Last Saturday, we hosted our first event as the Youth Committee of the Japanese Covenant. We planned a Valentine’s Event in downtown Tokyo for college and young adults.
Speaking with the help of Aki (Grant's interpreter)
As our first event, we were not sure who or how many people would come. Yet, we prayed that God would bring people from all over to enjoy a fun and relaxing evening together, hearing about love and relationships through a Gospel- perspective. We were selected as the speakers for the event. Preparing a message together is always a challenge, as we have different rhythms and styles of crafting a message. It also didn’t help that Miho would be speaking in Japanese and I would speak in English.
Crowd at the Event
This event was a tremendous success. It has been one of the main highlights of our ministry (so far) in Japan. More than 50 young adults came out, despite the snowy, wet weather. Around 30 of these guests were non-Christians that had been invited by their friends. This might have been the first time they heard about God’s love. We were interviewed first, sharing about how we met, how we handled conflicts in our relationship, and how we knew we wanted to marry each other.
Fantastic Buffet
Throughout the night, we enjoyed a wonderful buffet that included a chocolate fountain with strawberries, marshmallows, and pineapple. A team from another church created great ambiance in the rented venue. We played People Bingo, so people could get to know each other a little bit (which Miho won). A music team from another church sang a few songs, even one that a girl wrote. One guy provided some comic relief through a song.
All in all, everybody seemed to have a wonderful time. We loved having the opportunity to speak to such a group of young people. We really hope to reach such young people every week in our church. Our prayer is that our story of our relationship and the message of God’s sacrificial love would truly speak to them.
Hope for Japan 
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