Care Package to Japan

Jonathan Ogden is an artist from Manchester passionate about the intersection of visual art and music. Jonathan expresses his faith creatively through psalm-like lyrics and sweeping, melodic instrumentation. As an artist, he draws inspiration for his music from beautiful things worldwide, and Japan marks a heavy influence for his beat tape Twenty Four, an acoustic EP. In this episode, Jonathan will share his creative process for making art, his experience in Japan, and his journey of faith. The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

In this episode, I am here with my good friend, Jim Peterson, serving in Japan for almost three decades! Jim is a lover of Jesus and a second-generation missionary in Japan. Currently, Jim and Hydi are Evangelical Covenant Missionaries in the countryside of Japan. They live on this beautiful mountain called Mt. Akagi where they run the Akagi Bible Camp and host various ministries throughout the year. Jim is a lover of all things mountain, outdoors, and theology. In this episode, we talked about the gray area of what it means to honor and revere ancestors, holding the tension of the Japanese traditional yet being true to Christianity.  This podcast exists to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be chatting with Grant Buchholtz. Grant and Miho Buchholtz serve as missionaries at Evangelical Covenant Church and pastors at Tokyo Life Church in Ikebukuro. In this episode, Grant talks about the blessings and challenges of being on home assignment back in the US. He talks about helping his kids navigate the challenges of being put back in school in the American system and the perks of having this season back in America while missing their home church in Tokyo. Grant also talks about his journey of God calling him and Miho to ministry in Japan and planting a church in the heart of Tokyo. In this episode, we also talk about the enneagram and the importance of serving and ministry out of a place of knowing God's love for us.  This podcast exists to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be chatting with Wenyuan Bao. Bao lives in Silicon Valley and is a Japanese cultural enthusiast. He enjoys listening to Aimer, watching anime, and learning more about God's love through Japanese culture. In this episode, we will nerd out about our mutual affection for Japanese culture as well as the amazing Japanese food that we will partake in together the next time Bao and I visit Japan.  This podcast exists to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be chatting with Aspen Petersen. Aspen is the Serve Asia Country Sending Coordinator for Overseas Missionary Fellowship, a mission sending organization founded by Hudson Taylor. Aspen has the privilege of being a part of OMF Short Term Workers' journeys in finding their place in Missions through the application, preparation, pre-field training, and post-field discipleship. For Aspen, it is an honor to come alongside people and help them follow God's call upon their life to reach out in love and Gospel to the people of Japan! This podcast exists to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be chatting with Catherine Porter. Catherine is a missionary in the northern region of Japan. She is a lover of Jesus, Japan, music, books, and chocolate brownies. Cat shares how knowing God's deep love for her propelled her to live a life surrendered to Jesus in this episode. Her yielded heart to Jesus is why she became a full-time missionary in Japan. This podcast exists to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Hello friends! This week, I am starting the #prayforjapan series. The purpose of the #prayforjapan series is to pray for Japan through various topics within the Japanese culture.  In this episode, I will be talking about cherry blossoms. In Japan, the cherry blossom season is when these flowers bloom. Japanese cherry trees bloom for a short time, symbolizing the transitory nature of life. We all live for a short time, and the present time is not something that we can ever get back, so we should appreciate each moment to the fullest. The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray for Japan. #prayforjapan

Today, we will be chatting with Ed Mori. Ed lives in beautiful sunny Southern California with his beautiful wife Jill and 4 kiddos. Ed's passion is to tell people about the wonderful life that we have in Jesus, whether it'd be through getting to know his neighbors or loving on his kid's friends. In this episode, Ed also talks about something that is really close to his heart - adoption. Through Ed's story of adoption, we gain a glimpse of God's magnificent love and how God is weaving a beautiful tapestry to display the most beautiful story of all.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be talking with Rei Meek. Rei lives in Nishinomiya 西宮市, which is a town near Kobe.  Rei has been in Japan since 2016 and is currently teaching English and serving in ministry with a local church. In this episode, Rei talks about the absolute joy of following Christ and the delight in following His call to Japan.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be talking with Renee Williams. Renee Williams lives in Iwate Prefecture of Japan, where she runs a local cafe in the town of Taro. Cafe Suika is a watermelon-themed cafe where Japanese locals gather not only to eat delicious meals and also to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ through Cafe Suika's Heart Care ministry. Be sure to "like" and check out Cafe Suika's Facebook Page 🍉☕️ The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be talking with my friends Chris and Emily. Chirs and Emily are missionaries with OMF currently residing near the Boston area. During this episode, Chris and Emily shared how God first placed Japan on Chris's heart, as well as Emily's reckoning as she discovers what this calling means for her as well as her two kiddos. Emily and Chris go on to so share about the journey of waiting to be launched Japan - yet continually delayed due to COVID border restrictions. It's an authentic conversation filled with real disappointment, grief, and also hope. If you'd like to find out more about Chris and Emily's ministry, visit their OMF webpage.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be talking with my friend Matt Chan. Matt is a digital missionary who lives in Silicon Valley in San Fran using his passion for tech and missions for the kingdom of God. He is deeply involved with Crazy Love Ministry as well as co-founded the non-profit Basil. Basil Technologies is a Christian faith-based technology nonprofit made up of people who want to use their skills in tech for Jesus. During this episode, Matt shared his unique experience of his first visit to Japan. And how God used a season of pain in Matt's life to gently invite Him into greater depth of God's love and Kingdom.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. Pray for Japan 🇯🇵 #prayforjapan

