Laying It Down, Picking It Up: Trusting God from Taipei to Tokyo to NYC

I have lived in NYC for a month and a half now. Sometimes when I go running in the morning and look out at the bay near where I’m staying, I still pinch myself. “I’m in New York City.”

How did I get here? And more importantly, why am I here?

As most of you know, I spent the last year in Tokyo, Japan, as a ministry school student and missionary, living in a share house with seven other girls. Many of the students and leadership were international, like me, hailing from other countries but willing to sow a year or two or however long God wanted them in Japan for the sake of the gospel. Likewise, when I moved to Tokyo in August of 2024, there was no end date in my mind. I was excited and grateful to be part of what God is doing in Japan, weekly preaching the gospel on the streets and daily building community with other radical, on-fire brothers and sisters in Christ. Even now, on the other side of the globe, I’m still excited to see the work God is doing in the Japanese church—Awakening Tokyo will always be family to me—and believing for a great awakening in the land of the Rising Sun. 

Entering into 2025 my spirit began to stir again. It was the same prompting that led me to move from Taipei, Taiwan, to Tokyo in the first place, and what has propelled me so many other times in my life to take a leap of faith into the unknown. What was on the other side I never knew for sure. Like when I moved from Kansas City to Taipei in the summer of 2020, condensing all of my possessions into two suitcases—no agenda, no plan, no job or ministry lined up—people had questions. “What are you going to do in Taiwan? How are you going to make money?” I didn’t know the answers then, but year by year God demonstrated His faithful leadership.

In 2021 my song “Beauty Arise” won GOODTV’s original song contest award. In 2022, I wrote my first original Christmas musical “都不落空 Never Fails” and got to perform it with an incredible cast and crew at Taipei 101 on December 10th. In 2023, my parents and I officially launched “美樂地家庭 Melody Family” in long-form podcast format, which has quickly become an audience-favorite on my channel. We love hearing the testimonies of how our open and honest conversations are helping other families. 

Moving to Tokyo was no different. Not everyone understood why I was making this decision. I had already gone through ministry school before; I even taught at one—not to mention my decision to take a break from making music & videos soon after moving there. Superficially, it didn’t make sense. However, God’s leadership is trustworthy. 

At the beginning of 2024 I had begun to pray that God would lead me out of my comfort zone once again. Jesus’ words in his Sermon on the Mount gripped me: “You are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the world… Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” It occurred to me that I had become too comfortable in the church. God, let my light shine in the darkness where it’s needed.

Then on January 25, 2024, an invitation came from NYC. My friend Jackie who lived in Queens messaged me out of the blue: “Dear Melody… I wanted to extend a heartfelt invitation to you to visit New York anytime. Whether it’s for a short adventure or to explore long-term plans, you’re more than welcome… I’m willing to cover the cost of tickets… Feel free to plan your travels, take classes, attend shows and museums—spend your time however you’d like… Take your time to pray about it. Know that the door is always open for you.” I remember I was switching trains at Taipei Main Station when her text popped up. Reading it, tears streamed down my face and neck. I thought of the words I had written on the white board in my bedroom only a few days earlier: “Summer in NYC.” I couldn’t believe it was actually happening.

It was like the red carpet had rolled out for me, paving my way to NYC. How could I refuse? It’s what I wanted. 

But alas, God works in mysterious ways. 

Another call came to me, and this time it was a Taiwanese producer promising me the “opportunity of a lifetime.” He implored me to postpone my trip to NYC, touting the urgency and privilege of an opportunity like this. I remember putting him on speakerphone and eyeing my mom as he urged me to make an immediate decision. My heart was already in NYC but I never wanted to hold onto anything too tightly that if God asked me to I wasn’t willing to change my plans accordingly. At my mom’s gentle nod of the head, I agreed to the producer’s wishes. 

Truth be told, I wasn’t interested in the producer’s proposal or the opportunities he promised would come with it. My only desire was to follow the will of God, and I was aware that sometimes God asks us to lay down what we want the most, just like He did with Abraham when He asked him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. So I laid down NYC.

