As in many hospitals around the world, Momoru said the hospital where he works near Tokyo, Japan, has felt “more like a battlefield than a place of care.”
Facing patient deaths, a lack of supplies, and feelings that the coronavirus waves will never end, Momoru has been second-guessing his career path.
“‘Why am I even doing this?’ I often asked myself after a long shift at the hospital,” Momoru admitted.
Yet every work shift, he chooses to return to the battlefield. Messages from ReFrame Ministries’ Japanese outreach are giving him the hope he needs to do that. (ReFrame Ministries is the new name of Back to God Ministries International.)
Momoru takes a train to the hospital. During his commute, he faithfully listens to God's Word on his phone along with the devotional messages from ReFrame.
The messages help Momoru see how God has called him to serve in the hospital during the worst pandemic of our lifetime.
“The Word teaches me how to spend each day,” Momoru said.
As the pandemic worsened, Momoru was surprised to discover that he wasn’t the only one listening to the programs. Patients and fellow hospital workers were reading and listening too. While Christians in Japan are few and far between, the messages are providing regular reminders of God’s good news.
Momoru said he is not a Christian yet despite his regular meditation in God’s Word, but he and many people like him are asking important questions as a result of COVID-19. He is considering attending church again when the pandemic has subsided in Japan.
This Pentecost (Sunday, May 23), people around the world will hear God’s Word in their own languages thanks to support for the Christian Reformed Church’s media ministry. Please pray that people like Momoru will continue to seek God’s Word as they look for answers in difficult times.
About the Author
Brian Clark, ReFrame Ministries
