Dorothy's Follow-up Letter:
July 26, 2005
My Dear Prayerful friends,
Thank you all so very much for all of your prayers and financial support toward my Japan missions trip this summer. Although the trip was short, June 18th-July 4th, the Lord truly used that period of time to refine me further in my faith and bring even more glory unto His name.
July 26, 2005
My Dear Prayerful friends,
Thank you all so very much for all of your prayers and financial support toward my Japan missions trip this summer. Although the trip was short, June 18th-July 4th, the Lord truly used that period of time to refine me further in my faith and bring even more glory unto His name.
Since this was my first time going on missions ever and my first time to Japan, I went with little expectations, other than knowing that I wanted to go to glorify God’s name, proclaim His Gospel, and encourage the saints there. I went on this trip to also see if I would want to do missions long-term later in my life, but also knowing that 17 days would probably not answer that question.
Before I continue, I first have to say that I enjoyed this mission trip immensely! I enjoyed seeing the Lord at work in my team, the church there, and in our time spent with the university students. I even enjoyed the trials that the Lord placed in my life, though extremely difficult, that made me cling and seek Him more. God is faithful in answering prayer, as I have seen over the last couple of weeks. The last few weeks before the mission trip I had been praying to God to challenge me in my walk and to place trials in my life to grow me. God definitely answered that prayer.
A week and half before I left for missions I found out that my grandpa had fallen ill and had been hospitalized. What appeared to have been a case of pneumonia soon developed into something much worse. The week before I left for missions, which was also during finals week, I had the opportunity to go home to see my grandpa, but after talking to my mom on the phone about coming home and her telling me to stay at school, I decided to stay. I felt so conflicted and confused and in shock—at one point I even thought about not going on the mission trip—but after much prayer and thought, the Lord showed me that I was to go to Japan.
Japan is definitely a unique country where the people are really polite, which also makes them hard to read. Their culture is centered around Buddhism, and though some do not even practice Buddhism, their culture appeared to me as so ingrained as to almost keep them from believing—at least that’s what I observed talking to students and even believers in Japan. But I also realized that God is sovereign and that culture doesn’t play into how God calls everyone to believe in Him. That was definitely something I learned in Japan—that God is a global God. Of course I knew this, but it was really cool to actually see it with my own eyes!
Secondly, I learned to trust and have faith in the Lord. Though this seems such a simple thing, it is always good to be reminded and sharpened further. The purpose of our trip was to go to the universities’ English clubs and try and build relationships with students. When conversations arose about Christianity or the Gospel, we would try and share the Gospel with them. Some church members always came with us to the universities or to the outreach events on the weekends (Osaka castle, Tsutenkaku Tower, and our going away party); this was very important to try and connect the students with the church members. Why you ask? Because the members are in Japan long term and we are there only a few short weeks.
Including the previous learned things I mentioned, the Lord taught me a multitude of things which I will list out and explain each briefly.
1) Prayer: The Lord taught me the importance of prayer before, during, and after the trip. I had been praying for team unity for months and to finally see the Lord answer it during the trip was really awesome! I really felt that our team had become so united and that we cared so much for one another (especially when we were all sick!). It was also really cool to be able to pray with church members during the two prayer meetings that we were there for. Even though they prayed in Japanese and we prayed in English, it didn’t matter! What mattered was that we were able to pray to the same God! This seems so basic, but for myself, I love being reminded what a great gift God has given us with prayer and enjoy seeing prayers answered.
2) Boldness in proclaiming the Gospel to students at the universities. Since it was my first time in Japan and first time doing missions I learned that the proclamation of the Gospel truly is a daily part of our lives that we need to be faithful in proclaiming. Too often I become too complacent in my life in America and get caught up with the day-to-day activities that I lose sight of God and all of the blessings that He has showered upon me. Plus, we do not know when Christ will return or when the last day on Earth will be, so we should be running in a way that would most glorify God everyday (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). I think it was almost easier to proclaim the Gospel there because I knew that I was only going to be there for so long and it helped that the students asked questions too. However, I realized there, and even in the states, how no matter where I am, I should be proclaiming the Gospel when the opportunities are given to me. The Gospel makes me stand out, so I shouldn’t allow the world to conform me.
