Hide's Dream
Hide (pronounced HEE-day) awoke with a start. What a strange dream! He sat
up in his bed, thinking about the dream he had during the night.
He dreamed that he saw a man with black skin. The man called to him and
said, “Come here.”
Hide was only nine years old, and he had never seen a man like that before.
Because of his dream, he became very interested in Afro-Americans. He
wanted to learn more about those people.
Hide began to listen to hip-hop music and to rap music. He began to learn
English by listening to the lyrics in the songs. He began to dress like the
dancers and rappers he saw on MTV. He even began to dream about becoming
a DJ someday and entertaining friends with his favorite music.
Over the years, Hide grew up and went to college. There he saw some Afro-Americans break-dancing on his college campus. He walked up to watch more
closely. When he approached, someone gave him a flyer about a meeting with
the people from America.
Curious, Hide went to the meeting. He discovered that it was a missions group
of college students who came from America to tell the Japanese people about
Jesus. Hide liked the Americans, especially one Afro-American named Justin.
To Hide’s amazement, Justin looked just like the man in the dream he had so
many years ago. He had always remembered that dream of the man with black
skin telling him to “Come.”
Hide spent a long time talking with Justin and the others. They especially
talked about the differences between Black Islam and Christianity. At one time,
Hide had read a book about Malcolm X and had thought about becoming a
Black Muslim. Before meeting the Christian college students and hearing their
stories, he thought that was the most inspirational book he had ever read.
However, after learning that Christianity is based on God’s love for people,
Hide changed his mind. After having many such discussions for two weeks,
Justin finally asked Hide if he wanted to become a Christian.
Usually Japanese people don’t make serious decisions so quickly. But Hide’s
dream convinced him that these people spoke the truth. The dream that he
had when he was nine helped to break down the barriers he might have felt
toward these foreigners and the things they were saying. Hide accepted Jesus
into his heart and became a believer.
Because there are so few Christians in Japan, Japanese people often feel afraid
to tell others about their faith. Sometimes they are pressured by friends and
family members to give up their faith in Jesus Christ. However, three weeks
after the American student left Japan, Hide boldly gave his testimony to other
Japanese students who met for a weekly Bible study.
Information for this story was provided by missionary Susan Ricketts and is
used with permission from Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2008 The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce and adapt lesson components for exclusive use in the local church. Any other use requires written permission. |
