Life story MIKIKO AND HER ENCOUNTER

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Devotional BE STILL

MIKIKO AND HER ENCOUNTER WITH THE BIBLE LIFE STORY

Mikiko was dying from aggressive cancer and doctors said that she was beyond all hope. She had been reading self-help books all her life, but one day a friend gave her a Bible. She embraced its teachings and cried out to God. A miracle healed her and this is her story.

STEVEN LÓPEZ

PHOTO: FAMILY FILES

Mikiko Kamino was a lonely girl who would rather read than play like the other children her age. She avoided all interaction with people and loved staying in with the books that her father would buy for her. Her books were her only best friends. And although she had a nice family, she shared very little time with them.

She was born in the French city of Suresnes, in northern Paris. Her parents, Iwao and Noriko, left their hometown in Japan in the late 1960s and migrated to France. There they opened an Asian cuisine restaurant and worked really hard.

A few months after her birth, Mikiko went under the care of a nanny. The first months passed all quiet, but one day, when the little girl was about to turn one year old, she suffered a terrible accident.

She was sitting in the kitchen chair when she suddenly fell to the floor, her little head hitting the pavement. At first, she seemed to have had only a simple scare, but at night she felt sick and had to be taken to the ER. The diagnosis was critical: she had to be operated.

Her father was in Japan at the moment. When he learned about the seriousness of the case, the thought of losing her was unbearable. He paced his room trying to figure out what to do. He cried and begged God for a miracle: “Lord, the life of my daughter is in Your hands.”

Soon, a phone call brought him to life. Mikiko had progressed favorably and did not need to be operated on. God had listened to his prayer. He was certain that it had been a miracle of God.

LOW SELF-ESTEEM Mikiko Kamino grew up and became a teenager, but she was not like the other girls. She had very low self-esteem and she was very shy; she found it hard to bond with people and she isolated herself. Her schoolmates made fun of her origins, and her only safe haven from bullying was solitude.

At home, her parents became worried and began to reprimand her. As a result, she felt more and more emotionally insecure. One evening, while walking through Paris, she found a bookstore.

As she walked in, she was dazzled by the titles of the self-help section. She bought five books and thus found refuge in reading.

From that moment on, Mikiko would never attend one single family reunion, walk or dinner without a selfhelp book in her hand. She could not help but relate to many of the stories in the books. Her classmates and family made fun of her, but she paid no attention.

She was in pain every time she had to put her books down. It was as if insecurity and low self-esteem took over her. In a short time, she compulsively bought dozens of self-improvement books.

Mikiko was a lonely, sad girl, but she was always trying to find ways to take her mind off her emotional void and feel happy. Besides books, she turned to yoga and Zen meditation. Later she decided to learn to play flamenco guitar and also learn a trade that would allow

her to generate income.

One day, the young woman decided to move to Spain. She thought that a change of air would help her beat the emptiness. The perfect excuse was an advanced guitar workshop in the city of Seville. She did not think

Mikiko Kamino grew up and became a teenager, but she was not like the other girls. She had very low selfesteem and she was very shy; she found it hard to bond with people and she isolated herself. Her schoolmates made fun of her origins, and her only safe haven from bullying was solitude.

twice and packed her bags. Her mother’s death from cancer was another powerful reason to go away.

It was the year 2000, and a new life full of dreams was beginning for Mikiko. She thought that she was finally going to attain the emotional stability she longed for. He met a young Spaniard and they started a relationship.

However, it did not work out: the man was an alcoholic who would drink every day, mistreat her and force her to give him money.

Unable to stand up for herself, she accepted her life as it was. She was unhappy, but could not see and did not care to. The few friends that she had advised her to see reason, but she would not listen. She stopped attending classes and devoted all her time to her boyfriend.

After several months of toxic relationship, she realized that she had an issue: a psychological pathology that made her take a back seat and put others and their needs first. She moved from Seville to Barcelona to begin again, but history repeated itself.

She fell in love with a drug addict that caused him equal or greater damage than the previous one. She turned to self-help books once again to overcome the crisis; but the worst was yet to come.

THE CANCER In the summer of 2010, a severe pain in the midsection took her to the hospital. It did not take long for doctors to diagnose ovarian cancer. She had to undergo an emergency operation to save her life. She was hospitalized for almost one month at a local clinic in Barcelona. Beside her bed, a pile of self-help books was at her disposal.

Upon leaving the medical center she resumed her normal life, but the disease continued to weaken her.

In 2011, she was operated again and went through chemotherapy. Her body was weak, her hair was gone and she had lost her desire to live. In spite of everything, the operation was a success.

A year later, the news of his father’s death also from cancer hit her health even more. It seemed that her fate was premature death as well. She had to go to the operating room for the third time and to undergo chemotherapy again, but not so long after the doctors declared her terminally ill. One day, an Argentinian friend came to visit her. He was carrying a book different from any other

Mikiko had ever read: it was God’s Word.

He told her about the kind and merciful God that could change her life and restore her health. Each word was a light of hope and she was soon convinced that her life could be better.

She decided to surrender to Christ. “Lord, I need a change in my life, I want to be different,” she cried in her bed. Her prayer was answered. Mikiko finally felt inner peace, and the emptiness in her heart was filled with the presence of God.

Her friend gave her the Bible and she began to read it

with enthusiasm and faith. She quit reading self-help literature and instead she would take God’s Word to every chemotherapy session. Her cancer vanished and she was discharged.

In 2014, she looked for a church of sound doctrine with the help of her Argentinian friend. She came to the Worldwide Missionary Movement in Barcelona and began to attend the services. Mikiko Kamino currently serves God with uprightness, advises young people to study the Word of God and supports the women society of the church.