Dear Beloved Friend and/or Family Member,
こんにちは (Kon'nichiwa)! How have you been? I hope this letter finds you healthy, content, and jiving to the beat of Christ. I wanted to take this time to share with you about a mission trip that I’ll be serving in this winter.
From January 23 to January 30, I will be in Japan serving on a mission trip with my church “New Philadelphia” (newphiladelphiachurch.com). My team consists of 14 talented and servant-hearted people who are giving up their vacation days and free time to go to this nation and display the love of Jesus Christ. We will be visiting church plants in various towns and cities, praying for the sick, and hosting revival services.
I’m excited to go for many reasons. Since 2011, God has illuminated my heart with a fire for Japan. As you may already know, Japan was hit with one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, prompting a devastating tsunami and nuclear disaster back in 2011. In case you were wondering how Japan has been doing since then, I believe the headline of an article in the Seattle Times will sufficiently explain the situation – “Recovery Isn’t In Sight 3 Years After Japan’s Tsunami.” On a practical level, my team and I hope to aid in any capacity, be the tasks directly related to the aftermath of the disaster or related to assisting local communities. On a spiritual level, we hope to empower Christianity in Japan by edifying local churches and doing outreach via dance and song! We carefully chose these avenues because they seemed the most translatable and thus the most effective in meeting the spiritual needs of Japan. You may or may not know that fewer than 1% of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. About 70% of Japanese profess no religious membership. It’s a tough spiritual climate. This makes me all the more determined and excited to go.
I hope that you will share in my enthusiasm. There are two ways in which you can partner with me on this missions trip. First, I’d like to ask you for prayer. If you go to facebook.com/newphilly, there will be daily updates from the field of our team’s progress so you can pray specifically. Secondly, I will be raising 650,000 Korean Won (or $602.91 in U.S. currency) to cover some of the trip expenses. If you’d like to help, please donate via this site.
Thank you for reading!
Love, Peace, and Blessings On You!
Jennifer Won Young Lee