Providential communication failure led student to DBU and faith in Christ

Posted: 1/30/08

Providential communication failure
led student to DBU and faith in Christ

By George Henson

Staff Writer

DALLAS—God must have a sense of humor.

Mamo Ishida believes God used his desire to stay away from a Christian university to bring him to Dallas Baptist University—because he “didn’t know what ‘Baptist’ meant.” More importantly, Ishida found a saving faith in Jesus Christ that he now shares with other students from around the world.

When Ishida first thought about studying in the United States so he could learn English, Texas was the only destination he considered.

“The only city I knew about in the South was Dallas because of the John F. Kennedy assassination,” he said.

The first school in the area he considered was Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. But he and his parents agreed he should not attend a Christian school because his family was not Christian.

Mamo Ishida

The next school on the list was Dallas Baptist University.

“That sounded OK to us because we didn’t know what ‘Baptist’ meant. From the first day, though, I knew that DBU was the kind of school my parents had warned me about,” he said with a broad grin and a twinkle in his eye.

The thing that caught his attention early was all the praying that went on among students on the campus, especially before meals.

“I had never seen people praying before outside of a temple or a shrine,” Ishida said. “It was my first time to see people who really had religion have an impact on their life.”

Ishida’s family has a Shinto shrine in their home and also a box that commemorates their ancestors. Most people in Japan don’t have a real attachment to any religion, he said.

“I would say people are confused in Japan. When children are born, they take them to a Shinto shrine. When they marry, some choose a Christian church. When they die, they use Buddhist rituals. Really, most of the time, they ignore all religion,” he said.

While he was struck by all the praying and how it seemed to be an integral part of the lives of Christians on campus, he was not immediately attracted to it.

“My first reaction was, no way was this going to be a part of my culture, of my life,” Ishida said. “I had a big culture shock coming to America and another level of culture shock with Christianity being everywhere I looked.”

Since his primary purpose was to learn English, he wanted American friends. And since they regularly went to a weekly Bible study, he did, too.

“I went to be with my friends,” he said.

Ishida told everyone he was not a Christian and did not believe the Bible, but his friends encouraged him to read the Bible to at least know what it said.

In one chapel service, he heard the song As the Deer, based on Psalm 42. During that song, Ishida found himself crying.

He stopped as quickly as possible and hid it from his friends, because he didn’t want them to think he was ready to accept Christ as Savior. Later, however, he tried to decipher what had prompted the tears.

“I realized that I was feeling like that deer—that I was in need of something to satisfy a need in my soul,” he said. “I also thought that maybe God is real if he can make me cry and touch my soul.”

That was the first time he had considered the possibility God existed, he said.

During Christmas break, Ishida went home with a classmate to Houston. While there, he really started to yearn for something Japanese. He had a great desire to read Japanese, but the only book he had brought with him written in Japanese was an English-Japanese Bible he had received through DBU’s intensive language study program.

“I started reading about this Jesus whose birth was such a big thing to everyone,” he recalled.

In February 1996, at one of the weekly Bible studies he attended, he again was asked—as he was at the end of every session—if he wanted to accept Christ as his Savior.

“This time, I said, ‘Yes,’ and everyone was so surprised. I was surprised, but God had changed my life,” he said.

Since that time, Ishida has become a fixture on the DBU campus. For several years, he worked as assistant director of the international students program, helping the students adjust to America and becoming their advocate as necessary.

He has earned a master’s degree in higher education and is acting director of the master of education in higher education program.

Next fall, he will lead a new program in East Asian studies that will educate American business students in East Asian history and culture to prepare them for business in the region. He also serves as a recruiter in Japan to bring other students to DBU. He also teaches a Sunday school class for international students at South Park Baptist Church in Grand Prairie.

About 500 international students attend DBU—about 50 of them Japanese. Of the Japanese students, few—if any—are Christian when they come to America, he said. But DBU has a reputation for being a safe place for Japanese families to send their children because of its strong family-type support system.

On trips back to Japan, Ishida always makes time to visit with his father, mother, brother and sister. None is a Christian yet, but he said they are very curious. And he always is happy to answer their questions.

“There are very few Christians in Japan. I don’t remember ever meeting one. If I had not come to DBU, none of my family would have heard about Christianity from someone they know. DBU is a blessing from God,” Ishida said.