The invitation for me to the religious life has been a continuation of the invitation to the baptism, and I could see the plan of God very naturally. I am here today thanks to the infinite patience of God and the prayers of everyone, and I have been guided by much holy grace like a thin thread within me.
When I was little, it was my great joy to visit my grandfather living in city, and play with the neighbor Takako. She had music instruments such as organ and “koto”, and she let me touch them also.
One day, when we were playing out on the street, looking at cars going by, I suddenly saw a tower with a cross on top, shining in the sun-set. I asked my friend “What was that ?” She replied “ That’s Amen-kindergarten ! A place where only Amen-people can go !” We were around the age of kindergarten, and that was when I decided that I would go to one of those !
Time passed through the war and defeat, and finally peace came back.
Around that time I wanted to become a teacher in a grammar school.
One day near Christmas, a friend invited me to go to church with her.
It reminded me of the conversation with my friend Takako many years ago, and I was surprised to find out that the tower I saw with the cross was the church ! I could make my first step into the church, not as a kindergarten child but as a grown-up.
My curiosity about the Christianity became a firm desire and a longing.