Sachi

SACHI

"I have raised you up for this very purpose" – Exodus 9:16

We always end our bible study sessions with prayer requests and praises. On this particular Monday evening the dominant subject of these oral missives to God was Sachi. That very morning she had departed Texas for the long flight back to her home in Japan, having spent a year as a foreign exchange student in the Mansfield home of Shirley and Cecil. The genesis of our home group was the church-wide study of Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life and after three years of fulfilling fellowship, we found in Sachi our common purpose.
How did a shy seventeen year-old with no command of English become such a blessing to our group? How did we, a varied and eclectic group of adults, send her home with the knowledge that we had been a collective positive influence on her life? The answer is, of course, God.
Actually, God began working on Sachi before we ever met her. During a period of deep depression (not uncommon for teenage girls in any culture) Sachi felt an "explosion" in her chest, and she was convinced it was God talking to her. This is all the more amazing when you consider that she had been raised exclusively in a Buddhist environment. Her knowledge of Christianity was sketchy at best. In Warren’s book, it is noted that nothing matters more than knowing God’s purpose for your life. Sachi could have spent her junior year of high school in any number of places, but she was sent to Mansfield to live with Shirley and Cecil, who just happened to be members of a dynamic home study group that was more than willing to incorporate Sachi’s spiritual needs into its weekly gatherings. Coincidence? I think not!
Although she occasionally attended Sunday school, during our Monday bible studies she remained on the periphery or stayed in her room. Gradually, though, she got more comfortable around us, and she began to ask Shirley questions about God, Jesus, and Christianity. She wrote a list of twenty questions that we endeavored to answer at our next get-together. We tried our best to give honest and clear answers to someone who still had trouble with our native language. Emotions ran high, especially when Sachi related the aforementioned "explosion" story.
This young girl’s curiosity about Christianity and her desire to learn more about God has been an inspiration and a blessing to all of us. In sharing our faith with her, we have also been strengthened. Our lives were made fuller by her presence and our hearts will be emptier with her absence. We can only hope and pray that the seeds that were planted will grow to fruition…that more "explosions" will expand her knowledge and increase her yearning…that Sachi lives a life "in conformity with the purpose of His will." – Ephesians 1:11

(It's been a few years and none of us has has heard from Sachi since she went back to Japan. However, Johanna, a German foreign exchange student who lived a year with Kathy, keeps in touch with us. She was, and is, a delight - our Frau Blucher. She touched our lives and we all hope to see her again.)