Testimonies of SDJCC Members, November, 1997
Number 7 = Table of Contents =
| God Is My Creator | Michiko Early |
| An Answer From God | Aya Kaneko |
| God's Blessing | Motoko Nielsen |
| My Testimony | Hiizu Uyeji |
| Led By God's Love | Mayumi Wallish |
| Back On The Right Path | Tom Wallish |
| My Best Friend | Maiko Yoshida |
When I graduated school and began my career as a nutritionist at a Yokosuka hospital in Japan, I met for the first time, people who believed in the one and only, true God. This hospital was run by Catholic affiliates where there was a separate sanctuary to worship God and on the fourth floor, a dormitory for the nuns to stay. There were many sisters working in that hospital. The sisters who were in "lower" rank worked very hard and were subjected to much criticism by the nuns of higher status. The sisters with the higher rank boasted and taunted the "lower" ranked sisters and thus had many quarrels and altercations which sounded horrible.
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that there was a Being, something greater and more powerful than the universe, working in my life and in the world that I could not see. However, it was hard to imagine that the greater power was in fact, Christ. When I saw the sisters' attitude towards each other, I saw that they were not much different than I. And even when I heard them saying, "Believe in God" and, "Worship God," because of their actions I believed that I was living a more productive life than them.
During my school years, the teachers embedded the evolution theory into me. If anything wasn't in black or white, I could not be satisfied. As the years passed by, I came to the U.S., got married, and had kid, yet many things were not going my way. I spent the days going through many trials. As the once confident Michiko Early, God really humbled me by saying, "Come back to me."
I went to church for the first time about eight years ago because a friend had invited me. The church members greeted me warmly and I thought, "Wow, there still is a place like this in the world. "And I found myself relieved at that fact. Another good friend had given me a Bible, but I thought that it was rude for a person to give me a Bible when I had not even believed in God. This is how my whole church life had started. Although during the sermons, I would always be amazed and astonished at the great message the pastor gave, I never remembered the message once I got home.
As I listened to a church sermon by Reverend Tanaka on tape, there was a story about an 80 year old woman who was going through the same situation as me. Although this old woman would come to church, she would never remember anything the pastor would say. It seemed as if she were a colander that drained out all information and thus even if she came to church or not, it was the same thing. The lady spoke to the pastor saying that she would not be coming anymore. Not knowing exactly how to reply to the old lady, the pastor prayed for a moment. He later replied, "Granny, you say you are a colander from which the water drains out. So why don't you submerge it in the water all the time? "
As I studied the Bible, I realized that I was not here by chance or by accident. I was here because God loved and created me, and there was meaning in life. God brought me here for a purpose to serve him. "Your hands made me and formed; give me understanding to learn your commands." (Psalm 119:73)
However, I didn't obey God's command but lived my life without really thinking about Christ. God sent his only Son, Jesus, to live and to be put to death on the cross for my sins. He then resurrected after 3 days. As a believer, God has been working in my life. Although my heart was a solid rock not wanting to be penetrated, little by little he began softening my heart. In the story of the prodigal son in the Book of Luke, when the son found out his real self, he repented and stepped out towards his father. Just like the prodigal son, I finally started listening to God and repented.
With my church going experience, God gave me real, trustworthy friends. I am hoping that I will continue to completely trust in God and have complete faith in Him because He has and never will desert me. I hope to be more Christ-like.
I was very fortunate in having been born into a Christian family. I grew up at San Diego Japanese Christian Church. This church has been like my family since I was a baby. As a child, I came to church to see my friends and to have fun. The fact that Jesus died for me did not really hit me until I was in high school. I went through the whole routine of going to Sunday School and youth group but I did not put God at the center of my life. I was so unhappy because I did not know God. I knew of God and Jesus and the Bible stories, but I didn't truly believe everything. I didn't enjoy life at all and I felt miserable for most of my early teenage years.
