Make Me a Servant

Our time spent in Ibaraki opened my eyes to the many opportunities we have to serve daily if only we watch for them. We came with a plan to teach English using the book of Luke, but that is only the surface of what we were able to accomplish in our time at IC. At the beginning of the month our devotionals on Wednesday nights were made up of our 24 OC students and about 8-10 IC students. By the end of our stay, our devotional was basically split evenly with OC and IC students. Many of the students that were coming at the end spoke better English, so my last LST session I spent singing more songs one-on-one with an IC guy explaining what the meanings were behind the words. It meant a lot to me that this guy wanted to take the time to learn what the songs and words mean because it gave me a chance to reflect myself while teaching many small lessons along the way. It reminded me of the first time I heard the story behind the song "Pierce My Ear". Here are the lyrics:

Pierce my ear, O Lord, my God
Take me to Your door this day.
I will serve no other gods,
Lord, I'm here to stay.
For You have paid the price for me
With Your blood You ransomed me.
I will serve You eternally,
A free man I'll never be.

I don't know how many times I sang that song before I found out the meaning behind the words. The song is based on Exodus 21:1-6, which states:

"These are the laws you are to set before them: "If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

"But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,'then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life."

Without understanding the meaning behind the words, I don’t know why I thought those words made any sense, but after knowing the message, it became a personal request and promise to God each time I sang that song. I hope that my time explaining some of the songs or even the difference in writing “God” versus “god” – that while some may believe in other gods or even multiple gods, these false gods do not compare to our one and only God. That I hope is a concept that he took away because I know many Japanese especially have a hard time separating from Buddhism or their Shinto ways to serve the one true God.

One experience I had that I especially appreciated was the chance to put into action what I learned only one month previous from Gary Jackson. In his talking about my uncle I realized that I should use my talents to help God’s mission in whatever ways possible. The two long-term LST workers at IC, Gary and Linda Gearhart, were having computer problems, so Ryan suggested that I help them. My last Sunday in Ibaraki I went after church to their home and spent several hours repairing issues on their computer and teaching them how to maintain the things I had done to keep from happening again after I was gone. I realized then and there that what I had done not only made it possible for them to keep in touch with their own families, but who knows how many other people they can reach and contact via email and online resources. What may be a few hours of simple computer work to me means being able to focus their time and money on God’s mission for them in Japan. I was so glad that I was given the opportunity to quickly to put into practice and recognize it for what it was so soon after my lesson in Beijing.

I think the most important work we did was not even in our organized and planned missions time, but in the way we acted and presented ourselves to the IC Buddies and other people we encountered daily. My host family were not Christian, so my evenings with them consisted of discussing – among many other things - Christianity and my beliefs. Many times throughout out stay I heard the buddies asking people in our group about issues such as creation and baptism. We tried to explain in simple terms what we believe and why, and when available we used the Bible to show parables or stories that might explain better than we could ourselves.

I feel confident that my time in Ibaraki was well spent, but I know I could have done more too. How many times did I miss an opportunity to evangelize or just share my faith or talents with people? Good thing we still have a month to go! I can continue to keep my eyes open for those types of situations to be a servant for Christ and an example to the world.

Thanks for all of your support! I love you all SO much!
Amy