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Mr. Tsuda's stare was cold and without emotion. He barely acknowledged our presence as we sat opposite each other in the visiting room at the local jail. This would be the first of many visits before gaining Mr.Tsuda's trust.

Regrettably, Mr.Tsuda acquired a large gambling debt, and in desperation kidnapped for ransom one of the boys he coached on a baseball team. When the young boy screamed and cried out, Tsuda panicked and choked him to death with a necktie. Having received the death penalty, it would only be a short time until Mr. Tsuda was moved from the local jail to the state prison, where he would be executed. Death is always carried out by hanging in Japan.

As we faithfully met with Mr.Tsuda, we quickly learned he was an earnest Buddhist. While in jail he wrote the Buddhist scriptures over and over 1,000 times attempting to achieve forgiveness for the weight of the terrible crime he committed. Nevertheless, no amount of writing brought peace to his mind or heart. Realizing his inward spiritual hunger and need, we brought him a Bible and several Christian books to read. Although he quickly read everything we gave him, still he could not accept a forgiveness he could not earn. Our message was how the eternal, almighty God of the Bible had already acted on his behalf and paid the penalty for his sin. The message of Jesus' death on the cross for his sin finally got his attention.

After several weeks of visits and much prayer, God wonderfully opened the eyes of Mr. Tsuda's heart, and in great repentance he found new life in Christ. With the great joy of knowing God's forgiveness, he left our local jail and was sent to the Hiroshima State Penitentiary to await his execution. In Japan an inmate on death row is never informed of his execution date. After arriving at prison Tsuda sought out the prison chaplain, Rev. Yamane. Soon afterwards he was baptized, and he organized a believer's group of other death row inmates. As time passed, Tsuda wrote two books about his new life in Christ.

For nearly 10 more years, Mr. Tsuda lived in prison never knowing when his moment would arrive. One November day he was awakened by the guards and the chaplain and was taken to a room where he was served communion. Tsuda and the chaplain sang his favorite hymn, “Amazing Grace,” together and then only moments later he entered into the presence of his wonderful Lord Jesus. Rev. Yamane reported to us that Tsuda went to meet his Lord with an overwhelming sense of peace and joy in his heart.

Neal and Mari Hicks serve among the people of Japan. They are involved in pastoral ministry, homeless outreach, evangelism, prayer summits, mission vision and the International VIP Club ministry to unreached Japanese business men and women. The Hickses are presently in the United States, where Mari is undergoing medical treatment. Thank you for your prayers for them.