When I went to Mt. Hermon High School Camp the summer before my freshman year, I realized just how unfocused I was and I wanted to become like the other kids at camp who seemed so sure of Jesus and confident in what they believed in. Now that I look back, I think that most of the kids were probably as unfocused as I was but at the time I was shocked to see these young people so disciplined and spending solitary time with the Lord. I wanted to become like them and I thought if I accepted Christ as my Savior I would become like them. This experience put me on such a spiritual high that I fell hard when it wore off. I felt sad that I could not sustain myself on this spiritual high and mixed with my hardships in a new school, I fell into this deep depression. I felt so lonely and unloved at times, that I wondered if it would be better just to end my life. I don't truly understand why I felt so alone but this feeling persisted for a long time. Now that I think about it, I realize that I was just an infant in Christ and I was not strong enough to walk on my own. I was searching so hard for an answer that would strengthen my relationship with Christ.
In the summer of my junior year, I went to Rancho Agua Viva (RAV) for a week. In this week God taught me more than I have learned in my entire life. For the first time, I was surrounded by people who loved God and believed in Him so strongly that they would pray to Him constantly for help and guidance. It really touched my heart to see the faith of these people displayed in their outward doings. For the first time, I felt the love of God in me. This love that God has for us is a love we cannot find in other people. It is completely unconditional and selfless. He is such a righteous God and I believed then, that I must truly repent and give my life to Him. I finally found the answer that I was looking for. Jesus had come beckoning to me.
On Palm Sunday of this year, I finally got baptized. I am still barely an infant in my walk with God and I feel that I have so much more room to grow in Him. But the important thing is, I know what I believe in and God strengthens me everyday because He is with me every step of the way. Knowing that He is always there fills me with this peace and joy that I could never ever give up. Even when life is hard, I will still trust in Him to make things better. I pray that God will give me the desire to tell others who don't yet know Him of His love. He is such an awesome and wonderful God and He loves us tremendously.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any other powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38,39
Many people in Japan did not have enough food after the war. However, we never ran out of food because we had lived in the country. I was raised by very loving parents but was a rebellious child to my strict mother and even to my father who listened and understood me. As I became a teenager, my rebellion got worse. As a result, I disowned my parents. As I was enjoying my freedom and being, my parents both lost their lives to cancer and died almost at the same time. Later in life, I finally realize how thankful I am to my parents, and I regret the fact that I didn't do anything for my parents; 30 years later I think about it constantly, but now it's too late. I have committed many sins during my life, and I still do now, but one of the biggest sins I committed was not thanking my parents for what they have done for me.
I suppose I've found a good man with whom to raise my kids and to have a loving family. "I suppose," meant that he was wonderful with the family, loved them, held responsibilities, and was serious. However, the flaw that I found in him was that he was short tempered and got angry easily. I could not accept his faults and always thought about divorce. During those times, I went to church occasionally, but because I couldn't believe in something I could not see or could not be scientifically explained, I could not believe in God's existence. And so I turned away from Christ once again. This, I believe, was my second big sin.
Did God get mad at me because of my stubbornness? No, our merciful God gave me trials in order to bring me back to Him and to grow in Him. With many events happening all at the same time, such as my husband having a mini stroke, I eventually had a nervous breakdown. Several times, I exploded at my husband, cursing and fighting about everything he did. Our relationship almost fell apart. This was my third big sin.
During those hardships, I hated God. I didn't even believe in God, but hated him anyway when things got tough. Even though I was selfish, God overlooked that sin and was compassionate. He pointed out my flaws and my sins, and because of that, I was able to condone my husband's fault of being short tempered. How I was at peace, after knowing that God forgave my sins. With man's power, it would be almost impossible to change a person's heart so quickly; from then on, I knew that it was the power of the Holy Spirit. This is when I recollected the things I had learned in preschool. God really does exist. He is the creator of not only the Earth, but of the whole universe. With those hardships, God gave me His blessings. My husband recovered from his illness without having anymore complications, and my husband also made an effort to try to correct his temper. Now, my daughter is a good mother and homemaker to her kid, and my son began starting his career as a doctor.
