Reflecting on God’s Faithfulness to CAJ Over 75 Years

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David Mawhinney, Head of School

As we reflect on the remarkable journey of CAJ over the past 75 years, we are reminded of the incredible faith and determination that laid the foundation for our school. In the fall of 1949, 30 missionary families gathered in Tokyo, sharing a common problem: How were their children going to receive an education? None of them were school teachers or had started a school before.

Nevertheless, knowing their limitations but trusting God, they opened a school on the OMS campus in Shin Okubo within a few short months, on January 30, 1950. This location could not serve as a school campus long-term, but the families stepped out in faith, trusting that God would provide the right property in His time.

At the same time, a Japanese-American missionary for SEND, Mabel Akichika, had come to Japan partly in response to a vision she had received from God about a particular property featuring black and white cows.

After traveling the railways around Tokyo searching for that property, she finally found it in the outlying community of Higashi Kurume. A couple of miraculous steps later, cow barns became classrooms as that property became the new home for CAJ.

God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. His are so much higher. It was the response of those faithful missionaries to God that led to the founding of CAJ and the establishment of its longtime home.

We are grateful to those who took those first steps and to the many others who, over 75 years, have responded to the needs of this community and the visions that God has given them. May we honor their legacy by continuing to follow in their footsteps.