So it’s been 2 months since I updated. So many different things happened, that this would be another long update. In my defense, I wanted to update after I got back from Thailand, but the following days after I got back from Thailand were spent in bed as I had dysentery and a horrible cough and cold. Then after I started getting better by the end of the month (yes, it lasted that long), we had to prepare for our student conference. In addition to that, we spent a bunch of days working on our Japan taxes (if you think US taxes are a pain, imagine doing it in a different language on paper with no auto-check compared to doing it online in the states). Then after our conference, we got moved from Tokyo to Kyoto on the recommendation of our crisis management team. So now that things are settling down, I am doing my best to catch up with the flood of emails and messages that I received. =)
This blog post’s order will be
1. Midyear Conference/Thailand
2. Student Conference
3. Prayer Requests
4. Daily blog
The Earthquake Update will be separate and written after this.
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1. Midyear Conference/Thailand
It was a blessed time to be able to spend a week with other missionaries in Thailand. The purpose of the week was for rest and restoration of our souls for the middle of our stint year and to prepare our hearts for another half of work in the ministry. Many of the missionaries are in closed countries and places where they cannot openly worship and praise, so being in an open country where we can sing aloud our praises is such a blessing. We were also able to meet our coaches who checked up on our wellbeing and on the team’s dynamics.
For me, I went into the conference wanting to rest and learn more about joining fulltime staff. I thought I was convinced and set on joining staff, but during my first meeting with my coach and he was sharing about the timeline for joining staff, I felt tears come up behind my eyes. I was shocked, as I thought I was at peace with the decision, but I guess even though my head was logically going with the decision, my heart complained and felt uneasy. So I spent the rest of the conference in quiet time with God and talking through it with different staff. I realized Satan was trying to discourage me with many different little lies, and I had to reply to each lie with promises I remembered from the Word. I realized I had to make a conscious decision to trust God with my future and put my faith in His care. So now I am applying for fulltime staff and I hope to be back in Japan soon after this year is over.
After the conference, our team went to Chiang Mai for a week. Before we came to Thailand, I was wondering how we would be able to serve in the country. Being in Thailand instead of Japan doesn’t mean we “turn off” being a follower of Christ. From hearing that 10% of all tourist money goes towards sex trafficking, seeing the overt idol worship (It was Chinese New Year when we went), seeing the abject poverty on the streets, getting cat calls by girls on the street, seeing the escort services everywhere, and smelling the odor of trash throughout the city, my heart broke for the people and I wanted to help in some way. I knew I couldn’t speak the language and I couldn’t feed them forever, so it was a blessing to know that I can pray for them and perhaps give them the gospel (David bought 50 Gideon Bibles from the hotel for $2).
One way we wanted to help out with an orphanage and volunteer for some service work, but because half of our team got sick we decided to rest instead. I went out to see how I can share the gospel, but instead of being able to share the gospel, God used me to meet a Christian girl from Thailand CCC! We were able to spend time with Pare and encourage her in her walk with God. After that, I wasn’t able to meet anyone else because Henry and I hit the jackpot and we both came down with dysentery and the same illnesses.
Seeing the brokenness in Thailand really opened my heart for the cause of the gospel in the unreached people groups. Thailand is under 0.7% Christian, and there is much more apparent evil and pain, and seeing the people made me really want to make a difference in this world. It also made me praise God for allowing me to serve in Japan in another large people group, who even though there aren’t such obvious brokenness, there are still many underlying problems of depression, apathy, loneliness, and oppression. Being in Thailand helped make clear the need for Christ’s hope in the world and I am even more thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the advancement of His kingdom.
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2. Student Conference
Our national student conference (CHANGE conference) was held from March 14- to March 17th. This is after the earthquake and during the uncertainty of the nuclear plant problems. We seriously discussed whether we should cancel the conference or continue with it. After much prayer, we decided to continue with the conference, but wih a focus on prayer for the Tohoku region and on making love evident to everyone.
The conference was wonderful. Some students and staff were not able to come because their parents were uncomfortable with the situation, but for the rest of the students, they were so encouraged by meeting with other Christians from all over Japan. Every day there was news of problems, but as we met regularly and prayed for Japan together, the students were comforted and encouraged to love Jesus even more. Many of the students expressed that they felt so much love and affection from everyone in the conference and that they truly wanted to share that love outside as they return to their homes and universities.
