He began to show me that choosing comfort over proclaiming his name would be a shame.
Acts 26:17-18 says,
“I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
I am sending you… where? JAPAN!!!
The Lord has called the Martins to take a mighty step of faith. Our family has been burden by the fact that millions and millions of people in Japan have never heard the name of Jesus. It’s estimated that 95% of Japanese people have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To be honest, when I was first introduced to the idea of uprooting my family to move to Japan, I was hesitant. I thought, “God don’t you understand my circumstances? I’m comfortable here! And let’s not forget that I have three young kids. And the lets not forgot the language. UGH! Japan isn’t for us.” I knew I wanted to give my life to missions but Japan was never on my radar. But over time, the Lord softened my heart. He began to show me that choosing comfort over proclaiming his name would be a shame. God opened my eyes to see that giving my children an ‘American’ childhood wasn’t all that mattered. My children can have a great childhood somewhere else as well. And as I had the opportunity to see last August, raising children in Japan is difficult, but possible. The biggest answer to prayer is that God moved my heart to love the country of Japan and more importantly, the people.
Japan has only one church for every 16,700 people, 1 church for every 800 churches in the United States. Our family will be moving to the city of Kyoto and will be partnering with Mustard Seed Network with the mission to glorify God by making disciples through planting gospel-centered churches in urban Japan.
The Lord has given us a passion to bring the gospel to the second largest unreached people group in the world. We have full faith and trust in what the Lord has planned for our future. The Lord has called Sam and me to have strong faith. Christ alone is our source of hope and strength. Leaving behind everything is a big sacrifice and extremely costly. But we know without a doubt that what will be gained outweighs it all. “I am sending you to open their eyes…”
