Tenrikyo Young Men’s Association Headquarters held the 28th International Cultural Seminar on the afternoon of April 26 at Moya 38, drawing 222 people. This seminar aims to heighten association members’ awareness of the overseas mission, provide relevant information, and encourage directly supervised chapters to promote their activities.
After the opening remarks delivered by Association Headquarters Overseas Section Head Motomichi Uemura, a video was shown to promote the 14th Human Resource Overseas Dispatch Program, for which the association is currently recruiting members. Also, a representative of the members of its 12th program—who had just returned from Australia this spring—gave a presentation on his experiences in the program.
Then, Rev. Nobuya Noguchi, head of Tenrikyo Mission Center in Thailand, took the podium to give a lecture entitled “Inspiring Young People’s Enthusiasm for Overseas.” He first talked about some of the experiences he had had during the nine years he had spent as a student in Thailand, where he carried out salvation activities with a resolve to administer the Sazuke to any sick person he came across. For example, he shared a story of his administering the Sazuke to a girl at a local airport—he happened to see her falling down to the floor. Another story was about his college professor’s father, for whom he had engaged in salvation work. Rev. Noguchi then said to the listeners, “God the Parent surely works for us in any situation as long as we implement what we are resolved to do.”
He next referred to salvation activities that have been carried out by the young men’s group of the Mission Center in Thailand. Under the theme “Let’s build momentum for salvation from Thailand,” group members are engaging in salvation activities across the country. He pointed out that, through those activities, more and more young people are reaching out to others including strangers so as to implement salvation work. “I believe that they are making a great stride for the path in Thailand,” Rev. Noguchi said.
In conclusion, referring to the powerful earthquake that hit Nepal the day before the seminar, he asked the listeners to pray for people in the country, saying, “That is also a way to engage in the overseas mission.”