Beland and Priscilla Huang
God has brought many changes since our trip to Japan last summer, not only in the landscape of Japan, but in our personal lives as well. In August, Beland started his first year in seminary. He is in school full-time to focus on his training in God’s Word and in ministry. In December, Priscilla’s office moved from a high-rise in Woodland Hills to one of the rooms in our home. This arrangement is helpful for her to keep up with responsibilities in the home. We love serving at our Bible Study at church – Beland has been given opportunities to teach a number of times already. Priscilla also participated in Seminary Wives Discipleship Group where she has met many great women. While there have been challenges along the way, we see how God continues to help unmerited grace upon us. We want to share God’s goodness to the nations, and we are excited to participate in our sixth short-term missionary trip to Japan. |
Ashley Richard-Jones
I am so blessed to have a job working as an account manager, and I am very grateful to have work, especially with this economy. It has been even more of a blessing to transition to working out of my home here in Los Angeles, where I can take conference calls in my pajamas. I am definitely enjoying the weather that Southern California has to offer. It is nice to finally settle down after college life in New Orleans and DC, but I still have that travel bug! With that being said, I am very excited about embarking on a short-term missionary trip this summer. This will actually be my first time putting my passport to use. God has been so good in guiding me to a church in L.A. and in leading me to accept Christ as my Savior. Not only do I get to serve Him, but I will have the opportunity to serve others abroad in one of my favorite countries!
Tony Wu
Konnichiwa! Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. After coming to UCLA and going to Grace on Campus, an on-campus Christian bible study, I have developed a much deeper relationship with God in these past four years. Desiring to serve God to the fullest, I always wanted to go on a short-term missionary trip to serve the Lord. However, due to past circumstances, God did not provide me an opportunity to go on one until now! I am really excited and grateful for the opportunity that the Lord has granted to me.
Justine Pan
Time sure flies. This June, I will be graduating from UCLA with a major in International Development Studies and a minor in Accounting. As my senior year begins to wind down, there’s been more time to reflect on this adventure commonly known as college and to give thanks. These past four years, God has been incredibly gracious, growing my knowledge and love for Him in ways I never expected. As someone who is, every day, coming to a greater understanding of what happens when a holy and perfect God extends unmerited favor, forgiveness and an endless number of blessings to wretched sinners who repent in faith, I am excited and humbled to embark on my first short-term missions trip to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Shannon Armstrong
Konnichiwa! It’s crazy to think that I am finishing my junior year of college at UCLA, and am now going to be a senior. I have been very busy this last year competing on the track team and being a small group leader for my on-campus bible study, but God has been so gracious and has been teaching me so much. Last summer I had the privilege to go on my first missions trip to Japan to run a day camp for younger children, and after I left I immediately wanted to go back! I am grateful God has opened up the opportunity for me to serve the wonderful people in Japan again and to minister overseas in a new and different way than I did during my last trip. I am very much looking forward to the many ways I know the Lord will use this experience to push and stretch me so that I might grow in my relationship with Him.
Eric Lan
This coming June, I will be finishing up my third year at UCLA studying Microbiology, with hopes of going into dental school after I graduate. College life has been a ton of fun—I’ve enjoyed leading a small group, studying, random hangouts, basketball, and even silly apartment pranks. Through all of that, I’ve been blessed to be able to grow in my knowledge of God through my own reading of the Word and through the Bible study that I attend. One of the things I have been learning is the importance of missions and missionaries. I don’t know if missions is in my future, but hearing and reading about missionaries has pushed me to want to expose myself to the experience.
Mike Dai
Last year, as a freshman at UCLA, God graciously brought me to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. God changed my heart and gave me a true understanding of the weight of the gospel. At UCLA, I’ve been blessed with biblical teaching at an on-campus fellowship group, and I also have the privilege to attend Grace Community Church in Sun Valley. Every time I reflect on my old self and the depth of my sin, it is clear that God’s grace is immeasurable, and He is worthy of all praise. I am now nearing the end of my sophomore year, and God has provided an incredible opportunity for me to serve Him and work for His kingdom overseas.