Eric Brenenstuhl
Since I was young, God has been building a heart in me for the Japanese people. Through shows or books about their history, culture, architecture, language and geography to cars, anime and movies I was always finding myself being interested in something about them. Parma, Ohio (near Cleveland) didn't have many opportunities when growing up to meet people who weren't European so when I had Asian classmates I would reach out to them. Secretly I hoped they may have some Japanese heritage and I would ask them about where they had come from and what their home countries were like - even when I found out they weren't Japanese. At around 15, I joined a Christian & Missionary Alliance church where I was frequently hearing about missions trips to various countries. Not until I was 30 did I hear about a trip to Japan and knew I needed to go. In preparing for the trip I began to understand how few people knew about Jesus Christ or who God was. That's when God really tugged at my heart and it felt broken in sadness and yet an overwhelming love God has for them. This still happens each time I see missions reports or hear what God is doing there. Three years ago the trip opened my eyes to many things about the people themselves and their current culture. Now I have more than a dozen Japanese families who live near our church in Akron, Ohio and I have an opportunity to interact with them through our ESL ministry. I found out about this program through the 2019 RJC conference in LA, an event I attended to share ESL as a ministry. So I'm here as a next step in my faith journey to gain understanding, knowledge, and friendships to better relate to the Japanese and add to my toolbox for what lies ahead.