Coincidences and Confirmation

This week at our church we've been participating in the "10 days of prayer" leading up to the global day of prayer, which is Pentecost. We've been meeting for an hour of prayer every morning with church members from 6-7 am and in the evening for a "joy hour" or in Japanese "yorokobi ji kan" in which we pray, worship, share ways we see God working, write our own psalms, spend time in silence listening, etc. There's a booklet that goes with it- and I took an English copy to my neighbor, whose an American. We've been talking a bit about faith from time to time when we see each other, and it has been in the last two months, I learned recently, that he has felt a strong desire and hunger for God's word and christian community. He's searching for God's purpose in his life. There's a pastor in the states whose been mentoring him, and recommending books for him to read, and chatting over skype. So on my way to the Bus stop Saturday, I stopped by his house to drop it off. He thanked me, and I left.

Then, on Monday, I was having a day like no other- everything was happening in perfect time- the trains I'd get on getting me to the next train or place just on time, catching the right bus at the right time to get to the seminary just in time, not knowing where to go- but arriving at precisely the moment when Dr. Sack arrived and hearing him yell my name across the quad, meeting our director on the way to Starbucks just as he was about to get lost and go the wrong way, making it to the christian bookstore to buy my bilingual bible (I can't get them in Niigata) in time before closing and there happened to be a subway sandwich shop next door (silly, I know, but its the only place you can get a turkey sandwhich in this counrty! I think God spoils me!!!) These are all small things- but they show the significance of what happened next. I returned to Niigata by Shinkansen. I decided to take the train home from the station, and saw that that too- was just on time. I ran quickly down the stairs to catch the train, and made it to the platform just in time to see the doors closing and the train pulling away. "What??? God, this is not consistent with how this day's been going!" I thought. But then, I thought again. "Maybe God wants me to take the bus- it is a shorter walk from the bus stop to my house than the train station, and my bag is heavy." So I went outside to the bus stop, and, sure enough, the bus that goes along my route home was just pulling in. But, to my surprise, there also was my neighbor!!! Whoa! OK, God definitely wanted me to take the bus. We had a great conversation all the way home about faith and community and a book he's reading now called, "The Shack." I'm not sure what God's intention is in all of the relationships he brings into my life, but I know He has a purpose in them and I pray I'll be his instrument of light and love in them. We are currently praying about starting an English worship service. Maybe there's a connection... :)

For more information about the 10 Days of prayer at our church, check out the website!
http://sites.google.com/site/nozomiprayer/