3) Treasures in Heaven. Something else I learned was that I need to have more of a heavenward focus and seek to glorify God in everything I do—storing up my treasures in Heaven (Matt. 6:20) so that one day when I stand in His glory He will say to me “well done good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). Sometimes when you go on missions a person can come back (or even while they’re there) and experience this “spiritual high” from sharing the Gospel with SO many people and serving so much. God just showed me again that my time in Japan should reflect how I live everyday here in America. Everyday should be lived to bring God more glory, which in turn will be building up my treasures in Heaven when I get there one day.
4) Flexibility. There are times when things don’t happen the way we want or expect and we need to learn how to be flexible. There were times on the trip that things happened unexpectedly (like our whole team getting sick) but it was a good reminder to me of who really is in control—and that’s God, not me.
5) “What is best” (Romans 8:28): I think one of the greatest challenges/lessons I am continuing to learn is “what is best”. When I found that my grandpa had passed away the 2nd Sunday I was in Japan, I had made up mind to go home early. A part of me was conflicted that I would not be finishing up with the team, but I saw the greater importance to be at home with my family, especially since some of my family was non-believers. However, due to certain circumstances, the Lord would not have me go home. Even though my immediate and extended family will never know how I truly felt when I found out my grandpa had died or how much I wanted to be at the funeral (other than my teammates and a few others), the Lord knew my heart and also knew what was “best” for me. Although staying in Japan and going home to the funeral were both “good”, there was only one “best”—and that was staying in Japan and finishing with my team.
6) Love: The Lord continues to grow me in loving/caring for strangers that I do not know. The students that I talked with were very polite and it was easy to talk about Christianity with them, including sharing the Gospel. At times, it was frustrating not knowing whether or not they were truly interested or if they were just being polite. Although there was frustration, I felt that the Lord was growing me in my compassion for the unsaved. At lunch this one day I was talking to the club president of OPU about the Gospel for over an hour and I just saw how hard his heart was. I think I almost started to cry because he just refused to believe; however, it was good to keep being taught what it means to show Christ’s love to unbelievers and to keep praying for them.
After coming home from missions, the Lord totally answered my prayer to serve at home and minister to my family. Home has definitely been a mission trip in itself—dealing with the loss of my grandpa, helping my grandma move out of her house and into her new apartment, helping my grandma almost every day, helping around my own house, and just so much more. But what a blessing, what an honor!! And what a praise to see that the things that I learned in Japan and just in my walk with the Lord continue to be sharpened! I love that the Lord uses me to His glory and that He knows what is best for me.
Thank you again and please keep HBC and the university students in your prayers. If you have any questions or would like to talk more about my trip with me, I would love to share with you. Praise God for all the work that He has done on this trip and everyday!
To His glory,
Dorothy Han
Before I continue, I first have to say that I enjoyed this mission trip immensely! I enjoyed seeing the Lord at work in my team, the church there, and in our time spent with the university students. I even enjoyed the trials that the Lord placed in my life, though extremely difficult, that made me cling and seek Him more. God is faithful in answering prayer, as I have seen over the last couple of weeks. The last few weeks before the mission trip I had been praying to God to challenge me in my walk and to place trials in my life to grow me. God definitely answered that prayer.
A week and half before I left for missions I found out that my grandpa had fallen ill and had been hospitalized. What appeared to have been a case of pneumonia soon developed into something much worse. The week before I left for missions, which was also during finals week, I had the opportunity to go home to see my grandpa, but after talking to my mom on the phone about coming home and her telling me to stay at school, I decided to stay. I felt so conflicted and confused and in shock—at one point I even thought about not going on the mission trip—but after much prayer and thought, the Lord showed me that I was to go to Japan.
Japan is definitely a unique country where the people are really polite, which also makes them hard to read. Their culture is centered around Buddhism, and though some do not even practice Buddhism, their culture appeared to me as so ingrained as to almost keep them from believing—at least that’s what I observed talking to students and even believers in Japan. But I also realized that God is sovereign and that culture doesn’t play into how God calls everyone to believe in Him. That was definitely something I learned in Japan—that God is a global God. Of course I knew this, but it was really cool to actually see it with my own eyes!
Secondly, I learned to trust and have faith in the Lord. Though this seems such a simple thing, it is always good to be reminded and sharpened further. The purpose of our trip was to go to the universities’ English clubs and try and build relationships with students. When conversations arose about Christianity or the Gospel, we would try and share the Gospel with them. Some church members always came with us to the universities or to the outreach events on the weekends (Osaka castle, Tsutenkaku Tower, and our going away party); this was very important to try and connect the students with the church members. Why you ask? Because the members are in Japan long term and we are there only a few short weeks.
