In search of fellowship

Making friends in Japan can be a difficult and frustrated process especially for a foreigner and even harder for a foreigner who isn't fluent in the language. While I can hold various conversations and speak enough to usually comfortably make it through each day, I am not on the level to really keep a conversation going and throw in the fact that the Japanese can already be extremely difficult to get to know anyway you can see my dilemma. So when I do make a friend that I actually see at least semi regularly I am quite thankful for that blessing.

Now what's even harder is finding fellowship which as a Christian is something I seek and desperately need. I once heard this definition of fellowship and I liked it. Can't remember where it came from to give it its due credit.

Fellowship: Two or more people sharing in the same struggle.

For me a huge struggle amongst many other things would be living in Japan as a Christian in a country that has 1% Christian population. I love all my friends but Christians know there are many things that you just cant relate to and share with someone unless they have the same Christian thinking/struggles as you. I imagine in the real big cities it wouldn't be so hard to find fellowship but the Christian population gets thinner in the smaller areas and those that do exist tend to be much much older. Fellowship with older people is great too because it usually means they are wiser, but everyone needs someone around their age as well to experience their walk in Christ with. I've manage to find those even my age but then the problem of living in another country rears its head. For the most part they don't speak much English and I don't speak enough Japanese/Korean/Chinese. It's hard to break the ice considering that problem a long with the overtly shyness of a lot of Asians.

For the majority of my life I had no fellowship and was quite weak as a Christian. 5 years ago that all changed when I moved to San Francisco for study and then when I moved back to my home town St.Louis. Now I am in Japan and I can feel the effect of not having what I had. For now I continue searching for fellowship and churches, and as always pray. I admit I can get frustrated by the failure I have been having but I've failed enough times to know God won't fail me, so I look to this verse for comfort and hope.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philipp 4.6-7

Any close friend would be great. Fellowship with a friend would be awesome.



Here is a good website thrown in for good measure
http://www.biblica.com/