A few months later in June, I visited Tokyo for the first time, and that’s when I encountered Awakening Tokyo, pastored by my friends Esther and Masa. Their radical commitment to evangelism and community gripped me. They shaped their lives around this one mandate: to be the salt of the earth and light of the world, telling the Japanese people about Jesus and preparing the nation for revival. This is what I’ve been praying for, I thought.

After one month with them, I went home to Taipei, packed up all my belongings once again, and officially moved to Tokyo in August 2024. Throughout this time, the Taiwanese producer’s project continued to delay, until finally it fell through. Copyrights were withheld, so after months of preliminary preparations we had no choice but to cut our losses, which was fine by me—I had already moved onto a new chapter of my life: Missionary in Japan. 

For the next eight months, I took a break from making music and videos. That initial decision came with much tears, because I loved making music and videos. I wasn’t burnt out, nor was I trying to prevent it. (Having been burnt out in the past from ministry, I know what that’s like. This wasn’t that.) But like NYC, I was ready to lay down what I wanted if He asked me to. So when two leaders and a brother from Awakening Tokyo all challenged me the same thing—to take a break from YouTube—I thought, I can take a hint, and stopped everything.

And I’m so glad I did. In exchange, God filled my time and heart in that season with friendship and community. Some of it was hard and tense—learning to have difficult conversations and working through misunderstanding. Most of it, however, was pure joy and fun. My favorite memories include our weekly Girls Night at Dollhouse (the name of our all-girl share house), where the seven of us would share vulnerably, encourage one another, and pray together; Christmas-decorating with the girls; community house parties after Sunday church outreach; and simply being a sister and friend, considering I also took a step back from leading worship and singing.

On top of that, when we weren’t going out on outreaches or ministry trips, large amounts of corporate and personal times of worship, prayer, and Bible study filled up my calendar. I found myself scheduling in “dates with Jesus” and looking forward to simply being with Him. Though I always knew in my head that my identity and worth wasn’t found in how much or how well I served, this season of de-performance forced me to reconcile with this truth once and for all: God loves me, and so I love, and that is the total measure of my success. 

Then, as I mentioned earlier, in the Spring of 2025, my spirit began to stir with the changing of seasons. Was it time to take another leap of faith into the unknown? I thought of my prayer at the beginning of 2024: God, let my light shine in the darkness where it’s needed. Japan is one of the spiritually darkest corners of the earth, with less than 1% Christian population. However, when I considered how God made me and called me as an artist and singer-songwriter, I felt that pieces of the puzzle were still missing. Indeed God has called us to be lights in the darkness, but the way He fashioned each of us to shine is different. 

At the start of the new year, I wrote my new song “Shake.” Based on Hebrews 12:26-29, the lyrics go: “Shake, shake, shake all that can be shaken / Move all that can be moved.” Recording the demo, I felt a part of me come alive again. I longed to see hearts awakened to the love of God, not just in Japan and not just through street evangelism, but throughout the world through the power of music, creativity, arts, and media. 

In April of this year, my parents and I had the privilege of traveling to Africa for our first time. We spent 10 days in Uganda, primarily connecting with local businessmen and pastors who were interested in hearing Dad’s message on Kingdom Economy. It was all made possible by the invitation and generosity of our host Elaine, an influential and strategic businesswoman, who is also my fan. Throughout the trip she kept encouraging me to dream bigger. “You are international,” she said to me. 

On one night she even put together a concert for me in her front yard, decked out with bougie string lights, a professional sound system, and delicious catering. Among the audience were members of the government and pastors from Watoto church, the largest church in Uganda. The response was overwhelmingly positive. One of them, a fellow musician and Watoto worship leader, said to me afterwards, “It’s rare to find singers who are both talented and anointed, but you are. And if you sing here in Africa, they will really like you.” Maybe Elaine was right.

It was also during this trip to Africa when I first decided to reach out for life coaching. When I got back to Tokyo, we had our first call. Through simple and effective Q&A, we discovered that the two pillars of my core value system are Freedom and Responsibility—“freedom,” meaning my need for freedom and exploration, and “responsibility” referring to my sense of accountability towards God for the gifts and calling He has given me. Clarifying these values for me seemed to come with it a new sense of permission: Time to be free and explore again, to step into my calling and responsibility as a creator and artist. 

