Ten months have passed, but walking in the streets of Japan felt like a familiar routine from yesterday. The air in Osaka is crisp, cold, and oddly refreshing this December. This is my second winter doing a mission for Japan. Earlier, I wondered why that was.
The last time I visited was last January-February. It was a personal walk with the Lord. From that time until last week, it was a tug of war between trusting in the Lord’s plan and taking control of His plan regarding the call to go to Japan. Of course, the Lord wanted me to do the former — it is much more beneficial for me too. I’d only have to wait, relax where I’m at, and pray. My plans were the opposite— I wanted to go right away and I wanted to work for His call.
Guess what I did? Stupidly, the latter. Even though the Lord didn’t grant me peace and assured me hundreds of times that I did not need it, I applied to a Japanese company to get a long-term visa.
As a Filipino, the maximum number of days I can stay in Japan is only 30. There is no way I can be an effective and fruitful full-time missionary when I am forced to go back to the Philippines every 30 days. So, I applied to a Japanese company to get a working visa that would allow me to stay for a year or more. Getting that visa made the most sense to me at that time.
God didn’t approve of it.
He wanted me to wait and relax where I’m at because He wanted to work on me. I guess God wants us seated so our hearts are in the right position to be molded by Him, to make them better. That makes sense to me now. How can a parent put clothes on a toddler who keeps running and playing?
God wanted me to sit at His feet so He could remove all the dirt of the past, teach me His rightful ways, and sometimes, tell me a secret.
Fast forward – My plan didn’t turn out great. Instead of achieving more, I achieved less. Less time for my business, my family, and my ministry in the Philippines. It was at that time (April) that everything felt like crumbling in my life. I started to become emotionally, mentally, and spiritually weak. The energy and sunshine that I usually have toned down dramatically.
The shine in my eyes vanished.
All because of that one single compromise. Which when I dug deeper was so much more than just disobedience.
It was also pride (of my skills and thinking my ways are better than His), envy (of my colleagues who excel in corporate work), and impatience (of His timing and wanting things in a snap).
After one of my friends (Pat) snapped me to reality, I resigned the next day. I remember her words saying “I saw you in the worst years of your life and your smile never went away. How come just because of this you can’t smile anymore? You know that this is not for you. Email your supervisor right away and resign.”.
Shout out also to Janny who encouraged me throughout the time I was with the corporate company and in the process of resigning.
So, I never rushed again after that. Haha. Funny looking back at it now but those months really drained me spiritually.
From then on, I trusted God and His ways. Not my ways. I also started longer days of abstaining to spend more time with Him. Each fasting was different — no social media, no going out, no talking with certain people that I was really close with, no food, consistent early morning prayers, midnight prayers, etc. The entirety of June – October was filled with those abstaining and only seeking Him.
In between these struggles, OMF Philippines and I kept in touch. OMF is a mission agency that places missionaries in different ministries in the world that need the gospel. They have a program called Serve Asia that caters to people who have a desire to be a missionary. This program doesn’t have a salary.
Around June, my PH Coordinator, Maam Jing, sent me a link to OMF’s Serve Asia Opportunity: Social Media.
I sent an application right away. How could I not? Even if this position doesn’t have a salary, I have all of the qualifications required and responsibilities mentioned.
My first interaction with OMF was last year, in November, when I sent an application for “Homeless Ministry”. They mentioned in the past that for long term missions, the preparation is also long — 1 year minimum. My 2023 brain couldn’t comprehend how I could wait for that long when the Lord’s call to Japan was so powerful. I misinterpreted “real and powerful” with “very urgent”. I had to learn this year that even if the calling is strong, the Lord has a proper order of His plans.
And so He showed me. I think that’s a prerequisite.
Because of those impatient thoughts, OMF was not included in my initial plan when doing missions in Japan. My options were 1.) Be hired to obtain a working visa 2.) Enroll in Awakening Asia for a year and continue my business 3.) Establish a business in Japan — Business as mission
God’s plan was entirely different. In August 2024, when OMF PH referred me to be placed to OMF JP, they placed a restriction. I can’t work while in Japan. That meant that I would have no part-time, no ARA, and no means to finance myself during the trip. The thought of not getting a salary was already a challenge to me, but topping it with a restriction of not being able to finance myself, the call suddenly became a huge challenge. I stepped back and sought the Lord regarding the matter.
