Kim, Gavin, and Hide in Japan: Nozomi Means Hope

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This morning we woke up to dark skies and drops of rain, but amidst the dreary backdrop we entered a bright and hope-filled place called Café Mon Ami (My Friend). We were greeted by Cynthia Ruble, the founder of Life Hope Network. In her South Carolinian accent, she poured out her heart regarding why she started this ministry twelve years ago.

She was driven by a specific question: if a woman in Japan has an unwanted pregnancy, whom does she turn to? This question awoke a desire in Cythia to walk alongside who would otherwise have to walk alone through this difficult season..

Life Hope Network’s main focus is to offer homestays for these future mothers. There is room for three other ladies in Cynthia’s home. In this up-close, day-to-day setting Cynthia points these ladies to Jesus Christ. The hope is that each these ladies will give birth to her baby. Some will keep their baby and become a single mother, while others will give their child up for adoption.

Life Hope Network also ministers to women through a telephone hotline and e-mails. These two ways of communication allow for ladies to reach out for help during an unwanted pregnancy. These interactions may last for ten to fifteen minutes, but in those few moments, Cynthia must provide the most pressing reasons why this woman should not get an abortion.

There has been a sharp rise in calls and emails from women who had an abortion and are looking for help. This multi-session ministry over email is challenging. How do you help a woman who is facing such a weight of guilt? Cynthia and the other counselors point the women to Christ and His gospel. Some want to hear more, but many others don’t.

And the last area for this ministry is their café. It is at this café where the ministry provides an opportunity to help some of the homestay women while at the same time trying to be the fragrance of Christ to the neighborhood. The main café manager lives next door and has a heart to help these mothers.

During the week, the cafe is filled with the normal conversations that you’d expect to occur at any coffee shop. However, each Sunday, those conversations are transformed into voices of worship as the cafe becomes a church, Nozomi Chapel.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”7218″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”7217″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As you can imagine, this is a rich and rewarding ministry, but also draining and gut-wrenching. Is the Lord calling you to be the voice for the voiceless by counseling these mothers? To learn more about Life Hope Network’s ministry, visit their website.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for Life Hope Network:
  • More homestays
  • Counselors to help field calls and in post-adoption counseling
  • More people coming to the café
  • Finances for the ministry
• Continue to pray that the students who are taking the two seminars are learning how the gospel impacts their work.
• Pray for the non-Christians who attended the evening seminar on Tuesday, will also attend on Thursday. May God open their hearts to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

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