Chiharu's Story
After I got married in Japan, I noticed that there was something wrong with my life and marriage. I was disappointed and miserable. My ex-husband and I argued frequently. We were angry and careless. I tried so many things to change this situation, but none of them worked out. I was desperate.
One day I went to work. I was teaching Japanese at a Christian school. One of my students initiated a conversation and asked about my life as if she knew what was going on. After we finished talking, she prayed for me. I felt love through her prayer, and started to weep. And then she started to talk about Jesus and asked me to go to a church with her on Sunday. I told her I was not interested in going to church, but she kept asking me every week.
A month later, I had a feeling that I should have attended a church service. I finally decided to go with her. I found out later she had been praying for me for one month while I refused to go to church. When I walked in the church, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and love. After worship songs, there was a moment to greet each other. Everyone came to me and asked about me. I hadn’t experienced so many people showing interest in me. I started to cry because I sensed God’s love. I remember I was crying for most time of the service. I kept attending services for about a month. One day I was praying, and felt that I needed to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I knew that nothing else mattered but trusting Jesus. Next day I asked my student how I was supposed to follow Jesus. She gave me a piece of paper with words. After I read it and believed in my heart what was written, I received hope and felt there was a light shining over me.
Although God has given me hope and has changed my life dramatically, my marital problems continued to worsen. My husband moved us to Maerica, away from my family, friends, and church. I was completely alone in a strange place. I could barely understand the language and my husband refused to help me learn anything. He would grow very frusterated with me if I was confused. He would call me stupid and worthless. Eventually, I was forced to leave my husband for my safety. After moving out of our house it didn’t take me very long to feel a real sense of loneliness because I didn’t have family or friends who supported me. I didn’t know what to do to change my situation; I felt completely lost.
I started to pray and seek God for a great Church and friends that could be like a family to me. After sometime searching, I found the Light House on the Internet. I had a strong feeling that I had to call this church to find out when they had services. When I first attended a Sunday service, I felt peace and hope. I also met wonderful people and felt immediately that they loved me as if I was their family. I was very comfortable to talk and share stories even though we had a different culture and backgrounds. The Light House is an amazing church that focuses on prayer and multi-culture. I felt so welcome and accepted and have not been able to find a church like the Light House in America before. Since coming to the Light House, I’ve learned that cultures and backgrounds don’t matter because God loves all of us, and doesn’t judge us by color and background. I have found everything I needed at the Light House; a great Church and friends who have become my family. It changed my life from despair to hope.
God has changed me a lot since then. I used to compare myself to other people and used to be jealous. I couldn’t love people. I didn’t care about anything but me. Now I don’t compare myself to others. I am no longer jealous. I love my family. I know God created me for what he wanted. He loves me and has plans for me. There is nothing that compares to his love. I am so thankful for what God has done in my life, and for the opportunity of singing and worshiping at the Light House.
