Japanese Student Finds Life in Switzerland and Takes It Back Home

We often have visitors in our church on Sunday mornings. One Sunday I noticed a visitor sitting in our balcony. After the service, I made a point to meet her. Her name was Maimi and she was from Japan. Maimi moved to Bern, Switzerland to complete a master’s degree in French horn. She had come along to church with one of our members, Robin, a student at the same school as Maimi. 

My wife and I invited Maimi to join us for lunch at our house. Around the table, I asked if Maimi had any questions about the service, the sermon, or Christianity in general. She candidly replied that she was not interested in religion. Sadly, Maimi did not come back the next Sunday. 

Though it seemed like a lost cause, our church began praying for Maimi. Some of our ladies even started reaching out to her. One time, I ran into Maimi on the bus, and she mentioned that she was going to have lunch with Monika, a quiet, faithful single lady in our church. Over time and through lots of prayer and relationship building, Maimi became more willing to talk about Christianity. Through conversations with Robin, his parents (church planters in Australia), and members of our church, Maimi began to feel conviction over her sin. We prayed fervently for God to open Maimi’s heart to the good news that Jesus died for sinners and rescues from God’s wrath all who repent and trust in him. 

In the fall of that same year, Maimi began attending our church’s Christianity Explored class. The class was a mix of believers and unbelievers who meet in our living room in order to read through Mark and consider who Jesus is, why he came, and what it means to follow him. Interestingly, our conversations were in German; the videos were in English; and there was Maimi following along in her Japanese Bible. 

By God’s grace, Maimi became a Christian at some point during these meetings. She realized she was a sinner in need of God’s grace. She believed that Jesus lived, died, and rose as her substitute and Savior. She desired to publicly confess her faith in Jesus through baptism. She longed to worship and serve her King along with brothers and sisters. With all this fruit in view, Maimi asked to join our local church even though she knew she would go back to Japan only a couple months later. We enthusiastically brought her into our membership. 

Before returning to her home in Osaka, Japan, Maimi and I searched the internet for churches that may be meeting near where she would live. It was especially important to me to find a gospel-preaching church in order to help her continue to follow Jesus. Maimi did eventually find a church near her grandma’s home, but I couldn’t tell from their website whether they were solid or not. From conversations with Maimi, however, it seemed she was hearing the Bible preached as God’s authoritative Word. So, similar to Paul and the Ephesian elders, I entrusted Maimi to God and to the Word of his grace. 

From afar, it seemed like Maimi continued to grow in her faith, so much so that others were affected by her witness. Early last summer, she contacted our church to share the news that her dad had become a Christian. In his testimony, Hiroki described how Maimi would share the gospel with his mother, Maimi’s grandmother, and he would listen along. At first, he thought the gospel Maimi was sharing was simply a myth. When Maimi announced that she was getting married (to Robin, no surprises there) and the ceremony would take place at her church, Hiroki decided to attend a service to see what other Christians were like. He noticed how Maimi’s fellow church members encouraged each other and even referred to one another as brother and sister. 

Hiroki decided to start reading the Bible and attending Maimi’s church. After some time, he became convinced that what his daughter had come to believe during her time in Switzerland was in fact true: all those who place their trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ will be saved. Hiroki was baptized that summer and welcomed into his new church family. Hiroki died only a few months later of sudden and unexpected heart failure. 

God continues to be at work in Osaka. Before going to heaven, Hiroki talked with his mother about the gospel every day. She now reads the Bible and has started to meet with one of Maimi’s pastors to talk about the faith and what it would mean to be baptized. And Hiroki’s Bible? It went to Maimi’s mom and the two have started reading it together. “Her heart is getting softer,” Maimi recently said. “I don’t give up!”