I reached out to my friend Jackie who lived in Queens; the offer was still on the table. Since my parents and I were already planning to fly to the States in July for my brother’s wedding, I packed all my belongings into a suitcase and a half and set off once again—with no plan, no agenda, and no end date in mind.

We spent a month in the Bay Area, California. A few days after dropping my parents and relatives off at the San Francisco International airport, I flew to Chicago to attend a leadership conference, at the invitation of my friends Grace and Jessie. Then on August 14th, I finally landed at LaGuardia airport in NYC.

Not a week goes by without some new adventure or challenge. Even my improv classmates were surprised to learn I had signed up for improv my first week in the city. “I love how intentional you are,” they said to me. And now I’m already in the fourth week of my second improv class, Musical Improv, arguably more challenging but also loads of fun. I made new friends, who have introduced me to more friends, and reconnected with old ones. I fulfilled my dream of busking on the streets, after a chance encounter with a street performer in Downtown Flushing, Queens; we got connected and a few days later brought our music to the streets of Manhattan, performing at Washington Square Arch and Chinatown. 

To my delight I see churches celebrating and platforming artists in their congregation. “To The Ends of the Earth: Artist Commission Premiere,” put together by Church of the City, was one such event. They had painters, filmmakers, songwriters, and writers showcase their art, inspired by the Acts 1:8 theme. I’ve bumped into other Christian content creators I recognized from social media and have also been recognized on and off the streets, including at an acupuncture clinic. I’ve been encouraged by the creativity and godly ambition I see when other believers use business, art, and media to spread His fame “to the ends of the earth.” 

There is a hopeful urgency in the air to shine our light even brighter now than ever. Those who were previously ashamed of the gospel are now proclaiming it from the rooftops, whether that’s on TikTok or through a silent but impactful short film. I think of Pastor Jon Tyson’s message titled “Vocational Mission,” which I accidentally scrolled upon a few weeks ago. He spoke about the Christian mandate to “Create Culture,” culture being the combination of all that we create, i.e. goods, services, ideas, art, language—all orbiting around whatever a society holds most important, whatever it worships. Currently we live in a secular culture, where the Self is at the center. Christians are called to reform and “Create Culture,” through prayer, yes, but also through action, in work and in play.

His message deeply resonated with me, especially because he mentioned Broadway. Many aspiring and talented performers come to the city, hoping to lead in a new musical, so that one day they might win an Emmy and thank God and their mom while crying on stage. But what if our goals were more expansive than that? What if we thought less about being “heroic individuals” and more about creating as a community for cultural impact?

Since arriving in New York, I’ve become a lot bolder when introducing myself. “The dream is to write a Broadway musical,” I say. No one laughs at me. Rather they respect the vision. New friends give me suggestions for stories; someone I met in Chicago even e-mailed me his unpublished manuscript for my musical-adaptation consideration. 

I know it’s a long way from my 2022 original Christmas musical “都不落空 Never Fails” to something like Lin Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” which I saw a few weeks ago. My friend Enya won us $10 tickets by lottery. We sat front row center, basking in the intensity radiating off of the cast. Every glimmer of the eye, every micro-expression was not lost on me. I cried three-four times throughout the whole production and by the end scene I was bawling my eyes out. Roaring standing ovation. 

“Could I write a musical like that?” I asked my mom the next day during my usual morning run. We call each other a few times each week. “I believe you can do anything,” she replied. Perhaps I was less looking for her affirmation and more just putting it out there. Whether I write a Broadway musical or not is not the main point. What’s important is trusting God’s faithfulness each step of the way. I remind myself of how He led me in Taiwan and then in Tokyo, and now. I still pinch myself, “I’m in New York City.”

