When I told my family and friends that I was going to Japan to establish a prayer ministry — they were ecstatic for me. However, when I announced that I will fly next Saturday, they held their breaths back.
Well, to be honest, I can’t blame them. It felt short-notice and any sane person would say I am unprepared. I was, 100%. It wasn’t much of a short notice though. It has been in my heart to go and pray for Japan since May of 2023. Time flies very fast when you’re busy and because everyone was busy with their own lives, the time between May 2023 and January 2024 felt like a snap.
The Flight To Japan
I booked my ticket on January 11, 2024 after much prayer, assurance, and word from God that He really is calling me to go that early. My flight was on January 13, 2024 right after our church’s prayer and fasting.
While preparing for my trip, God reminded me of this verse
Luke 9:3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
I couldn’t follow it word by word, of course. I needed to have clothes because I will be staying in Japan for at least 3 weeks but I removed anything that I felt was of little value in them. Instead of bringing two bibles, I brought one. Instead of two sweaters, I brought one. Instead of two pens, I brought one. I brought two shoes though (and while writing this now, I should’ve brought just one pair of boots instead of bringing my running shoes. Why? Because running feels impossible in this weather. It’s my first time in a winter season and the cold is intense!), I also brought two pairs of pants and three stockings (my sister gave them to me, bless her!). But you get my point and the list goes on.
When we follow God, we have to remove anything that’s of no value and will just burden us along the way.
God indeed provided for me, even through clothes. I’ll write more about this later.
The flight was fast and easy. Usually, we fly for about 4 hours from Manila to Osaka but earlier, we only flew for three hours. While flying, I broke my full-fast with a Jollibee ChickenJoy meal, wrote my first blog, and read my Bible reading plan. I also had little chitchats with my seatmates.
Even if the flight was quick, there were tons of tourists that went through immigration and so that ate up more than an hour of my time waiting in the queue.
Osaka felt familiar. My family and I often traveled to Osaka last year because of family business so by this time, Osaka felt like a second home. What was not familiar to me was the cold. The Philippines don’t have a winter season and the coldest temperature we experience in our place is 18 °C whenever we open our AC’s.
I walked through the cold 4°C temperature from the airport to my aunt’s home. Luckily, there’s a heater inside the trains. I only had to walk around 1 kilometer with freezing hands and face while carrying my luggages and pasalubong. (Please excuse me, it’s my first time experiencing a 4°C temperature and I get cold very easily). I really can’t imagine how I would walk without the jacket that my mom forgot in our house in the Philippines.
During that walk, I had mixed emotions. I felt joy, of course, that I obeyed God. I felt excitement for all the miracles that God promised. Lastly, I felt nervous too, thinking how my mom and aunts would react when I knock on the door later.
This is a journal entry so there’s not much to learn but tomorrow, I’ll post about my meeting with a Japanese pastor, experience in attending a Christian service in Japan, and about my reconciliation with my eldest sister. See you!
