For 14 days, 17 members of Waiola Worship Center joined members of other churches and Pacific Island Praise and traveled throughout Japan—from Tokyo to Osaka to Yokohama and Kyoto—presenting “The Witness” (a musical passion play) and a Hawaiian show.

The Hawaiian show was much more than just hula and singing. That may have been the form, but the substance and content were Christ. Several Christian praise songs were included in the program, and many of the hulas were done to Psalms.

Led by Pacific Island Praise Director Kalani Poomaihealani and Pastor David Pendleton, both of Waiola Worship Center, this was the first overseas ministry tour of the combined group. Cast members were as young as 13 and included young-at-heart retirees eager to do ministry.

They sang and shared at churches large and small, including Izumi Christian Glory Church in Osaka, New Hope Tokyo, Wesleyan Church of Yodabashi, and of course the Seventh-day Adventist churches in Osaka and Tokyo. Some of the programs were to “sellouts crowds,” despite the 3,000 yen admission charge (about $25) to cover costs of the lighting, sound and venue.

“Because this is a non-Christian country, it was impressive to see so many line up for so long to pay so much to see a Christian musical,” observed Melodie Vega, one of the lead cast members. “We don’t really know the full impact of what we did there. I’m excited to see how the Lord will bless our humble effort.”

For the most part, the songs and choruses were presented in English. Translations were projected on screens using PowerPoint. “Born Again” was one of the songs sung in Japanese, and perhaps for that reason was one of the most appreciated and powerful of the entire musical. Tears flowed, and many completed response cards during the appeal.

One of the highlights was when they sang Christian songs and performed hula to Psalms at a Shinto shrine on a Shinto high holy day. “While we were staying at the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) base in Osaka, we noticed that there was a Shinto shrine across the street where worshippers were preparing for a festival,” explained Kalani Poomaihealani. “We figured that if we asked to participate the worst that could happen was that they would say ‘no thanks.’ Instead, they said ‘yes’ and the Lord took care of the rest.”

“That was very cool,” added Siana Lene, who works at the Adventist Book Center when she is not doing international evangelism. “To think that we were the very first Christians invited to sing Christian songs at that Shinto shrine, well, praise the Lord for that opportunity.”

“I would like to see Waiola and Pacific Island Praise return to Japan,” said Pastor Hugo Alor of the Tokyo International Church of Seventh-day Adventists. “This was the first time I had ever seen ‘The Witness,’ and though I of course know the story, I was so blessed hearing and seeing it again.”