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How a young man from Tokyo, Japan
experienced God's calling when he first attended the Bible study
in the Iglesia ni Cristo

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Home   Convert Stories - Asia  

  Inspiring Convert Story-29

A turning point in my life

Shinji Fuji
Tokyo, Japan

 

     I WAS BORN in Tokyo, Japan on January 1, 1959. I finished Law at Rikkyo University in 1983, and I’m currently working at the personnel section of Seibu Department Store which has a famous professional baseball team called Seibu Lions.

     I spent my boyhood amidst Japan’s high economic growth period when young people were exposed to fierce competition for good educational and employment opportunities. What I valued most in my life at that time was the pursuit of material prosperity, an enhanced standard of living, and a higher rung in the social ladder. Thus, I would get up early in the morning, work until late at night, come home for a nap, and leave home for work again the next morning. This was my daily routine.

     What changed my daily routine was the death of my mother. At the turn of 1995, her health declined and, three months later, she died.

     It was after her death when I all the more realized how much she really meant to me. I always tried my best to please her. She was a source of my energy. The shock and discouragement I had upon my mother’s death was more serious than I expected. I felt as if a certain part of my soul had also died. I just stood in silence in the intensive care unit where she had been treated.

     The painful loss of my mother drove me to drink much—wandering about town every night. I lost the will to live and I had no direction in life—like a kite without a string.

     It was in October 1996 when one of my friends, Mylene Navarette, told me about the Church of Christ. She invited me to attend a grand evangelical mission. There, I met Brother Percival Factor, the minister who eventually conducted my Bible studies.

     I was nervous at first and I felt uneasy. But, as I continued to listen and attend the Bible study sessions, the lessons I heard began to form an integral part of my life. I did not know where the sense of fulfillment I felt at that time came from. I anxiously and enthusiastically attended all the Bible study sessions. I discovered many wonderful and inspiring truths such as, “Persevere to the end”, “Do your best in any circumstance”. “Abandon your vices and completely renew your life”; and “Walk in the righteous path according to God’s will.” What I learned in the Bible studies and in the worship services touched my soul. The words of God moved me, encouraged me, and restored me during a low point in my life.

     I was baptized on September 13, 1997 in Atsugi Base, Japan. The moment of my body was in the water, I felt reborn. I finally found what I had been looking for, and I found it in the Church of Christ.

     It was God who called me and led me to the right path. To Him I offer my thanks. 

 

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Source: God's Message

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