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Taking time for mission
Mike and Teresa Sherrill each have about a dozen years of experience in Japan, spending the last four in Sapporo through Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church Canada Witness. They have learned that deep conversations do not happen quickly. Instead, Mike Sherrill said, you visit a friend and eat breakfast together. You go fishing for a day, sharing time and talents. When you finish, you return home and eat together. You share a pot of tea or sweetened rice. You stay long into the night. Repeat the process regularly for years. Only then, he said, can true sharing occur. A three- or four-year mission term is a significant commitment for mission workers, but it is only the beginning of a relationship to the Japanese. Workers who take the time to engage the culture are respected. The earliest Mennonite mission workers who helped begin the Hokkaido church are still remembered fondly for their commitment to the culture and to Christ. "One of my goals in life is that after I leave here, people don't say, 'Missionary Mary Beyler said such and such,'" said Mary Beyler after 32 years in Japan. "I want people to remember 'the Bible says...’ or 'Jesus said.'" "People who make a testimony of what they believe are important," said Tetsuo Maruyama, a member of Shiroishi Mennonite Christian Church in Sapporo and a MERC director. "That'’s what mission workers do — they make a testimony." For related news stories on taking time for mission read Tea ceremony teachers mission worker to minister the heart and Easter baptisms 13 years in the making In this issue: Features Highlights Viewpoints |