Many people in the US were wondering why I was still in Japan during such uncertain times with the nuclear danger and everything. But seeing the smiles on the faces of my brothers and sisters in Christ (and YOUR brothers and sisters in Christ) made it all worth it. Being able to encourage and comfort students and send them out is the reason why I stayed, and I would do it again if it meant someone will love Jesus more. God asks us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and not to only love when it’s convenient and “safe.” In fact, God says that when we follow Him, we should expect persecution, suffering, and difficulty.
So I thank God for the opportunity to love my family here in Japan, and seeing them grow in their faith and outward acts of love has been an answer to prayer.
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3. Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray me as I finish my staff application. May God continue to guide and bring me to Japan
2. For the students to continue to be on fire for God and in making His love evident to their neighbors and friends
3. For the earthquake relief efforts and the nuclear containment process so that the place will be safe again
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4. Daily Blog
I’m going to have a spotty blog as I can’t remember much of what happened due to my sickness and some of the days were just so boringly filled with meetings. ^^;; Please feel free to skip this section if you don’t want to know what I do during the days.
Saturday 1-22-11 : We flew to Thailand and arrived at the hotel for the night. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel and met many other stinters and staff who just finished a conference there. =)
Sunday 1-23-11 to Thursday 1-27-11: We took a bus to Cha’am, and checked into our hotel for the conference. I already wrote about my impressions from the conference so I’ll talk about the things we did. We had breakfast, then morning meeting/worship, then an hour of quiet time, another message, lunch, free time, dinner with team or with coaches, and then nightly meetings. The free time was a time to spend at the beach, meet other missionaries and hear their stories of God’s providence, and praise and worship together. We got cheap Thai massages, food, and appreciated the good exchange rate we got going from yen to Thai baht. =) Everyone had one or two meetings with the coaches, and we had 2 team times with the coaches during the conference. Before going to Thailand, I helped design our team STINT shirts and it was awesome to wear it as a team. =) During the night, we were able to go into the beach and see the bioluminescient water! It sparkled and glittered as you swam through the water! =D And lastly, on the last day of the conference, the Japan team led a time of prayer and worship in the middle of the beach, and that was an amazing blessing to be able to pray with missionaries sent all over the area. =)
Thursday 1-27-11 : We took the bus to Bangkok and stayed there for a day. We were able to spend time with another team from Cal Poly. =)
Friday 1-28-11 : We checked out and went to visit the Grand Palace, and then went to take a night train to Chiang Mai. We wanted to take the train, but since it was close to Chinese New Year, we weren’t able to so we were stuck in the train station. A nice lady came by and started talking with Kimi, and we were able to give her and her son a Thai Bible. =D We were able to get a night bus to Chiang Mai and arrived in the morning.
Saturday 1-29-11 : People went out to visit the local high schools but I stayed at the hotel. During the middle of the day, I started feeling feverish so I went to sleep to try to get better. I slept the whole day away.
Sunday 1-30-11 : I felt better, so I went to the middle of Chiang Mai with Mike and Michelle. We wandered and found a museum, and I was able to talk with the attendant as we paid for our entrance fee. I asked her if she would be free to show us around the night market that night (because Sunday’s night market is famous in Chiang Mai) and she argreed. =) So that night, we spent time with her and she guided us through the city. Through our conversation with her, we found out that she was part of Thailand CCC! It was so amazing that God allowed us to meet a sister in Christ and encourage her. =) After I got back home to the hotel, I crashed and was sick.
Monday 1-31-11 : I was sick in bed all day, drinking water and sleeping. We took the night bus (horrible experience for some of us) and got to Bangkok.
Tuesday 2-1-11 : I slept in all day again, and only went out to try to get some food or Gatorade.
Wednesday 2-2-11 : I felt SOOOOOO bad when I woke up. After going to the bathroom several times, I started having horrendous back spasms and pains, and I couldn’t feel my hands. I was nauseous and I really felt I was going to die. I didn’t know if I could make the van ride to Pattaya, but somehow God kept me from throwing up and I was able to make it there. The room was super nice, and it was a comfortable place to be horribly sick. The teammates went out to see the island, and me and Henry stayed inside all day.
Thursday 2-3-11 : I was sick so I couldn’t go with the team to the zipline trip. I was tired of drinking so much Gatorade so I got filet mignon with Henry for lunch. They came back and we checked out, and took the van back to Bangkok airport. We then waited in the airport from 7pm to 5am to board our plane.
Friday 2-4-11 : At 5am, we took our plane back home to Japan. We took the NEX express train to Shinjuku, but on the way, Kat got lost and cut off from our team. We were so afraid since she didn’t have her phone, wallet, or jacket, and we hurried to the train help station to ask them to find Kat. But praise God! He kept her safe and through the help of generous old Japanese people, Kat was able to go to Shinjuku and meet us. We got back to Mitaka safely, ate at Gustos, and I went to sleep.
