Hatoko Mizuma Inoue's story

After I finished studying music in California, I was called back to Japan to start working in a mission organization. I met missionaries from America and New Zealand, and I had the privilege to work as an intermediary for missionaries and national churches. I also had the privilege to translate their sermons into Japanese, and I started to feel called to further my theological study in a seminary. I studied in a seminary in Tokyo for three years while I continued to work for the mission organization.

After graduating from the seminary, I taught music there, worked as a pastor, and served in the mission organization. In my fifth year of teaching at the seminary, I was introduced to my husband, Takanori Inoue. We started reading Journey Towards Holiness by Alan Kreider and praying for God’s will for our future with one of the professors in the seminary. As soon as we started reading the book together, I was deeply impressed by the theology and practical commitment the Mennonite church has for peace, and I felt the book was an open door to a place where my lifetime longing to study about peace was finally beginning to be met. After much thought and prayer, I decided to marry my husband, who was deeply inspired by the lectures of AMBS professors who came to teach in Tokyo and decided to further his study in peace.

The AMBS admission office was very friendly and kind as my husband and later I started the application process. We contacted them whenever we had questions, and they responded very thoughtfully every time. We felt like we were already a part of the AMBS family even before we left our country. Two international students were waiting to greet us at campus. Other students and staff also welcomed us warmly when we arrived. Three students brought homemade cookies to welcome us. Staff from the maintenance and housing offices led us to our dorms and made sure everything was okay. Neighbors in our dorms welcomed us and invited us in to their rooms. And almost all the staff members we met called us by our names! All of these things helped us smooth our transition to a new life in America, and we were so thankful and humbled by such heartfelt welcome.

The classes and community at AMBS have been very inspiring and they have helped me not only to grow in knowledge but also to grow in faith. The class assignments have helped me think about where I stand in this world as a peacemaker. The community life such as chapel and prayer gatherings have encouraged me to seek God’s will for my future. I believe God has a will for my husband and me to be peacemakers, and we feel blessed to be a part of the AMBS community as we continue to seek his will for our future ministry.