In Karuizawa at SYME

It's Monday evening, June 9. We arrived in Karuizawa this afternoon around 4:30 p.m. One of the leaders of SYME, a former Christian School Principal named Jody, picked us up at the train station and drove us to the campus in time for dinner. We saw Mana right away. She is doing great! She already seems so much more confident in her use of English.

Students have to know a little bit of English to get into the SYME program. Mana was ahead of the curve on that score, so she has been able to take full advantage of the opportunity to advance linguistically as well as spiritually.

This is the time of the evening when students write in the journals (in English, of course) about whatever is on their heart. They write knowing that their entries will be read by the staff member who leads the group they are in; still, the staff members keep what the students write confidential. The idea is to make this time an opportunity for expressing their reflections on what they are learning and how they are growing in the Lord.

It's wonderful to see so many Christian young people in one place in Japan. There are 31 students in all (16 from Korea and 15 from Japan). SYME began in Japan last year with only 6 Japanese students. So they have more than doubled that number in a year. At supper, we ate with students from both countries. I sat across from a young lady named Esther (all the students adopt English nicknames). Esther is from one of the suburbs of Tokyo. She became a Christian at age 18 through the influence of the Christian school she attended. She is the only Christian in her family. Esther told me that her mother accepts the idea of her converting to Christianity, but her father does not. I'm certain it is a thrill for her to be here, around so many others her age who know and love the Lord.

English instruction is playing such a strategic role in ministry here, and not just as a means of building relationships or attracting seekers. English is also being used in Asia as both an evangelistic and discipleship tool. Japanese, in particular, is not entirely suitable as a language for communicating the propositional truth of the Gospel. Some would even say it is an obstacle. There are solid reasons for characterizing the Japanese language in this way, but it would take too long to write about them in a forum like this. Suffice it to say for now that a ministry like SYME is using English to enhance students' understanding of Christianity. In some cases, if a student has not yet become a Christian, learning English can dramatically improve the possibility of their ability to understand in order to make a decision.

Of course, it helps tremendously that there is such a hunger in Asia among people of all ages to learn English from native speakers. In my opinion, I believe this phenomenon should be understood as God preparing people here to hear and understand the Gospel. In the case of young people, in particular, there is such a strong desire to learn English. Perhaps God is preparing them to come to Christ in mass. This is our prayer!

I'll write more tomorrow about the young man I mentioned in the last post. This is enough for tonight.