放下與拾起:

從台北到東京到紐約 信靠神的旅程

我已經在紐約住了一個半月。有時候早晨跑步，望向我住處附近的海灣時，我還會掐自己一下：「我真的在紐約市。」

我是怎麼來到這裡的？更重要的是，我為什麼在這裡？

如同大部分人所知道的，我去年待在日本東京，身為一名宣教學校的學生與宣教士，和七個女生一起住在合宿屋。許多學生與領袖和我一樣，都是來自不同國家的國際生，願意為了福音在日本擺上一兩年，或是任憑神帶領的時間長短。

當我在 2024 年 8 月搬到東京時，心中沒有設定結束日期。我既興奮又感恩，能夠參與神在日本所做的工作，每週在街頭傳福音，每天和熱心火熱的弟兄姊妹一起建立群體。即使現在我已經身處地球另一端，我仍然為日本教會的復興感到興奮—Awakening Tokyo 永遠是我的家人—並且相信日出之國會有大覺醒！

進入 2025 年，我的靈再次被攪動。

這和當初促使我從台北搬到東京的感動一樣，也是我人生中許多次，跨出信心之躍的推動力。另一端會是什麼，我從來不確定。就像 2020 年夏天我從堪薩斯城搬到台北，把所有家當塞進兩個行李箱裡一樣，沒有計畫，沒有工作，或事工等著我，人們紛紛問：「你要去台灣做什麼？怎麼賺錢？」我當時沒有答案，但年復一年，神持續顯明祂信實的帶領。

2021 年，我的歌曲《Beauty Arise》獲得 GOODTV 原創歌曲獎。2022 年，我寫了第一齣原創聖誕音樂劇《都不落空 Never Fails》，並在 12 月 10 日於台北 101，與極具才華的團隊一起演出。2023 年，我和父母正式推出podcast 節目《美樂地家庭》，很快就成為我頻道上觀眾最喜愛的內容。人們喜歡聽見見證，說我們真誠開放的家庭對話，幫助了其他家庭。

搬到東京也是如此。不是每個人都理解我，為什麼要做這樣的決定。我已經讀過一次宣教學校，甚至還曾經做過教師，更不用說，剛搬到日本後，我還決定暫停音樂與影片的製作。從表面看來，一點道理都沒有。然而，神的帶領值得信靠！

2024 年初，我開始禱告，求神再次帶我離開舒適圈。耶穌在登山寶訓中的話深深抓住我：「你們是世上的鹽… 你們是世上的光… 要叫你們的光照在人前，叫他們看見你們的好行為，便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父。」我意識到自己在教會裡過得太舒服了。神啊，讓我的光照進黑暗裡，那才是真正需要的地方。

然後，2024 年 1 月 25 日，我收到了來自紐約的邀請。住在皇后區的朋友 Jackie 突然傳訊息給我：「親愛的 Melody… 我想誠摯邀請你隨時來紐約。不管是短暫探險或長期規劃，你都非常歡迎… 我願意幫你出機票… 你可以規劃時間上課、看表演和博物館… 隨心所欲… 請慢慢禱告，知道這扇門永遠為你敞開。」我記得當時正在台北車站轉車，讀著訊息，淚水流滿臉頰。我想起幾天前才寫在房間白板上的話：「夏天在紐約。」我簡直不敢相信這真的要發生了。

就像為我鋪上的紅地毯，帶我直達紐約。我怎麼能拒絕？這正是我心裡所渴望的。

然而，神的道路奇妙難測！

又有一個電話來了，這次是一位台灣製作人，承諾給我「一生一次的機會」。他懇求我延後去紐約，說這是何等難得、緊急的機會。我把電話開擴音，看著媽媽，他催促我要馬上做決定。我的心早已飛往紐約，但我從不敢緊抓自己想要的，以至於當神要求改變計畫時，我不願順服。在媽媽輕輕點頭後，我答應了製作人的要求。

老實說，我對製作人的計畫和他承諾的機會一點興趣都沒有。我唯一的渴望就是跟隨神的旨意。我很清楚有時神會要我們放下最想要的，就像祂要亞伯拉罕獻上他所愛的兒子以撒一樣。所以我放下了紐約。

幾個月後，六月，我第一次造訪東京，也是在那時候我遇見了Awakening Tokyo，我的朋友 Esther 和 Masa 在牧養。他們對於福音和對神徹底的委身，深深的打動了我。他們把生活建立在這一個使命之上：成為世上的鹽與光，把耶穌介紹給日本人，並預備這個國家迎接復興。我心想：這正是我一直在禱告的。