Including the previous learned things I mentioned, the Lord taught me a multitude of things which I will list out and explain each briefly.
1) Prayer: The Lord taught me the importance of prayer before, during, and after the trip. I had been praying for team unity for months and to finally see the Lord answer it during the trip was really awesome! I really felt that our team had become so united and that we cared so much for one another (especially when we were all sick!). It was also really cool to be able to pray with church members during the two prayer meetings that we were there for. Even though they prayed in Japanese and we prayed in English, it didn’t matter! What mattered was that we were able to pray to the same God! This seems so basic, but for myself, I love being reminded what a great gift God has given us with prayer and enjoy seeing prayers answered.
2) Boldness in proclaiming the Gospel to students at the universities. Since it was my first time in Japan and first time doing missions I learned that the proclamation of the Gospel truly is a daily part of our lives that we need to be faithful in proclaiming. Too often I become too complacent in my life in America and get caught up with the day-to-day activities that I lose sight of God and all of the blessings that He has showered upon me. Plus, we do not know when Christ will return or when the last day on Earth will be, so we should be running in a way that would most glorify God everyday (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). I think it was almost easier to proclaim the Gospel there because I knew that I was only going to be there for so long and it helped that the students asked questions too. However, I realized there, and even in the states, how no matter where I am, I should be proclaiming the Gospel when the opportunities are given to me. The Gospel makes me stand out, so I shouldn’t allow the world to conform me.
3) Treasures in Heaven. Something else I learned was that I need to have more of a heavenward focus and seek to glorify God in everything I do—storing up my treasures in Heaven (Matt. 6:20) so that one day when I stand in His glory He will say to me “well done good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). Sometimes when you go on missions a person can come back (or even while they’re there) and experience this “spiritual high” from sharing the Gospel with SO many people and serving so much. God just showed me again that my time in Japan should reflect how I live everyday here in America. Everyday should be lived to bring God more glory, which in turn will be building up my treasures in Heaven when I get there one day.
4) Flexibility. There are times when things don’t happen the way we want or expect and we need to learn how to be flexible. There were times on the trip that things happened unexpectedly (like our whole team getting sick) but it was a good reminder to me of who really is in control—and that’s God, not me.
5) “What is best” (Romans 8:28): I think one of the greatest challenges/lessons I am continuing to learn is “what is best”. When I found that my grandpa had passed away the 2nd Sunday I was in Japan, I had made up mind to go home early. A part of me was conflicted that I would not be finishing up with the team, but I saw the greater importance to be at home with my family, especially since some of my family was non-believers. However, due to certain circumstances, the Lord would not have me go home. Even though my immediate and extended family will never know how I truly felt when I found out my grandpa had died or how much I wanted to be at the funeral (other than my teammates and a few others), the Lord knew my heart and also knew what was “best” for me. Although staying in Japan and going home to the funeral were both “good”, there was only one “best”—and that was staying in Japan and finishing with my team.
6) Love: The Lord continues to grow me in loving/caring for strangers that I do not know. The students that I talked with were very polite and it was easy to talk about Christianity with them, including sharing the Gospel. At times, it was frustrating not knowing whether or not they were truly interested or if they were just being polite. Although there was frustration, I felt that the Lord was growing me in my compassion for the unsaved. At lunch this one day I was talking to the club president of OPU about the Gospel for over an hour and I just saw how hard his heart was. I think I almost started to cry because he just refused to believe; however, it was good to keep being taught what it means to show Christ’s love to unbelievers and to keep praying for them.
After coming home from missions, the Lord totally answered my prayer to serve at home and minister to my family. Home has definitely been a mission trip in itself—dealing with the loss of my grandpa, helping my grandma move out of her house and into her new apartment, helping my grandma almost every day, helping around my own house, and just so much more. But what a blessing, what an honor!! And what a praise to see that the things that I learned in Japan and just in my walk with the Lord continue to be sharpened! I love that the Lord uses me to His glory and that He knows what is best for me.
Thank you again and please keep HBC and the university students in your prayers. If you have any questions or would like to talk more about my trip with me, I would love to share with you. Praise God for all the work that He has done on this trip and everyday!
To His glory,
Dorothy Han