あるらい病人の祈りの答え

１０月３０日の礼拝のメッセージは、らい病人が癒された話しだった。

「らい病のことは分かりますか？」と牧師先生が言ったとき、

自分は川端さんのことを思わずにはいられなかった。

*   *   *   *   *

川端トミ姉は、１９５０年代、らい病のために隔離されていたときに救われた。

病気が完治後、彼女は家に戻った。健康と霊的いのちをてにした川端姉は、

周りの人に証し、村に教会が与えられるように祈り始めた。

 

１９５８年、宣教師大城昇・君子先生たちが、宇堅村に開拓伝道をしに来た。

「大城先生、あなたが来ることを待っていたのですよ。」と暖かく迎えられた。

そして、川端姉と数人の信者の証のため、村の３０名ぐらいが集まって

米軍が要らなくなったかまぼこ型兵舎の建物をもらって

宇堅福音教会を建てることになった。

しばらくしてから、村の子供たちは、「むらのちいさききょうかい」を、

「むらのカマボコきょうかい」と、歌っていた。♪

天の神は、一人のらい病人の祈りを答えてくれたのだろうか。

*   *   *   *   *

現在の宇堅福音教会

私が覚えている川端トミさん：

毎朝、目が覚める時、「ああ、神様に愛されているんだと、思い出して

一日を始めることにしている」と、言っていた。

*   *   *   *   *

 

百歳まで生きたいと言っていた川端さん。百歳まで生きた。

「神の恵みのトロフィー」の一人だと、父が言っていた。

 

私たちを暖かく見守って愛して下さる神様に、

自分も心の目をしっかりと留めておいて

生きたいと思う。



All We Have to do is Follow

"Vancouver? Would you by any chance know anybody by the name of 'Roy Oshiro'?" I asked. "That's my Dad. He was a missionary to Okinawa, Japan. He left Vancouver...but that was back in 1955."

"No; I'm sorry; I don't know any 'Roy Oshiro'," Katie Sisco replied; "But would he have known a 'Margaret Ridgeway'? She knew a lot of Japanese Canadians."



"Margaret Ridgeway?" I nearly flew out of my chair. That was such a familiar name. She was the person most influential in getting Daddy to become a missionary. In fact, she was the one who founded the mission board he joined. "Yes; Daddy knew Margaret Ridgeway!"

"That was my Aunt.", Katie said, smiling.

No wonder. When I first viewed the Musashino Christian Chapel

website and felt its

strange attraction, I had not known why the
Lord would want me to go
there. There had been an
irresistible tug to attend its
prayer meeting that night. It
had been irrational and
inexplicable. After all, I
didn't know anybody there. It was just another church in Tokyo with an English Department.

Little did I know that this fellowship was headed up by Ron and Katie Sisco, missionaries to Japan, who had retired in 2000 but returned last year--so actually were active missionaries again--to help the English Department of this church. And less had I known that Katie's aunt was the founder of the mission board under which Daddy came out to Okinawa.

But God had known. And no doubt, Daddy and Margaret Ridgeway must've both been smiling as they peered over the battlements of Heaven and watched us meet. As Daddy knew on earth and even better now: we are just His sheep. All we have to do is follow as our Shepherd leads us from pasture to pasture.

由来は、分かりますか？

多くの日本の学校で　イスラエル民謡として紹介されている踊り

「マイムマイム」

  

「マイム」はヘブライ語で水をあらわす言葉です。という説明までは、大体される。

イスラエルに戻って来た人たちが掘り当てた、井戸の水が出たことを喜んでいると、よく聞く。

だけど、この曲のストーリーは、それで終わる。喜びの踊りの歌詞は、どこからきたのか、わかりますか。

「ウシャブテム　マイムベッサソン　ミイマイエネハイエシュア」

（日本語訳：）

「あなたがたは　喜びのうちに

救いの泉の水をくむ。」

そう、イザヤ１２：３です！

父は、よく言っていました。神の子こそ喜んでいられる。

私たちが喜べなければ、いったい誰が喜べるだろう？

｢主よ､どんなことがあっても､神様がわたしたちを救い出し

導いてくださると信じ､

喜びに溢れる心を与えて下さい｡

マイム・マイム・・・♪」

 

Early Mornings with the Heavenly Father

Bethel Baptist Church

I had spent so many sweet, sweet hours at the sanctuary...I looked out at the empty room. I'd come early mornings alone, prayed aloud--and sang out too, and basically, because no one else was there to hear, it was time I had free for "just me and my Heavenly Daddy"...and then I'd curled up on one of the chairs near the windows to read my Bible and write in my journal.

There was that morning I saw a tiny spider on one of the chairs and resisted the urge to squash it. I remember thinking to myself, there would be no way I could love--I mean, really love--a creature like a...spider. And absolutely no way I would let my child suffer a cruel, torturous death at the hands of hordes of spiders for the sake of saving them! UGH! ...And that's just the difference between me and a spider? And the God of Heaven, the Creator of the Universe, did that for me?! I'd found that hard to fathom.


Jesus, when He was 12--His parents had frantically searched for Him--had found Himself naturally gravitating to His Father's House. He must've felt a tugging at His heart to go where He could be with the One He loved most, wanted to pray to most. And He must've been fond of those men He talked with too--they were his friends, friends who longed with starry-eyed wonder after truth strangely elusive of them. And the place that Jesus felt so drawn to and loved He ended up cleansing twice; then turning His back to it, He looked only to His Heavenly Father to guide Him the remainder of his earthly ministry.

Father, no matter how lovely the people You put in my life, no matter how blessed the places You choose for me; help me, as Jesus did, to always seek Your Face first and foremost.