和他們待了一個月後，我回到台北，再次收拾好所有的行李，於 2024 年 8 月正式搬到東京。這段期間，那位台灣製作人的計畫不斷延後，最後甚至完全的破局，版權被扣留，經過數月的前期準備，最後只能放棄。但我並不覺得可惜，因為我已進入人生的新篇章：日本的宣教士！

接下來的八個月，我暫停了音樂和影片的製作。這個決定伴隨著許多眼淚，因為我真的很熱愛音樂與影片。我並不是因為倦怠才這麼做，也不是為了避免倦怠（我以前在事工裡曾經歷過倦怠，我知道那是什麼樣子，但這次不是。）就像當初放下紐約一樣，如果神要求我放下，我願意順服。所以當三位 Awakening Tokyo 的弟兄姊妹，兩位領袖和一位弟兄，同時挑戰我放下 YouTube 時，我心想：「我懂了。」於是停下一切。

而我非常慶幸自己這麼做了。取而代之的是，神用友誼和群體填滿了我的時間與心。雖然當中有些很不容易，需要學習的艱難的對話、處理誤解，但大部分的時光，卻是純粹的喜樂與歡笑。我最喜歡的回憶包括：我們每週的「女孩之夜」（我們女生合宿屋取名叫 Dollhouse），七個人會彼此敞開、互相鼓勵與代禱；和女孩們一起布置聖誕節；主日街頭佈道後的社區派對；還有單單只是作為一個姊妹、一個朋友，被接納的感覺，那段時間我也完全退下了敬拜主領和唱歌的服事。

除此之外，當我們不在外面佈道或出差時，聚會和個人的敬拜、禱告、讀經就填滿了我的行程。我甚至會在行事曆上排進「與耶穌的約會」，並滿心期待單單與祂同在。雖然我一直在頭腦裡知道：我的身份和價值不是建立在我服事的多少與好壞，但這一段「去表現化」的季節，迫使我真正面對並接受這個真理：神愛我！所以我去愛！這就是我成功的全部衡量標準。

然後，如前所述，2025 年春天，隨著季節轉換，我的靈又開始攪動。是否該再次跨出這信心的一躍？我想到 2024 年初的禱告：「神啊，讓我的光照進黑暗裡，那才是真正需要的地方。」日本是世界上屬靈最黑暗的角落之一，基督徒人口不到 1%。然而，當我想到神如何建造我、呼召我作為一位藝術家與創作歌手時，我覺得拼圖裡仍有缺角。確實，神呼召我們成為黑暗中的光，但祂塑造我們每個人的方式卻不同。

在這新年的開始，我寫下了這首新歌《Shake》。靈感來自希伯來書 12:26-29，歌詞是：「Shake, shake, shake all that can be shaken / Move all that can be moved.（震動一切能被震動的 / 移動一切能被移動的）」錄下 demo 的時候，我感覺自己某個部分再次甦醒。我渴望看見人心被神的愛甦醒，不只是透過日本的街頭佈道，而是藉由音樂、創意、藝術和媒體的力量，觸及全世界。

2024 年 4 月，我和父母有幸第一次前往非洲。我們在烏干達待了十天，主要是和當地對「國度經濟」信息有興趣的商人和牧師建立連結。而這一切全是因為Elaine，一位有影響力且具策略眼光的女商人，也是我的粉絲，所邀請與慷慨支持的。在整趟旅程中，她不斷鼓勵我，要有更大的夢想！「你是國際性的，」她對我說。

有一晚，她甚至在自家前院，為我舉辦了一場音樂會，掛滿了浪漫的燈串，配有專業音響與精緻餐點。觀眾中有政府官員與烏干達最大教會 Watoto 的牧者。反應熱烈無比。其中一位同為音樂人、也是 Watoto 的敬拜主領，在會後對我說：「很少能遇到既有才華又有恩膏的歌手，但你就是！如果你來非洲唱歌，他們一定會非常喜歡你。」也許 Elaine 說得對！

這次非洲之旅，我也第一次決定尋求，生命教練。

回到東京後，我們進行了第一次通話。透過簡單卻有效的問答，發現我的核心價值體系裡，有兩個支柱：自由與責任。自由，指的是我對探索與自由的渴望。而責任，則指我對神所賜的恩賜，與呼召的使命感。釐清這些價值後，我彷彿得到新的許可：是時候！再次自由探索，同時也要承擔起神給我的創作者與藝術家的責任了！

