Japanese Girl Moves Mountain

After World War II, many half-Japenese/half-American and half-Japanese/half-European children were abandoned in Japan, left to die by a society that placed no value on their little lives. But Christian missionaries, seeing the children's plight, started orphanages. In one of these orphanages Irene Smith, an English missionary, cared for twenty-two of these outcast children.

One night one of Irene's orphans, who was sick and bedridden, heard a sermon about how having small faith can enable a person to accomplish great things. In the supporting scripture (Matt. 21:21 - Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.), Jesus told His disciples that if they had faith and didn't doubt, they could not only achieve "small" feats such as making a fig tree wither as He had, but they could overcome much bigger obstacles with their prayers such as moving mountains and casting them into the sea.

This sermon caught the little invalid's attention for a good reason. This little girl wished to see the Japanese Inland Sea again. She couldn't go to the beach herself because of her severe illness, and a huge mountain sat in front of the old building that housed the orphanage, blocking her view of her beloved sea.

At bedtime that night, the little girl asked to pray that God would move that mountain. Irene kindly replied, "No, God doesn't want to move a big mountain like that. After all, if He put that mountain there, why would He want to move it? When the Lord Jesus made that statement, He meant we should pray about the big mountains of trials in our lives."

"But, Miss. Irene, it says if you have faith and do not doubt, the mountain will move. God is great and almighty, and He could do it. For the Bible says so."

"Then go ahead and pray, child," Irene responded.

So every night the other orphan girls joined the sick child at her bedside for prayer and agreed together according to Matthew 18:19-20, earnestly praying that the Lord would move the mountain so the sick little girl could see the sea. Irene temporarily left the orphanage while on leave of absence to England. Months later, upon her return, she walked into the dormitory and found all the little girls in front of the window. Looking out, Irene could hardly believe what she was seeing: the Japanese Inland Sea!

"What happened to the mountain?" Irene called out, amazed.

"All we know is that we saw many kinds of bulldozers going up-and-down the mountain moving dirt," the girls answered, as their eyes lit up with joy.

Curious about this mystery, Irene went to the town office and spoke with local authorities about the mountain's disapearance. The mayor explained that coastal waves were eroding the land, so they needed the earth from the mountain to backfill the coastline. Sure enough , they moved the mountain and "cast it into the sea."

A few months later, the little girl who had diligently prayed to move the mountains passed away. And eventually, the old building housing the dear orphans was torn down. But the view of the Japanese Inland Sea is still there.

Friends, the mountains we encounter may be different shapes, sizes and location (whether literal, financial, physical, emotional, etc.) How we end up with our results clearly depends on our attitude and our approach. Nothing complicated, but just the simplicity of only believing.