Saturday 2-5-11 : Henry and I went with Jiko to the hospital to ask for a doctor to check us. We went to several clinics, getting turned aside and realizing that it may cost us about $250 since we didn’t have Japanese health insurance and a wait about 2 hours to get checked by the doctor. We realized that the doctor may just tell us to rest and maybe get some medicine, and we decided it wasn’t worth the money, so we left the hospital and treated Jiko out to a nice lunch. =D
Sunday 2-6-11 : Stayed in instead of going to church since I was sick. I did go to the going away party for the Koreans and Ayumi that night, and then practiced with HS and went home.

The Koreans who were going home =( I miss them!
Monday 2-7-11 to Monday 2-28-11: This is where my memory for the time starts getting hazy, as I was still pretty sick and mostly staying at home trying to keep others from getting sick (also, my horrible cough kept me from being able to hold conversations). I still went to the weekly Thursday meetings, daily prayer meetings, Holy Spirit practice, weekly prayer on Wednesday but other things are less clear. So I’ll write about the things I remember:
Wendesday 2-9-11 : There was a Waseda Unity and Prayer night in Nishi Waseda church. YWAM, CCC, KGK, IHOP, and other groups came to praise and pray for the campus, and it was a great time of fellowship. I couldn’t do much except silently pray as my cough was keeping me from being able to do anything.
Saturday 2-12-11 : I skyped in the morning with Cal Poly SLO’s CCF missions night. They rotated different groups, and Ryan and I were able to share about Japan’s situation with many of the students and invite them to consider missions. =D I was trying my best to get well so I can talk with them, and during the skype time, I was given 2 hours of an OK voice and was able to share even through the difficulty. =)
Sunday 2-13-11 : I went for lunch with Asahi and was able to share the gospel with her and then bring her to New Hope Church. =) It was good to be able to catch up and encourage her to think more about seeking God. =)
Monday 2-14-11 : After the meeting, the guys surprised the girls and we cooked them pancakes for Valentines day. =) Then they had to prepare for their girls night, so we went home, got dinner with students, and then had our “Valiant Day” with the guys in the student center. We played tons of video games, watched a manly movie (Gladiator), and slept over the student center. It snowed, so it was romantic but I had no one to share it with. =P
Tuesday 2-15-11 : I spent my day with the Lord at home and finished “Let the Nations Be Glad” by John Piper. It is an awesome book, and it really encouraged me to spend this life for the cause of the gospel.
Tuesday 2-22-11 : We went to the YWAM house and had dinner with them. =) I loved hearing how God called them to Japan and seeing their heart to see God work in Japan. =)
Monday 2-28-11 : We went again to the YWAM house with the rest of our team, since many of the YWAM people are leaving Tokyo. Their commitment was only 6 months, so we wanted to say goodbye to them before they left.

Saying good bye to some missionaries who are going back
Tuesday 3-1-11 : I was finally well enough to talk, so I started planning and inviting students to my home! =D
Thursday 3-3-11 : We started doing our taxes since Japanese taxes are due March 15th, and it took the whole day working with Cam, and at the end, we weren’t sure if we finished it right. =( So we had to wait for Cam to get more clarification on some of the paperwork.
Friday 3-4-11 : I had a potluck with Henry and we invited Yusuke and Arisa and Rina to join us for dinner. It was so fun to have students at my home again, and I pray that they were encouraged. =)
Saturday 3-5-11 : We had our Senior Graduation Party, so I brought dessert (coke ice cream floats). We had a fun time thanking the seniors and graduates, and we had so much good food for dinner. After dinner, each of the seniors went up to share about their experience with Student Impact and some advice to give to the underclassmen. I was sad to see so many of my good friends graduate, but it was such a praise to see how they have grown in their walk and how God used SI to bless them.

Our graduating class

The dance ministry team =)
Sunday 3-6-11 : After practice at HS, I shared my lifestory with them. =D
Monday 3-7-11 : I cooked for Chihiro, Haruka, and Emma at my home. I also was able to share my lifestory and calling testimony with them, and I’m glad I was able to encourage them. =D
Tuesday 3-8-11 : I went for lunch with Nonno in Takadanobaba and we had some awesome ramen. =) It’s been a long time since I was able to hang out with Nonno, and I was able to encourage him and ask to help out with Paddy. =)
Wednesday 3-9-11 : We had our going away party for Jiko that night, and each stinter cooked a dish. =D It was such a good potluck! After eating, Jiko gave us presents that represented us, and then we sang tons of worship songs together. I loved the sound of worship that we make in the center when Jiko leads us. =D
Thursday 3-10-11 : We spent the day working on our taxes again, and finished them! YAY! It’s such a hassle to have to pay taxes in Japan, because it makes our paperwork in America even more complicated. =( That night for SI, we had a prayer time for CHANGE conference.
