Language Stories

When the Swedish missionaries who founded this church thirty or forty years ago first came to Japan, they did not know Japanese, nor did they know any Japanese people. It took faith and courage, and God blessed their mission; the church they founded still stands, and is staffed entirely by Japanese nationals.

However, they had some linguistic difficulties. On one occasion, the Swedish missionary was riding the bus. Back then, when one was riding the bus, he had to call out to the driver to stop ("Oroshite, kudasai!") when they got to his destination. This missionary was riding the bus, and when they arrived at the destination, he hurriedly called out, "Koroshite, kudasai! Ima, koroshite!"

He was one letter off. Everyone on the bus was both surprised and frightened to hear this strange man shouting, "Kill me, please! Kill me now! Kill me right here!"