Through this, I wanted to come back to God and to the church. By reading and studying the Bible, I found out about my three big sins, such as being rebellious to my parents, not accepting God, and cursing at my husband. I can't even begin to count the sins that I have committed. Our holy righteous God despises sin. How could God forgive my sins? He sent His only Son, Christ Jesus, to die on the cross for us and to carry the world's sin on His shoulders in order that we would live. 'but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purified us from all sins." (1 John 1:7) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
I admitted my sins and asked for forgiveness. God forgave me and accepted me through Jesus Christ. So I am hoping to be able to reach Him. Sometimes I read the Bible but the message doesn't stay with me so that is why it is important to read the bible everyday, and to listen to God's Word every Sunday. Not only should I listen to God's word, but I want to put it to good use and to practice what it preaches.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." (Colossians 3:16)
Then when I was 8 years old, I returned to Japan to learn the Japanese language. But we heard that the immigration law was getting difficult, and I might not be able to re-enter the USA, so I returned to San Diego when I was 11 years old. I attended school, and I worked in Los Angeles before I took up farming in San Diego. During the war, I had a difficult time due to an illness and also because I was sent to a concentration camp in Poston, Arizona. But I was fortunate that I was able to keep my house and my family.
After the war, in 1948, I married my wife, Kimiyo. My wife was evangelized by Rev. Yahiro. He tried very hard to teach us about Jesus Christ, but I thought it was for my wife and my children but not for myself. Rev. Tsuneishi and Rev. James Toda also encouraged me to attend the church, but the only times I came were during Christmas and Easter. When Rev. Fukiage was here, I started to attend regularly and I even volunteered to do the gardening around the church. But due to a little incident, I stopped coming to church. It has been long time since then.
Recently, my wife injured her hand and couldn't drive, so I started to bring her to church. Then I started to come here regularly. Until recently, I kept telling my wife, "I believe in Jesus Christ," but now, I feel that I have to make clear of my faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for our sins. Jesus Christ has given His life for us. I was not grateful nor serious toward Jesus Christ, our Savior. But now through my baptism, I confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior who is alive, and gives us eternal life. I'm thankful that the Lord saved a seventy- nine year old man. I'll follow after Him.
"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16
Then I met my husband. He was unlike any other person I met. He was sincere, funny, and always thought of others. Two years later, we married and lived very happily. After a while, my husband was to be stationed in San Diego, and so we moved here in 1991. Then God lead us to this church. The first time I came to this church, the church members warmly welcomed us. One of the sisters spoke in Saga dialect and I felt at home.
Through Rev. Nakao's sermons and Bible studies at my home, I learned many things. For example, only the Bible is God's word, we are all born as sinners, that we must be saved from sin, and we can only be saved from our sins through God's only child, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again.
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12-13)
Although it took some time, I began to understand about the truth, about my sins and believed that Jesus Christ was my Savior. I started to pray. One day, the Holy Spirit worked through me, and I had a vision of Jesus on the cross. It was a strange experience, but because of this event, I was assured of my belief. On Easter of 1993, I was baptized by Rev. Nakao.
If my father had not disapproved of the Mormon baptism during my high school years, I would not have known of the truth and would've been wasting my life to make it to heaven through good deeds and morals. I also believe that my marriage and our transferring to San Diego were God's plans, and I am filled with thankfulness.
Four years after I had been born again, I am always thankful for His protection and His blessings for my family. Wherever I am the rest of my life, I would like to always live in God's deep love. "Even though I am small, God, please use me for your purpose. "This is my prayer everyday.
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." (Ephesians 5:8)
I had been meaning to get around to becoming a Christian. I just thought that it was a big commitment and maybe I should experience a little bit more worldly life before I made a move. It was like I was on a train that was heading for a cliff, but I didn't want to jump off until very near the end. This is not a good idea since no one knows when their train will go over the cliff, if you know what I mean.
In 9th grade, I went to my friend, Jeff Bonzellaar's church, at a youth rally during a Bike-A-Thon for "Teen Challenge." I made a commitment that night to accept Christ as my Savior. My friend's father, Rev. Calvin Bonzellaar, shared the words of Romans 10:9, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." I was amazed that it would be so easy. I didn't have to memorize a given number of scriptures first. I didn't have to pay a dime. I didn't have to be perfect. Jesus lived a faultless life for me. I just had to claim the prize.
