More than having fun together, though, we really want to offer these families more...we want them to experience all the blessings in knowing Christ. We teach the Bible, sing songs, and hopefully show God's love to them, but still, there is a long way to go before people understand the Gospel. How can we get there?
It can be a long process in Japan, but just today, the leaders of the Kid's Brown decided to take some tangible steps. Over the next six months, we will do a series on Biblical Parenting. I (amy) will teach three times over five months, and then in June we'll have a seminar with a well-known speaker on this topic. Our hope is to not only teach practical parenting skills, but to show how a knowledge and relationship with God is the source of good parenting.
I know that many young moms in Japan today have a great desire to learn how to parent well. They are confused by the many schools of thought out there. Side by side on the shelves in bookstores everywhere, are books with completely opposite philosophies on how to raise kids. So I am often asked questions by these moms...and to be honest, I am sometimes surprised at how basic their questions are. I know this confusion is in part driven by a strong desire to do it right--to really do a good job with their kids.
For me, I think I would also be unsure if Wayne and I weren't trying to base our parenting on God's Word. There may be many schools of thought, and those change as the times change, but God's Word never changes, and it's a solid foundation of truth on which to base our lives. That's our only hope in raising our kids. And that is also where we receive the grace and mercy needed when we blow it, which happens quite regularly.
So I am excited about this opportunity. I've taught child rearing many times in Japan, but this time it's being initiated by women in the church who want to share the Gospel with all of these young families God has brought our way. That's exciting! And I believe we will see God work, for the glory of his name!
