Welcome all!

A little bit about myself and this trip...

 I grew up attending a Japanese-language church that my father pastors (he was a missionary kid in Japan until college). This summer, my family and I traveled to Japan to visit family, friends, and former church members that had gone back to Japan. While we were there, we had the opportunity to travel to Iwaki city, a coastal resort destination, and visit the family of one of our current church members. Her family happened to be from the part of Iwaki that had been devastated by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, and we visited them near where they lived in this area. Seeing that damage changed my life forever. I could no longer ignore my heritage and upbringing, nor could I ignore the suffering these people had been through. However, I decided to think and pray and decide what action to take while in my first semester of college.

I thought that maybe, in the daily grind of life on campus and in the midst of all of the things I had to do in my first semester, I would forget what I had seen and leave it up to those who I thought were more qualified than I. But God put it on my heart, and I was constantly thinking and praying about how and when I could go. I began putting out feelers and talking to my family about options I may have, and after several weeks, I decided that not only did I need to go, but God was going to make it happen, someway, somehow. I knew that God wouldn't have put this on my heart if it wasn't going to happen. I then proceeded to go full speed ahead, filling out applications and working out logistics on top of my already-busy class and work schedule.

And then the doors started opening!

That's all I have for now. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going yet, or exactly what I will be doing, but I will let you know soon. Until then, pray for me- for packing, planning, raising support, and working out logistics.

Come back soon for updates!