I was filled with energy and excitement. My parents hadn't expected me to be so excited when I came home. But they soon shared in the excitement. I even joined a Gospel singing group as their bass guitarist. Then something strange happened. Some people, even some who professed to be saved, tried to calm me down and get me to "water down" my faith. It was then that I remembered that Rev. Bonzellaar told me that the enemy will soon be after me to tell me that I am not really a Christian. I didn't really understand what he meant, but it was becoming clear to me.
Gradually, and without intent, I drifted away from the commitment I had made with God. I was very active in trying to run from God. I did the most worldly thing that I thought I could do in order to avoid Christians - I joined the Navy.
After less than a year in the Navy, my father, terminally ill with cancer, shared his last words with me from a hospital bed. As his once strong hand gripped my hand, he looked straight at me and said, "Tom, are you sure?" "Yeah, Dad," I casually stated, "I'm sure." Strongly, he asked again, "So, Tom, are you sure?" Again, I said "Yes, Dad, I'm sure." Unsatisfied, he then said, "Be sure!!!" You see, my Dad never hesitated to share Christ with anyone. In the hospital, he would tell the nurses, doctors and other patients that he was soon going home. "Am I going to see you there?," he would ask.
I figured that I had told my father what he wanted to hear. After I left his room, I quickly shed the Christians around me. Sometimes it was really strange how out of the blue, these pesky little Christians would find me and filled with the Holy Spirit, remind me of my commitment. When my wife, Mayumi, and I tried to get married, my church's pastor advised against the wedding since he knew of my running from God. He flatly refused to marry us. In retrospect, I have a lot of respect for his integrity.
In 1991, I reported to the USS NEW ORLEANS and met the Chaplain's Assistant Lannie Ray. He told me that his wife, Yukie, was also Japanese and she went to the San Diego Japanese Christian Church. We checked out the church as a family and were so impressed with the strong working of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of the church that we decided to become members. I started my return to Jesus.
When my wife was baptized, I knew that my personal life with God needed much more commitment on my part. With the help of my friends at church, and other Christians at work, God's love found a permanent place in my heart.
I wanted to become a junior-high Sunday School teacher since it was in junior high that I had made my initial decision to follow Jesus Christ. God opened that door when Jenny Higashi gave me the opportunity to do that three years ago.
I'm still walking toward Jesus in a growing relationship. I won't finish my journey until the day I take my Savior's hand as I enter His Heaven. I step off of the path from time to time. But Jesus is always placing me back on the right path. Praise Him.
In junior high, I went to a winter camp. This camp changed my life. I had never been in a environment where junior highers and high schoolers loved God with all their hearts. I remember feeling envious because they had such a strong relationship with God. Through good and bad times, they just lifted everything up to God. Even though I have always been going to church, it wasn't until that night that I truly accepted God into my heart. I realized that night that God took care of everything. He cares for our worries, needs, joys and pain.
After this winter camp, everything was going okay for some time even when I fell away from God. As I went further and further away from God, I just got into more and more trouble. I blamed God for everything bad that was happening to me. I remember thinking to myself, " If God truly loved me, then He wouldn't have done these things to me." and I just grew angrier towards God. All of a sudden, I just realized how I couldn't go through everything by myself. I needed God's love and help. I went so far away from God that the only thing that could've helped me was God. I know that when a lot of people tried reaching out to me, it made me more determined to fall away from God. I knew I was hurting people all around me, especially my mom, but I didn't care. As God slowly melted the ice that was around my heart, I realized that God hadn't left my side while I was going through the bad times. He was letting me choose and have my own free will. Because of my free will, I was the one to blame for all that had happened to me, not God. I also realized that even though I was hurting everyone else around me, I was hurting the most inside.
Today, I just look back and think how I could have made the decisions I had made. I regret some of the things I did, but I know that everything I went through made me who I am today. I have gone through a lot and will go through a lot, but I know that I won't make the same mistakes as I did because God is living in my heart, and He will guide me through good and bad times. He will always be by my side because He is my best friend.