originally designed by Kailene. We are so thankful. And incredibly kindly, she even did all of our presentations and brochures in Microsoft Powerpoint, so that we only had to pay once for the designs and then we could alter and re-use them ourselves for all sorts of uses. This is something that most graphic designers hate to do, both because we will gradually ruin her beautiful designs, but also because it means that they don’t get the recurring income of clients perpetually needing updated designs.
But, from the start, the LORD was clearly in this friendship, all ways round. For us, Kailene was the perfect graphic designer, whom we could pray together with, who shared our heart, and who loved and served our LORD. And for Kailene, I think that the LORD placed us in her life, just at the right time for her as well. But, you will need to ask her more about that!
It was a few years later, in 2023, that I reached out to Kailene again for a graphic design update, as we were moving forward at that time with the third prong of our TMP work, planting Marunouchi Church Tokyo (MCT). Kailene once again very kindly and super-skillfully produced a Powerpoint presentation for Hirano and me to share the MCT vision. And as it happened, Kailene mentioned that she would also be interested in coming along to MCT herself. And so, from the Summer of 2023, Kailene began attending the monthly MCT Sunday meetings.
Then, in the summer of 2024, Kailene brought a “friend” along to MCT one Sunday. And it will not surprise you to hear that the friend was “Motonori”. They had actually just met a short while earlier. And after their second month of attending MCT together, they apparently spent the afternoon together and began going out with each other. It has been a joy to see them and chat with them both lots over the year and a half of their courtship, before their wedding.
Precisely, one year after starting to go out together, Motonori proposed proposed to Kailene. And he based the proposal on the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 13:13, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” It was a key verse for them when they were discussing together what it means “to love”. And these verses reappeared in their wedding vows as well. The day after their proposal evening, I was able to have delightful chats with both Kailene and Motonori, and hear all about the proposal from both of their viewpoints. A wonderfully encouraging, loving and edifying proposal.
My wife Antonia and I had the joy of doing four sessions of Marriage Preparation with Kailene and Moto. And their respective Bridal Shower (Hen party) and Bachelor parties were also fabulous times for getting to know both of their families much better as well. I particularly enjoyed having both Moto’s father, Ko, and Kailene’s father, Mike, at the Bachelor party, as well getting to begin friendships with friends of Moto who are not yet Christian. And I also discovered that Moto loves Michael Jackson songs, and can even do a fabulous “Moon Walk”. And Hirano and I had the joy of leading their wedding service. Hirano’s wife, Aoi, and son, Soya, played the music in the wedding service. And I had the privilege of preaching their wedding sermon as well.
Motonori and Kailene Matsuzaki are the first wedding that we have conducted at MCT, and it feels wonderfully fitting that our gracious LORD has made it to be them. They really feel like a TMP story, and an MCT story. We are full of thanks to our kind LORD God.
MCT Schedule（July～September）
Sunday Service
July 26th, August 23rd, September 27th
9:45
TMP Office
Wednesday Evening Service
July 22nd, August 5th, August 19th
18:30分
TMP Office
Club Activities
Concert Club: July 23rd
Islamic Culture Club (from Christian perspective): July 29th
Running Club: July 30th, August 27th
Mount Climbing Club: August 29th
Movie Club: September 9th
18:30
Inquiry：Hirano（jbhirano@tokyomarunouchipartnership.com)