KCPC Japan Team
- Chris Lim
- May 25, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 20, 2023
2023 Summer Vision Trip (May 24th to June 7th)
Hello! We are the KCPC Japan Vision Trip Team!! Our team consists of 12 young adults, 8 males & 4 females, from the Korean Central Presbyterian Church. We will be in Japan from May 24th to June 7th (for two weeks) visiting + supporting various church plants, missionaries, and ministries across Chiba, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai, and Saitama!
As a vision trip, we hope that this time and experience would be a means for God to further reveal his heart to us for His people to come to know the Gospel in unreached nations like Japan.
Thank you for checking out our blog! Day-to-day, we plan on sharing all that we see, learn, and experience in the different churches across the nation. Please stay tuned to follow us on this journey!
We greatly appreciate your prayers in our team's preparations and throughout the vision trip.
Thank you and God Bless!
See below for member-to-member descriptions with hopes for the trip:
Chris Lim:
Hello, my name is Chris Lim!
I've considered ministry for a while now and after two years of working at Freddie Mac, as a Systems Analyst, I quit and will be studying full-time at Reformed Theological Seminary in Fall of 2023.
I have a heart for global missions and the unreached and actually came to Japan in 2019 through MTW for a vision trip. This will be my second time in Japan and I'm hoping that the vision trip this time around will be a further means of wisdom and discernment for the near future - where God is leading me in missions & ministry. I've definitely come to further understand the need here in Japan for laborers and my heart aches for the millions here who don't know the Gospel. There's this thought of, "Something needs to change" And I'm myself and this team, to see all that God will reveal to each member, and how God will use us for the Gospel to be known in Japan!
Brendon Shao:
Hi, my name is Brendon Shao!
One of the biggest reasons why I desire to go on this trip is because I want to serve in vulnerable and unreached areas where the Gospel is not being preached.
I have never served internationally before, but I see such a tremendous influence Japanese culture has on the whole world. There is a great need for the Gospel to be preached in Japan, and two of our very own members (Rachel Koh and David Kim) in our small group have made commitments to Japan. Preparing for this trip I understand that God has called me to not become a pastor and attend seminary, but to be a humble servant and to help assist pastors and future leaders with their respective ministries. I have a gift for administrative tasks and work, and I enjoy serving ministries and pointing people to the Gospel. My prayer is that God may continue to use me to do difficult administrative tasks and to continue to love The word He has given us.
David Lam:
I am David Lam.
I graduated from George Mason University last May with a bachelor's in psychology, and I have been spending the last year working part-time at REI while focusing on serving the church.
I decided to change career directions from wanting to study counseling and therapy to now beginning seminary in order to become a pastor. This was a result of my realization that the salvation of the soul and care for the soul are the two greatest needs in today's world. I pray that God would use a broken vessel like me to bring many to him, and also that those around me would discover the joy of living their lives in pursuit of the lost. That is my desire.
Anna Song:
Hello! I'm Anna Song, a 2022 graduate of Calvin University with a B.A. in Religion. I plan on attending Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. this fall.
Throughout my high school and college years, God has been leading me to serve in full-time ministry, and I've always had vague ideas of what this would look like. As God continues to grow my heart for and understanding of the Gospel, I respond by wanting others to know Christ and all that he has done for us, growing in compassion for His people. I once visited Japan on a vision trip in 2019, and it made me realize the relevance of Matthew 9:37-38. God gave us all a mission to let His name be known, but I wonder if all His people know that. My hope is to disciple and serve the youth, equipping and sending them to go and proclaim the good news. Eventually, I hope to join my brothers and sisters on the field as I continue His work wherever and to whomever He calls me to serve.
David Paik:
Hello, my name is David Paik. Since 2019, God has slowly been changing my heart to one that is for the unreached.
As I served in domestic missions in urban ministries, I witnessed the service and love that was being poured out as a testament to God’s faithfulness as His love continues to pour out over the people within these communities. Through all of this, I recognized and came to the understanding that much of the world has never heard the Gospel and there is a need for people to become equipped and reach such places. It is my hope and prayer that this trip will be a large help in further uncovering my heart for global mission - potentially doing Global Missions as a Tent-Maker (Business as Missions) - to work a secular job in a place that is strategically unreachable through standardized means of evangelism.
David You:
Hello, my name is David You, and I am an undergraduate student studying Information Technology at Northern Virginia Community College.
I currently serve at KCPC as a small group leader for our 4-6th grade ministry. I have been on multiple mission trips in the past and have a heart for unreached people. My hope for this trip is for God to further reveal more of that for me and my future in that, especially in regard to the people of Japan.
Eric Jung:
Hello, my name is Eric Jung. I graduated from George Mason University in Information Technology. I am currently unemployed and have been on a job search.
