First-Time Visitor Knows All

By Eliane Hosokawa Imayuki

Brazilian immigrant Sandra Sato drove straight to a Seventh-day Adventist church in Kakegawa, Japan, to thank God for her newly acquired driver’s license.

Image © Pacific Press

She had promised God that if she got her license, the first place she would go with the car would be the church.

That evening, Sandra joyfully told members of the Tokai Christian Center church that God had answered her prayers to obtain a driver’s license.

“And I’m also ready for baptism,” she announced.

The church members were surprised. They had never seen Sandra until that evening.

Their astonishment grew as Sandra turned to various members and addressed them by name.

“I know many of you,” she said. “I have been watching live church broadcasts on social media.”

Then she told her story. Sandra and her husband, a former Adventist, worked with thousands of other Brazilian immigrants in factories in central Japan.

While discussing religion, her husband had declared that if she ever wanted to worship, he would only accept her attending an Adventist church. She had belonged to another Christian denomination. Intrigued by her husband’s former faith, Sandra had watched live broadcasts from the Tokai Christian Center church. With her husband’s help, she had completed Bible studies provided by Hope Channel’s affiliate in Brazil. Then she had promised God that she would begin to attend church in person if she got her driver’s license.

After a review of the Bible with the Tokai Christian Center pastor, Sandra was baptized. No family members attended the baptism, not even her husband. But her faith has remained strong. At her initiative, a small Bible study group has been established in another city, Iwata, for people seeking to know Christ. God’s word is spreading in Japan.

Read next week about how God is using the small group in Iwata to bless other Brazilian immigrants. Sandra became familiar with the Tokai Christian Center church after watching its online services. Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will go to a project to help many Japanese people, especially young people, learn about Jesus through the Internet. Thank you for planning a generous offering.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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