26. I HAVE CHOSEN YOU
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” (John 15:16)
Upon finishing my Japanese study in the missionary language school in Japan in 1977, following my Lord’s Leading, on October 5th of that year I rode the train down the mountain range to nearby Matsuida Town for the first time.
I knew no one there, not even the name of the town the first day I arrived there. I sought out a small Japanese inn to lodge in that night. And the very next day as I was out on the street, Japanese children flocked around me “excited” to see this foreigner. A good number of these country kids had never seen a Caucasian in person. Needless to say, I was a rare attraction (sort of like the circus coming to town).
The following day, many of the grammar school kids came to me in the small playground where they often played. I taught them songs about Jesus and read Bible stories to them in Japanese, praying for the Holy Spirit to shine God’s True Light into their darkened hearts. Most of them had never heard any Bible teaching. I was ever so richly blessed, in that God sent me here to preach the saving Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to them, and that the Holy Ghost drew them to me.
As they flocked around me, 2nd grade girl, Emi, came to me most readily, stayed the closest by me (among the “flock”), sang the songs earnestly, and listened ever so well to the Bible stories. On the 3rd day of those “open-air” spontaneous children services, after school let out for the day and several children had come to the playground, Emi told me that she wanted to trust in Jesus. ‘I will teach you how to pray to Jesus, if you want to trust in Him now.’ She firmly replied that she did. So I led her in a prayer, asking forgiveness and asking Christ to save her.
In the following days, she often came to me in the park to sing with me and listen to me read Bible stories. The devil fought back. An elderly lady teacher at their grammar school scared the children by telling them that I was a dangerous thief and kidnapper. That caused them to shun me, just as that lying teacher wanted them to do.
I prayed hard for God to fight for me. Over a period of a few days, several of the children “drifted” back to me, Emi being one of the first to return to my teaching. She would come to me in the playground and call on me for a “Sunday School” service. “Let’s sing the songs.” She would say. I would hand her a children’s hymnbook and lead 3 songs.
“Now read some stories.” She would request (more like a command).
“Now let’s pray,” she would say as she knelt in the dirt. I would kneel in the dirt and lead. She would follow, praying earnestly. That precious little soul kept me on the Firing Line when the devil had pulled me down ever so low.
I began to look for a house to live in, there in Matsuida. It was months later in mid 1978 before I was able to rent a house and move into it. I sought out and found Emi and other kids who knew me, and invited them to come to my house to learn about Jesus.
Emi came to my house often, stayed long, listened well and asked profitable questions about spiritual matters. One day, she and 3 other children were in my house when I was talking about Christian believers’ names being written in Heaven. Emi quickly asked. “Did God erase my name in Hell?” The Holy Spirit had clearly showed her that she was a sinner and that sinners who die lost go to Hell. She wanted her name erased in Hell. I spoke more to her of Eternal Life in Christ for those who believe on Him. Oh, it was a precious time!
Emi and her mother lived together in an old small hovel of a house. I did not pry her with questions about the whereabouts of her dad. Her mother was poor, working odd jobs in town when she could find them. Once Emi sadly remarked to me that her mother liked to gamble at the nearby local pachinko parlor.
Reader Friend, gambling is another Thief that will steal all your money. Shun all the lotteries and all forms of gambling!
Emi came to my house off and on for about a year. Then her mother moved somewhat further away from me, in the same town of Matsuida to an old wooden row house style town housing project. The rent on 1 tiny 2-room apartment in a row house there was very cheap because the buildings were old. Upon moving further away, Emi no longer came to my house. I saw her on the street just a few times after that. And as she got to be 11 and 12 years old, she did not even want to talk to me on the street. I have not seen her since that time, around 1982.
At the very start when I met Emi, she had a heart most desirous to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ and to believe on Him, and that she confessed to do. I believe that Emi was specially chosen by our Saviour. She was born about 1970. You please think on how old she is right now, and please pray for her and all her house.
“Abba Father in Heaven, I lift Emi up to Thee before Thy
Throne of Grace. In the Name of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, I plead
with Thee to save all her house to the utmost. Thou doest know exactly
where Emi is right now, if she now has children, and possibly little
grandchildren of her own. Please do not send a one of them to Hell. Please
save them all, perfect their every way, and bless them richly.
May the life of each soul in her family greatly glorify Thee all
their days on earth, I humbly pray.
Please anoint Missionary Richard’s preaching in Japan with Holy Ghost Power to powerfully convict the many lost Japanese who hear him preach in public, and bring them to repentance, I plead. Amen.”
Richard Yerby (Matsuida,
Japan) www.Christ-is-all.us