I hope you will indulge your Women’s Missionary Fellowship (WMF) editor as I recount my experiences as the newest RPCNA missionary. I am not aware of the WMF page editor ever having been an on-site foreign missionary before; but thanks to computer-based technologies, an editor can be in Kobe, Japan, just as easily as in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

My decision to apply to the Board of Foreign Missions as an RP missionary has a WMF link. I have wanted to share with you my gratitude. Now, I also am counting on the prayers that I know will be offered to the Lord for me at WMF meetings across North America and by individual members.

I am writing from the third-floor apartment at the Covenanter Center Building in Kobe, Japan, with the sounds of traffic on the main street below filling the room. The weather is warm enough for open windows. I watched traffic on this street more than 50 years ago from the old Covenanter Bookstore windows. Then, a tram line ran down the middle of the street. I can almost hear the streetcars rattling by, bells chiming. But now there are two lanes of traffic in each direction divided by a green area of neatly-trimmed bushes and camphor trees.

Along the sidewalk on both sides of the street stand London plane trees, just as I remember them. Ten days ago, they were leafy barriers against the street noise; but last week city crews came by in their cherry pickers, trimming the trees back to bare branches. On one tree, the tree trimmers missed a solitary leaf. It blows bravely in the breeze, a lonely non-conformist.

Somehow that makes me think of what it must feel like to be a Christian in this country. There are so few Christians here, and there is such a tradition of conformity. I never noticed this last leaf when it was one of hundreds, but now it looks very vulnerable. In Japanese culture, there is an old tradition of not wanting to stand out from the group. If you are a Christian here, you will stand out, so it takes real commitment to be willing to be the only leaf on the branch—a commitment the Holy Spirit gives you.

My first impression is that people feel less concerned about what others might be thinking than they did before, with more personal freedom and individualism. Those impressions may be superficial. The experience of Christians here shows that there is still much pressure to conform to group norms when it comes to becoming a Christian, of living in conformity to His Word. Every culture has its pressures to keep people from following Christ; but in Japan, the culture is a centuries-old one without the Bible and the Church as influences. Things we take for granted in America because of our Christian heritage are not available to Japanese Christians. Today, even though Christians are allowed freedom, the pressures from unsaved family members and society at large, and the loneliness from being such a small minority, make Christians count the cost of following Jesus.

To an outsider, everything here appears to be done so nicely, so neatly, so efficiently, so uniformly, in such an orderly manner. The traditional Japanese gardens are a beautiful metaphor of this. In daily life, there is such care taken of the guest, the customer, the citizen. Much attention is paid to detail. I took a picture of a package of cherry tomatoes because I was so amazed at the way nine cherry tomatoes, all the same size, fit so perfectly in the box. [picture of the cherry tomatoes] The way food is presented is a form of artwork, from the supermarket to the restaurant to the family home.

My first reaction to this efficiency and perfection is amazement and appreciation. I am still in that “honeymoon” stage of cultural adjustment, where everything feels positive and exciting. It has been 16 years since I lived in Japan, so I am having such fun seeing familiar things and being amazed by the changes. The reconstruction since the devastating earthquake 10 years ago has been an impressive feat.

I know that, as an American, I most probably will, at some point, begin to chafe under the control and lack of freedom that are the corollary to being cared for and having everything “just so.” The other day, for example, I saw people lined up for a bus but one young woman stood by herself about ten feet away, waiting for the same bus. Then, a security guard approached, bowed, and motioned to the line of people. She looked slightly chagrined but joined the line. I could feel my resistance rising! The Lord will have to teach me how to balance my own cultural identity as an independent-minded American and my responsibility to fit into this culture for His sake.

It’s hard not to feel like the pink elephant in the room at times. I am different in the way I look, move, and, of course, speak. Language is a challenge! I can get by fairly well in conversations, but my reading ability is quite elementary. When I first tried to do laundry in this apartment, I looked at the washing machine in dismay. I did not know which of the many buttons to push. One button had “start” on it in the simple characters I can read, but when I pushed it, nothing started. I finally got the laundry done, but I felt momentarily overwhelmed at the challenge posed by the language.

The church people have been my great joy and comfort in this adjustment period. There is the genuine love, kindness, and warmth of Christ in them. Many of them speak English very well, too. I see an honesty in their responses that goes so much deeper than the elaborate politeness of someone who is merely following cultural dictates of politeness (though the Christians also follow the cultural norms of politeness, of course). It has been exciting to come back and see the difference the Holy Spirit has made in people as they have grown in grace and knowledge. There is truly a feeling of being with family when I am with the Christians.

Thinking of that family relationship we have with other believers, I would like to share with you how the WMF played a role in my coming to Japan as a missionary under the RPCNA Foreign Mission Board. A significant step in a very long and roundabout journey for me was being asked to speak on evangelism for the women’s Synodical meeting at the 2000 International Conferenc. I was astounded at being asked, since I did not have any expertise in evangelism. I had been praying about my lack of personal evangelism, so I thought maybe this was from the Lord (and that maybe He would turn me into some kind of a dynamic personal evangelist before the conference so that I would be able to share my successes). As the conference got closer, I began to panic because nothing was happening. Jan Buchanan had kindly agreed to co-present with me, and we had also asked Mrs. Yoshimi Kitani from the Kasumigaoka congregation to share her testimony as part of our presentation. When the day came, therefore, I had backup from my two friends’ part in the presentation. For me, however, it was agonizing. I felt ashamed for agreeing to speak, because I thought I had nothing original to say and God had certainly not turned me into a dynamic witness with several conversions to report. But several things did happen as a result of the experience.

First, I saw very clearly how I was dragging around some heavy baggage of guilt, trying to live up to my perceptions of others’ expectations. Second, sharing my struggles with the women of the church at Synodical and receiving such kind encouragement, understanding, and acceptance enabled me to let go of some of that baggage. Third, through studying the Scriptures to prepare for the talk, the Lord gave me greater understanding, making me freer to talk to others about my faith, knowing that all He asked me to do was to speak the truth when He created opportunities. He would take care of the results Himself. I began to experience the joy of being able to talk much more freely about the Lord Jesus. The realization that nothing gave me greater joy than being able to talk about the Lord contributed to my decision to apply to the Foreign Mission Board.

I have wanted to share this story with the WMF, because I am grateful for the way the Lord used the women of the denomination in the process of leading me into this work. Although the work of supporting missions belongs to the whole church, not just to the women in the WMF groups, I value the gifts God has given to us as women for the work of the church. Now that I am over here on the mission field, I find great encouragement from remembering the warm fellowship of WMF meetings and the heartfelt prayers of the women in the groups with which I have fellowshiped. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!