At that moment, I felt something like an electricity coming in from my finger, and then, came a wind which threw me to the ground, and kept me lying down like a cross. I felt like I was not myself anymore.

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 From the Dominican Republic to Paraguay

 

My family immigrated from Japan to the Dominican Republic when I was 7 years old. We the children of immigrants entered a local school where the nuns taught. In all the classes we eighty Japanese children were taught in Spanish, because there was no Japanese school. Monday through Friday, we went to the school. The nuns would say to us, "You Japanese should be baptized. If not, you will be children of the devil." So, we were all baptized. Each one of us had a godmother, we had the first communion and confirmation. That is why I had to go to church every Sunday without fail.

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Five years later, there was a revolution in the Dominican Republic. Therefore, the Japanese immigrants had no choice but to leave the country. Most of them returned to Japan. My father, however, did not want to return to his country, because he left all his inheritance to his younger sister. That is why we migrated from the Dominican Republic to Paraguay with four other families. I was 11 at that time.

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 When we arrived in Paraguay, there was nothing but bushes and trees around us. But when a chapel was built, the nun invited me to the church. For that reason, I learned to pray as a child. For example, when I lost something, I prayed, "God, please...", then I could sometimes find it. But my family was so humble that my parents had almost nothing and could not send me to school. I was brought up, wishing to have something, things of the material world.

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 The First Makuya Meeting I Attended

 

 After getting married, I had a small business in Pirapó. One day, Mrs. Hosokawa, one of my neighbors there, invited me to a Makuya meeting, saying, "Sai-chan (my nickname), don’t you want to come to my house? I have a meeting with a few people." I attended the meeting, because I thought I should go wherever God would be. Three to four people gathered at the meeting. Sitting there, I saw how they were praying. Everybody was crying with tears. I felt the prayer was completely different from that of the Catholic church. Then, I said that this was genuine. But at that time, I was 30, and thought, "I don't want to join Makuya now. Because I'm young, I’d rather have more fun in this world. I have many other things to do. When I get older, I will go to Makuya before I die."

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  When I was 37, I sent my husband to work in Japan to bring home more money. That way we could have a life of luxury. In the following year when my husband was working in Japan, I lived in Encarnación with my two children. When I was invited to the Holy Convocation in 1989, I was 38 years old.  

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At first, I did not want to go. But a week before the convocation, when I was watching the movie Ben-Hur, in which his mother was cured of leprosy with the blood of Christ carried by the rain, I got a feeling: “If I go to the Holy Convocation, something will happen to me. God will change me.” So, I decided to participate. After that, pressed by something, I started cleaning the whole house, because I felt like I would be coming back cleaned. I even had my long hair cut.

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 The Holy Convocation

 

  On the night before the day of our departure for the Holy Convocation, Mrs. Seiko Tanikawa told me that we should leave at 3 am to go to the Holy Convocation in Foz de Iguazu. Since I had never gotten up so early, I said that if I could not wake up, I would not go. But as my eyes opened just before three, there was no excuse to refuse anymore.

             

In the Holy Convocation of South America, people from Japan also attended. When all arrived, they embraced each other with joy of meeting. Since I was not a Makuya member,

my children and I were only staring at them. I said, "How barbaric! Why are they so happy?"

             

At that night, there was a meeting for those participating for the first time. Rev. Seiji Kadowaki who came from Japan, and Mrs. Yukiko Numata, the wife of the evangelist then in Asunción, also participated in the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, we were asked to introduce ourselves and to tell why we participated. Since I would not usually speak in front of people because I was shy, I did not know what to talk about. When my turn came, I said, "I came here, but to tell the truth, I didn't want to, but I'm already here." Then, Rev. Kadowaki said, "I did not want to come from Japan, either. But we came here, because God called the name of each one of us. That is why we are here." And then, I did not know what happened to me, but I started crying. When Rev. Kadowaki said to me, "Tomorrow night, something miraculous will happen." At that moment, however, I did not understand what he said.

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 Receiving the Blood of Christ

 

  On the following day, people were singing and dancing, because in the Holy Convocation people come together, dance, sing and praise God. At night, the Spiritual Training Meeting was held with Rev. Kadowaki’s guidance. We repeatedly read the Bible and prayed there. As we were sitting on the ground (like the Japanese), I was tired. I thought, "How can I bear? I cannot stand it this way." That is why I started praying as other people who were praying on their knees. I prayed, "God, you invited me here. If I do not meet you now, I do not know what else to do." At that moment, I felt something like an electricity coming in from my finger, and then, came a wind which threw me to the ground, and kept me lying down like a cross. I felt like I was not myself anymore. I felt something moving inside my belly. Then, Rev. Kadowaki prayed. Everyone was singing and praying. When the meeting was over, everyone left there. My friend said to me, "Sai-chan, wake up." But Rev. Kadowaki said to her, "Don't touch her." I could listen and feel everything that was happening around me, but I could not control my body. Mrs. Hosokawa, who first invited me to Makuya, started massaging me. For two hours I was on the ground, unable to move as if I were anesthetized. I started to get up little by little as if the anesthesia was wearing off, and I came to my senses. When I finally got up, my roommate said to me, "Congratulations!" But I did not know why she told me that.

             

 Afterwards, I took a bath and went to bed. When I was lying down, tears began to flow thickly. It seemed I was cleansed from everything. When the morning came, I felt as if I were in another world; all that mattered to me such as study, money, this and that were no longer in me. God took them all away from me. I felt that the things I had wanted had no value in eternal life. I felt that death was the best hope to me. Although we live or fight for this world, when our flesh ends, we leave everything in this world. The important thing is to prepare for the eternal world where God is. It was the hope that sprung up from within.

             

 At breakfast time, I asked Rev. Kadowaki, "What happened to me?" Rev. Kadowaki answered, "You received the blood of Jesus Christ." (tears)

With love for people welling up from within, I wanted to hug everyone. A deep love came up from my belly. God completely changed me. After that, I could not sleep without the Bible anymore. I wanted to go here and there to testify that God lives. So, I looked like someone crazy for God. At that time, my mother said I was crazy, and I did not want to come near to her house. But in the end, she went to Makuya, and now my dad did too.

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 Leaving My Ego

 

 In the book of John 3:6, there is a verse that says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." As this verse suggests, now I could read the Bible and feel God. I could not pray in words, but only in front of God and with tears, and I have prayed this way for a long time. Up to now, I have thanked God, because He changed my life.

             

 Today at this Pentecost meeting as well, I want to receive this life. I still have a very strong ego, but I want to be changed more and more. I thank God. Thank you very much.

                                              

                                             (Makuya Pentecost Meeting in Paraguay, 2020)

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