Short-Term Mission Team from Suyeong, Busan
In Japan, there is a holiday period called “Golden Week,” which runs from late April through early May. As the name suggests, it is a period of golden holidays. Coincidentally, there were some public holidays in early May in Korea as well. For us, it was truly a golden opportunity—a chance to go to Japan to proclaim the truth boldly.
We planned to go on a short-term mission trip to Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, during this period. We, five members of the short-term mission team, had something in common: most of us were office workers and it was our first time participating in overseas missions. One more thing we had in common was that we used to think it was not our own mission to go overseas to preach. For about a year, we had watched some of our members actively take part in mission trips to Japan, and we heard many fragrances of Zion from them. However, we hesitated with the excuse that we didn’t have good language skills or enough time. We even thought that going overseas to preach was something that the leaders should do, and some of us were even afraid that they would cause trouble to the members as they went overseas with immature faith.
The perfect opportunity would never come, no matter how long we waited. To move forward in our journey of faith, we had to take steps first. We gathered the courage to take on the challenge before it was too late. Though we belonged to the same church, we were of different ages and had different personalities. So, our mission trip to Sendai was such a colorful and joyful experience. Let me tell you the story of our mission trip.
Japan is considered to be a country that feels near and distant as well. We felt familiar with Tsushima Island, because it is just about an hour from Busan. But Sendai is located in the northeastern region of Honshu Island. It took almost a full day for us to arrive there. We first flew from Gimhae International Airport to Narita International Airport; the flight time was approximately two and a half hours. We took a bus to Tokyo, which was about an hour and forty minutes from Narita International Airport. Then we boarded the Shinkansen, Japan’s high-speed rail, for another two hours and twenty minutes. After a long day of travel, we finally arrived in Sendai. Though the journey was long and difficult, our hearts were filled with excitement at the thought of making precious memories together. Except for the fact that billboards and road signs were in Japanese, the scenery looked surprisingly similar to the cities near Busan.
As soon as we arrived at Sendai Station, we were warmly greeted by some people holding a sign that read “Welcome to Sendai” in both Korean and Japanese, along with flower garlands. They were members from the Sendai Zion. We had committed ourselves to sharing Heavenly Mother’s love and our fervor for the gospel there, though we were lacking in many ways, but we never expected that we would receive love from the Japanese members. So we were deeply moved by them. Thanks to their heartfelt welcome, we were able to fully feel the love of our heavenly family members, although we had never met before.
We greeted the members in Japanese that we learned in Korea whenever we had time. Then we began our eight-day short-term mission trip, exactly a six-day mission trip—except for the time spent travelling. We thought that evangelism would be pretty much the same both in Korea and Japan. So we preached God’s word with passion and boldness, instead of fear. However, the response from people here was quite different from what we had expected. Perhaps because of their quiet nature, they avoided even making eye contact with us, foreigners. Even when they listened to the truth, they often turned away, saying it felt unfamiliar to them. Other members, who had visited Japan before, said that they preached in a festive, busy and vibrant atmosphere. But the atmosphere we experienced in Sendai was very different from our expectations, which left us feeling a bit bewildered.
The local members set a good example for us who were still inexperienced. With humility and cheerful hearts, they greeted each person quietly yet politely and shared God’s word with sincerity, giving their full attention to each soul. It didn’t matter how we had originally planned to preach. What we needed to do first was to understand the atmosphere and the nature of people here and to be considerate of them. So we, too, approached people carefully and politely. When we couldn’t communicate through words, we used gestures and translation apps, encouraging them to listen to the truth. Perhaps because of our sincerity, they gradually started listening to us.
Thankfully, from the very first day, we began to hear joyful news of new life being born in the Sendai Zion. When a student from Tohoku University, located near Zion, listened to the message that the blessing of eternal life can be given through the New Covenant Passover and baptism, he said, “If I can receive eternal life, why should I hesitate?” Then he gladly came to Zion to be baptized. Another woman we met on a rainy day was deeply moved when she heard that the Passover is the seal of God that protects us from disasters. She immediately expressed her desire to keep it, saying she needed God’s protection for the baby in her womb. We met another woman who was planning to study abroad in Korea, which made us even happier. She humbly examined the truth and was born again as a child of God.
