Japan as a country has been stubbornly resistant to the preaching of the gospel. Despite the discouraging response, the Reformed Presbyterian Church, along with other churches, carries on a faithful witness to Jesus Christ. At God’s chosen times, people do come to faith. For each one, there is a marvelous story of God’s power and grace. This is one of those stories.

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I remember clearly the first day that Mrs. Hiroe Hayashi¹ came to the Saturday morning English Bible class at the Kasumigaoka RPC. I was responsible for the English conversation part, and two of the women in the church, Mrs. Midori Hirata and Mrs. Miya Kawasaki, led the Bible study. Invited to the class by one of the members, Hiroe seemed to enjoy the group and the study.

I was used to people seeming to enjoy a class but never coming back again, so I was astonished to hear that she had attended the next day’s worship service and the following Thursday’s weekly women’s Bible study, called the Budo-no-ki study (which means grapevine). From that first week forward, she continued coming regularly to both Bible studies and occasionally to the Lord’s Day services.

Eventually she was baptized, and Hiroe began taking classes at Kobe Theological Hall, the Japan Presbytery’s small seminary. I taught English there, and Hiroe impressed me with her ability to express herself in English. After my return to the U.S., I wrote to her, asking if she would share her testimony through answering some questions. This is a summary of her answers, combined with some of her own words. The story of how she came to faith in Jesus Christ begins with the circumstances that led to her first visit to the Kasumigaoka Church.

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Though I would not have guessed it from Hiroe’s cheerful and outgoing demeanor that day, she was in the midst of a very painful struggle. She was dealing with her son’s rebellious behavior at home and at school. She had sought answers through educational and psychological sources, but, in her words, “I couldn’t find the way to approach his heart.” An overwhelming sense of failure as a parent left her feeling completely worthless.

Because of those deep feelings of worthlessness, she thought she had no right to enjoy herself. She decided to drop a class she very much enjoyed, where she was learning to play the erhu, a two-stringed Chinese musical instrument. Another member of that erhu group, who happened to be a member of the English Bible class, called Hiroe to ask why she had stopped coming. Despite not being a believer herself, this friend suggested that Hiroe come to the class at the church. In Hiroe’s words, “This thing was the start to the path toward [God] Himself.”

I love to hear about God’s specific ways of intervening in a convert’s life, so I asked Hiroe why she accepted the invitation to the English Bible class and why she kept coming.

I can almost hear her laughter as she gave me the three reasons she agreed to come. First, she felt safe coming to a church because of the fact that the lady who invited her was not a Christian:

I was relieved by that fact. Though she had gone to the church for 18 years, she hadn’t become a Christian. Frankly, I didn’t want to become a Christian. I only wanted to study about Christianity. I thought that if I became a Christian, I might lose my rational thinking! But, since Mrs. X wasn’t a Christian, then the church hadn’t forced its teaching on her, which was good for me. But now, I absolutely hope she will become a Christian ASAP!

Second, there was a competitive element. She wanted to brush up on her English so that she would not be outdone by her daughter, who was on a short-term study-abroad program in the U.K.

Finally, it was because she was interested in Christianity as a religion, and, particularly, its impact on European art. To prepare for a course she was going to take at Kobe Women’s College on paintings that depicted subjects from the Bible, she wanted to learn about the Bible.

Because I had seen so many people come for a while to Bible studies but then drift away, I was especially interested in finding out why, humanly speaking, Hiroe kept attending. Her answer underlines the importance of building trust in a relationship in order to win a hearing for the gospel message in the Japanese context.

The first day I went to the English Bible class, the reading was Galatians 6. Midori-san said to me, “Nobody is saved by good acts.” I was very surprised. I couldn’t accept what she said, but I got a very important truth, although thinking that it was strange. And Patricia was very honest. She said faithfully, “To be a Christian might be more difficult.” I was surprised. I thought the church members would say only good things about Christianity. I felt a difference from people in the world.

After the class, Miya-san showed me the sanctuary. I imagined how they would do worship and I wanted to experience it, so the next day I went to the worship service and I heard a sermon for the first time. I felt that the worship was very holy and peaceful. I saw that this church was an authentic one. I can’t explain why I thought that, but, now, I believe that the Holy Spirit opened my mind!

On the Lord’s Day, one of the ladies invited Hiroe to come to the Thursday women’s Bible study, the Budo-no-ki study. She wrote,

Since I wanted to know about the Bible, I didn’t hesitate to go to the class. I was able to ask about the Bible, Jesus, and Christianity. It was just the thing I wanted!

Hiroe summed up her experience as follows:

In the English Bible class, the worship service, and Budo-no-ki, I was told the truth. First of all, I believed in the members of the church.

As Hiroe began studying the Bible, she found it interesting. She wanted to know what the truth was, and she wanted to be free. Since at that point she believed in herself, she thought that by studying hard she would be able to understand the Bible, find its truth, and become free through her own efforts.

It was astonishing to her, therefore, to hear Amelia Takiura, who had been invited to share her testimony with the Budo-no-ki group, say, “It is important to depend on God. We should depend on God. We should not depend on ourselves. Even if you do your best by your own ability, you can’t get the thing you want.” Hiroe was shocked by Amelia’s words. She described her reaction in the following words:

I had never heard such a way of thinking. I couldn’t understand it, but the words always remained in my mind.

Another visitor to Budo-no-ki was Mrs. Kimiko Kudo, a member of the Kitasuzurandai RPC who joined Budo-no-ki for one year. Since Hiroe had read the novel Dorogame², which Mrs. Kudo had written, she was happy to get to know her and to ask many questions about the book. Mrs. Kudo taught her many things in a loving way. She became a supporter and gave her much encouragement.

