Those things that find you...

...instead of the other way around.

So much of life is spent looking and searching... for someTHING, someONE, some PLACE... That sometimes we forget to stop and thank the Lord for those things that find US.


Those certain experiences, places, people, etc that find us and take us by surprise.


Like Mustard Seed Church.



I spent two long years in Ghana without a church home. In fact, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I even went to church in the months I spent in Ghana. (If not only one hand then less than two hands without a doubt.) I visited a few churches and didn't feel like I connected with any of them. Maybe I was unfairly judging them because I was looking for a transplant Dublin Baptist Church - my church in the States. Whatever the reason, real or imagined, I didn't go to church. I continued to read my Bible (almost) every day and downloaded sermons from the internet to listen to throughout the week and didn't feel like anything was missing from my walk with God. In fact, my relationship with the Lord was definitely strengthened in those two years where it was up to me to remember to read my Bible and study God's Word. Going to church in Ghana was a long, uncomfortable process for me and I made the decision to just not go.


Getting back to the US this summer after my contract in Ghana was finished, was like a breath of fresh air in terms of being able to go to church again. I missed that place and continue to miss that place. God has given Pastor Darrel such a gift and I love learning from him. So, when August came it scared me to again leave that place I felt so comfortable to come to Japan and potentially have the same problem I did in Ghana.



On my second Sunday in Nagoya, one of the other teachers took Amanda and I to Mustard Seed Church - about a 40-45 minute subway ride away. The minute I entered the building I was surrounded by smiling faces all welcoming me to the church. After learning and promptly forgetting about 10 names, the band started to play... and I knew this place was different.


Maybe the reason I felt I connected right away with this church is because music has and is such an important part of my relationship with God. The right song at the right time has always been able to make me cry or laugh or whatever. Music can be powerful and singing is a great way to connect with and worship God. At Mustard Seed, the band plays contemporary worship music - upbeat and loud so that I can sing as loud as I want!


In Ghana, one song in particular hit me hard and has stuck with me. Remember my post a few months back about the song, "God of This City?" For the rest of my life every time I hear this song I will think of Ghana. It's one of the last songs we sang all together as a group at the Wright's house for Care Group. (Oh, how I miss that!) It's a song that I still can't really listen to yet because it makes me so emotional thinking about Ghana and the awesome people there. Even now, I'm starting to tear up because this song just DOES something to me that I can't describe.

Why am I talking about this?


Well, because the very last song of the service the band played at Mustard Seed that first morning I was there was, "God of This City." They started to play the first few chords of the song and I was in shock. I could not believe that that... THAT was the song they chose to play that morning... my first morning there... my first church service in Japan... wow, God. When the song started to play, Amanda and I started laughing and crying and just couldn't believe what was happening.

God followed me to Japan. He was with me in Ghana and now He's here with me in Japan. Could there BE any clearer message? That's too great of a coincidence for it to be anything except God telling me, "This is your church. Stay here, learn about me, meet new people, this is where you belong. I'm here with you and I AM the God of THIS and EVERY city."



That was precisely the moment when Mustard Seed "found me." Loud and clear, I heard God's message and I knew that I didn't need to visit any other church in Japan because He gave me my home church. It's a gift for which I thank Him EVERY Sunday!


In a lot of ways... I feel more at home at Mustard Seed than at Dublin Baptist back in the States. That God found for me such an amazing church in a predominantly non-Christian country... is awesome. The 45 minute commute means very little to me and it's a small price to pay for what I receive in return - a chance to worship God with an amazing worship band, to learn more about God through great pastors, and enjoy friendships with all kinds of awesome people. I love the people I've met and have begun to get to know better and I hope that it all continues.


So, thank you Lord for what you've given me through Mustard Seed Church. Thank you for this place I get to go every Sunday and worship you. Thank you for all the people I get to meet and for the new friends I am making.



Love to everyone in the States :-)