Mari Tanaka
TMP General Affairs Assistant
Higashifushimi Evangelical Christ Church (West Tokyo)
This is my third year working as a general affairs assistant for the Tokyo Marunouchi Partnership. Every week, when the Samurai students visit the office, I feel excited from the moment I wake up. The joyful laughter of the young people fills the air, and I can’t help but smile. One day during a break, I asked a Samurai student from Sendai, “How was the class?” She replied, “It was the most memorable lecture I’ve ever had. I was so moved that I felt like I am part of the Samurai Projects just so that I can hear this lecture”. As I listened to her reply, I couldn’t help but thank God for being present at such a special moment in someone’s life.
Last year, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture on “Kids Ministry” at the Samurai Projects. I am ashamed to admit that I recall that my sleep was shallow the night before the class. The lecturers, an Australian couple (Rev. Adam and Helen Ramsey), are in charge of children’s ministry at their church in Oyumino, Chiba, Japan. In the lecture, they introduced their creative ideas such as puppets and handmade teaching materials, and I was deeply impressed by the importance of conveying the central words of the Bible (especially about the nature of God). I was also deeply encouraged by the way they came from a faraway foreign country to share the gospel message with the children of Japan. What particularly moved me was the work of the Japanese Christian lady supporting the couple. The wisdom this lady gained through trial and error, her stories of failure, and her attitude of overcoming difficulties gave me a lot of lessons and encouragements. I would like to make use of the importance of “having fun” and “not being afraid of failure”, as well as the warning bells for “mistakes we tend to make”, in the future.
I was also able to catch a glimpse of how the Samurai students faced their classes, completed their assignments, and collaborated in groups. Their attitude was inspiring to me and gave me new perspectives and insights.
The director of Samurai Projects (Makito Miyashita) has taken over the heavy responsibility of leading the projects from James Ballinger (now Pastor of Trinity South Christchurch in New Zealand). And Makito is now teaching the lectures himself. We hope that prayers will continue to be directed toward God for Makito. The Samurai team seems to be growing in vitality with the addition of a new administrative staff member (Misato Omori) at the end of last year, which makes me smile. Above all, we pray for each and every Samurai student. May God richly bless you in your work at the churches you serve and in your future missionary work. Even though they may feel at times like they are walking alone in the dark in a tunnel, may their hearts be filled with the joy and hope of the Lord and may they be led by his light to take one step forward and then another.
“The Lord is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119 verse 105
