My Story

I moved to Tokyo, Japan in August 2006. I finished my teaching degree at York University and basically hopped onto a plane. My first 6 months in Japan were not all I expected them to be. I loved Japan, the people, the culture, the food, everything was new and exciting. It was my social and personal life that was falling to pieces. Long story short, I eventually became homeless and jobless. With all my belongings packed into two suitcases, my bike, and my golf clubs I sat on the curb and decided to call my ex-coworkers wife! She generously offered to come and pick me up with the offer of staying at her house until I decided what I wanted to do.
I stayed there for almost 3 months. About one month into my stay I prayed my first genuine prayer to God. I was laying down on my friends futon about to sleep and I said “God, I don’t believe in you, but if you really exist I dare you to change everything about my life and if you do I will follow you wherever you want me to go.” I prayed this prayer hoping for change.
Within one week of the prayer I had a new job, a new apartment, and I met a new group of friends. I knew in my heart that God heard my prayer and was helping me out. So I decided to look for a church and give it a try. I did a Google search and found Jesus Lifehouse International Church Tokyo.
When I first entered church I was so surprised! There was a group of people welcoming me with big warm smiles, I received a chocolate and a name tag and was ushered into the main hall. It was such an easy place to make friends, very high energy and so full of peace and joy. The music was awesome, I was amazed to see a full rock band at the front with people dancing and clapping to the music. This was a different side of knowing God that I had ever seen before. The message that day was titled “Stop or GO.” Basically the message in a nutshell was “Stop and your life is what you have now OR GO forward with God, you might not know exactly what you are going to get but Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Instantly I knew that I wanted to give God a try. I knew that the life I had now was not the life I really wanted and Gods promise sound SO good. I made a commitment to Jesus that day.
Since that day Gods promise has held true in my life. Nothing has been the same. It has been a life filled with hope and dreams for an amazing future. It has not always been easy because I had to make a lot of decisions that were different from how I had previously made decisions. But making decisions with God, even if they are difficult, always leaves you with a peaceful and joyful feeling. There are so many things that are great about my life now: I am much more confident, I love being around other people, I see value in my life and in the others around me, I have found my purpose in life, I have a great relationship with my family, I have an amazing hot fun exciting marriage, I am part of an amazing growing church, I have dreams that get bigger every day, I have outstanding friends, I learned how to love, and best of all I have a relationship with Jesus!
My relationship with Jesus is the one thing I cherish most. I love spending time with God every day. I read a little bit of my bible every day and write in my journal about how I am encouraged, challenged and learning. I learned how to turn my thoughts into simple prayer and I can talk to God anytime, anywhere and it is powerful.  I have also learned how to keep my heart light and feeling whole by giving my troubles to God everyday. He helps me forgive, and he refreshes! Everyday with Jesus is exactly how he promises in Jeremiah 29:11.  I took a step of faith and gave God a try… It is the best decision I have ever made!