Friday 3-11-11 : March Eleventh, Twenty-Eleven. The day the world shook. It started like a normal day, with us having our shinkan (start of the school year) planning and then going out for lunch. I was in Inokashira Park with Mike when the earthquake hit, so we didn’t feel much of a shake (although it was a little difficult to stay up). After the earthquake, we were wandering around Kichijoji and everyone seemed to be in shock. There were sirens, people looking lost, and children crying. We had no idea what just happened, as we didn’t get to a computer until later in the afternoon and realized what a tragedy had occurred. I’m glad I was in Kichijoji, as I was able to bike back home to Mitaka, but as we all gathered in the student center and felt aftershocks after aftershocks, it was so surreal. We stayed in the building even though there were so many aftershocks, because after going out every 20 minutes, we decided just to stay put. I was overwhelmed by the emails and messages asking how I was doing, and as of today (3-30) I am still catching up on them. We were supposed to have our HS dance retreat that night, but because every train line was cancelled, we weren’t able to practice (another surreal feeling, knowing that we still need to practice for CHANGE conference but our only chance was gone).
Saturday 3-12-11 : Awakening to the aftershocks wasn’t pleasant, but a reminder of the scope of the event that just happened. I went out to buy baking material for White Day, and then went to the student center to practice with Kimiyo and David for CHANGE conference.
Sunday 3-13-11 : New Hope’s service was good. It was solemn and prayerful as we lifted our requests to God. One of our Pastors, Pastor Peter, shared his testimony on how God saved him from being caught in the tsunami in Sendai. That was a powerful reminder of God’s protection, and it encouraged the congregation in their faith in God. =) During HS that night, we had our last practice and even though I couldn’t dance pretty much until the day before, God again showed His faithfulness to me and David and blessed me with the ability the day before CHANGE conference.
I spent the whole night writing my update on the earthquake, skyping with my parents, and packing, so I only had an hour of sleep the night before the conference.
Monday 3-14-11 : CHANGE conference! I woke up early for the conference since we were going to have rolling blackouts throughout the city. But once I arrived at the Mitaka station, it was so crazy as there were limited train lines and I had to wait 1.5 hours to even get on to the station. It was super packed, and I arrived at the Yoyogi Olympic Center later than expected. But everyone was late, so we had to shift our schedule a bit to accommodate the students.
The first day was super busy. After registration and check in, the students went to class while the staff got together to practice our surprise dance. We practiced for an hour, then I practiced with HS for our sign dance, then I practiced again with the staff for their dance, then I practiced with HS together for the sign dance, and then I went backstage with the staff for our surprise….that was a lot of rehearsals and practice. hahaha ^^;; But the students loved our Soran Bushi dance, and it was fun being able to sign to “Amazing Love” after the first message! =D
Tuesday 3-15-11 : Breakfast, then during the class time the stinters spent time with the staff. We started getting news that we might have to pull out of Japan, so everyone was a little stressed (also getting the news about the reactor wasn’t assuring either). So we prayed during the break for all the uncertainties that surrounded us. After lunch, we practiced with HS during free time for our dance that night, and even then it wasn’t sure if we would be able to perform. We had our meeting that night, and after the message, we had a time of prayer for Japan. It was so solemn and deep as we cried out for the Lord to heal our land. After the prayer, we changed the theme a bit and instead of the talent show, FREE and HS went up and we wanted to encourage the students with our songs. HS dance to Joyful Joyful, and I look and am amazed at how God helped us choose such a perfect song for this time. I loved being able to dance there and lift the spirits of the students! =)
Wednesday 3-16-11 : We had more news about radiation, so after breakfast, the stinters stayed together in the cafe during most of the class time. After lunch, we were supposed to have our outreach day, but because of the radiation warning in effect, we decided that we would stay inside and have small group sharing (We wanted to go out for sharing, but because there might not be anyone out, that’s why we decided to stay). I joined a Japanese small group and it was so awesome! I helped encourage them to share their testimonies, and then I was able to share my testimony and how God called me to Japan! When I shared, people started crying and praising God for remembering Japan and calling people to serve here. I am glad I was able to have someone translate for me and help me share my God story. =D

My small group at conference! I <3 these brothers and sisters
We had dinner, then Yoshitaka shared a message on loving radically with our actions. Then we had a talent show and 2 students went up to praise God with dance and song. It wasn’t as much a talent show as it was a time to praise God and give Him honor, so that was cool. =) After the performances, we had a time of testimony and several students went up to share how God has changed them during this conference and what steps they are going to take after this to focus on loving others.
