Niseko Mission Trip Wrap-Up

Well, the Niseko mission trip has come to a close! After a couple of weeks recovering from both the trip and a pesky flu, I'm finally ready to share my thoughts and experiences. Even though I didn’t reach the full trip cost, I want to give a huge shoutout to all my amazing prayer partners and donors! I truly appreciate every bit of support and encouragement along the way! Especially in my moments of struggle, I was showered with messages and prayers of support!

Most of our days were split into three parts: morning English camp, afternoon visits with a pastor or missionary, and evening team sharing and prep work.

March 23-24: We kicked things off with worship at Niseko Church, witnessing a vibrant group of about 30 worshippers grow from just 4! It was amazing to see how God provided a new clubhouse right when their old building closed due to safety regulations. Talk about perfect timing! The rest of our time was spent prepping for classes and setting up the school.

March 25-27: Early mornings at school! We had kids’ camp from 9-12pm and saw the kids transform from shy to joyful by the end of Day 1. I taught two art classes each day: 8-9 y/o and 10-13 y/o.

Every day the team battled sickness and sleepiness; 5.5 hours of decent sleep felt like a luxury! Major respect to teachers—it's no easy feat! Thankfully, our team had some awesome translators.

March 28: On our last day, we had lunch with the kids after classes and tried to mingle, but it mostly resulted in awkward silence. It definitely motivated me to learn some Japanese if I want to connect better! After that, all I remember was helping move a hefty 200lb fridge up two flights of stairs and returning the classroom to its original state. Drop dead tired but fulfilled!

Mission Team, Local Pastor and Missionaries

Organization is just part of the culture!

In some ways, this was one of the hardest mission trips I've experienced. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone to teach kids but mainly due to sickness and lack of sleep. Yet, I'm incredibly grateful for the energy we had to finish the journey and for the behavior of the kids in Japan; they were surprisingly well-behaved, making our teaching experience much smoother than it might have been elsewhere.

That's the camp…

Then …

The most heartfelt moments came from sharing sessions with pastors and missionaries after camp. The reality of only 1% (or less) of the population being believers hit hard. Hearing stories of evangelizing for 10 to 20 years before seeing one person come to Christ revealed the resilient barrier preventing many from accepting Him. However, I also saw how God is orchestrating efforts among diverse groups—retired Japanese American pastors, young couples from Australia, and missionaries from Canada and Hong Kong—all working together to encourage this culture to seek the Creator.

I teared up during two share sessions, especially when a Japanese American asked, “Why didn’t I think to spread the gospel to my own people?” I'm not sure why I reacted the way I did. In context what he said had nothing to do with me. It doesn't feel like a calling to my Chinese roots, it felt Japan related. I’m still seeking clarity on what God wants for me next. I do believe in each of us asking ourselves, “how can I be efficient in what I’m doing for the gospel?”