On the morning of the 11th, participants departed from ARI and arrived at their first destination: the predecessor of ARI, Theological Seminary for Rural Mission in Machida, Tokyo. They learned about some traditional skills of water retention from the Edo period. Although it was short, they had a good time visiting the roots of ARI.

After that, they moved to Hamamatsu, and the following day, they enjoyed fellowship with Seirei Christopher kindergarten, Elementary, Jr. high, High school and Global school jr. High school students. Playing different games, experiencing new ways to express culture, traditional drum performances. In the afternoon, we visited the Seirei museum. Many people were impressed and motivated by Mr. Tamotsu Hasegawa (the founder of Seirei group) and how he dedicated his life to serve people and respond to the needs of the community. One participant shared: I am used to hearing “do your best to serve while you are living (in this life)” but today I learned from Mr. Hasegawa’s act of donating his skeleton to the medical school for students to learn from, that it is possible to serve even after passing away.
Many shared that today helped them think more deeply about faith and religion – including servant leadership.