by Sarah Kladler
At the beginning of our trip, while exploring Tokyo, we visited the Shinjuku National Gardens. The gardens encompass a wide variety of flowers and trees, including the largest maples and cherry trees I have personally ever seen. The gardens originated as a feudal lord’s personal garden during the Edo period, from the 17th to mid-19th centuries. This means some of these trees are over 400 years old!
As we meandered through the gardens, balking at the absolute absurdity of how large and old these trees were, the scent of roses and fresh water drifted past us, leading us to an ornate rose garden beside a pond. As a gardener myself, I cannot imagine the amount of time and manpower it took to first grow, and then maintain, this mini-Eden.
For my garden, I usually buy young seedlings instead of growing from seed; it’s quicker, easier, and requires less patience. When you grow from seeds, there’s more risk. What if they never grow? What if I overwater or underwater them? Am I transferring them at the right time? Will they produce this summer, or was my time and money wasted?
Over the past six days, we have been doing the hard work of planting seeds across Fukuoka. Like gardening, it’s difficult to tell if the seeds will grow into strong, resilient believers. It is easy to second-guess the mission when the fruit of your labor takes so much time to grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 reads: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” As we encounter people, we must remember that although we may not have had the opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ directly, we still planted a seed. We may not even know who will water it, but it is most certainly God who will make it grow.
I invite you to be praying alongside us for transformation among the people of Japan. Pray for boldness for the Fukuoka church! May they be able to love the Japanese well and encourage believers. Lastly, pray for our team. May we be patient and understanding, meeting the Japanese where they are and being willing to wait for God’s timing for our new friends to trust in Jesus.
