Greetings Earthlings!

Hello brothers and sisters!!

This is I, Joanna Choi. Some of you are probably like, who is this girl? hah. :]
I attend bible study at Jae-il church on fridays so that is how I was given the opportunity to go on this mission trip. So hopefully in the future, I would love to talk to you guys in person about my experience in Japan.

Back to the missions.

Today was a day of rest from the summer camp which resulted in a day of exploring. It was quite fun and intense for the group. Of course it was physically tiring because we walked everywhere today but I saw it more as an adventure and somewhat memorable.

We went to the Menji temple and explored Harajuku today!

For those who do not know, Menji is one of the biggest temples in Japan and worldwide tourist attraction.

Personally, this temple was an awakening for me. It absolutely shook me to the core. I was pretty amazed and shocked by the environment and the people's efforts there. This is where God showed me the heart of Japan and how far away they had fallen. I experienced the spiritual culture to the fullness. As we entered the temple, we were greeted by a huge gate and a long path covered with scenery on the way to the temple. It was beautiful seeing God's creation and experiencing the surrounding natural beauty. As we entered the courts of the temple, it was filled with tourists and of course the Japanese. The part that troubled me was the area where thousands of people wrote their prayers and also where they prayed to their "god." As the group explored the premises, I was able to read a handful of prayers. These prayers are written on wooden blocks and were promised to be answered by this "god." A prayer block costs approximately five dollars. It was burdensome to see how many blocks filled the walls. It was heartbreaking to see how many people endlessly poured their hope and faith upon this fake idol. The fact that they had to purchase something in order for their prayers to be heard was ridiculous, disturbing. Prayer is a direct communication we have with God and is not something worth of monetary amount for it is priceless. We do not need money to talk to God, almost as if there is a toll we need to pay in order to communicate with our Father. But of course, these people did not know that. These people were the lost, the desperate, the broken.

These people were looking to the counterfeit image of God rather than the real heavenly Father.

We as humans all have an inner instinct that there is something greater out there. For us as Christians, we have the truth, we have the solution and it is our joy to spread the Gospel.

For me, I was fighting an inner battle within myself. As I saw people drop in coins and than start to pray to this fake idol, I started to pray for them saying God, forgive them for they do not know. They are ignorant and foolish so have mercy on them, please. Show them grace, that endlessly flows from the cross. But then I struggled with the thought that what if they did know, but they were being prideful and did not want to surrender to Him?

So fellow brothers and sisters, I ask for all of us as a body of Christ to continually pray for God to break the pride, the selfishness, the insecurity of this nation. That instead of turning to the fake solutions, whether in false idols or materialism, they will seek the light, the truth. That they will see the freedom in the goodness of God and His light and not the artificial comfort in the darkness.

And as for me and the team, pray that we will trust in the sovereignty of God and know His will is ultimately greater than ours.

thanks for reading!!!
we shall update again soon!

peace out. Joanna.