Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002306A
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00:08 Butterfly Church in Taiwan,
00:10 a mobile clinic in Mexico, and the question 00:13 what is a missionary coming up next. 00:49 Hello, and welcome to Mission 360. 00:50 I'm Gary Krause. 00:52 Today's program is coming to you from Tokyo, Japan. 00:55 And I'm standing in the Meiji Jingu Shrine 00:59 right in the heart of Tokyo. 01:01 And this is a shrine that commemorates the Emperor 01:04 and the Empress, who died in the early 1900s. 01:08 And this was established in 1920. 01:10 And people from all over the world 01:12 donated some 100,000 trees 01:16 to build the beautiful forest that surrounds here. 01:19 Shintoism, of course, is a fascinating religion 01:22 that's at the heart of Japanese culture and values. 01:26 And on today's program, we'll be looking 01:28 more at Japan mission around the world, 01:30 but first up, let's visit the Butterfly Church in Taiwan. 01:35 Every year, thousands of butterflies 01:37 come to the Maolin Valley in Taiwan. 01:40 They fly here just before the winter in search of warmth 01:43 to survive the colder months. 01:45 In this valley, there are more butterflies than people. 01:48 In fact, the local native community is small. 01:52 There are only 600 people who live here. 01:54 Ubake lives in the Maolin Valley. 01:57 As an artist, he is inspired by God's designs in nature. 02:00 Tourists admire his unique art, including his favorite pieces, 02:04 which are patterned after the butterflies. 02:07 Ubake has used these amazing creations 02:09 to cover the Maolin Seventh-day Adventist Church building, 02:12 both on the outside and the inside. 02:15 He has also dedicated 02:16 some of his other intricate pieces 02:18 to beautify the church. 02:25 Ubake's charming and colorful metal butterflies 02:29 help to make this church stand out 02:30 among many other Christian denominations 02:32 in this community. 02:34 However, it's not the metal, wooden, 02:36 or cloth ornaments that make this church 02:38 known in the community. 02:43 Every day, a group of local Adventists 02:45 start the day with prayer. 02:47 In the early morning, they ask God to bless 02:49 their efforts to reach the people around them. 02:51 Then they read from God's Word and stretch their muscles 02:55 to begin an important ministry. 02:57 Today, they will complete their 339th lap around 03:02 and through the community. 03:03 This is the Maolin Church's walking and praying ministry. 03:08 Like butterflies that fly from flower to flower, 03:11 these Seventh-day Adventists walk from house to house. 03:14 As church members pour into the streets, 03:17 they smile and warmly greet their neighbors. 03:20 When someone invites them into their home, 03:22 they pause to pray for the many 03:24 who are in need there. 03:25 And when they leave the home, 03:27 the people feel blessed by the visit. 03:29 During the trek, church members also stop at their own homes 03:33 for a special prayer. 03:34 Each member of the walking and praying ministry 03:37 also hosts a small group Bible study 03:40 on a rotating basis. 03:42 In these small groups, 03:43 they pray daily for their neighbors 03:45 who are learning about the Bible. 03:47 These "walking butterflies" pollinate their community 03:50 with God's love. 03:52 Because of this ministry, 03:53 the Maolin Adventist Church membership 03:55 has doubled over the last three years. 03:58 Members have also grown closer to each other and to Jesus. 04:02 Please pray for the Butterfly Church 04:04 and for the Christ-like ministry 04:06 they do here. 04:09 My guest is Yoriko who is a youth leader 04:11 in her local church here in Tokyo, Japan. 04:14 Yoriko, thank you so much for joining us. 04:16 Thank you very much. 04:17 How did you first become a Seventh-day Adventist? 04:20 I actually grew up in Christian house. 04:22 Yes. 04:24 But actually, I didn't wanted to become a Christian. 04:28 By the time I was 14 04:30 because of many different reasons, 04:32 but then I went to high school 04:35 in Oklahoma called Oklahoma Academy, 04:38 and they are really focused on training a young people 04:42 to become evangelist or missionary. 04:47 So all the programs that they have like 04:49 Messiah's Mansion canvassing programs and also, 04:54 they taught us about the Bible really well. 04:57 And that's was the first time when I decided to accept Jesus. 05:02 Wonderful. 05:04 So through the Adventist Academy. 05:06 Terrific. 05:08 So in your church, 05:09 you have something called a Youth Rush Program. 05:12 Can you tell me what that is? 05:13 Oh, Youth Rush Program is actually, 05:16 it's a canvassing program. 05:18 Yes. 05:19 Starting in America, but actually they started to, 05:24 they decided to start it in Japan. 