Let’s just say I haven’t had time to blog (my apologies)

Six weeks in Japan; over halfway through outreach….

Hello friends. It’s been too long since I updated on my many crazy adventures; so here I am, to brain dump and photo dump upon you all.

Outreach is flying by. Already we’ve been in Japan for over six weeks, and in less than a month we will be back in Ålesund for debrief. It’s been a packed and wild time full of ministries, new experiences, new culture, new foods, and many exciting and fun memories made with my team.

We stayed in Osaka for around 3 weeks, staying in three different Airbnbs. (We got good at travel days; carrying tons of luggage with us. I felt so macho carrying my hiking backpack, my KAVU and my small suitcase all over Japan.)

In Osaka we did a lot of our own ministries; e.g. prayer walks, street evangelism, along with working with some local churches and ministries. One of our locations in Osaka was quite challenging because the house was so ridiculously small and somehow we managed to cram all 13 of us inside (‘twas a bit tight, but we made it work). To be honest though I have grown so much through the more difficult times. I’ve had to take leaning in the Lord to a whole new level. 😅 Which I’m so grateful for.

After Osaka, we went to Nagoya, where we spent a brief but powerful five days. We stayed in a small prayer house and it was so sweet and felt so peaceful inside— you could really tell it had been filled with the Lord’s presence! There is a Norwegian Bible school currently stationed in Nagoya, and we got to spend several days really pouring into them. We did teaching, worship, hangouts, meals together, and small-group style get togethers. I was able to give a teaching on Identity in Christ, together with a fellow student, and that was so powerful for me personally to get to teach on!! I absolutely loved our week in Nagoya and although we were there to bless them, we ended up being so blessed as well by our time there.

After Nagoya, we came to Machida, Tokyo. We’ll be here until mid-February, where we’ll have a brief stop at another location in Machida, and then head to our team debrief for the last week of February.

Currently we are stationed at a school here in Machida. It’s a small Christian school and the building also had a church where we have gotten very involved. For the past two weeks, and for three more, we are here to teach English classes, host weekly English Cafes, do street evangelism, join in worship and prayer services, and overall just pour into this school and church as much as possible while we are here. It’s been very full, but also really cool to see how the mission here is thriving and get to come alongside what they are already doing.

On a more personal level, I’ve really sensed the Lord’s sweet closeness during this season. If I’m totally honest, this may have been some of the most difficult weeks of my life so far… facing physical challenges, culture shock, and exhaustion emotionally and physically from the travel and busyness of ministry. In that, however, it’s also had a richness and depth that I don’t think I could find without the challenges.

I’ve really clung to the Lord and his strength during this time; I’ve been devouring books of my Bible at a time, and have discovered some of the joy of fasting and making space in my life and mind for Christ to do his work. Jesus is so good, and so close, and so present wherever I go. What a blessing and a joy this journey with him had turned out to be. The good and hard times both are beautiful, because he walks them with me.

Some of you probably noticed that I’ve disappeared from social media (again). And again, that was very purposeful. I decided to fast social media for outreach, which I think has been quite good for me in many ways. All that to say, I’m sure I’ll be doing some kind of massive photo dump and update in March sometime. Until then, enjoy my blog 🥰

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SOME COOL MOMENTS…

Holding a Jesus Loves You sign in front of a huge Buddha idol.

Worshipping Jesus in front of a giant Buddhist temple until we got told to leave.

Prayer walking through a Buddhist cemetery, where they worship their deceased ancestors.

Small joys lately: long walks, sunshine in our bedroom, our wonderful balcony, buying myself oranges and apples, going to cafes on off days to journal and write poetry, hangouts with my team in the evenings.

Prayer requests: Pray for continued and renewed strength for our team as we have our last month of outreach ahead of us. Pray that we could abide in the Lord and not get burnt out. Pray for those who are coming to the English Cafes who don’t know the Lord; pray for good conversation with them, and that we could share Jesus’ love with them!

Thank you all for your support and prayers. ❤️

Until next time—

Abby