Crunchy Chopsticks & New Soccer Balls

“Hello, class! Konnichiwa (ko-nee-chee-wha).”

Every head in the Kids’ Club room turned toward the door. “It’s Mrs. Jacobs!” the kids all shouted. “She’s back from Japan!”

Mrs. Jacobs shuffled into the room wearing her Japanese kimono, a beautiful, flowered robe. She smiled. “I’m so glad to be able to visit you today. I have something very important to share with you.”

Everyone settled down to listen to Mrs. Jacobs. She had been their Kids’ Club leader for a long time until she and her husband moved to Japan to teach English and help start a church.

“Are you going to be our teacher again?” Jessie asked hopefully.

“No, Jessie,” Mrs. Jacobs replied. “God has given me a new home in Japan and an important job of sharing the gospel with people in our new neighborhood.”

“Have you met any kids like us?” asked Emily.

“Oh, yes! And there are two kids I especially want to tell you about.”

“What are their names?” Jeremy asked.

“Let me start at the beginning.” Mrs. Jacobs shared what it was like to live in Japan. Then she told about her job as an English teacher. “I have many students,” she said, “and they’re all very kind—even when I make mistakes by using the wrong Japanese words.”

“Like what?” Justin asked curiously.

“Oh, like the time when I accidently said that I eat chopsticks. I meant to say that I like to use chopsticks when I eat, but I said that I eat them.”

“Chopsticks would be really crunchy!” said Jeremy.

“Yeah! Crunch—crunch—crunch.” Justin pretended to chomp on wood, making everyone laugh.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Jacobs. “Well, they helped me correct my mistake.”

“What about the church you’re helping with?” Jessie asked. “Do you have Kids’ Club there, too?”

“Actually, we do have a small group of kids who study the Bible together,” Mrs. Jacobs explained. “But there aren’t too many people in our church yet.”

“How come there aren’t very many?” asked Emily.

“Many people in Japan have other beliefs that don’t include the Bible, so they don’t know about Jesus. Let me tell you about two boys in my neighborhood. One is named Haru. He’s 10 years old and has an older brother, Riku. Haru is in my English class. One day, he asked me why I always seemed to be happy. I told him that Jesus gives me joy. Haru wanted to know more, so I invited him to church where he could hear about Jesus from the Bible.”

“Did he come?” asked one of the kids.

“Yes, he did,” Mrs. Jacobs replied. “He told me that he loved coming to church, but his brother, Riku, always laughed at him and said mean things.”

“Doesn’t Riku like his brother?” asked Jessie.

“I think Riku didn’t understand who Jesus was, so he teased Haru all the time. He laughed at him and even told him that he couldn’t be part of the family anymore if he believed in Jesus. Haru was very sad, and one day he told me he might have to quit coming to church.”

“Oh no! How come?” asked Emily.

“Well, Riku’s friends started to bully Haru whenever he walked to church, and Haru was getting scared.”

“That’s awful!” the kids exclaimed.

“When Mr. Jacobs found out, he started walking with Haru. This made the other kids jealous. You see, they all think Mr. Jacobs is pretty great because they’ve seen him play soccer in the neighborhood park.”

“He is a great soccer player,” said Jeremy. “He taught me some cool soccer moves.”

“Yes,” Mrs. Jacobs continued. “So, he told the boys that anyone was welcome to walk with him and Haru. And if they came into church and listened, he would play soccer with them afterwards.”

“That’s a good idea!” Justin exclaimed.

“Riku thought so, too. Soon he and all his friends were walking with Haru and Mr. Jacobs to church. And now, Haru, Riku, and five friends come to our Kids’ Club every week to study the Bible—and play soccer.”

“Do they believe in Jesus now?” Jessie asked. “Yes, most of them do, including Haru and Riku. Because Haru kept coming to church even when he was afraid, Riku could see that it was very important to him. Then when he heard the truth about Jesus, he knew he had been wrong to persecute his brother. Now the two of them are best buddies. They’ve told their parents about Jesus, and the whole family comes to our church.”

The kids all clapped and cheered.

Jessie raised her hand. “Mrs. Jacobs, is there anything we can do to help your church grow?”

“That’s so kind of you to ask. You can all pray for the kids in our neighborhood. I would love to see each of them come to church. Those that do come enjoy playing soccer afterwards, but we really need more soccer equipment.”

“Hey!” Jeremy shouted. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s ask Coach Martin to help us get some soccer balls and pumps and stuff.”

“We could tell other people in our church,” Justin suggested. “Maybe they could help us earn some money to send soccer supplies back with the Jacobs.”

“That sounds marvelous!” said Mrs. Jacobs. “Thanks so much, kids! As Haru and Riku would say in Japanese, ‘arigato’ (ah-ree-gah-toh).”

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