Internship Blog: “Living with Love and Passion”
Philippians 4:4 : “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice.”
Over the Spring Break, I had a wonderful opportunity to see what serving God, while rejoicing daily, truly looks like. I was given the chance to spend two weeks at ‘Shirahama Rescue Network’, an organization that is based around the Sandanbeki cliffs in Wakayama Prefecture. It is a great showcase of nature’s beauty, while also being the place where many choose to end their lives. SRN has set up a suicide prevention hotline at the cliffs which is available for use 24/7. The hotline is named ‘命の電話’ (Telephone of life), and for some, it is often the last chance to reach out for help and hope.
However, the work of SRN does not stop at simply suicide rescue but is rather more heavily focused on suicide prevention. Such a goal allows people to reconsider what truly causes people to choose death rather than seek life.
What causes people to consider death? Why do some lose all hope to the point of despair? Why are people willing to end it all instead of continuing to search for purpose and fight for life?
One factor that addresses a majority of such questions is the lack of community. Human beings are not meant to live alone. Many people, including myself, struggle to find their way through life without the support and presence of family or friends. However, with certain life situations, some people may end up all alone without anyone to turn to.
And this is where the work of SRN comes in!
Their work focusses on creating communities where people can grow to support and encourage each other so that no one is left to fend for themselves during times of personal struggles. As I spent time in Shirahama observing and learning from others, I understood that such a lifestyle can only be lived through immense passion and love for God’s ministry.
From my perspective, I could see that God’s unconditional love can be seen and experienced through people. All of us receive the love of God, and I am encouraged to be more willing to show that same love to others to the best of my own human abilities. Through SRN, people are given the space and community that they need to grow and change with love and support.
And with such encouragement, I noticed that many could live with more passion for life, enjoying all that is done each day. I learnt to simply live every day doing the best that I can do while giving glory to God in all things. I hope I can continue to do all things for God and rejoice in Him even through hardships!
Perhaps many of us can learn to start each day with all focus on God, trusting in His plans and His strength without leaning on own understanding.
Psalm 118: 24 : “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
SRN also encourages each person to have a dream and live life while moving towards those goals. This is a wonderful method as it helps people find motivation and strength to keep moving forward in life.
“Have a dream.
It can be something very big, or even just a small aspiration. What’s important is to have a role model or a goal, and the desire to get closer to it. I believe this can lead to having an ambition. Even if you can’t work towards your dream, don’t get discouraged. As long as you have a strong ambition and the determination to move forward, I don’t think you’ll stray from the path to the future.”
Written by Joanne