Today, we will be talking about Evie's top 10 favorite food from JAPAN!!!! 🇯🇵🍣🥟🍱🍛🍜🍲🍦 This is a bonus episode to break things up a bit and share something fun~   The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Thomas is from the suburbs of Central New Jersey in the US.  By day, he thrives on coming up with solutions for the commercial insurance needs of his clients as an account manager. Outside of work, some things he enjoys are the church, Japanese, Cantonese, and Taiwanese food…as long as it’s not spicy.  He has also been to Japan twice for short-term missions with his church. In this episode, we talked about the importance of being transformed by the gospel and how Japanese Christians really have to count the cost before following Jesus because Christianity is not the social norm in Japan.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Today, we will be talking with an extraordinary woman, Sue Takamoto. Sue is the founder of the Nozomi Project and the Innovation Lead of Asian Access. Sue and her husband Eric have a passion for reaching the Japanese for Jesus, specifically in the tsunami region of Japan. Sue is a firm believer that God can use our deepest weakness and brokenness and turn it into something beautiful. Check out her Waseda x Ted Talk about finding beauty in brokenness. Also, be sure to support the Nozomi Project - a faith-based, high-quality jewelry social enterprise that instills hope by empowering women to create jewelry from the broken pottery pieces of the 2011 earthquake.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Today, Evangeline - your host :) - will be sharing a little more about her and how God initially deposited the seed of love for Japan in her heart.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Today, we will be talking with our special guest, Joe Handley. Joe is the president of Asian Access and has a huge heart for missions in Japan and beyond. He is passionate about raising missional leaders that abide deeply in Christ because it is from abiding in Christ where Jesus gives us our identity! The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

In this episode, Steve talked about his journey from being a middle school teacher to becoming a pastor in the Sendai region of Japan. Steve shares his experience of learning to obey God and God's grace in guiding Steve as he takes steps towards ministry in Japan. In Japan's work culture, Steve advocates the importance of rest, play, and soul-feeding activities to avoid burnout. His hope and prayer are for more young leaders to be in Japan.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Our guest today is Shogo Honda. He has an extraordinary story about his journey of putting his faith in Christ during his graduate school days at Rochester University. Today, Shogo talked about becoming a follower of Jesus and spreading His love to all those around him. It is Shogo's dream to become a professor and tell college students about the love and hope in Jesus.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Today, our guest is the creative Stephanie Mikamo from Torrance, California. She is my good friend and a dear sister to me. Steph lived in Tokyo for about five years.  I had the privilege of seeing her progress before, during, and after her time in Japan. In this episode, Steph shared with us her time in Japan, reckoning with loneliness, experiencing the food and beauty of Japan, and loving the Japanese with the lens of Jesus. The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan! If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com, and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Today, our guest is the fantastic Sharon Denise. She is a good friend, an intercessor, a retired school teacher, and a true worshipper. Sharon currently lives in Harbor City, California, where she faithfully attends a house church in the South Bay. Back in 1998, Sharon had the experience of doing missions in Japan, where she subsequently went to Japan 3 times. Today, Sharon shared her experience in Japan with us, praying for the nations and intercession by hearing His heart.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!  If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

Our guest today is Connor Edwards. Connor has been working with the campus ministry Cru since he graduated college. Taking the road less traveled, Connor decided to forgo his degree in engineering and follow God's calling to do full-time ministry. Following God's leading, Connor went to Japan after graduating to do full-time campus ministry. During this episode, he shared his experience while serving in Japan and learnings from his time there. The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!  If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

In this episode, I am here with my good friend, Hydi Peterson, serving in Japan for almost three decades! Hydi is a lover of Jesus and a third-generation missionary in Japan. Currently, Hydi and her husband Jim are Evangelical Covenant Missionaries in the countryside of Japan. They live in this beautiful mountain called Mt. Akagi where they run the Akagi Bible Camp and host various ministries throughout the year. Hydi is a lover of all things mountain, outdoors, and sports - and she uses her God-given talents to do ministry in all aspects of life and fully embraces her unique identity as who God created her to be. The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!  If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

In this episode, I am here with my good friend, Hannah. Hannah is from Texas and followed God’s calling amidst the pandemic to move to Japan. She is currently a pre-school teacher in Kanazawa. Hannah has a huge heart for equipping families with autistic children on how to navigate the complexities of daily life while caring for a child with unique needs. During our time together, we talked about the importance of fighting against isolation and being in a community where one is known and loved. Hannah also shared her heart for the marginalized both within the US as well as Japan.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!  If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

For this episode, I am here with Bryan and Renee Gibbs - the world missions director at the Navigators. The Gibbs are passionate about making disciples of all nations. They served in Japan for 22 years where they experienced the joy and challenges of being missionaries and sharing the gospel with the beautiful people in Japan. In this episode, they share their experience of being missionaries in Japan, the history of Christianity in Japan, and God's love for Japan The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!  If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

For this episode, I am here with someone very special - my sister Revy. Revy talks about her journey to Japan - from the birth of God's passion for Japan in her to now getting ready to move to Tokyo. In this episode, we get a glimpse of God's love for Japan through Revy.  The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!  If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan

In this very first episode, I am here with my good friend, Mark Morinishi. He talks about his journey of being the project manager at a SoCal firm, surrendering control to God, obeying His leading to go to Japan, learning to serve in big and small ways, and his experiences in Japan that made Mark the leader that he is today as the online pastor at Menlo Church. The purpose of this podcast is to showcase how much God loves Japan through different stories of people. It is like God sending a care package to the ones He loves in Japan!  If you would like to share your experience with us, please email carepackagetojapan@gmail.com and we would love to have you on the podcast as well! Let's all continue to pray and praise God for the beautiful country of Japan. #prayforjapan