He has made me glad!

Last night Mariko, Molly, Cindy and Libby attended a gospel Choir rehearsal at Midoridai church. This was a group of both Christian and non Christians singing gospel songs in English including “I will rejoice for He has made me glad.”  We joined in the choir practice and were asked to demonstrate the correct pronunciation in English.  It was fun to get to sing and praise in a choir. Libby started a conversation with the student standing next to her that led to the realization that this student liked to come sing English songs, but did not realize that we were singing praise to God. She reported that she came to sing on Wednesday night but did not understand much about the Bible. She agreed to discuss the Bible after practice which led to Libby presenting the gospel to her. Through a translator she said that she had never made the connection between Jesus and God and was hearing things in a new way. She and Libby went back through the words of the songs she had been singing and talked about how the words were praise to God. She stated she could sing in a new way next week.  The translator explained that the Japanese people have heard the name Jesus and associate Him with Christianity but many haven’t heard the gospel. The translater also explained that many people throughout Japan are interested and drawn to singing gospel style songs, but don’t associate the singing with the gospel. She said that this has become an outreach opportunity for churches to bring people into church. –LiBBY