Pray for the Katsuis!

On Monday evening as usual, I headed across town to the Katsuis' large grey house (still strung with white Christmas lights, which embarrasses teenager Yuuka!). I have been teaching seven-year-old Tochi and his friend Yui basic English using Japanese and English children's Bibles for several weeks, and to my amazement, Tochi is starting to read English words straight out of the children's Bible: "Day," he read two weeks ago. "God." "Animals."

But Mrs. Katsui, who breezes happily around the house in jeans and an apron, doesn't get much out of the children's lesson.

So I agreed to show up an hour early each week and teach only her - using some basic teaching materials and a Japanese-English Gideon Bible.

The last three weeks I've arrived to teach Mrs. Katsui she's ready - Bible, pens and paper set out, sliding door closed. We study some basic grammar first and then practice reading from the Bible - first in Japanese, then in English.

I showed her the gospels written by "Jesus' friends" (for lack of a better word), the letters written by Paul and early church workers, and the Old Testament books that tell about God and His promise to send Jesus. We read from Jesus' teachings in Matthew and Luke, looking up hard words like "anointed" and "accomplished" in her electronic dictionary.

Last week Yui and her mom arrived on schedule at five o'clock, and Mrs. Katsui welcomed them, sent them upstairs to the large dining room where we all study together, and promptly returned to finish our Bible discussion - for an entire THIRTY MINUTES OVERTIME!

Can this be happening? Is a Japanese person in MY life actually INTERESTED in the Bible??!

If that's not enough, I come away every Monday night with a smile - feeling, for one of the first times here, like part of a family again. Mrs. Katsui stopped treating me like a guest - hanging up my coat, bringing out all the obligatory snacks - and hugs me good-bye at the subway station.

(Tochi apparently thinks the same way, because he shocked me last Monday by dropping something from his plate onto mine).

Apparently miracles still DO happen - even here!

PLEASE PRAY:

* for Mrs. Katsui to have a deep hunger for the Bible, to read it even between our classes, and to see the truth as we study!
* for Tochi and Yui to learn the children's Bible and take it to heart; and
* for me to learn how to share the Bible with unbelievers (as I have not had a chance to do much here!)
* Please pray for the entire Katsui family to know Christ and THANK HIM for letting me see that He is at work!