Hebrews 10:23-25 gives a good guideline for gatherings like Women’s Missionary Fellowship (WMF). Surely one of the best stimulations to love and do good deeds that we receive from attending WMF meetings is the challenge and opportunity to pray for mission work around the world. Over the years, WMF members have faithfully prayed for scores of individuals as specific prayer requests were received.

Have you ever found an old prayer request list and wondered what happened to the person whose name you once prayed? Some may remember a request in the late 1980s to pray for Mrs. Kumiko Kudo and her daughter Miki in Kobe, Japan, when Bill and Kalli Sterrett were serving as a missionary family there.

The Lord answered the prayers for Mrs. Kudo and Miki Kudo by bringing them to saving faith. The Lord’s work in and through Mrs. Kudo has recently produced something quite exciting for her: In September, she became a published author! She has written a Christian novel based on the true story of a Japanese Christian man. She wrote the story in the hope that the Lord would use it to glorify His name and lead many to want to learn about Him. Mrs. Kudo is at least the second published author in the RP Church in Japan, as Mrs. Yuko Endo (the wife of Pastor Katsunori Endo) has also been published. Mrs. Endo also wrote a novel based on the story of a Christian. Both of these Christian women have found a way to use the gift of writing God gave them as a way of witnessing to the grace of the Lord Jesus.

In the following interview, Mrs. Kudo gives her testimony of coming to Christ and tells about her experience writing the novel.

Now you will have the opportunity to thank the Lord for His answer to your prayers over 16 years ago. Please pray that her novel will be used by the Lord as an evangelistic tool in Japan. The name of the novel is Dorogame, which means “mud turtle” in Japanese.

—WMF Page Editor

How did you become a Christian?

Kumiko Kudo: Until my late thirties, I thought that it was very important to be quick, effective, to achieve my goals and to be successful. But then I became sick and had to quit my job. I had to give up my ideas of what success meant for me. I realized that my way of thinking had been wrong. I had considered people who were old or sick to be failures. Now, I could see that it was not so important after all to be quick and effective and not to make mistakes. I knew there had to be some other values in life, but I did not know what they were.

One day, standing in my kitchen all alone, I said, “If you, God, are here, please answer me in words I can understand. “ No answer came.

At that time, my oldest daughter was participating in an English Bible class at the Kita-Suzurandai church [the Reformed Presbyterian mission church]. I had never been to church, but I decided to stop by one day, just to give my greetings. The pastor [Bill Sterrett] asked me then, “Do you know the Bible?”

I answered, “No, I’ve never read it.”

He explained to me, “This is God’s Word in Japanese.” I was so startled as I remembered my earlier request and thought to myself, “God did answer me.”

Two years later, I became a Christian.

  How did you come to write Dorogame ?

Kumiko Kudo: I did not set out to write a novel, but when I heard the story of the man who is the main character in Dorogame, I felt compelled to tell his story. I did not consider myself to have any skill as a writer, but I just wanted to write a novel about that man. I felt that I had to write.

  What effect did the experience of writing the novel have on you?

Kumiko Kudo: During the time that I was writing, I was filled with joy. I felt that the Lord was standing by me, so it was a wonderful time. I had moved to Hiroshima to be with my husband after he was transferred there for his work, so I had a lot of time during the day. It gave me the time to read the Bible very carefully and to meditate on God’s will for my writing. As a result, my own faith was greatly strengthened.

  What opportunities have you had as a result of the novel being published, and what do you hope will result from people reading this novel?

Kumiko Kudo: So far, I have not had too many opportunities, but I hope that the Lord will give me opportunities to testify to many people through this. My goal is that Dorogame will reach those people whom the Lord wants to read it and that reading it will be useful in strengthening the message of the gospel for them. One nice opportunity for me was that my own parents, who are Buddhists, agreed to proofread the manuscript before the book was published; so it opened up an opportunity for us to talk about spiritual things.

Can you tell the story of Dorogame briefly for those of us who cannot read Japanese?

Kumiko Kudo: It is the story of a man whose nickname was “Dorogame.” He was an angry, aggressive man known for his drinking and immoral life. When he was 45 years old, his daughter-in-law became a Christian, angering him very much. He went to the church to beat up the pastor, but instead he ended up listening to the preaching. Through it, his eyes were opened. He experienced a complete conversion.

He was completely illiterate, but he began to study hard in order to read the Bible. He turned into a strong Christian and a good citizen as well. He served God and the church with his whole life and soul. During World War II, he ended up being arrested and imprisoned because he insisted that Jesus is the King over the whole world, even over the emperor. After the war, he was released, and he used the rest of his life until his death at 88 to work with young men who were criminals. He led many, many people to church and to faith in Jesus Christ.