Compelled to translate
Early this year two devotional books for teens were published, the first of their type in Japan. This is the story of how it came about.
I grew up in Monzen, a tiny traditional Japanese village on the Noto Peninsula. Monzen is home to the Sojiji Temple which used to be one of the most important temples of Zen Buddhism in Japan. After WW2 Clifford Leonard, who had been an American soldier in Japan, devoted his life to be a missionary to the rural area of Noto. My father became one of the first Christ-followers in Noto through Mr. Leonard. And so the highly unlikely thing came to pass: I grew up in a Christian home.
Arthur Hollands was a speaker at one of our church camps and he challenged us to give our lives fully to Christ. I felt called and ended up serving with OM, later with the Swiss Alliance Mission, and now with OMF.
Five years ago I was in Hawaii to visit some friends and to run the Honolulu Marathon. At the same time, I was praying that God would show me where I should focus my energy during the next stage of my life. It was there, in a Christian bookstore, that I came across a devotional book for girls written by Carolyn Larsen. I was touched by the author’s straightforward language. Her ability to apply the Bible to everyday life in a simple but meaningful way really spoke to me.
That’s when I started dreaming of having this book translated into Japanese. As my own children are teenagers I felt it would be wonderful if they, together with many other teenagers in Japan, could connect their world to the world of the Bible. It was my wish that this devotional book would function as a “door opener” to the Bible and help young people to grow as disciples of Christ.
My desire to get this book translated grew even more when I discovered that there was absolutely nothing similar on the Japanese market. I started translating the book without knowing if any publisher would ever have any interest in publishing it.
I wondered how Japanese teenagers would feel about these devotions, so I printed some of the translated material just for internal use at our church. Seeing the reaction, not only of our teenagers, but also of their mums, really encouraged me. Many told me that the text really spoke to them. This encouraged me to continue translating the book.
We approached Word of Life Press and were surprised when they told me last year that they would like to publish not only the devotional book for girls, but also the one for boys. Four stressful months followed as I worked to complete the translation.
It’s my desire to see people of all ages impacted by the Word of God and to have a growing desire to read and to apply God’s word to their own lives. I pray that the two books will be God’s tools to touch young people’s hearts with his love and vision for their lives!
To view a 30 minute interview (in Japanese) with Yoko (CGNTV) go to https://goo.gl/XrTDnD
Photos provided by the author