wfn.org | Growing toward faith

[BethAH@mbm.org]

December 6, 2000
Beth Hawn
Communications Coordinator
Mennonite Board of Missions
phone (219) 294-7523
fax (219) 294-8669
<www.MBM.org>

December 6, 2000

Growing toward faith: Takuya Tamura (Advent 2)

KITAMI, Japan (MBM/COM) – On Nov. 7, 1999, nine people gathered
for worship at Kitami Mennonite Church, a now 13-year-old
congregation on the northern island of Hokkaido.  The seven
adults present shared their first impressions of church,
Christians and what led them to faith.  It was “thinking about
baptism” month, as the congregation worked to answer the
questions of its newest participant about the meaning of baptism.

The congregation is a family to each other.  Their numbers are
small, but they are determined to continue together in
fellowship.  “Even the little handful that we are, to gather
together and know that we are met by God is a gift … worth any
price,” said Mary Beyler, a mission worker in Kitami since 1988,
appointed by Mennonite Board of Missions and the Commission on
Overseas Mission.  She has served in Japan since 1974.

In this second story of a four-part series, Takuya Tamura shares
his story.  A self-assured yet humble man, he moves comfortably
between his roles as  professor, father, husband and brother in
the church.  He shares reflectively.

Takuya Tamura wanted to find a faith of his own, not just accept
the faith of his parents. He was born into a Buddhist family of
milliners.  “We were a relatively faithful Buddhist family,” he
said.  Up until first grade, his family went to the Buddhist
temple for special occasions.  He also remembers that the
Buddhist priest came once a month to visit his relatives who
lived nearby.  He can’t remember clearly when he first attended a
Christian church.

In 1964, when Tamura was 6 years old, his infant brother died
within a week of birth.  The local Buddhist priest conducted the
funeral.  “The Buddhist temple was a frightening place for a
child,” he said.  He also remembers the Buddhist altar that was
placed in his home because of the death.  “We burned incense.  I
didn’t like the smell.”

Sometime after that, Tamura’s family moved away from Buddhism
toward Christianity, but the steps were not obvious to him at the
time.  “Several years later, I remember going to a church for a
Christmas program,” he said.  He doesn’t know if his parents had
become Christians at that point.

After a few more years, he knew clearly that both of his parents
were strong believers.  When Tamura was 14 years old, his family
gave up hat-selling so his father could become a full-time
pastor.  “We moved to a different city, and we lived in the
church,” he said.  He attended Sunday worship every week.

“During junior high and high school years, many children rebel
against their parents.  I’m amazed now that I continued to go to
church,” he said.

It was the people who kept him there.  “The church people were
kind.  I wanted to see them.  I enjoyed spending time with
them.”  At high school, he was surprised to learn that he had
several Christian classmates.  “They were admirable, respected,
intelligent students, and they were Christian.”  These classmates
also influenced him to remain connected to the church.

“For me, as a child, the temple was a dark, fearsome place,” he
said.  “But the church was a place of light, with friendly
people.  The temple was a place to go just with family and
relatives, where you don’t know the priest.  At the church, there
were many different people, interesting people, to meet.

“In my childhood, Marvin and Mary Alene Miller and Charles and
Ruth Shenk were nearby.  When I was a teenager, the Ralph and
Genny Buckwalter family was nearby.  During my 20s, Marvin and
Neta Faye Yoder, Norman and Ruth Kraus, and Wesley and Sue
Richard were nearby.  After moving to Kitami, Mary Beyler is
here.  [MBM] missionaries have always been with me on my walk of
faith.”

He couldn’t say exactly when he decided to receive baptism
because he was part of the church every week.  He knows the
people at church influenced him, as did large evangelistic
meetings he attended.  It was important to him to know that he
hadn’t simply accepted the faith of those around him out of
respect, but that he truly had faith of his own.

He was baptized during his first year of high school.  MBM worker
Ralph Buckwalter performed the baptism.  “I didn’t feel like
anything that wonderful or special had happened, but the church
people were crying as if it was an important moment,” he said.

“Looking back, it was a big event because it was the beginning of
a life of faith with mountains and valleys.  Some valleys have
included not going to church very often, but even with the
valleys there were also mountains to bring me back up.”

Now a professor of psychology, Takuya faithfully attends Kitami
Mennonite Church with his wife, Aoi, their daughter, Naomi, and
their son, Kazuki.  The Tamuras often welcome Mary Beyler into
their home as a friend to Takuya and Aoi, and an aunt to the
children.

* * *

Bethany Swope       PHOTO AVAILABLE