I arrived early at the airport, NAIA Terminal 3, two hours before the designated departure time, anticipating that this would be a tough process since I was traveling alone and it was my first time. I went through the process at the terminal and waited at the lounge.
While I was seated at the end of the row before our boarding time, I started talking to a lady in the row next to me. My intention was to just keep myself busy and not worry about what to expect when I arrived in Japan. She had wide eyes and wore a big jolly smile. "Are you going to Japan?" I asked her. She opened the conversation with a smile and said, "Yes, I am. And you?" So, I told her that I was traveling to Japan for the first time.
I told her that I was also going to Japan for a mission trip. She told me that she was a missionary traveling to the same country for almost 3 years already. She was a part of a group of Christians who had been staying near the place I was going. She said they were willing to help me check out some places where I could hold my gospel sharing. With much excitement, we exchanged numbers and discussed some places where we could meet. She told me about some things to expect while I was in Japan, including the culture, attitude, and most of the things I needed to understand before I stepped onto the land of the rising sun.
Before we entered the plane, I helped her carry her luggage and we headed to almost the same seat on the plane. I was so grateful for that first talk. God lifted my worries and made them disappear like a bubble before I boarded the plane.
I headed to my seat and calmly sat at Row F4 on board Nagoya when another Japanese-looking lady hurried to wear a cap and suddenly stood near my seat. "I am seated in Row F3," she said. So, I removed my small bag from below the seat and let her sit next to me. She looked tired and I thought she needed some rest. She packed her stuff and patiently seated herself. "You are not wearing your seat belt yet," I told her. So, she put on her seat belt before she was noticed by the cabin crew. I prayed and asked God to give me the opportunity to share the Gospel with her while we were on board traveling for 4 hours.
So, we chatted. "What is your name?" I asked. "My name is Sagiko Hida," she told me. At first, I could not understand her name. So, I just pretended I got her name fully and showed her a big smile and asked for a handshake. She eventually took my hand and replied courteously, "Nice to meet you," she said. Now, it was going to be easy for me to talk to her since we already knew each other. So, she started talking about her life. She told me the reason why she was in the Philippines. I learned that she was returning to Japan after her 3 months of learning English course in Quezon City. After some practice, she spoke English pretty well. "Ehem," she really did. She told me that her teacher was patient with her. She received her certification and even showed it to me.
I was talking to her for almost an hour, so I thought I reached my limit and I hadn't shared about the Gospel. So, I talked to her about Jesus. I shared with her how Jesus changed my life. At first, she was reluctant to know about Jesus. I told her that Jesus loves her, Jesus died for her, Jesus saves her from sin, and she needs to decide to live for Jesus, and so on. She sat quietly. When she learned that Jesus loves her, she was so happy to hear about these words. Then I asked her, "Have you ever felt that somebody was in love with you? What would you feel?" She stuttered for an answer but could not find any words to express herself. I told her that all people have sinned. This concept became vague to her. She furrowed her forehead and squirmed her eyebrows. When I asked her why, she told me that she could not understand that people may have sinned. So, I told her that the Bible says so. Apparently, the Bible was unknown to her. Instead of talking about what the Bible said, I changed the topic to another one that she might like. I told her a story about the lost son and the Father's love. As I expected, it was her first time hearing about that story. She liked the story and acted as if she wanted to express her opinion. So, she said that she liked the attitude of the father. "If that would happen to you, what would you feel?" I asked. She said that she would be very grateful to accept her son.
So, I made a segue to the point by asking, "Would you be happy to accept Jesus?" She shrugged her shoulders and squirmed, and said, "Hmm, yes. But I need to know more about Jesus." I was almost shouting when I said, "Wow!" I asked her if we could pray, but she said, "Actually, I have no religion. I grew up with no religion. I grew up looking for God. We have different beliefs, and I don't know if your Jesus is just one of them." I stopped for a while and felt sad about her situation. After she learned about Jesus, now she was hungry for religion, yet she didn't know Jesus. She didn't know the way. But we do. Sometimes we take it for granted.
The way to the truth is the only way. I paused and prayed. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would rest upon her and stir her heart to search more for Jesus.
I ended up praying for the second time before we started another conversation.
.webp)
.webp)
