By Akiko Beville
Columbia, SC

By the grace of God, I know God who is the creator and truth. I was born and raised by traditional Buddhists in Kyoto, the city which is highest hierarchy of Buddhist tradition. I never heard about the Lord, Jesus Christ, the savior. God’s plan is a mystery. By being able to come to the US, I was able to find incomparable joy in Christ.

I married an American officer whom I met at work. We married 53 years ago and came to the US in June of 1952. My husband, Billy, is from Florida. He took me to church in his home state where I could hear about Jesus Christ. At that time I could not understand English well and could not read the Bible well yet, but we attended church with our small children. At a revival service, I realized I was a sinner and Jesus is my savior. I accepted Jesus as my savior, but I was still a baby Christian and could not be mature.

Twenty eight years ago, a Japanese pastor, Rev. Watanabe, who was studying at Columbia Bible College), taught us a Bible class in Japanese. I still remember that I was deeply moved by singing hymns and studying the Bible in Japanese. Even though I was not a mature Christian for a long time, Jesus did not forsake me. Now I could understand that the Father, God, and Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the Trinity. Through the trinity I could understand and appreciate God’s love, patience, and endurance.

I have gone to Woodfield Baptist Church for 44 years. I faced the possibility of my death from a serious disease and experienced a lot of family difficulty, but my sisters and brothers in Jesus gave prayers and encouragement to me. This was because of God’s guidance.

I believe in the repentance of sin and the cross of Jesus. I hope to follow His word from the Bible, and I am attending worship, Sunday school and praising the Lord now.

Because of the kind offering from the American church to the international church, we can meet the fourth Sunday afternoon in Columbia and have Japanese worship. We enjoy the worship and the fellowship. Most of us belong to English-speaking churches too, but the Japanese service is closer to our hearts because we understand the language better. We can mature as Christians as we study in our heart language.

We appreciate the prayers and offerings by sisters and brothers in Christ for the salvation of Japanese people. There are many people in our area who do not know Jesus Christ. I want to spread the gospel so they will accept God, and I can go to heaven with them.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. (I Corinthians. 15:10)

Written October 2005

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