Episode 76: An uncommon life; living for Jesus in Japan with Katsuya + Miki Iida
We have a very special episode of The Stories Collective to share with you! Our host Sarah Schalow recently returned from a two-week mission trip serving in Osaka, Japan with J-House Church. Desert Springs has been able to foster a relationship with this church through the efforts of our Missions Pastor Jamie Engram. As a church we had sent teams of young adults for four consecutive years before coronavirus forced a hiatus. It was such a joy to be able to return for the first time since 2019! On July 25, 2023, Sarah sat down in person with Pastor Katsuya and Miki Iida to talk with them about their lives and how the Lord led them to start J-House Church. Katsuya was raised in Osaka about 20 minutes south of where J-House is now. His mother was saved when he was a young boy, and he had some exposure to church and the Christian life growing up which is very uncommon in Japan. Though he had somewhat of a Christian community he did not come to know the Lord until he moved to Canada for school. He describes living alone in Canada as a very lonely time in his life where he really began to question the purpose of his life. This experience eventually led him to place his faith and trust in Jesus. He then moved to California to pursue a Master of Divinity where he and Miki eventually met. Miki was born in the countryside of Kyushu which is about 400 miles away from Osaka. She did not have any Christian influence in her life growing up and it wasn't until she moved to California for school that she began to hear the Gospel and be around Christians. She did not immediately come to the know the Lord but after a few years her heart began to soften, and she placed her trust in Jesus. Shortly after this Katsuya and Miki began dating and eventually married when they were 27 years old in 1997. This would begin a marriage and partnership that would lead to starting J-House in Osaka just two years later. They were feeling led to be missionaries to their own people, to share the Gospel with people who were living in darkness. How do you start a church in a country that is less than 1% Christian? J-House began in Katsuya and Miki's apartment with its members being Katsuya, Miki and Katsuya's mother. You'll hear how J-House grew from three people to now a thriving community of close to 200 believers. As Katsuya describes it was one by one. Often times over the course of years. Not large groups but individuals who came to know who Jesus is and were forever changed. You'll hear so much about Katsuya and Miki's faith journeys, how they adopted their twin boys, how the Lord has blessed J-House, what ministry looks like in Japan and so much more.
J-House Church: https://www.jhouse.tv/English/
Support J-House Church: https://www.jhouse.tv/questions/donation/
Check out J-House on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialjhouseinsta/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
Check out J-House on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JHouseOsaka
Questions about Missions at Desert Springs? Email Pastor Jamie at james@dscchurch.com.
We’d love it if you’d share this podcast with your friends on social media and beyond. Join us next Wednesday to hear another story of God’s faithfulness!
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