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Easter Update
April 2025
Happy Easter! For the first time in many years, I’m glad to be able to spend the holiday with my family here in Vermont, but it’s been a busy few months leading up to this point! In my last newsletter I shared that I was in Thailand getting ready for our big Asia division conference. It went really well and I think God worked through the time not just to encourage all of us missionaries in that moment, but also affected everyone in a way that will create positive impacts throughout our ministries in Asia.
After months of planning, video calls, and a chaotic couple days setting up before everyone came, we welcomed nearly 130 missionaries stationed from around Asia to the hotel and conference center in mid February. Not only was I helping out behind the scenes, I was asked to emcee the whole event! I’ve spoken in front of hundreds of people at all kinds of churches over the years, but this was new for me. Thankfully, I feel like God has really been equipping me and I felt like my gifts were really used well during the time.
Along with my emcee duties, one of my favorite parts my role was doing interviews on stage throughout the week. Each day I had different people from various teams around Asia that I interviewed on topics from discipleship to starting a new team to their experience as new missionaries. Our theme for the conference was Reflecting Transformation and we wanted each interview to share stories of how God has been at work transforming people throughout Asia.
I was also involved in helping lead an art event that we have one night at each conference which allows people to come and try out different mediums that we have places around the room. It’s meant to be a space for people to express themselves in a way that they might not be able to normally do in their ministry. I was encouraged to see so many people attend. We set up an art gallery in the corner of the main meeting hall space to display works of art that were brought to be shared or made during the conference like at the art night. I believe creativity is a part of who God made us to be and it is often overlooked in our ministry and outreach so I’m really glad to be able to facilitate it happening at our conference.
Along with the art night, I co-led an art workshop with three other missionaries. I shared about my own journey of how I didn’t used to see myself as an artist or creative, but after studying more for my case study during the contextualization cohort, I have come to see the importance of art and creativity in our lives as Christians and how that can be used for ministry. And now, I am actively exploring more art forms like Japanese kintsugi, ceramics, and paper marbling. I want to incorporate it into what I do for my ministry.
It has been exciting to see how far God has brought me from my first conference in 2019 as just a participant to an active leader and organizer for it all. In the same way, I've seen my ministry expanding from just reaching individuals in Tokyo to now also having administrative responsibilities that can help encourage and equip missionaries that will reach more people all over Asia.
I still love the relationships I have in Tokyo and I will continue to invest in them, but I've seen how God is using my gifts for bigger things to multiply His work. Since I went on an Apex trip in 2016 to going to the field and hosting short-term teams, and everything I've been doing recently, my heart has been to mobilize people for missions. I am only one person, but if I can disciple and equip others to go into the world too, then God's kingdom will grow exponentially.
As I enter into this home assignment time, I am looking forward to seeing how God will lead me and how He wants to use these gifts for my ministry in the future.
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Emceeing at the conference
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Interviewing my teammate Michiyo about her work discipling students.
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After the conference in Thailand, I made a quick trip to Hong Kong to visit with some potential ministry partners and see how they were doing ministry there in the city. Then, I went back to Tokyo and began preparing to fly to the states.
For this home assignment I decided to move out of my apartment instead of continue to pay for it while I was away. While I really loved my apartment, and I was able to do a lot of great ministry in it, I think this was the best decision financially and it gives me the most flexibility while I am gone. That meant though that I had a lot of packing to do. I'm really grateful to my teammates and friends who helped me through the whole process.
Although it was pretty stressful leading up to flying back to the US, there were a couple really encouraging events. For the first time, we gathered all four of our small church plants together for a church retreat outside of Tokyo. In the midst of packing up, it was a blessing to spend the retreat away from the busyness of the city, worshiping with everyone, and having time to slow down. I was glad to be able to see everyone from the different churches before I left too.
The other exciting thing before I left was seeing the cherry blossoms blooming throughout Tokyo. The river by my apartment had a lot of cherry blossom trees along it so I often took breaks from what I was doing to walk along the river. Cherry blossom viewing is a big deal in Japan so it was fun to go out with friends and see them as well. It was nice to see the amazing beauty of God's creation during such a stressful time. I can't wait to see them again when I go back.
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Our group at the church retreat from all four of our church plants
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Home Assignment Plans
So, after everything in the last few months, I am now back in Vermont with my family. I got in last week and have been recovering from jet lag and getting sick, but I am finally starting to feel better just in time for Easter weekend.
I am in the states for what my organization calls "home assignment". The goal of the time is to rest, reconnect with supporters and get any training I need for my next stage of ministry. Home assignment is a requirement for all missionaries. Generally, for every five years on the field, one of those years needs to be spent in the US. Not counting covid since it is kind of a special case, I have been on the field for nearly five years so has been time for me to officially take a home assignment.
Currently I'm in Vermont with my family and I'll spend the next couple weeks here as I get readjusted, but from May I will be taking "Renew" which is essentially a sabbatical similar to what pastors take. During my sabbatical I will be staying in New York at an apartment and intentionally be spending time away from ministry. I am excited to rest, study, reconnect with God, and pray about what my future in ministry will look like.
I will be on Renew from May to June and in July I will attend a mandatory debrief training that all of our missionaries are required to attend once every few years. After that I will begin meeting with supporters and visiting churches.
I'm sure many of you want to hear from me right away about how my ministry in Japan is going and I am eager to share with you, but because being on the field can be so draining, ReachGlobal is requiring it's missionaries to do Renew as a way to keep them from burning out. They don't want us to be so busy on the field and then get back to the states and immediately continue to be super busy talking with churches and supporters. They want us to take a bit of a break. It's a way to protect us and best steward our energy.
Thanks for being understanding through all of this!
Home assignments typically last for about a year so I should have plenty of time to see everyone. I have not put an official end date on mine yet so that I can stay flexible and see how God is leading. As I know more info I will keep you all updated.
One last thing to note too is please don't send anything to my Japanese address as I won't get it and please don't text or call my Japanese phone number. If you want to get ahold of me you can contact me by email.
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The cherry blossom trees along the river by my apartment were so beautiful.
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Prayer Requests
- Pray for my health. I have been sick and I am still experiencing some jet lag so pray that I can recover quickly. Pray that I wouldn't get anyone else in my family sick and that I would be well enough for everything coming up with Easter.
- Pray for my home assignment. I am excited to be back! I really only have plans for the next couple of months, but I am trusting that God will lead me and provide for the year ahead. Pray that this time would be restful and reenergizing. Pray that I could enjoy time with God and time with family but also enjoy my time alone in New York. Pray for direction for future ministry and that I could share well with all of my partners how God has been at work in Japan.
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If you'd like to give, please click on the link below!
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Thanks for reading!
I appreciate you all! As always, feel free to email me at adam.bailey@efca.org. You can also go to my website at adamintokyo.com. Thanks! - Adam Bailey
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