Inspiring Convert Story-11
"God has definitely touched my
life"
By Tomio Horie
Locale of Kawasaki, Japan
THE ONLY RELIGION I had previously known was Buddhism. I was
raised by my parents believing that freeing oneself from material
desires, a practicing Buddhist can attain nirvana or spiritual
peace. Once a Buddhist has attained nirvana, he will then be able to
use his time to improve the world. I had no idea about God
then. My idea of divinity was the statue of Buddha with his arms
folded on his lap and a beatific smile on his face. During
summertime, I would typically attend some religious rituals and
ceremonies held in Buddhist shrines or temples and participate in
local festivals.
In 1978 I married Yasuko Asai. We were
blessed with two kids named Hitomi and Yasunori. During that time,
my life was devoted to my job. I was focused on material gains, on
earning much in order to let my family enjoy a comfortable life, yet
I hardly spend time with my family. Until one day, something
unexpected came up and my wife was diagnosed with lung cancer. I
consulted different Doctors in a frantic effort to save my wife. In
the process, almost all my savings went to the payment of medical
and hospital bills. Despite all that I had done, my wife died at the
age of 44 on March 18, 1998. The loss of my wife brought a lot of
changes in my family. But despite the sorrow of losing her, life
had to go on, I had to raise my two kids alone and continue working
at the same time--being a single parent.
In 2001, I went to the Philippines where I was
introduced to the Church of Christ. I flew back to Japan to find the
Church there and I went straight to the Iglesia ni Cristo house of
worship. in Yokohama, with ardent interest in joining the Church. I
continued listening to the fundamental doctrines and regularly
attended the worship services, and slowly I was able to understand
the teaching of the Church and the truth about the words of God. I
realized that material possessions are not the most important things
man should have in order to have a happy and peaceful life. The teaching that had the biggest impact on me was the existence of
the one true God, the Father. I also appreciated and
wholeheartedly accepted the teachings of the Bible on loving and
caring for one's family, spending valuable time with your family
while at the same time working hard to provide for all their needs.
This was in sharp contrast with my past experience wherein my family
was relegated to second place because I worked so hard for the
money. These are just some of the reasons that convinced me about
the truthfulness of the teachings in the Church of Christ.
By God's grace, I was baptized on February 9,
2002. I came from a place where most people do not believe
in God, but because of His overflowing love for me, He called me to
His Church and gave me the chance to serve Him. I am truly
fortunate because the words of God guided me to become a member of
the true Church of Christ. Now I am certain of salvation. At
present, I am the 4th Head Deacon in the local congregation of
Kawasaki. I am truly thankful that God has definitely touched my
life.□
___________________
Source: January 2010, GOD'S MESSAGE, p.11
Note: Some words and phrases are in italics for emphasis.