My mother, Setsuko Ichikawa, joined Shinreikyo during 1967 in hopes of having my paternal grandmother cured of rheumatism. My father, the children and grandchildren all joined after, establishing faith within the household. During these 45 years, under Kyososama’s Divine Grace, the family has all been able to live in good health.

Around June of 2012, my mother’s physical strength gradually began to weaken. However, she participated in the Dawning World March held the following September, in good health. Even at home she would do the garden and house chores, but by November, she began to have difficulty walking and began to sleep often.

On November 18th, a Shinreikyo event planned by the district I belong to (Tama District) took place, where I was fortunate enough to give a presentation of my miraculous experience. After returning home from the event, I reported to my mother how successful the event was, where she responded “how wonderful,” in delight.

As if she felt relieved from hearing this, after taking a few deep breaths, she transmigrated to the next life in peace as my sister, my wife, and I watched over her. We didn’t have an attending physician at the time of death. However, we had applied for nursing care, and the day before my mother passed, a doctor visited our home to give her a medical examination. When we contacted him, he wrote the death certificate for us right away.

After taking her last breath, my mother’s facial expression turned into a full smile. For the following four days, until the funeral took place, her body remained warm and flexible. And even though we did not use dry ice, there was no putrid smell. The wrinkles on her face began to disappear and her expression became noble and peaceful. Her hair was becoming fuller and changing to a deeper black color. I could see with my own eyes that she was being saved to a higher region. It was just as we were taught in Shinreikyo. My aunt was shocked by her passing, because she had just seen my mother in good condition two weeks before, but said, “She must have been saved to a wonderful place,” upon seeing my mother’s smiling expression.

We were blessed with beautiful weather during the funeral and after the cremation. Regardless of her small stature, her bones could not fit in the largest cinerary urn they had, which surprised the workers at the crematory. Upon my mother’s passing, I was unsure whether her time of death was approaching, but she received phone calls from close ones she had not spoken to in a while. She always spoke of not wanting to inconvenience others by becoming bedridden, so she had arranged all important documents in advance, which left us without a single thing to worry about upon her passing.

My mother did not have a strong body since birth, but was able to live her life in good health, not having to consult a doctor. She was saved from osteoarthritis of her knee in 2005 and was saved SSHL (Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss) in 2008. Also, the medical examination she took a few years before showed one of her kidneys had been malfunctioning since she was young. However, she lived a long life, which I am so thankful for.

Right after becoming a Shinreikyo follower, she did volunteer work service at the reception desk of the Shinreikyo headquarters and was part of Omusubikai (rice-making group) for 40 years, where she expressed her gratitude every day. When she received a certificate of commendation for all of her volunteer work service in 2011, she was all the more grateful.

All of her grandchildren had become grown adults with jobs. Last summer she was filled with joy for being able to hold my sister’s eldest son’s child, who was her first great grandchild. I am thankful form the bottom of my heart for the many blessings my mother received throughout her life.