“I wanna go to camp!” Erica and Michelle excitedly exclaimed as they jumped in circles around Mom. The only catch? There were nearly 150 Bible verses to memorize before the girls would be qualified to attend this particular camp. Added to that daunting task was the fact that English was still a second language in our family.
And so, Mom (and God) went to work. Day and night, scripture songs were composed, sung, memorized, and recorded. Soon the scripture songs were all memorized, and the girls were happily off to camp. Others wanted to share in learning the scripture songs, and soon the Chibi Beans Music Ministry was born.
The Word of God is often compared to seeds. Seeds must be picked up, tucked away in the soil, and taken care of before it can spring up and take root. At times, tiny seeds are hard to pick up (literally). Beans, however, are much easier to pick up and plant – even for little children. “Chibi” means tiny or small in Japanese, and our hope is that you find these precious “little beans” easier to tuck away in your memory.
When Michelle was about 5 years old and Erica was 3, Mariko began putting the weekly sabbath school memory verse to music for the local Japanese church. In Erica’s bedroom, a small recording studio was set up with one mic and a tiny 4-track recording machine. It was there that the Japanese scripture songs were first recorded.
From there, the daunting project of putting 140+ verses to song in order to attend camp was undertaken. After successfully memorizing the entire Sealing Touch Jr. compilation of memory verses, we realized the power of scripture songs. Not only did music help to increase retention, but it made memorizing a fun and easy activity.
Sealing Touch is a ministry led by Donna Nicholas, and the memory verse compilations put together by her have been the basis for our ministry. Beginning with the Sealing Touch Jr. book for children, we continued to sing and record the Sealing Touch Sr. book for advanced memorizers. Another compilation of encouraging verses entitled "Sealing Promises" has also been put to song.
Although we began Chibi Beans Ministry because we wanted to learn memory verses for a camp, it has grown into a lifelong project that has blessed us in so many ways. This website was created so that we can share those blessings with you too.
Happy memorizing!
