I remember crying when I sat in the worship service of Gushikawa Baptist Church many years ago. My Aunt Yoshi was sitting in the back with her unsaved husband Seiko sitting next to her. I was glad he'd agreed to come, but when the song chosen had to do about how we'd all be meeting One Day in Heaven...and I knew Uncle Seiko would not be there...well, I just could not go on singing. I found myself crying.
It was a few years later, my stepmother Kiyo led Seiko to Christ! When we sang of Heaven later, I knew my crying had changed to tears of joy.
101 years old. That's how old he is now. Oh--Seiko's the one who went swimming with Daddy in the river when Daddy came to Okinawa for 2 of his grade school years, the only blood relative who converted to Christianity as a result of Daddy's missionary work while he was alive.
During our time together in Okinawa last month, my sisters and I went to Uncle Seiko's house and had a meal with him and his 3 children--in other words, 6 cousins sat around plates of sushi, laughing about old photos. We'd gone to Sunday School and Summer Camps together.
Their mother, Yoshi, of this family, found freedom from the bondage to demon ancestors and was a vibrant believer. She is now with the Savior she fervently adored. The children: Masako, Morii, and Chieko, have yet to follow the faith they have seen in their parents. How we long to see the day we can say everyone in this picture will show up that Day in Glory too!
