The Land of the Rising Sun

By Leah Domingo Servidad

Japan’s Status of Christianity

There are almost 127 million people living in the country famous for its name The Land
of the Rising Sun, Japan. This is based on the latest population estimates of the United Nation
Organization as of May this year. More or less, 2 million Japanese are Christian (nearly one
percent of Japan’s population) and churches are scattered across the country including the
Seventh-day Adventist Church. (want to name other denominations?)

Japan is known as the world’s most literate and technically advanced nation in East Asian
Archipelago and indeed this country is one of the largest economies in the world. It’s status
brings comfort and high-class life to its people. As a result, their hearts are not easily open to
edited
Christianity knowing its effect in their way of living. That’s why Christian missionaries find Japan a
tough and challenging country to penetrate for they value human relationships more than the
truth.
The challenge is for the commissioned missionaries of our institution to go to these
territories without hesitation and fear. Meanwhile, the Northern Asia Pacific Division invested in
PMM (state the abbreviation) pastors to be assigned in those challenging mission fields. The
scheme of their ministry is to serve the country by all means for five years or more. Also,
different methods and techniques were applied on how to touch the hearts and minds of the
people in the country including foreigners.

The Golden Angels served Foreigners in Taiwan

Being part of the great mission, the Golden Angels ministry were invited to serve and
support the PMM pastors and their evangelistic activities. On the 7 th day of May, the group of
young people flew to the land of the rising sun – Japan. Each member of the Golden Angels 16
was enthusiast and excited to do mission and support the pastors in the different locations in
Japan.

The first spot of the mission trip is in Chiba, Japan were the 3H Language School is
situated. The institution was established by a missionary 24 years ago and according to the
principal Pastor Kim Soo-ho, the school was designed to help foreigners who staying in country
to help them in their Japanese language. Students enrolled were from different countries of Korea,
Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines, China and even from the middle east country. The Golden Angels
singers were privileged to share Gods messages to those young people, besides most of them are
non-believers of Jesus.

On the same week and in the same place, a special program for church members and
friends of SDA Chiba International Church. The program was facilitated by the PMM Pastor Chung
Eui-kwun who was former Golden Angels member second batch and was conducted by Pastor
Sung Um who has the specialty in home and family lectures. With substantial lectures of the
speaker and the touching music of the missionaries, through the grace of God the week’s
program was been successfully done. Also, during the breaks we had the opportunity to visit
nursing homes and center for disabilities in Chiba area. It was a touching moment to share our
time to our disabled friends. Upon entering the center, a very special feeling was in our hearts,
some of us are in tears because of the situations we’ve seen. I personally was so pity and sad to
see those people who are bed suffering from conditions they never asked for. One thing I learned
from our visit there is that God allows circumstances in our lives to see the beauty of life beyond
sorrow. It is true that those people are disabled but they can give a sincere love and smiles to
the people who are taking care of them in the center. On that day, I had witnessed the love of
God in that humbled place and through the songs of Jesus, all of us felt the real joy that cannot
be paid off.

On the 15th day of May one of the pastor from JUC brought us to Tachikawa, Tokyo. On
that day we met the Taiwanese PMM Pastor Yu Chuan Fu who will guide and lead us to another
mission for the Chinese community who are living in Japan. Thirteen years ago, the mission was
started by a pastor family and by God’s grace the only Chinese SDA Church in the heart of Tokyo
is growing and growing. Number of attendees are increasing in that said church, now our new
friends are starting to know Jesus, therefore they plan to have an evangelistic meeting on that
week.

Each nightly program was started by the Golden Angels singing and followed by the
invited speaker Elder Futai Mona. Though we are in Japan but we are serving a Chinese Church so
the group tried to sing Chinese songs so that friends can clearly understand the songs. According
to many, “A sermon can take an hour reach the hearts, but the song can only take five minutes to
deeply penetrate the hearts of the people.” We as singing missionaries really believe that quote
but on the other hand, we are claiming that the touching of one’s heart is only through the
working of the Holy Spirit. Besides singing in the nightly program, we were also invited to a
nearby house of new non-Christian Chinese friend to share our songs and testimonies.

After days of efforts and prayers, by the grace of God, five precious souls received
baptism during that Sabbath day, and they will become a living testimony of God’s miracle in
Tokyo Chinese Church.

Missionaries who are called for healing and preaching ministry

We, the Golden Angels were tagged not only as singing missionaries but also preaching
and healing missionaries. In our next schedule we able to serve Tokyo Adventist Hospital and this
time we able to comfort some of the patients who listened to the songs of Jesus. In the same
way, visitors and staff from that hospital was able to witness the singing because we spot in the
corridor of the building. It is such a delight that God is truly using our voices to declare His love
and care to the needy, helpless and sick.

On the next day, we travel an hour of from Tachikawa to Yokohama Japan by a car. As we
arrived, we had a short rest and on the following day we’ve been guided to Yokohama Saniku
Elementary School where we sung and introduced Jesus to the young kids.

Few hours later, the singing missionaries directly went to Yokohama Shalom Nursing
Home were in front of the elementary school. For one nursing home, we able to set and unset
our singing equipment for three times because of the different schedules. Though we may have
hard time to carry all the heavy loads but the moment we open our mouth to sing for the
grandmas and grandpas, our hearts were so touched because of the genuine smiles and reactions
they are giving. I can imagine how they long to see their families and their hometowns because
they spend their remaining life in the center, so after our singing some of them were in tears,
there are also grannies who really hugged and hold us tightly.

It was so melting in our part as a young adult to see the situations of those old folks
but on the other hand we are glad that for the short period of time we able to give them comfort
and hope and the most important thing we able to introduced to them Jesus Christ. We hoped
that in their remaining life they will able to realize that there is a living God and there is hope
beyond the grave.

The Church who waits for a long time

Ten years ago, a group of singing missionaries who called themselves Golden Angels visit
the Church Biwako Church in Shiga Japan and they were able to create a good remembrance to
the Japanese brethren in the said church. After a long-waited moment finally the people of
Biwako will be meeting again with the missionaries. This year’s batch of Golden Angels flew from
Narita International Airport to Osaka Airport together with Pastor Masaru Kabayashi.

Members of the church were thrilled to see the Golden Angels once again and we really
feel their enthusiasm from them because they were all preparing and planning for the success of
the program. Every church member makes efforts to invite their outside church friends to witness
and even join the musical concerts and message from Pastor Cho Daeyeon, Golden Angels
coorsinator. Two major musical presentations were held on Friday and Sabbath afternoon with the
collaboration of the choir of Biwako Church that mostly of the members are non-SDA. After the
successful trips, the singing group flew back to Korea on May 26.

Japan may be described as the land of the rising sun, which sun gives light but ironically
the country, in some way, is not yet lighted by the light of salvation of Jesus Christ. Acts 13:47
says, for this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that
you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” As what God commanded to his disciples, we
the young missionaries who are driven with God’s love will continue to travel to share the light of
Jesus to the ends of the earth.