05:27 So young people, like around 14 to 20 people 05:32 come together and knock on the doors, 05:35 we train them how to knock on the doors, 05:37 and we also do like Bible study together. 05:41 And we introduce the books to the people. 05:46 And it's been amazing experience. 05:49 So I guess it is amazing. 05:50 I mean, a lot of the places would be very difficult 05:52 to even get into some of the apartments, right? 05:55 So what sort of response do you get? 05:58 Well, we get a lot of response. 06:00 Most of the time, especially in the city, 06:02 many, most of the responses are quick rejection. 06:05 Yes. 06:07 But we do meet many people who actually seeking God. 06:10 And we pray with them. 06:13 And they actually, you know, cry at the door to say, 06:17 God has been showing many miracles. 06:19 Wonderful. 06:21 Now, how many young people are involved in this program? 06:27 Ah, you mean the leaders or... 06:29 Actually, who knocking on doors? 06:33 For one program? 06:35 So how many are going door-to-door knocking? 06:39 Oh, for one program, 06:41 we have a limit of 14 people actually. 06:46 So the 14 students come to one programs 06:50 and we have three of those programs 06:54 for the summer and for the springs. 06:56 So do you have trouble getting enough young people to go? 07:02 No, actually depends. 07:07 Sometimes. Yeah, sometimes, but we... 07:10 But now we like 07:13 at the beginning of the programs. 07:15 It started two years ago. 07:17 And it started with like, 07:19 actually seven or eight people for the first program. 07:21 It's built up. 07:22 Yeah, but more and more people started wanting to come. 07:26 So now we are running like three programs. 07:29 Wonderful. Yeah, so. 07:31 Terrific. 07:32 Now you have another program called Gideon 300. 07:35 What is that? 07:36 Gideon 300 is a project to train 07:39 and train the young leader, 07:42 300 youth leader until the year 2020. 07:47 Oh, wonderful. So how is that program going? 07:50 It's going very well. 07:52 They actually started a program called Gifts. 07:54 Yes. 07:56 So the young people can learn about 07:58 the Bible like 28 fundamental 08:00 Seventh-day Adventists on the internet. 08:03 And Youth Rush is one of those programs. 08:06 Wonderful. 08:09 Here we're walking through a neighborhood here, 08:11 which it's very quiet. 08:13 It's very nice. 08:14 You see families, but mission to these people, 08:19 what sort of barriers are there? 08:20 Why is mission such a challenge here in Tokyo? 08:25 I think one of the reasons 08:26 is because people are actually filled. 08:32 They have money, they have clothes. 08:35 Basically, they have a job. 08:37 They have food. 08:39 So as it says in the Revelation, 08:42 you know, I have, I'm rich, 08:44 I've enough of goods, but at the same time, 08:47 many people in Japan are really feeling lonely 08:50 and they're stressed with many problems of life. 08:53 So I think they are needing Jesus, 08:56 but they're not realizing about it. 08:59 Right. 09:00 So the opportunity is there to share. 09:02 Yeah. 09:04 Can you give me an example of somebody whose life 09:06 has been touched through this church? 09:08 Oh, through this church? Yeah. 09:10 Yeah, actually, we started to have an English Bible study. 09:13 Yes. 09:14 On Wednesday, and my friend actually started 09:18 to come to this church. 09:19 She was, she's... 09:21 I went to public college. Yes. 09:25 Junior college, and she grew up in Christian house, home, 09:29 but she was praying for 18 years. 09:34 Wow. Yeah. 09:36 So, but like, past few months, 09:39 like many things happen in her life. 09:42 And she started to pray. 09:44 And she actually contacted me. 09:46 And she started to come to church. 09:48 And now she's really enjoying it. 09:51 And she said her life was has been changed. 09:53 Terrific. 09:55 Now, what are your hopes for the future? 09:58 What would you like to see happen in the future? 10:00 Happen in the future? I really like to. 10:03 I really like to see more and more young people 10:07 get on fire for God and be missionaries for Japan. 10:12 And I want to see Jesus comes very soon. 10:15 Wonderful. 10:16 Well, thank you so much for sharing with us today. 10:19 Thank you very much. Appreciate it. 10:20 And viewers at home, please pray for mission 10:25 here in Japan, Tokyo, huge city, 10:28 so many people, high rises everywhere. 10:31 And as we've been reminded, often they feel that 10:34 they're rich and increased with goods 10:36 and have need of nothing, but we know that 10:38 there's something 10:39 that only the love of Jesus can fill. 10:41 So please pray for Tokyo, 10:43 pray for Japan, pray for this church, 10:45 pray for the young people, and the leaders. 10:47 And we will be right back straight after this break. |
Revised 2020-06-11