Thursday 3-17-11 : We had breakfast, checked out, and then went home to Mitaka. We had a meeting and found out that we were required to go to Kyoto, so it was weird packing in 2 hours to evacuate. o_O We took the shinkansen to Kyoto and arrived at night. That was such a surreal day, waking up in Tokyo and being evacuated on short notice to Kyoto the same day. O_O

The Lee Family =D
Friday 3-18-11 : Stayed inside, had curry as a team before the Koreans went left the next day to Korea.
Saturday 3-19-11 : I took the train to Nagoya to visit friends, Keiko, Emi, Satomi, and Ibuki. We went to Ichira[sp], walked around Sakae’s shops, and then to Komoda’s for ice cream danish and choco ice cream floats, then Kahori joined us for dinner at a Korean place. =D I met with them because most of them were unable to go to CHANGE conference, so I was able to talk with them and share what happened and encourage them.
Sunday 3-20-11 : The stinters went to Osaka Suita Bible Church, and we had lunch with some of the Osaka stinters. =) Then we went to Umeda for fun, and went home before it started raining hard. It was Jessica Campbell’s last day in Japan, so we were able to have some fun before she had to return to the states.
Monday 3-21-11 : Most of the day spent inside. I found it truly difficult to do work at home, since there are no chairs and I can’t type comfortably because my shoulders and arms and back hurts so badly. =(
Tuesday 3-22-11 : We went to Kyoto University with Euikyum and met students in the co-op cafeteria. =) Then we went to Doshisha University to pray and share about our time in Kyodai.
Wednesday 3-23-11 : We had our Day with the Lord. I went to Kyoto station and walked along Kamogawa river for most of the day, listening to worship music and prayer walking the city. I then went to Nijo station and spent time in the cafe reading the Bible and praying.
Thursday 3-24-11 : Stayed inside from the rain.
Friday 3-25-11 : We wanted to help the Gideons pass Bibles out at Kyoto Prefectural University, but due to a misunderstanding about the bus schedules, we were unable to make it so we were stuck in the middle of Kyoto. ^^;;; So the girls went to meet their friends in Kyodai and the guys went to Doshisha to see if anyone was available to talk. We didn’t have much luck, so we took a nap and then went home. =)
Saturday 3-26-11 : I missed meeting with friends, so I went to Nagoya again because I didn’t know if it would be my last time able to see them. I met up with the Australian stinters and we had lunch at JUSCO’s basement shops. Then we window shopped until the stinters had to leave, so we then went to meet Cecilia and hang out with her. =) We went to take purikura, and then eat Akakara nabe for dinner. That was soooooo good! I love Akakara!
Sunday 3-27-11 : We went to the church in Kyoto that Eukyom introduced us to, but we were late (we thought it started at 5:30, but it started at 5). We were able to spend dinner with the members of the church and that was encouraging to be blessed by people we met for the first time!
Monday 3-28-11 : Prayed in the morning and planned for Shinkan, then ate Coco’s curry, and then had food coma for the rest of the day. ^^;;
Tuesday 3-29-11 : Team Fun day at Toei Kyoto Studio Park! It is a replica fuedal town with ninjas and samurai, and we had fun seeing the shows and being as a team. They were selling awesome katanas, and I really wanted one, but I didn’t know what I would do with one. Henry bought one though, and it was so fun to take pictures with him slaying everything in sight. There was a Superhero land, and they had so many exhibits of Power Rangers and Kamen Rider. I felt nostalgic seeing all the Power Rangers, and I’m amazed at how many Power Ranger seasons there were (it’s still going on, and the current generation is the Pirate Power Rangers). After the park, we went to Gustos, had lunch/dinner, and came home.
Wednesday 3-30-11 : Today we planned for our shinkan welcome party, and then I went out with Michelle, Mike, and AJ for lunch. We found an awesome tomato ramen place, and after lunch I went to this cafe and started writing this blog update. As of this sentence, I have spent 4 hours straight writing this long post, and then after this I will be going to eat sushi and then have our prayer meeting tonight. YAY! I caught up!