In the mornings I usually clean the shower rooms and toilets and collect trash from the beach, and in the afternoons I watch the children as they swim there. One morning, as I was collecting trash, as usual, I found a dead fish about 30 centimeters long washed up on the beach.

After another short walk, I found three more dead fish, and as I continued on, I found more dead fish than I could count. Thinking this was an unusual situation and that there might be a problem with the water quality, I immediately called the police, and 30 minutes later, about 10 police officers, coast guard officials, and a specialist to investigate the water quality arrived. After some time investigating, I was told that it was most likely that fishermen had discarded these unsalable fish offshore, which had then been carried by the tides to the beach.

Finally, I managed to finish cleaning up most of the fish and was able to take a break in the watchtower. Then I noticed an elderly man Mr. Takeoka walking toward me from a distance along the beach. He was a man I had worked with on a mandarin orchard and I had told him about God while we were harvesting oranges last year. He didn't seem particularly interested in the gospel at the time, and our conversation didn't go any further, but I could tell he was feeling somewhat stuck in his life, so I remembered praying for an opportunity to talk to him about Christ who can give us real hope.

Mr. Takeoka felt sick after walking on the beach under the blazing sun and asked if he could take a short rest in the air-conditioned watchtower. I gladly let him in and we talked for a while, looking out over the empty beach. I soon learned that he was a devoted Buddhist, and he spoke enthusiastically about Buddhism and its teachings. I tried to counter his enthusiasm by talking about Christ to the best of my knowledge, but he did not understand me at all. I gave up halfway, thinking that it would be useless to share the gospel with this person.

However, I believed that it must have been God's guidance that brought him here and that a large number of fish had washed up on the beach, and I prayed fervently in my heart that the Holy Spirit would work in his heart. After praying, I simply told him about the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of those who believe in Him, and he suddenly became quiet and listened to my story.

He was amazed that such wonderful things could happen just by accepting and believing in Christ. In Buddhism, people can only be saved by doing good deeds, and there is no such thing as resurrection after death.

He went home with a smile on his face, saying that he was very interested in the wonderful things that happen to believers in Christ and that he wanted to learn more about Him. I felt God's power working in him at that time. I realized that he listened to me not when I told him about my vast knowledge of Christianity, but when the Holy Spirit was working in him through prayer. God reminded me that without prayer, no matter how much we study the Bible, we cannot move people's hearts. Please pray that I will have opportunities to talk with him in the future and that the Holy Spirit will work abundantly on him.