<Begin Segment 14>

[Translated from Japanese]

KS: So, why did you decide to become a Christian?

TT: Well when I was living in [inaudible], every day I would say to myself, "How can I heal this painful feeling, how can I, how can I, how can I?" So for about two years I was depressed because I wasn't happy. I couldn't work. My husband was ill. There was nowhere to go. No way out. There was only one place I could turn to. I realized I could only turn to God. Someone from the Hollywood Independent Church took me to the Godo Church, in Japantown. That's where Christianity started in Los Angeles. We had a centennial celebration. During the celebration, there was a three-day long missionary assembly. I was taken there by someone from the Hollywood Church, and then a priest named Reverend Kawamoto was chosen and came there from New York. And then he showed me an image of Jesus. And then I went home, and at that time, I didn't know what to pray for. All I knew was that I wanted to escape from my pain. So I did some prayer I didn't understand. It was about one in the morning. I wondered what time it was, and I looked, and it was about 1 a.m. And I saw an image of Jesus and words, "Holy Spirit." When I got up early in the morning, I looked around and saw a bright light which I had never seen before. And then, the green color was such a beautiful green. What I saw was different from what I'd seen. And from then on, I became very cheerful. I'm sure I had such an unhappy face until then. But from then on, I've become so cheerful and happy.

KS: That's wonderful. What was your religion before you became a Christian?

TT: I didn't really have a religion.

KS: So you weren't really religious --

TT: I wasn't really religious... it's just my parents. They were Buddhists. My aunt would go to a temple and chant a sutra in front of a Buddhist statue. And back then, we would go and sit behind her and listen to the chant. But at the time, I knew nothing about Christianity.

KS: What did your family think when you converted to Christianity? Did your siblings or parents --

TT: Because my husband was still sick, the minister from Hollywood would take me to visit my husband. We were very grateful.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.