Konnichiwa, tomodachi!
Hi, friend!
That's how our e-mails usually start. They end with kokoro wo komete, or from the heart. Junko Mizumukai, my sweet Japanese friend, moved back to Japan two years ago. Some of you maybe remember me posting about her on my blog. I first met her on aisle 5 of Walmart as she was serching for an ingredient for a recipe. I have radar for Japanese women in need. So, I approached her and asked if I could help her in very broken Japanese. She pointed to some words on the back of a box. I smiled. She pointed to Eagle Brand Milk. I'm sure she thought, "what in the world is that?" She was trying to make a pumpkin pie that fall. Pumpkin? Check. Sugar? Check. Cinnamon? Check. Eagle Brand Milk? Huh?
Well, we found it - finally. I even struggle to find it sometimes! She thanked me profusely, and that was the last time I saw her for about three or four years. That brief encounter had always remained special, and I never forgot it. Later, I would discover that neither did she. I think we knew that day that there was something very special about our meeting. We were instant friends.
The Lord has a way of bringing two people together again. I firmly believe that. Our time together was not over.
Three or four years later, I went to Jazzercise one night, and I was "dancing" next to a Japanese woman. Neither of us recognized each other at first. At the end of the class, we "introduced" ourselves, and before we could get our names out, we shrieked in surprise. We realized at the same time that we were the Eagle Brand milk girls of many years ago! A precious friendship grew, and we enjoyed many adventures in the year that she had left in TN.
She grew tomatoes and cumcumbers and heard in Jinglish about the God who loves her very much; I learned Japanese verbs, took a crash course in learning how to use her Japanese rice cooker that she left behind and understood more about her traditions and half-hearted belief of Buddhism. She was searching, seeking. I was trying in broken English to tell her about Jesu-sama. Jesus. Then, after the tomato and cucumber vines stopped bearing, she got on a plane and left TN to return to her home in Nagoya.
There was so much more I wanted to tell her. Can I trust God to water the seed I planted? I believe I can. One of my favorite verses in the New Testament is that the apostle Paul planted, Apollos watered, God caused the growth. Sometimes, I want to be the seed planter and the waterer (word?) and cause the growth. ugh. I'm learning every day to rely on the Holy Spirit to help me with this. I've been praying for water in Japan!! That God would send an Apollos!
So, when Junko left for Japan, my prayers went before her and behind her. The Lord promises to go before us and be our rear guard, and I'm still praying, knowing that the God I love crosses oceans and languages. He is the mighty God who can do all things, who hears the prayers of His people. I know He loves Junko and her family and desires for them to know Him and his unfathomable love for them.
We're an ocean apart, and as many times as I've said, "I'll come to Japan someday," we both know that we may possibly never see each other again.
I think we will.
I'm counting on it. :)
Some time last year, she sent Ava a Japanese children's outfit, called a jinbee. Now that Ava is one and about 24 lbs, it fits her perfectly. She looks so cute in it, and we remember Junko and her son, Ryota, everytime we wear it.
Remembering her and her family is like remembering to brush my teeth. I pray for them constantly.
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