By Carson Foushee
Since Laura and I began working with the Japan Baptist Convention (JBC) nearly 13 years ago, we have learned a great deal from our partners about faith and how to be on mission with God in Japan. We have been particularly moved by the churches’ commitment to peacemaking. The JBC confesses and grieves the role of Japan’s history of wartime atrocities, but also actively seeks a peaceful future in the name of Jesus through engagement at the local, national and international levels. 
We were first introduced to this in Kanazawa when our local church, along with JBC congregations across the nation, paused each week during the month of August to ring a peace bell, read words of confession and peaceful action and pray for peace in remembrance of the August 1945 atomic bombings of Japan and the Japanese surrender that ended World War II.
We later learned of the JBC’s efforts over the decades since the war for reconciliation with Baptist organizations in the Asian nations its nation once oppressed and terrorized.
Eleven years ago, we were blessed by an invitation from Hiroshima Baptist Church to host a youth choir from Smoke Rise Baptist Church (Stone Mountain, Ga.) for a peace concert in cooperation with their choir that led to a beautiful expression of unity in faith between people of nations previously at war. Through our former pastor in Tokyo, we learned how he was formed to be a peacemaker while pastor of Nagasaki Baptist Church and heard ways the congregation continued to engage in peacemaking efforts.
All these experiences combined led us to begin dreaming some 10 years ago of a peacemaking journey that would allow CBF friends from America to visit Japan and learn from the wisdom of JBC brothers and sisters. In May, this dream was realized when a group of pilgrims from FBC Dalton, Ga., and Mirea, a Kanazawa International Baptist Church (KIBC) friend who has a special relationship with FBC Dalton, took a learning posture that made room for God to work within the hearts of all involved to learn more about Christlike peace.
In Kanazawa, Kanazawa Baptist Church provided the group an example of peacemaking in action through welcoming its international neighbors, which can prove challenging in a world where nationalism continues to rise. In Hiroshima, Hiroshima Baptist Church, particularly through the guidance of the church’s Atomic Bomb Site Committee, helped open our eyes to the devastation and long-term effects of the world’s first atomic bomb used in warfare. A “Gathering of Peace” with the brothers and sisters there showed us a church and city which, rather than desiring revenge, seeks peace.
In Nagasaki, we reflected upon the complicated Christian and international context of the city as well as the effects of the last atomic bomb used in armed conflict. The Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum provided witness of the faithful perseverance of Christians in Japan over more than two centuries of persecution. Through meals and during worship, we grew closer to Nagasaki Baptist Church members, including a 98-year-old atomic bomb survivor who celebrated in her testimony that Japan has not experienced war for over 80 years.
While we engaged in the heaviness of reflection and joy of fellowship, we also took the advice of local pastors to experience life in the modern versions of these cities. A professional baseball game, champon noodles and Hiroshima yaki and walks around vibrant shopping districts allowed us to see how the cities have changed since the war. Each of these experiences enhanced our ability to see beyond tragic conflicts and actions of the past and envision a world rooted in the peace of Christ. Our itinerary may have come to an end in July, but our journey has just begun.