於是我聯絡了住在皇后區的 Jackie；她的邀請仍在。由於我和父母已經計劃在七月飛到美國，參加弟弟的婚禮，我便再次收拾行李（這次是一個半行李箱），毫無計畫、毫無行程，也沒有設定結束日期，再次踏上旅程。

我們在加州灣區待了一個月後，我又飛往芝加哥，參加朋友 Grace 和 Jessie 邀請的國度領袖會議。在 8 月 14 日，我終於抵達紐約 LaGuardia 機場。

沒有一週，不經歷新的冒險或挑戰…

連我的即興表演課同學，都驚訝於我第一週到紐約，就報名了課程。「我喜歡你這麼有意圖，」他們說。而現在的我，已經在第二門，即興表演課的第四週了。這次是「音樂即興」，可以說更具挑戰性，但也充滿了樂趣。我交了新朋友，他們又介紹我更多的朋友，也和一些老朋友重逢。在法拉盛唐人街，偶遇一位街頭表演者後，我也完成了夢想—在紐約街頭獻唱。而且幾天後，我們就一同在曼哈頓的華盛頓廣場拱門，與唐人街，玩音樂。

令我欣喜的是，我看到教會樂意提升並支持會眾裡的藝術家。由 Church of the City 舉辦的「直到地極：藝術家差遣首演」便是這樣的一場活動。他們邀請畫家、電影人、詞曲創作者、作家，展示自己的作品。靈感來自使徒行傳 1:8 的主題。我也遇見了一些，我在社群媒體上認識的基督徒創作者，也在街上或診所，被人認出來。當我看到其他信徒用事業、藝術、媒體來傳揚祂的名，我深受鼓舞，感受到一種「現在比以往更急切需要發光」的氛圍。那些曾經以福音為恥的人，如今開始在 TikTok 上、或透過一支無聲卻有力的短片，高聲宣告！

我想起牧師 Jon Tyson 的一篇信息《Vocational Mission》，幾週前不小心滑到…他談到基督徒的呼召是「創造文化」，文化是我們所創造的一切總和，例如商品、服務、思想、藝術、語言，一切圍繞著社會認為最重要的事物，也就是它所敬拜的對象。目前我們活在一個「自我」居中的世俗文化裡。基督徒被呼召要透過禱告，也透過行動，不論工作或娛樂，來更新，並「創造文化」！

他的訊息深深觸動我，尤其因為他提到百老匯。許多懷抱夢想且極具天賦的表演者來到這城市，渴望有朝一日能主演新的音樂劇，進而獲得艾美獎，並在舞台上哭著感謝神和父母。但若我們的目標能更寬廣呢？若我們少一些「英雄式個人」的思維，而更多地以群體創作來帶來文化影響呢？

自從來到紐約後，我在介紹自己時變得大膽許多。

我會說：「我的夢想是寫一齣百老匯音樂劇。」沒有人嘲笑，反而尊重這個願景。新朋友會給我故事靈感；我在芝加哥遇到的人甚至把他的未出版手稿寄給我，讓我考慮改編成音樂劇。

我知道，從我 2022 年的原創聖誕音樂劇《都不落空 Never Fails》，到像林曼努爾·米蘭達的《漢密爾頓》這樣的作品，仍有很長的路要走。幾週前，我和朋友 Enya 抽中 10 美元的票，坐在正中央第一排，近距離感受演員散發的能量。每一個眼神閃爍、每一個細微表情都不曾錯過。我在整場演出中哭了三、四次，到最後一幕時更是痛哭失聲，全場起立鼓掌。

隔天早晨跑步時，我打給媽媽，問她：「我能寫出這樣的音樂劇嗎？」她回答：「我相信你什麼都能做到」！

也許我並不是在尋求肯定，而只是單純想把這個想法說出口。不管我最後是否寫出百老匯音樂劇，都不是重點。重點是信靠神的信實，一步一步走在祂的帶領中。我提醒自己：祂怎麼在台灣帶領我，又怎麼在東京帶領我，如今也如此。我仍然掐自己一下：「我真的在紐約市。」