Spiritual Lessons Learned In Japan

07 May 2011

Tyler native Robert Adair, left, with friends in Japan, where he has spent years as a church developer. He plans to return to the country for another four-year stint later this year, along with his wife, Roberta.By Raymond Billy | ResonateNews.com

Tyler residents Butch and Joann Adair never would have imagined their son would become an evangelical missionary. He committed his life to Christ as a preteen during a Green Acres Baptist Church summer day camp, but that didn't prevent him from going through a “rebellious” phase.

“He didn't always want to go to church, and we even argued with him over whether he would go with us,” said Joann, 59, of her oldest child.

During college something began to change in Robert Adair. His desire to see Japan transformed by the Gospel ended up transforming him from a would-be engineer to a courier for Jesus.

Adair, 31, graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1998. After enrolling in Texas A&M University, his uncle, a former resident of College Station where the school is located, recommended Adair visit Aldersgate United Methodist Church there. The church is highly missions-oriented and Adair decided to participate in its Japan outreach in 2001 as “an act of obedience” to God, he said.

“God really redeemed that trip to break my heart for the people of Japan,” Adair said, noting the country's low Christian population and widespread worship inanimate objects.

LONG-TERM MISSIOANRY

After finishing his undergraduate work in engineering in 2002, Adair made several short-term missionary trips to Japan before beginning a four-year stint in 2005 as a church developer.

“I went there hoping to leave a Christian imprint where one was not present before,” Adair said. But, he said, the country left more of an impression on him than he on the country.

He said he had to overcome what he thought were principled complaints about Japanese way of life. In reality, he said, those complaints were cultural biases. He said he didn't agree with the way Japanese solve conflicts between two people — bringing in a third party to mediate. His East Texas upbringing dictated that the polite thing to do in similar circumstances was to gently confront the person with whom you have a conflict — a more direct approach.

“I reacted badly to that conflict-solving thing. After praying about it, I realized my problem with it was that it was different, not that it was wrong,” he said, noting Japan's customs for solving conflicts are motivated by wanting to protect relationships.

Adair's time in Japan allowed for several opportunities to broker cross-cultural understanding. During his four years there, he was able to bring his parents over to the country for several visits. In 2008, he brought a couple from one of the Japanese churches he was working with to Tyler and they stayed at his parents' home. But, for all the lessons he's learned as a missionary, Adair said possibly the biggest realization he's come to is that his success in ministry should be judged using spiritual metrics.

“I learned that doing a good job as a missionary was based on my faithfulness, not the fruits of my labor,” Robert said. “I need to be faithful to my mission and let God produce the fruit. If someone comes to Christ, it's not because of my work anyway — it's because of the Holy Spirit that draws and nurtures people.”

Part of how Adair learned his lesson was the disappointment of seeing a church he helped establish dissolve in the city of Okuchi. Members of that church then had to commute 18 miles to go to the ministry that helped found theirs, in Minamata. However, Adair said he is happy that people accepted Christ at the now defunct church.

RETURN TO THE U.S.

After four years in Japan, Adair decided to further his education at Wheaton College in Illinois. Having received two engineering degrees, which weren't compatible with his new calling, he wanted to study missions at the renown Christian university.

There, he met Roberta Clogg, a Bellefonte, Pa., native who had spent three years as a missionary to Kosovo. Their friendship quickly blossomed into a courtship and they soon began considering marriage. But the two had diverging life goals: Adair wanted to return to Japan and Clogg hoped to go back to Kosovo.

“We were both leery of being led astray from where we thought God was leading us,” Adair said. “But, we reached the point where we felt that God was in the relationship and would settle the apparent discrepancy between us.”

Eventually, the two decided that they would go to Japan. They married in 2010 and were accepted as missionaries with Asia Access in December. Butch Adair said he couldn't be happier with who his son chose as a spouse.

“We're glad he's found someone with whom he has so much in common,” he said. “We love our new daughter-in-law.”

His wife shared his sentiment.

“I love Roberta. Years ago, Robert had asked for us to pray for a wife for him and she's perfect for him,” Joann Adair said.

BACK TO JAPAN

Robert and Roberta Adair traveled to Japan on March 3 for an 11-day visit. It was a chance for Roberta to visit the country for the first time. They also met for a planning session with Asia Access officials. The couple was there during the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that devastated the country. The Adairs were in a meeting during the earthquake — which soon turned into a discussion about how Asia Access would respond to the disaster.

The Adairs were not in harm's way during the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. They returned to the U.S. in mid-March contemplating whether their long-term mission in Japan will be to plant churches in the disaster region. They plan to return to the country later this month to help coordinate short-term mission teams and be back stateside by July. Then, they plan to go back for a four year-term in November, backed by financial support from Marvin United Methodist Church in Tyler, among other donors. When the long haul begins, Robert Adair said his goals will be simple.

“My hope is to love God and people well and provide a vibrant witness of the Gospel.”