We were only a very small church indeed with 20 members or so, when the land in Hoshino became available for us to purchase. Hoshino is an hour’s drive away in a small mountain town famous for its green tea and incense factory. The land had been used for a Church camp for several years, and has a public campground with a small lake on one side, and an observatory on the other.  There are two hot springs just down the hill, and a tea tasting hall nearby. 

 

At the time, we really didn’t understand why we needed to purchase the camp, but we felt God’s leading to do so, and by some strange miracle, we had the money, too.  That was about 15 years ago, and Ted, the pastor of Kurume Bible Church, along with another part time missionary, and some of the believers have worked there off and on all this time, tearing down the old buildings and putting up new.  We have our family camp there every year, and other churches in the area use it as well.

 

Now, after all these years, we are beginning to see God’s plan unfold. It started last Summer, when Mr. Watanabe, a young deacon in the church had a heart attack. Now why would God allow a man with three young boys, a fourth on the way, and a lovely Christian wife who is determined to be the first home school mom in Fukuoka to have a heart attack?  He had a defibrillator installed, and was forced to quit his job.  Since his heart condition qualified as a disability, the government gave him 8 months of subsidy, but that ran out last month. Now what?

 

In April, we got an email from the Mustard Seed Foundation.  They have a grant for new evangelism ventures, and had allocated some extra funds for Japan. Did we want to apply? Mr. Watanabe was excited. He had wanted to start a ministry in Hoshino for years, but had written it off as impossible. If he got this grant, he could go up there, help a little with the construction – at least as much as his bad heart would allow – and start inviting people to Bible studies at the camp. Turns out the county Hoshino is in is one of the neediest areas in Japan. It includes 56,000 people with no access to even one church. Hoshino is a small village of only 5,000, but it is the resort area for those 56,000 and beyond, so most of them pass through regularly. The observatory next door is the most well known in Northern Kyushu. What an impact a church would be in such a visible location!

 

He went to the interview with high hopes, and indeed came back even more excited.  He had had a good response, and been urged to fill out the application. There was one enormous obstacle, though. The Mustard Seed foundation requires that the local church match the grant the first year, pay 75% of the total the second, and 90% the third. This isn’t even an option for us at this time. We had a church business meeting, and agreed to have a vote the following week. The Watanabes were despondent. It had all seemed so perfect. The timing, just as their government grant ran out, made it seem like God’s provision, and they were sure now, that God had called them into the ministry.  Even if Mr. Watanabe could get another full time job, which he couldn’t, how could they feel right about ignoring God’s call?

 

We were sad, but there just didn’t seem to be any other option than to let the opportunity go. Trouble is, we were thinking in worldly terms, not spiritual.  We had calculated the figures of what was likely to be in our church offering in the next three years, and forgotten that the owner of all the Earth was behind us.  If this is God’s idea, then He will take the responsibility to provide the details.

 

On Saturday before the vote, I had been in Nagasaki all day. It was hot, I had walked for miles with a fever from a lingering cold, I was exhausted, and it was late. I turned on the computer for just a second to check my email before going to bed, but it was a dumb thing to do. I could hardly keep my eyes open to focus on the screen.

 

As soon as I was online, my instant message popped up. “Hi”. (Oh, no, This is going to take a few minutes. I really respect this person, but I really can’t stay awake a minute longer.) I returned the greeting. “How much money does Watanabe san need?”

 

It was Bonnie Eagle from Tennessee. Before long, I was wide awake.  Two months earlier she had had a dream in which God told her she would be raising money for a need in a far country. Her husband had the same dream, and they had already been working feverishly to fulfill God’s direction, even though they didn’t know who they were raising money for. A series of events had convinced them the money was for Kurume Bible Church, but they weren’t sure if we needed or wanted the money.  They had already scheduled their first fundraising concert for the 23rd of June, and were working to get the next one going.

 

Of course we called the Watanabes first thing the next morning, and announced this sudden turn of events in Church. When I told the story in church, I asked if we had the authority to put a stop to something for financial reasons, when God was obviously the author of the project. There wasn’t a dry eye. Mrs. Watanabe spoke for all of us, I think, when she said, “For the past few weeks, it’s been getting darker and darker. I didn’t know why the Lord had raised these hopes, only to dash them. When I woke up this morning, the Sun was shining brightly. Now I see how God is leading us, and for the first time, I understand what faith is.”

 

 

I am overwhelmed that people I have never met, in an area of the world I may never visit, have banded together, and are working for a cause they didn’t even know what was in obedience to the Lord they love. God has decided to start something in Hoshino, and He wants us to trust Him for the provision necessary to make this happen.

 

The land is there. The workers are available. Now all that is needed are the financial backing and the prayer support required to start the project that God has been putting together for 15 years. Hoshino means “Field of Stars” Daniel, in describing the resurrection wrote: “And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” Will you join us in this project to lead people to righteousness?  I know that those of you who pray, give and work to make this happen will be surrounded in heaven by souls you have never met, waiting their turn to thank you for their eternal salvation.