I've been prayerfully seeking out what the Lord desires me to do in terms of my career while diligently applying. As I'm doing that, I have been serving the church faithfully and in various ways. I've been to many South American countries for missions through Compassion International and every time I went it was a blessing. This year I grew a great desire to go on missions after not being able to go on missions for the past couple of years. Japan being the second most unreached nation, it burdens my heart knowing that there is plenty of harvest but workers are few. Hoping that through this trip, God can use our team to plant seeds in people's hearts.
Esther Lee:
Hello, my name is Esther Lee and I graduated from George Mason University in Fall 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology. I am still in the process of discerning my career; I applied for an accelerated nursing program at GMU for Fall 2023.
I am currently waiting for the final decision and prayerfully depending on the Lord in this season, as I am also considering Christian counseling as a different career path. I originally wanted to take a gap year to Japan while I was in college but due to the pandemic and the Lord calling me to support as a sender, I did not go to Japan. However, I participated in and helped serve the virtual Japan missions through KCPC in 2020. Now that the opportunity to go to Japan has opened I am praying that the Lord would give me further clarity as to how He desires to use me in missions. I've always been willing to consider being a goer but have not received the calling and have been supporting as a sender.
Grace Yoon:
Hello, my name is Grace Yoon and I graduated from Wheaton College (IL) with a degree in Applied Health Science. I am also working full-time as a Physical Therapy Technician while praying for clarity and discernment in God’s calling for me.
Although I am not 100% sure yet, PT school is something that I am considering and my hope and prayer is that the Lord will use my gifts and career to reach many souls. I lived in Kenya as a missionary kid from when I was 10 until I had to come back for college. While I do have some experience in the field, I had never had the opportunity to voluntarily go on a vision trip until now. God has been revealing to me His great love for His people, and my heart breaks for those who are still unaware of His saving grace. My desire is to obey God’s calling for me, so that is why I decided to act out my obedience by choosing to take this step and prayerfully consider His will. Just as He has opened doors for me to go to Japan, I have faith that He has a plan and purpose for everyone on this team. I am excited to see how God will utilize my background and this trip to further open my eyes and heart for His kingdom."
Jae Yeon:
Hello, my name is Jae Yeon and I will be graduating from George Mason University this May with a Bachelors in Psychology. And I will be enrolling into Reformed Theological Seminary full-time as a Special Student starting this Fall 2023.
My first mission trip was to El Salvador back in elementary school through my old church, and have been to India 4 times through a different church in high school. That was my first time witnessing people living in harsh conditions and grew a heart for these people. As my interest in Psychology grew as well as my heart for the unreached as well as the Church, I wanted to learn how to weave in and out of different people groups and cultures to effectively share the gospel. That is one of my expectations out of this Japan Vision/Mission trip, to understand its culture and see how we can be Japanese for the Japanese people, as well as being all for all people so that we might win them over as Paul did in his ministry.
JooEun Kang:
Hi, my name is JooEun Kang. I graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education (Pre-K through 3rd grade) in the Spring of 2022. I am currently continuing my studies in education to get a Master's degree in teaching, and I will be graduating with my degree in May of this year.
After obtaining my degree, I am looking to teach at a public school for about 2 years. Once I get some teaching experience, I would like to do long-term missions in Japan by teaching the children there. I have never been on a mission trip before, but I have heard about the great need for the Gospel in Japan and how unreached the country is. I feel sad for the millions of people who are likely to leave this world without ever hearing the Gospel if no one goes there to proclaim the Gospel. That is why I have chosen to go on this vision trip, and that is why I am thinking about going there in 2 or 3 years to spread the Gospel as I teach the children there. I do, however, want to make sure that is what God is calling me to do in a few years, so through this trip, I want to find out if that is His calling for me, and if it is, I would be excited to find out how he will use me.
Peter Chung:
Hi, my name is Peter Chung and I'm a young adult who recently graduated from George Mason University in Fall 2021 majoring in Information Systems and Operations Management.
From middle school even til now, God has planted a seed in me which is this heart for missions. I've always enjoyed missions, doing them throughout my youth. Missionary David Kim is who introduced me to unreached people groups, and it was when I attended Cross Conference in 2022 that I saw the real need for laborers to go to the harvest. What was one of the most intriguing things to me there was this idea of vocational missions, going to a country where the need is great, but working a secular job and supporting the church in the meantime, being a layperson. It has been and still is my prayer that God will continue to work in me and shape me to guide me to the path He wants me to go, because in this present moment, although I have the heart to go and also to send, I'm unsure where exactly God is calling me. So I am continuing to be faithful here and now as I trust in Him.
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