"When I see a temple, I see a prison," says Caroline Sim, a slim, dark-haired young woman from Singapore. Her soft voice barely beats out the buzz of cicadas in Tokyo's Ueno Park. Caroline and other Singaporeans strolling through the cathedral-like trees on this stifling summer afternoon (Tokyo lies at the same latitude as Charlotte, NC) have come to Ueno Park for a "prayer walk." Sightseeing with a purpose, if you will. They will eventually pray along the entire Yamanote Line, the principal commuter-train beltway in Tokyo. Their walk in the park, one leg of the day's journey, introduces them to replicas of Shinto temples and other religious shrines.

Caroline, who has spent several months in Japan on a short-term mission project, explains cultural details. Besides describing the spiritual metaphor of Shinto-temple-as-prison, she points out how the hard-working Japanese love cats because they symbolize the peace they so desire. Lions represent gods of healing, while foxes represent gods of fertility. As the group walks through the peaceful patch of green, they pray for the Japanese to be set free from bondage to traditional trust in Shinto gods.

A Japanese woman joining the Singaporeans that day translates inscriptions on the shrines. One reads, "Two bows, two claps, one bow," describing the required ritual for worshiping that idol. "The clapping is supposed to wake up the gods," the woman explains.

Prayer Force | One of the teams from Hong Kong sings worship songs before a literature-distribution outreach in the Ikebukuro section of Tokyo. Whether on outreaches or prayer walkes, the Love Tokyo teams recognized the necessity of prayer in addressing the spiritual condition of Japan.

The Singaporeans' prayer walk represents part of an effort to pierce the veil surrounding the soul of Japan. For three months this past summer, Campus Crusade for Christ sent short-term missionary teams, like the group from Singapore, to Japan for a summer project called Love Tokyo. This project provided much-needed manpower for Campus Crusade in Japan, as well as for struggling Japanese churches. Through Love Tokyo, Asian believers gave the Japanese an opportunity to reconsider the value of their gods, whether they be gods of stone, gods of tradition or, more conspicuously, gods of materialism.

In all, seven countries--not only including Singapore but also Hong Kong and other Asian nations--sent nearly 500 people to Tokyo on a series of two-week trips. Love Tokyo differed from typical Campus Crusade summer projects in that few students attended. Most project participants were recruited from churches in cities where Campus Crusade has a strong community ministry.

"For many of the people it's the first time they've been involved in a Campus Crusade ministry," says Daniel Lou, a staff member from Hong Kong who coordinated his country's participation in Love Tokyo. Competing with the noise of cars, taxis and a gigantic video monitor mounted near a Tokyo train station, Daniel explains another distinct feature of Love Tokyo: "This is a church-based project."

Daniel and his wife, Cheris, spent a month in Japan before Love Tokyo even started. They and the advance team sought to build relationships with Japanese churches to encourage them to participate in the project. "We've had a hard time convincing churches to work with us," says Kazuyoshi Kurihara, director of Campus Crusade in Japan, between sips of iced coffee on the third floor of a McDonald's. "They're hesitant to get involved in evangelism."

A Spiritual Void

Perhaps they hesitate because their numbers are so small--only a mere 1.5 percent of Japanese people profess Christianity. "People here do not have a concept of a Creator God," Kazu says, "so when you tell them Law One in the Four Spiritual Laws--'God loves you'--there's the question of which God you're talking about."

Bizarre religious cults further complicate the situation. As a result, according to "Kazusan," the Japanese people have become skeptical of anything that even looks like religion. "If they see something religious," he says, "they think it's a cult."

Mix these factors in with rampant materialism and slavery to appearance, and you have a recipe for a palpable spiritual void. One trip to the Ikebukuro train station shows it all.

