Lifted Vision Ministry

Hello all! It’s God’s Missionary Aly here!
God has given me many divine encounters and opportunities to meet and speak with people and share the love of Christ with them here in Japan. This is just one story (out of many) of an encounter I had with an trans-person at a Japanese dollar store the other day (*scroll down to see a picture below*). It was definitely a divine encounter because as they looked at me, suddenly and without warning, they literally fell into my arms and gave me the biggest hug while I was holding them up. And then they held it there. At first, I thought something was wrong, but later realized, it was a divine encounter.
Before we get back to what happened, let’s take a look at the Japanese culture for context.
First of all, this is not typical in the least considering Japanese culture. To touch anyone, whether it be a pat on the back or a high five is not taken so casually and mostly only reserved for friends or family (the people closest to you). Such as this is the case, you can definitely forget about handshakes and completely forget about hugging anyone in Japan. The act of bowing replaces these gestures, and although it’s a respectful way to say many things, it is completely touch-less and keeps people at a distance by nature. I’ve even heard some Japanese people say that they have not even received a hug from their own parents and that it would be, “weird” if they ever did. Taking all of these cultural points into consideration, I believe this was a very rare and divine encounter.
This person (we never exchanged names) began sobbing in my arms. I could feel that they had some sort of emotional pain that they were dealing with and I began to pray over them in Japanese. As I began to pray over them; I let them know how much Jesus loves them; that God is with them and He is for them. I prayed for provision, safety and protection and they looked at me with tears in their eyes and just thanked me after we finished praying together. I believe they walked away feeling comforted by God and with the understanding that Jesus is watchful of their life and understands their struggles.
Was it me, no. Was it the hug, no. Was it the prayer, maybe. But overall, it was the true and living God that touched this person’s life today and made a big difference to them to know that they are loved, cared for and seen by their heavenly Father.
As I sometimes see this person around town, I look forward to investing more into their life and checking in on them should the Lord allow the opportunity.

-Matthew 10:42-
“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”