A prayer led me to Japan.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Lord, please send more workers to Japan.”

I first heard that prayer in 2018 on a short-term mission trip to Japan. It was 9:37 A.M., and I was sitting in the backseat of a van headed back and forth between ministry projects. Moments before, I had been looking out the windows at the streets of Tokyo. Then an alarm had pierced the quiet chatter. Gordon (Hwang—IM Global Servant) turned it off and then said the prayer.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Lord, please send more workers to Japan.”

Gordon shared that every morning—at 9:37—he prayed the words of Matthew 9:37-38. That was his prayer for Japan. His faithful daily prayer had been answered at least in part by the arrival of our mission team several days before.

Our short-term mission (STM) team consisted of five young adults from West Virginia. We spent around three weeks that summer volunteering with the Japan Baptist Union and Gordon and LeeAnn (IM Global Servants). We helped high school and college students with their conversational English, invited them to Bible studies, and shared about our faith. We also volunteered at a church kindergarten for a week. It’s amazing how a willingness to be playful and open can overcome a language barrier.

Overall, the experience was wonderful. I left Japan eager to visit again, but with no idea that God would one day call me to live there as a missionary.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Lord, please send more workers to Japan.”

There is certainly a deep need for devoted Christian workers in Japan. Less than 2% of the population is Christian (around 1 to 2 million people). The need for people to hear about the Gospel is profound!

That little prayer stuck around in my thoughts long after I returned home from Japan. Each time I remembered it, I would add it to my prayers too.

I prayed that God would send more workers to Japan.

Well, when you pray for God to send someone, God may end up sending you!