Teacher Feature
July 18, 2008
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name? And then I will declare to them I never knew you; depart from Me … (Matt. 7:21-23)
We have often been reminded of this Bible passage while living here in Japan, particularly as we interact with our children’s pre-K/Kindergarten Staff. The school was founded by Christians and though none of the current staff are Christian, still various Christian practices remain part of the school’s regular curriculum. On the surface the school appears quite “Christian” but various national religious rituals are also incorporated in the curriculum during the year. We often choose to keep our kids home from school on days such as “Casting out the devils” Day, “Making requests for protection of the spirits of the ancients” Day, and so on. Through our non-participation in these events, God has granted us various opportunities to share our faith.
Recently while composing her monthly newsletter, our youngest son’s teacher was writing what each child in the class was requesting of the stars for ”Praying to the Constellations” Day. Miss Wa phoned us and asked what she write for on behalf of our son. We told her that the Bible teaches us to depend not on stars but on the God who created the stars. She asked if she could make a note by our son’s name which would clarify that his prayer is being offered to God not the constellations. We said this would be fine. When she asked what he is praying to God, our son said he is praying for his friends to believe in Jesus.This is our prayer too, for all our children’s classmates, their families and for all the schools’ teachers/staff as well.
Please join us in praying for the teachers in these photos. In the white suit jacket is our youngest son’s teacher, Miss Wa, who’ll celebrate her 22nd birthday in August. This job is her first teaching position.
Kneeling beside Mrs. Wa, is our daughter’s teacher, Mrs. Ku, who taught our daughter our first two years in Japan. Mrs. Ku is newlywed. For her wedding we gave her a book by a Japanese Christian author. The book which instructs newlyweds on how to be happy cites faith in Christ as a prerequisite.
Lastly, the teacher riding on the mini-play bullet train is Miss Mi. When Miss Mi heard a Christian’s testimony in February, she admitted she was a sinner. She has since been transferred to a new school but we will meet again at a class reunion on July 25th. Please pray for God to move in her and each teacher so that they will put their faith in Jesus alone and trust Him as their Lord and Savior.
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