Lo and behold, God showed me the story of Pharaoh and Israelites, the five loaves and two fishes, and walking on water.
Satan wants us to work and work while God wants us to relax and just trust in Him. There’ll be still an action but that action is to follow Him. Not to strive, not to work myself to death, not to save up money — the work is to follow Him.
So I did. From August to October, OMF JP and I kept in touch. The more I speak with them, the more the Lord confirms that this is the right path for me.
Aside from social media, I will also be placed in homeless outreach (which I already do in the Philippines), Cafe Outreach (again, what I already do in the Philippines), and helping in Church ministry (again, which I also already do).
However, the problem of having no funds is still present. From the time I got the word that work was not allowed, I started to cancel the contracts of ARA (ARA Digital Services is my business). At that time, my first thought was to sell the condo… there could be no other way to get the funds except to sell the condo. Besides, there was also a call to “sell everything you have then come, follow me”.
I was waiting on the Lord — for funds, to be specific. OMF already sent me all the requirements to submit my visa. But I was waiting. “No way I will go to Japan with nothing, no way Lord.” Those were my thoughts to God during that time.
The first plan is to go to Japan by the end of August, but the buyer of the condo got delayed. Then September came, and OMF had other transitions going on. Then October came, and OMF and Destiny met. I already have the requirements by this time, except for the money. By November, the Lord spoke to me that I don’t need a boat to go. God was referring to “money”. I don’t need money to go. I couldnt understand. There’s a budget I need for me to go to Japan, stay at an accommodation, buy flight tickets, transportation, food, and more. Remember, I stopped accepting clients starting in September. My cash flow started to get smaller and smaller, and my savings thinner and thinner.
There’s just no way. I still obeyed though. I already had all the requirements for the embassy anyway. So I submitted my requirements even without enough funds to cover my trip to Japan.
A few weeks later, the agency where I submitted my requirements called me. I went to get my result the next day. My visa got approved.
I was allowed to stay in Japan for 90 days, a business visa, which allows me to extend it to 180 days if necessary.
I am in Japan now as of writing this email, on my way to Tokyo from Osaka. The condo is still not yet sold, I still don’t have the complete funds, and my 1 remaining project is still in the process of offboarding.
However, I have been provided for in numerous ways I didn’t expect.
- My friend, Gem, gave me a DSLR camera to document my mission and to finally start my own vlog;
- My friend, Chano, paid for my flight ticket to Japan;
- My mentor, Tita Chato, sent monetary support that I used to buy insurance, tax, and other requirements;
- My Christian client turned prayer partner, Linh, committed to supporting me financially;
- My mom and best friend Sarah helped me pack for my trip;
- My best friends, K. Noel, A. Nica, Rose, Gem, Shaira, and Kin gave me a ride to the airport (my fam wasn’t available) and sent me off;
- My pen pal, Jesse, gave me the exact encouragement I needed for my trip and sent financial support to cover my night bus to Tokyo;
- My niece, Rina, who let me borrow her suitcase because mine got broken;
- My aunt, who lives in Osaka, gave me tons of winter clothes and food (I only brought summer clothes because there’s no winter in the Philippines); and
- My sister and aunt blessed my mission trip to Tokyo;
The provision started when I took the first step of faith, by the help of Linh too which I’ll also write in a different blog.
The Lord is showering me with so much of His goodness and faithfulness. One of the bonuses that Jesus gave me is the warmth of Japanese towards me. It’s only been 24 hours since I stepped on Japan but I already interacted with about 10 Japanese. This has never happened to me in the past. Might be because Osakan are really friendly or might be because I just look excited to them.
The visa was only approved for a maximum stay of 6 months but knowing that this, exactly this, is what God planned for me gives me the confidence that God is doing something far greater for my journey as a missionary. More than I can ever plan, imagine, and work for.
God is great. Jesus is faithful.
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