Richard & Candy Yim
In the spring of 2007, we had been ministering in Kyoto for six years, when the WEC Japan base requested us to help a church affiliated with WEC in Nara, about 50km away. If we moved there, we would have to let go of many things, such as ministry, friends, our children’s schooling arrangements, etc. It would be like starting from zero – easier said than done!
So we sat down as a family, including our four children, and talked about the possible move. They said they would like a big house, four toilets and a yard to play in. During our time in Kyoto, they used to play in a car park, which was rather dangerous. Candy said that, since she did not cycle or drive, it would be better if our new home was close to the children’s school. For Richard, his prayer was for affordable rent, and with no ‘gift’ required. In Japanese culture, it is a practice for the landlord to expect a monetary ‘gift’ as a token of appreciation for renting out their house. All these were our requests to God by faith; now we just had to trust Him to lead.
About two months later, the pastor of the church in Nara called to say that there was a house available for us to consider. We went to have a look at it. It was an old traditional Japanese house with a backyard and four toilets! The children were really excited to see that God answered their prayers. The school and kindergarten were also within walking distance. We met up with the landlord, who said that the church had been praying for a co-worker. All our requests to God were fulfilled, including the rental amount, and no ‘gift’ needed. This was a confirmation from God to move to Nara to start a new chapter of ministry.
During the school summer break, we packed and moved to Nara. The Lord used this house to bless the neighbourhood for the sake of the gospel: we started new ministries, such as children’s fellowship, youth ministry, and held events there. Our family really enjoyed our life in Nara too.