Physical limitations, language barriers, and the nature of the people were not obstacles to us at all. Just as the Bible says, “My sheep listen to my voice,” many souls readily came to God, recognizing the value of the truth and longing to study God’s word. Only then were we able to understand what the members meant when they said they had preached in a festive atmosphere during their mission trip to Japan.
Of course, nothing happened effortlessly. With limited time, we often found ourselves feeling rushed, although we tried not to. Of course, while eating and sleeping together during our mission trip, we couldn’t avoid conflict, and when we had to decide on something, we were sometimes divided in our opinions because we had different levels of gospel experience. There were often situations where we could feel disappointed or hurt one another. To make the most of our precious time and not let a single moment go to waste, we had to unite our minds first. Whenever we had different opinions, we reminded ourselves of why we came to Sendai; we came here to find our heavenly family members. Every night, we gathered at our lodging to share thoughts, encourage one another, and reflect on what was the most important thing to us at the moment.
As we clearly understood what we should put our hearts and efforts into, we were able to solve other problems ourselves. Even when we faced moments of frustration, we endured it. So, when we woke up the next morning, we felt a deeper connection with one another, instead of getting disappointed, as we saw each other striving toward the same goal. Through that process, we gradually filled up what we had been lacking in: patience, consideration, and yielding.
Above all, we earnestly wanted to be of help to the Sendai Zion in any way we could. We always belonged to the church that’s larger in size. Only after our experience in a pre-branch church that’s smaller in size were we able to realize how abundantly we had been living and how vital the role of a gospel worker truly is. Each local member performed multiple roles in every way: preaching, service, etc. Watching them dedicate themselves so wholeheartedly, we eagerly wanted to find our brothers and sisters like them. Though they were few in number, they all took the lead in doing God’s work, without anyone stepping back. To encourage them, we shouted cheering slogans even louder, smiled a lot, and devoted ourselves to sowing the seed of God’s word every day. From morning until night, we prayed to God to help us find our brothers and sisters who would serve as gospel workers.
The seven nights and eight days passed by very quickly. The local members promised to diligently feed God’s word to the new members who wanted to continue studying the truth, even after we left. After returning to Korea, we also set a 100-day period of prayer and prayed with one mind for those souls and for the Sendai Zion. A few weeks later, we heard the joyful news that one of the people who had been studying God’s word became a child of God and attended worship. So, we were able to find six of our lost heavenly family members in Sendai.
Come to think of it, we received greater blessings beyond what our efforts deserved. God was always ready to bless us abundantly, but we were lacking in understanding and postponed the opportunity to be blessed, saying to ourselves, “We’re not ready yet,” and, “Someone else will do it.” But once we cast aside our worries and stepped onto the stage of prophecy, we witnessed a miraculous scene entirely different from what we had imagined from the outside. We were very worried about our roles and lacked confidence. But through this mission, we felt like God was telling us that we’re worthy enough to be used as tools for the gospel and we had much to do for the gospel. We were so happy and grateful for this.
We heard that many members have participated in short-term mission trips to Japan, as we did before. Though each trip lasted for about ten days and our efforts were sporadic, God was most pleased with our unity and devotion and allowed us to bear fruit continuously, regarding our small efforts as great. Recently, something that once seemed like a dream actually came true: a new pre-branch church was established in Japan. This was made possible thanks to the help of the local members; they adjusted their personal schedules to join the mission teams, continued to study God’s word in depth with new members, and serving on the front lines of the gospel with devotion. We truly believe that God gave us this amazing result as He was pleased with the unity of His children, who crossed the sea to help complete the gospel of the kingdom of heaven.
Though we are in different places, our destination is the same. It is the glorious kingdom of heaven where we will live with Father and Mother as well as our brothers and sisters. From now on, we will no longer remain bystanders but continue to move forward toward heaven as the protagonists of prophecy, remembering that each day is a “golden time” to be blessed and we are on the stage of the gospel given by God every day. I believe that God will complete the rest of our story when we take steps, instead of just waiting for the perfect timing.