Thousands of people converge from all directions, flowing around each other like molecules of water in a fishbowl. Low ceilings lead to corridors as claustrophobic as an actual fishbowl would be. And the lack of air circulation in these underground tunnels makes the humid summer air even more stifling. Not that these commuters seem to mind--they have things to do, places to go, people to see. And people to talk to, of course; seemingly every other person either chatters on a cellular phone or responds to its staccato ringing.

Some people, especially many young women, need to be seen. There's no other explanation for the foot-tall, broken-ankle-waiting-to-happen platform shoes. Or for the I-wanna-be-a-Spice Girl dye jobs of silver and flaming bronze. Such fashion statements look even more incongruous in the sea of business suits.

Every day more than 10 million people crisscross Tokyo. It's in this discouraging milieu--the lack of Christian influence, the materialistic overabundance of high-tech gadgets, the sheer volume of humanity--that the Love Tokyo teams operated. They responded with two types of evangelism, representing two tracks of ministry within Campus Crusade.

More Than Tracts

The first, mass distribution of evangelistic literature and audiocassettes of the JESUS film, represented what Campus Crusade calls "coverage" ministry--the commitment to expose every person to the gospel message. The second, door-to-door visitation in conjunction with local churches, represented "community" ministry--targeting neighborhoods and affinity groups. Coverage, community and campus are the three tracks guiding Campus Crusade's evangelism strategy anywhere in the world.

During Love Tokyo, the Hong Kong teams in particular worked hard to balance between coverage and community ministry. "We don't want the team members to just distribute tracts," says Daniel Lou, whose commu-nity ministry in Hong Kong targets young professionals like Priority Associates does in the United States. "We want to get them out into the neighborhoods as well."

They do so one afternoon in Tokorozawa, a 45-minute train ride from the Hong Kong teams' base. A Hong Kong team led by Campus Crusade staff member Jupiter Chan helps Kinjo Yukimasa, pastor of a Grace Brethren church in Tokorozawa, distribute JESUS audiocassettes, evangelistic booklets and church invitations to homes surrounding the church.

The work is dehydrating. Temperatures approach 100 degrees as the team prepares to walk the streets. Providentially, the sun ducks behind clouds just as the team left Kinjosan's home, and rain doesn't fall until just before they finish. The heat doesn't slow down Kinjosan, though--he briskly strolls the streets with the demeanor of the marathoner he resembles.

While the team leaves materials in mailboxes, Kinjosan sometimes starts conversations with children and elderly ladies they encounter. With one group of children, he presents the gospel using a wordless color book. "Japanese children have little Bible knowledge," Kinjosan explains later. "So when you share the gospel with them, they don't understand very well."

But not every Japanese person hearing the gospel during Love Tokyo misunderstands the gospel. One evening, a Hong Kong team led by staff member Spencer Chan (no relation to Jupiter Chan) holds a party at Tokyo City Church as a means of gathering people the team members have met while distributing literature.

"Japanese are very interested in Chinese culture, especially the cooking," says Daniel Lou. "So we invite them to parties where we show them our culture." The Hong Kong group gladly obliges, serving authentic Cantonese food with actual seaweed in the noodles and not a fork to be found. Some of the team members perform a traditional Chinese dance wearing brightly colored, silk robes.

Most important, as the party goes on, several team members lead their new Japanese friends through laminated, reusable Four Spiritual Laws booklets. After everyone leaves, the group compares notes, determining that three people have trusted Christ as their Savior that evening.

"Before I went to Japan I thought it would be difficult to share the gospel with Japanese," said Yvonne Choi, a Hong Kong team member, during a service at a Japanese church earlier that day. "Many people said Japan is the graveyard of missionaries. But it was not the case! Our team has helped lead many people to receive Jesus. God is making streams in this spiritual desert."

Kazu Kurihara sees his homeland as far more than a graveyard: "I look at Hong Kong and see how 20 years ago they had only a few staff members, and now they have more than 100. Hong Kong is now a sending nation. Same with Taiwan and Singapore. My goal--my dream--is to see Japan become a sending nation."