My Dad's Illness

I got married in February 2010, thanks to God’s wonderful grace. About half a year before that, my father experienced excruciating pain with jaundice. He was taken to the hospital and diagnosed of gallstones. He underwent a procedure to remove them, and shortly after, he needed to get his gallbladder removed as well. H was transferred to another hospital for the surgery.

Stress-related Dementia

At that time, my father was 80 years old and had never undergone surgery before. Even when he became a minor illness would make him anxious enough to say he might die. So when he learned he needed surgery, he became so overwhelmed with stress that he began exhibiting symptoms resembling acute dementia in his hospital room.

He became difficult for the staff to manage. He would sneak out of his room and wander around, attempt to tear out the tubes from his body, and even try to change his clothes and go home.

The nurses struggled to handle him and asked a family member to stay overnight with him for a while. By the time we visited, he had already been moved from a shared room to a private one because he was disturbing the other patients.

During our visit, my father didn’t seem to realize he was in a hospital. He thought he was staying at a hotel during a trip. Glancing around the room, he asked why we had booked such a cheap hotel; looking at the white wall, he said he could see a train passing by. When we tried to help him come back to reality and told him he was in the hospital, he became upset with us.

That night, my uncle stayed with him. I was schedule to take over the next night. On my way home, I was shaken and heartbroken to see that he had lost his grip on reality -- and I was filled with a deep sense of despair.

Praise and Prayer in the Hospital Room

The following morning I went to the hospital with a Japanese gospel songbook. While my father was sleep, I quietly sang praises, gave thanks and prayed to God. Then, he opened his eyes-- and to my surprise, he had come back to his senses. I gave thanks to God for this gracious moment.

After I stayed with him in the hospital room for two nights, the medical staff informed us that his mental state had stabilized and that there was no longer a need for a family member to stay overnight. The Lord truly rescued him from his crises!

As I continued visiting him, I also received spiritual support and strengh. Almost every time, one of my female pastors pray with me for my father’s salvation and send me off in prayer. Then, on the day before his procedure, I was finally able to tell him about Jesus! However, he gently avoided his responding, saying, “Tell your mon about that.”

A Surprising Development about the Procedure

The procedure was a sucess. When he woke up, he was amazed to find that he felt no pain -- even after the anesthesia had worn off.

Two days later, when I visited him, he said, “Is there such a painless surgery like this? I still don't feel any pain!” So I told him that I had prayed for him not to feel pain, and that the living God answered that prayer. I said again, “Jesus is God. Why don’t you believe in Him?” And to my astonishment, he said he would believe.

When I invited him to repeat a prayer after me, he sat up in bed and said, "It would be dishonoring to God if I prayed while lying down.”

I was stunned. I could hardly believe what was unfolding before my eyes. After he finished saying the prayer, I raised my voice with joy and cried, “Hallelujah! My dad got saved!”

He looked at me and said, “Is that all?” I smiled and said, “Yes! That’s it!”

God's Wondeful Plan

At that time, I had had no way of knowing that just half a year later, God would lead me to get married and move to the U.S.

Looking back, I now see that every part of the journey was woven into God's loving plan: my father’s surgery, and his temporary dementia, and the unexpected moments that allowed me to spend time alone with him-- creating the oppotunity to share the gospel.
I am truly grateful for everything God has done for my father and for me.

Naoko Asano