As I finished high school I started to work for an Italian priest at achurch. I was helping with his Japanese studies, and also preparing meals.One day the priest gave me a brochure with photographs of nuns and motherscarrying their babies. One morning two nuns came to church for communion onthe day that the priest was absent. We invited the nuns to breakfast and Iremember preparing breakfast filled with excitement. I remembered they werethe nuns from the brochure. Fortunately I had a chance to talk to them andtell them about my interest in becoming a nun and asked how to prepare.Immediately they asked me when, I told them I would like to leave myparents' house on May 31st. May is the month of mother Mary and I would liketo join the convent on June 1st as June is the month of Secret Heart. When Iwent home that evening I confessed to my mother my desire to join theconvent in Fukuoka prefecture on June 1st. My mother stopped talking to methat night but never exp!ressed her opinion. She also refused to receive a small amount of my salary I earned from the church so I saved it for dowry.
As the day came closer the priest told me that he would like to come with meto Fukuoka however he could not leave his church on June 1st because it wasa Sunday. On June 1st I left my home town for Fukuoka. My mother, aunt and neighbor came alongwith me to the station to say good bye but my father did not. My fatherseemed to know my wish to enter the convent, but did not say anything. Asthe train left the station and I lost sight of my family and friends. I sawfields of wheat shinning like gold but I could not stop crying. I soonunderstood the harvest is near "The harvest is large, but there are fewworkers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will sendout workers to gather in his harvest."( 9:37-38) As I remembered the phrasefrom the Bible I was cheered looking forward to my new life. I was releasedfrom the pain to leave my parents as I told myself I was heading to work forthe Lord in his fields.