One day, out of the blue, I received a telephone call from the office of the ambassador of a certain country. What’s more, I was informed that the ambassador himself wanted to speak with me. During our conversation I learned that he had been requested to contact me to see if I could be of help to a Canadian who was coming to Japan to receive treatment for an incurable illness. The Canadian, who was an acquaintance of the ambassador, did not know any Japanese people in Tokyo. He had heard about me from an American missionary working in Thailand and asked the ambassador to try to get in touch with me. The Canadian was a physician who had spent many years in Southeast Asia serving the people through medicine. His admirable service had been lauded in the home country of the ambassador also. With the help of many others, I was able to arrange for a place for him to stay while he was receiving treatment and also make arrangements to help with his care. A few days after the call, I accompanied the ambassador to Narita Airport to meet him. He has since come to Japan several times to receive treatment, and even while he battled the disease, he worked with great dedication to help many orphans right up until the time he was called home to be with the Lord.
The missionary who told the Canadian about me has been working in Asia for nearly 50 years and is currently serving in Thailand as a spiritual mentor for people from many different countries. The Canadian had also been mentored by that missionary. I will never forget my first encounter with the missionary. It was during the time when I was still living in Singapore. One day an older man suddenly walked into my office. He shouted out, ‘Mr. Ohtawa! Is Mr. Ohtawa here?’
I greeted him, evidencing my surprise at his sudden appearance and he explained, ‘I have come to minister in Singapore and someone in Thailand told me that I must meet Ohtawa.’ After a time of fellowship, we parted with his promise to come to see me again before he returned to Thailand. When we met again several weeks later, we shared together about our spiritual journeys. I shared with him the experience I wrote about in the Deepening Conversion article, and he shared with me about a similar quiet experience of the Holy Spirit. Our ages and our backgrounds were very different, but through our fellowship we felt a sense of wonder deep in our hearts. I met him only one other time some years later in Thailand, but I have received much encouragement from him through letters.
By the way, the first encounter I had with the person who introduced me to that missionary was also an extraordinary one. It happened when I was on the way back to the Bangkok Guest House after a staff training conference for the Thai Christian student fellowship. On that particular morning during my quiet time, I felt inclined to read the Bible passage not only in Japanese, but also in English. When I finished reading, I felt led to memorize the passage in English. It was the first time I had ever felt such a compulsion. After spending quite a long time committing it to memory, I went to the cafeteria.
I sat down at a large table and while I was eating my breakfast, one, then another person joined me. Before long, we began to converse quite naturally. As I was listening to an American who was teaching in Thailand share about a very moving experience, I realized suddenly that it was for this person that I had committed to memory the scripture passage that morning. I plunged in and said to him, ‘Let me recite a passage of God’s word for you. I believe it was given to me just for you.’ And then I recited the verses.
Several weeks later, a thank you note from him was delivered. He wrote that at that time he was so surprised that he could not adequately express himself, that he had been deeply moved and that the verses I quoted were words that had in the past had a very profound meaning for him. He also said that he would like to meet me again. A few months later when I was in Singapore, I actually had an opportunity to meet him again and to hear him share about his life journey more fully; his experiences of deep suffering, his struggles and how he had experienced the great mercy of the Lord. The passage I memorized that morning was from the section we call the Magnificat:
My soul magnifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden…
For he who is mighty has done great things for me.Luke 1:46-49
Fellowship of the heart begins with responses of the heart, and so deepens, but it is extremely rare to have a response prepared before hearing what the person has to say. From that extraordinary encounter, fellowship with another person was born, and through that relationship, I was led to deep fellowship with still another person. In these seemingly chance encounters, as the ‘just happened’ experiences accumulate, we can begin to see the quiet work of the Holy Spirit.
There is a book about the Bible that is titled, ‘The Go-Between God.’ Surely the Holy Spirit joins us to God the Father, to Jesus the Son, and to one another. Heart-fellowship and spiritual companionship are in fact all gifts of the Holy Spirit. In order to receive these gifts, we need to have quiet hearts that are able to discern the Spirit’s leading, and open and receptive hearts to follow that leading. This is something I have learned by having become the friend of many different people.