Sarah Snyder just completed her freshman year at LETU and kicked off her summer by going on a mission trip to Japan with several other students. Here's her take on the experience.
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| Meeting Sakiko |
It’s hard to believe that it’s over. That I, a girl from Texas, went to Japan to spread the gospel is crazy. I went with six of the craziest, most radical Christians I’ve ever met and together we loved on the Japanese people like never before. From singing in trains to praying for people on the street to helping Pearl Vineyard Church, our entire trip was about loving people in a way they’ve never seen before. One of my favorite moments during the trip was the day we met Sakiko. She was older woman who worked as a florist. She stood five foot nothing, if that. Her face was worn and her hands dirty from the flowers. A lot of people might’ve just passed her by; people like her family did. She craved love like we all do. I had the chance to pray for her. I prayed down the Father’s love on her, that he would restore her family and bless her. She wept and I know it’s because she experienced that love, maybe for the first time. The awesome thing is that I prayed for her in English, without a translator, and she understood. Her heart knew because the Holy Spirit speaks in a language all understand. It’s called love.
I mentioned that we sang on trains, actually we sang everywhere we went. Singing opened up doors to conversations and praying for people. A song that kept popping up was “I’ve got a river of life” and on this trip we wrote several new verses including one about love. It goes, “I've got a river of love flowing out of me. Heals the broken heart, sets the oppressed free. Makes the darkness run, and fear to flee. Cause, I've got a river of love flowing out of me.” These lyrics couldn’t be any more true. God poured his love out on our team. He healed our hurts and freed us. We aren’t perfect people. God did a lot of work in us and out of the overflow of his love, in us, we loved on the Japanese people. They were so ready, so ready, to receive. Luke 10:2 says “He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” We saw it. We experienced the bountiful harvest that is ready to be gathered in to the Father. I ,personally, cannot wait to go back to Japan. For now, though, I am ready to turn the love of the Father on Longview and see what he does here.
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