Finding God in Beautiful and Hard Things
Dear friends,
Thank you so much for following my time in Japan and for praying while I was there. It’s been about three weeks since I arrived back in California, and now I want to take some time to share about the second half of my trip!
There were many highlights and sweet moments, as well as several challenging things. I want to share about both to hopefully give a picture of what those weeks were like for me. Scroll through the pictures to see slideshows :)
Summer Festival
My friend Sunny (who I shared about in my previous letter) invited me to a "natsu matsuri" - a Japanese summer festival! She was actually in the parade. It was a Shinto festival, centered around a shrine. This was probably one of my favorite cultural moments I got to experience!
Here is a short video of when the shrine cart went right by me! You can hear the drums and cheering.
Sickness
I got sick with Covid, and we had to cancel church and other plans. I’m thankful for my teammates who brought me food while I was sick! During that week of isolation, I felt so lonely. It was disappointing to cancel plans to visit friends that week. Yet during that isolation time, I was able to pray a lot. It felt like God gave me a chance to experience real life, and then in the hardship to decide if I want to still say yes to his call to move to Japan. I also enjoyed some beautiful sunsets from the balcony that week - a sign that God was with me.
Spiritual Conversations
While I was there, the team had many spiritual conversations with Japanese friends (a couple friends pictured below). Several new people were interested in coming to church, it was amazing to see how God was working! When we had to cancel church because of sickness, I sensed spiritual warfare, knowing that the enemy does not want Japanese people to come to Christ. Praise God for those friends who are showing interest in Christianity - pray for them and for the Osaka team as they continue these relationships and conversations!
Reconnecting with Friends
I visited my friends for a few days in Sanda (an hour outside of Osaka). 7 years ago, I spent a three months here working with the Thomsons at their English school. The Thomsons are the ones who told me about Eternity Bible College and influenced my decision to move to California and get a Bible degree. It was so amazing to go back and see them again, especially having just graduated from EBC and getting to share with them about my experience. I had a very restful few days staying in a familiar place that I’ve missed! I was also encouraged knowing that if I do move to Osaka, I have friends/mentors nearby!
I also got to visit my previous Japanese host family from the World Race! It was such a special time. Scroll to see a picture from when I stayed with them 8 years ago!
Loss
Near the end of my trip, a fellow Encompass missionary in Tokyo, Ralph Justiniano, suddenly passed away while on a biking trip. It was tragic for the Osaka team, as they were all very close to him. I had heard a lot about Ralph and was supposed to meet him and debrief with him and his wife at the end of my trip, but he died two days before I would have met him. Even though I didn’t have the privilege of knowing him, he left an amazing legacy of serving Jesus in Japan for 28 years, and I know he will be deeply missed. Please pray for his family, friends, and the Encompass family as they grieve. Also pray for the Osaka team and other coworkers in Japan as they process this tragedy, and the baton now passes to them to continue the ministry.
Goodbyes
I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the team yet!
Tokyo
I took the bullet train up to Tokyo and stayed at a hotel for a few days before flying out at the end of my trip. I stayed with an Encompass staff member, and even though we both got sick, we still went out and explored a little bit! We ate ramen (I found gluten free ramen!), and we went to the Tokyo Skytree to see the view of the city at night. Taking the bullet train by myself, staying in downtown Tokyo, and getting to the airport by myself was certainly an adventure, one that helped me grow in confidence!
View from the shinkansen (bullet train):
New Church
Praise God that the team was finally able to have their first church service in the new ministry center just one week ago! While I’m sad to not be there for it, I am rejoicing with them for each person who came, for the new space that is ready for events, and to see God working!
As you can see, there were many encouraging and also hard and unexpected things that happened during my time in Osaka. God gave me the opportunity to experience real life – sickness, disappointments, changed plans, even death. While it’s not what I (or anyone) planned for, I sense that God knew this is what I needed as I consider moving there. It helped me gain a more accurate picture of what life might be like and what I would be saying yes to.
In my last letter, I shared that living in the city felt overwhelming. While it’s still not my favorite place, the few weeks I spent living on my own helped me grow a lot in confidence. By the end of the trip, I felt a little more comfortable living in the city and navigating public transportation. The relationships I built with the team and with Japanese friends helped me feel better about living in Osaka. It’s also helpful knowing there are many places within an hour or two where I can easily get away and be in nature!
I’ve been thinking a lot about Jesus’ call to “take up your cross and follow me.” Moving to Japan requires living in a place that doesn’t feel like home, eating food that’s not my favorite, embracing loneliness at times, and learning a difficult language. Yet there are many people who don’t know Jesus, and I personally experienced friends who are asking questions and wanting to know more about Christianity. This makes me feel certain about moving to Japan. And at the same time, I recognize that I don’t have the strength to do it on my own. Please pray with me that I would rely on Jesus’ strength to follow him.
As I continue recovering and processing everything that happened over the summer, I do plan to slowly move forward with joining the Encompass team in Osaka. The next step is to apply with Encompass to be a long-term worker. In the mean time, I will be living and working part time in Southern California; I hope to spend some extended time in Michigan as well in the coming year. I'm not sure when I'll begin raising monthly support, but I will keep you all updated!
I’m thankful that I’ve seen many of you and been able to share personally about my trip! I appreciate your prayers and support so much, thank you for being a part of what God is doing in Japan and in my life.
Blessings,
Allana
"Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." Psalm 139:7-10
Click to listen to this verse in a song - it's been so encouraging to me lately!