Hiroe began to understand the biblical teaching on sin. One day, Elder Kitani told the group that sin was being self-centered rather than theocentric. Hiroe described her reaction:

I was startled. Until then I thought that being self-centered and being free were very close in meaning. My thinking was always beneficial to myself. At that time, I understood it was sin and that I was a sinner.

Another guest teacher, Pastor Kanamori (pastor of Mukonoso RPC) came to Budo-no-ki and taught about Eve. Hiroe wrote,

I understood then the reason she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I saw that I resembled Eve very closely. I understood again I was a sinner.

She was discovering other truths, too. One day she read John 8:32. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” She described her reaction to this verse.

I had found the thing I wanted! I knew that the Bible taught the truth for me. To know the truth would set me free. I knew Jesus Christ was the truth. And Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). I decided that I should believe in the Lord!

In May 2013, Hiroe studied for baptism. In December 2013, Elder Kitani urged her to make up her mind to be baptized. But she was not able to make the decision. She struggled with doubt about whether her faith was genuine or merely an intellectual judgment that the Bible and Christianity were the truth. She worried that she had not truly repented.

By this time, Charles Leach had arrived in Japan to be the pastor of the Kasumigaoka church. Hiroe was able to discuss her doubts with Pastor Leach and his wife, Susan. When Pastor Leach shared his own youthful sin of arrogance and showed how Genesis 1 teaches us our position before God of creature to creator, Hiroe recognized her own arrogance in trying to understand God. As a created being, she could never reach that level of understanding the One who had made her. She then came across Ecclesiastes 8:17: “Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning.” She wrote:

When I read the passage, I understood what Amelia had said and that my thinking was wrong. I surrendered to God. I knew I should depend on God, but I still could not make up my mind to be baptized.

At that time, she sought counsel from Mrs. Kudo, who said, “Please read Ephesians.”

I opened the Bible and attempted to read it. But I saw Galatian 6:14 as I was turning to Ephesians. When I went to the church the first time, the group was reading that chapter. At that time, I could not understand it at all. But here I found the words that I really wanted: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

I thought I was a person of no worth. I hated the people who hurt me. I hated the world where I could not live freely…When I read the words of Galatians 6:14, I thought I could die to the world and I could live by the new law of God! I made up my mind to be baptized.

In this way, God always has watched over me: when I couldn’t understand something, He showed me His words. I have been given much teaching from God. I could know the truth, and the truth set me free. I don’t know from when I believed in the Lord, but I am sure that the Word always kept supporting me. I was taught all I needed from the Bible. By the Word, I can live in the world.

My favorite verse is Psalm 116:8, 9: “For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.”

In answer to my fourth question about what the greatest barriers were for her, Hiroe mentioned again her struggle with understanding what faith is, and, second, the question of election. She worried that she might not be one of the elect and would find out in the end that she had not been chosen.

As I studied the Bible, I knew that Jesus is the truth and Jesus Christ is the only way we are able to be saved. But I wondered, “Do I not have faith but just rational thinking? What is faith? Do I believe in God?” I wanted conviction. But I only thought about the teachings I had learned. I had experienced no great event with Christ.

But God showed me Hebrews 11💯 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see,” and John 1💯 “and the Word was God.” In these verses, I was given words, the Word, that satisfied me. Although I had doubts about my own thinking, I had believed in the Word. So if the Word was God, I believed in God. He is my private teacher.³

After struggling with the question of how she could be sure she was one of the elect, and worrying that she might find out after baptism that she was actually not one of the chosen, she resolved her dilemma in the following way and received a great blessing:

One day I thought to myself, “Even if I am not chosen, I will thank Him heartily!” That way, I got rid of my doubts about whether I was chosen or not. I thought both possibilities were OK! The Lord had taught me many things up to then. I learned the truth about Him each time, so I was very happy. I stopped praying, “Tell me whether I am chosen or not,” and, instead, decided to say, “ I am following You! You led me here!” Then I realized God’s love. I made an unconditional surrender to God. And then I knew how the doctrine of unconditional election was amazing grace for me.

Hiroe Hayashi was baptized on Apr. 20, 2014, Easter Sunday. In addition to Hiroe’s baptism and joining the church, Mrs. Takenouchi also joined the church by transfer of membership, so it was a very joyful day.

Since her baptism, Hiroe has continued to grow in her faith and in grace. Her greatest desire is to see her family members come to faith. The Lord has already answered that prayer partially as her daughter Mako became a believer and was baptized in summer 2017. She has her own amazing story of how the Holy Spirit worked in her life.

The son whose troubles first prompted Hiroe to come to the church is now a university student and doing well. He has not yet accepted Christ as his Savior, but he has shown an openness. He has participated in KGK (the Japanese counterpart of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) activities at his university and attended a church near the university whose pastor is a young man who graduated from Kobe Theological Hall. Hiroe is thankful for all that the Lord has done in her son’s life and prays for his salvation.

In the past year, Hiroe’s husband came to one Bible study and to the Kasumigaoka Christmas party. Her mother-in-law also attended the Christmas party and came to two more events, the Japan Presbytery’s annual performance of The Life of Christ in the Psalms and the funeral of Elder Seigo Kitani in December.

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We praise the Lord for His goodness to Mrs. Hiroe Hayashi. Pray that many will come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through the faithful obedience of our fellow Christians in Japan.

Patricia Boyle grew up in Kobe, Japan, as the daughter of missionaries Samuel and Grace Boyle. From 2005 until 2016, she served as a missionary, too, and enjoyed being part of the Japan Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. She now lives in Beaver Falls, Pa.