A Short-Term Mission Trip to Japan Changed My Life

Alecia Tallent • Jan 19, 2016

It certainly wasn’t the first short-term trip I had taken. My husband and I knew before we were married that we wanted to be missionaries in Japan, as we had traveled there with our church and other organizations.

Short-term ministry was nothing new to us, but on March 11, 2011, as we saw the tsunami hit Japan in one of the worst disasters the country ever experienced, we knew we had to go back and help.

In our mind, we wanted to just go and aid the country we loved in their hour of need. What we didn’t know is that God would use this particular short-term experience to radically change the course of our life.

In no time, we had the financial support to go, but the organization we had applied with suddenly informed us that they no longer had room in their relief teams for us, and they weren’t comfortable sending just two people by themselves. We quickly looked for another organization working in Japan and found TEAM.

We knew nothing about TEAM except that they had a large presence in Japan, and we were eager to be on a plane and gone! So, we applied, and by October, were at TEAM’s Illinois office, receiving training for ministry before leaving directly for Japan.

As we toured the office, I remarked to my husband how awesome it must be to work for a missions organization , using one’s gifts to support missionaries overseas. In fact, I wouldn’t mind having a job like that, not that I thought I ever would. I was definitely in for a surprise!

cross-japan-tsunami

A cross remains in the aftermath of a tsunami in Japan. Photo by TEAM


In Japan, offering relief to the tsunami survivors was a powerful experience, which I wrote about on TEAM’s blog when I returned. We felt a deep bond both with the people we were serving and with the TEAM missionaries there. It was radically unlike any short-term trip we had ever taken, and, when my husband and I returned to our home in Florida, we didn’t realize that what we had experienced went beyond just three weeks in Japan.

A restlessness came upon us. Living our daily routine just didn’t cut it anymore , and my husband and I were eager to return to Japan again. As the economy plunged in our area, and I began looking for another job, I remembered the staff I had met at TEAM. If we couldn’t be on the field ourselves, I wanted to serve other missionaries.

I began applying to missions organizations everywhere. After many doors were closed to work in other places, I e-mailed my missions coach at TEAM, asking if she had heard of any open positions. She had. I applied, and in July 2012 my husband and I moved from Florida to Illinois for my new position as part of the TEAM staff I had loved so much during my training.

Three years later, we are again applying to TEAM to go to Japan, but this time, as long-term missionaries. God opened the door for my husband to get his master’s degree in a profession he hopes to use on the field. We found a new, missions-minded sending church in the area that is excited about our vision, and my experiences working for TEAM have broadened my view of ministry and the world.

I’ve grown to appreciate TEAM as an organization, and every TEAM Japan missionary we have met has encouraged us to come back and serve with them. Instead of becoming complacent in our new life in Illinois, we’ve become even more inspired to go and be part of the Lord’s work overseas.

It’s amazing to think how different our life was before. Living in Illinois and working for TEAM wasn’t part of my plan. It hadn’t even entered my mind before our trip, but God moved in mighty, unexpected ways, and we are so thankful that we followed him with open hearts and hands.

If I could give one piece of advice to prospective short-termers, it would be not to let your trip be just a blip in your life. Don’t view it simply as your going to serve others, but try to discern the bigger message God may have for you in it. If I hadn’t taken a short-term trip, I wouldn’t have applied to work for TEAM, and who knows where we would be or even if we would still be interested in long-term missions today!

I believe everyone should serve on a short-term trip at least once, if only to broaden their worldview and increase their understanding of the God’s global purposes. Go ready and willing to embrace whatever God has for you. It may just change your life.

By Suzanne Pearson 19 Mar, 2024
Previously on the TEAM blog, we sat down with Justin Burkholder (pictured above at left, with TEAM's Executive Director of Communications, Aaron Catlin). Justin will become TEAM’s next International Director on July 1, 2024. Justin shared about his background, family, and the journey that led him to TEAM. Check out that interview here . Today, we pick up the conversation as Justin shares how God called him to the role of International Director, and what he sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church. Q: How and when did you first consider applying for the position of International Director? How did the Lord reveal Himself to you as this opportunity presented itself? A: For some time, I have been evaluating how God wants me to use the gifts He has given me. Jenny and I have had a fruitful ministry in church planting in Guatemala and would happily continue doing so as God leads. However, as God blessed my efforts in TEAM leadership, there were friends and family who expressed that I should consider using my gifts in the International Director role. I don’t believe that everything necessarily rises and falls on leadership, but I do believe that it is a core component in the body of Christ. Using the gifts God has given me is a way that I want to bless the body of Christ in TEAM, making my contribution to the global purposes of God’s mission. Jenny and I spent a lot of time praying about this and decided that I should put my name in for consideration, trusting God’s guidance. We had a tremendous amount of peace throughout the entire process and were blessed by the prayer-filled process that the board undertook. Q: This is a key role in a large and complex organization, and I’m sure this was a big decision for you and your family. What were your fears or concerns? Why did you ultimately decide to accept the position? A: You say “were” like the fears have passed! I still am quite aware of my youth and inexperience - of the responsibility and weight of this role. Mostly, I’m afraid of leading an organization like TEAM in the flesh. Many of the fears that I have faced have been fears rooted in fleshly desires and concerns. I have no desire to succeed in the world’s eyes and fail in the Kingdom of Jesus. Why did I ultimately decide to accept the position? I’m convinced that the Good News about Jesus is true. The tomb is empty, Jesus is King, and the world needs to know, because Jesus is coming back. He will put things in order. He will establish righteousness, peace, and justice for all mankind, and He has commissioned His Church to proclaim and demonstrate His rule and reign. I want to use my gifts to do whatever I can to amplify the proclamation of this message and the multiplication of His Church around the world. Q: What are your goals and vision for the future of TEAM? A: This is something that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I’m certainly not ready to present a fully-shaped vision and goals for TEAM’s future without the input of other people in different contexts in TEAM. But, I will share a few things that I think are important: First, we need to model God-Dependence . I am hopeful that as leaders in TEAM, we can continue to model God-Dependence. As Hudson Taylor said years ago “…God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supplies.” I am hopeful that we can increase our sense of faith in God, prayer, and seeking direction from the Spirit. Secondly, we must strengthen our relational fabric . Due to the changes that we have experienced by decentralizing our home office functions, and the challenges from the pandemic, we have experienced a loss of relationships. It is imperative that we intentionally prioritize the building of relationships with one another. I plan to visit our workers and staff, and I am expectant that other key leaders and staff will be doing the same. Third, we must pursue the greater presence of the global Church. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ doesn’t look like any single geopolitical, ethnic, or racial culture. If we want to truly see the Kingdom of Jesus come on earth as it is in heaven, then we as citizens of this Kingdom must learn from one another, submit to one another, and grow with one another. The missional potential of the global Church has been unleashed by God’s Spirit since Acts 1, and we have an opportunity to learn from many brothers and sisters in Christ who can help us to better model and proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus to those who have yet to believe. Lastly, we must increase our Gospel boldness . There are still many places of great spiritual blindness and spiritual brokenness around the world. The apostolic impulse of cross-cultural organizations should call us to the to the edges of where the Kingdom of Jesus is not penetrating. Whether spiritual blindness and brokenness exists because of lack of access, idolatry, injustice, or any other myriad of reasons, I prayerfully hope to see more and more TEAM workers continue to move into spaces of great Gospel need.
By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
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