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Exciting Updates from Japan + Ways to Partner
Thank you so much for your support over the years.
In this letter, I want to share with you what the Lord has been doing in my life this season.
As you may know, I moved to Tokyo, Japan, almost 3 months ago. At the beginning of 2024, I started feeling a desire to reach more unbelievers. Reading the Book of Matthew one morning, Jesus’ words about being the “light of the world” stirred my spirit. I started praying about the next season of my life, if God would bring me to a new environment where I could reach more non-Christians.
Then in June, I came to Tokyo to visit my friend Esther, who pastors a church called Awakening Tokyo with her husband Masa. (The three of us were students at BSSM almost 10 years ago.) During that trip, I fell in love with their community and vision: to see revival in Japan, formerly known as a “missionary graveyard.”
Obeying the prompting of the Lord, I moved here to Tokyo at the end of July. That was almost 3 months ago. And I’d like to share with you some updates from my time here in Japan so far:
The first month when I arrived, God gave me two new songs. The first song was an English song called “My Trust Is In You,” and my friend Momo helped me translate it into Japanese, “Shinjiru.” The second song “Osorenai” I wrote completely in Japanese with the help of two other friends, based on David’s speech to King Saul before he faced Goliath.
Also, a month ago I wrote “So I Am Loved,” based on Pastor Masa’s Sunday sermon.
The style of this last song is very different from what I usually write, which turned out to be quite symbolic because immediately after writing this song my life took a big turn:
The next day I asked a friend for some marketing advice, and instead of advice he suggested that I take a break from YouTube so that I can focus on what God has for me in this season. You can find out more about the process behind this decision HERE, but long story short, I ended up following his suggestion.
Therefore, I will not be making any new YouTube videos for a while—maybe six months, maybe longer.
However, the good news is that I do have new music coming out.
This summer I recorded my new Chinese worship album, and in August I was back in Taipei recording the live studio music video with a full band. My director 阿宏老師 and his team are editing the MV and lyric videos at the moment, so as soon as they are done I will be publishing them on my channel and streaming platforms.
The other good news is, now that I’m taking a break from YouTube, I can focus on growing and stepping out in Outreach, one of the main reasons why I was drawn here in the first place. Awakening Tokyo focuses largely on outreach and evangelism. Every Sunday afternoon, we go out onto the streets as a church to preach the gospel.
And two weeks ago during Sunday outreach, I led 2 young men to Christ in Tokyo.
This was only my second time praying the salvation prayer with someone I just met on the streets. My first time was not too long ago:
While I was in Brisbane for Awakening Australia (a gospel stadium event) at the end of September, one morning I was talking with my friend Akane, who is a bold preacher of the gospel.
I said, “Akane, I have never led anyone to Christ on the streets before. It feels so hard. How do you do it?”
She said, “Don’t feel bad if they don’t accept it. Many times I share the gospel, and they don’t listen, but you just keep sowing seeds. You never know, someone just might receive salvation that day.”
It’s like songwriting, I thought. For every 10 songs you write, maybe 9 will be bad, and 1 will be good. So you can’t be too caught up on writing the perfect song every time; you just have to keep writing.
Sharing the gospel is similar. You can’t be too caught up on how they receive your message; just keep sharing.
I thanked her for the encouragement and determined to share the gospel without worrying about the results.
Then that very afternoon, during outreach in downtown Brisbane, I led someone to Christ on the streets for the first time. She was from Korea in Australia for working holiday. My friend and I shared the full gospel with her, and when I asked if she would like to accept Jesus into her heart, she said yes.
The amazing thing is we didn’t even share our personal testimonies with her. She was just open to the gospel. It made me realize that, if they’re ready, they’re ready. It has little to do with us. We just to need to make sure we ask, i.e. lead them to a decision point. And if they say no, that’s okay.
Because what if they say yes? Reminds me of my song, “What If I Fly?”
Now, back to the 2 young men I met during Sunday outreach. We were in Ueno park as usual. I saw a young man taking videos of our worship team playing music and asked him what he thought about it. We started chatting. I found out he’s from China, visiting a friend who lives here. I ended up sharing the full gospel with him and asked if he’d like to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
He asked, “How do I do that?”
“It’s very easy. Just pray a short and simple prayer with me.”
He said okay, and we prayed.
Then his friend arrived, and I started talking to him. He said that he believed in Jesus.
“So are you a Christian?” I asked.
“No,” he said.
“I think Jesus is waiting for you,” I replied. Then I asked him the same thing, if he’d like to accept Jesus into his heart.
He asked, “How do I do that?”
“It’s very easy. Just pray a short and simple prayer with me.”
And he said okay. I led him in the salvation prayer and then connected him with one of our church members who teaches Alpha Course (an evangelistic course that introduces the basics of the Christian faith).
Both of these experiences have strengthened my faith and given me new perspective on Evangelism. For one, I used to think the outcome was up to me, so I felt a lot of pressure to say the right thing or make something happen. And two, I used to think evangelism was only easy for “evangelists,” and I was not an “evangelist,” so that’s why it was hard for me.
However, now I know that evangelism can actually be easy. Because 1) it’s not up to me. Holy Spirit is the one who moves people’s hearts. We just have to be available. Sure, the first step of approaching a complete stranger can be hard, but once we get past it and let God’s love flow through us, it is amazing how God creates connection.
And 2) who said I’m not an evangelist? In the past I put a lot of labels and limitations on myself that I’m learning to let go of now. I want to let God define me—and the truth is: With God, nothing is impossible. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13).
Therefore, I am excited for this new season.
Besides laying down YouTube, the start of this season was also marked by moving into a new house, which I now share with 6 other girls. I look forward to growing in community and communication.
Of course, growing in intimacy with the Lord is also a big pillar for me in this season, because foundation is everything.
God is an Architect. He wants to make sure we have a firm foundation before building anything substantial on top of it, especially if we want to leave a lasting legacy, whether in this life or in eternity.
I sense that for Awakening Tokyo as well. The church and ministry school that I am a part of here is growing quickly. Sundays are often packed, and we are already looking to expand to Shibuya (Only three months ago, five of us—one dutch missionary and four local Japanese—planted a church in Sendai, a city in Japan’s Tohoku Region, northeast of Tokyo). Masa and Esther’s vision is to see thousands of Japanese people give their lives to Jesus in stadiums across Japan. Therefore, foundation is critical. As a body of Christ, we are praying and focusing on strengthening the pillars of Outreach, Community, and Intimacy with the Lord everyday.
If you would like to partner with me, as a missionary and ministry school student here in Japan, I want to welcome you to become a recurring donor through Modern Day (CLICK HERE).
Also, even though I will be taking a break from making new YouTube videos, I hope my old videos—美樂地家庭 podcast, 在家敬拜 Worship at Home, and original songs—will continue to bless you and others around the world. Sharing my videos also helps. You can find them all HERE.
Thank you again.
May this verse encourage you as it encouraged me:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16
The harvest is ripe in Japan. God is raising up more and more Japanese Christians and missionaries as the salt and light, to preach the gospel with boldness and power. No longer a “missionary graveyard,” Japan will be known as a land of revival, the land of the True Rising Son.
Thank you for reading this letter and for partnering with me.
With Love,
Melody
「來自日本的最新消息 + 與我同行的方式」
非常感謝你多年來的支持。
在這封信中，我想和你分享主在這個季節裡在我生命中的作為。
如你所知，我差不多三個月前搬到了日本東京。2024年初，我開始有一個渴望，就是想接觸更多未信主的人。一天早上讀馬太福音時，耶穌關於“世上的光”的話語激勵了我的心。我開始為我的下一個季節禱告，問神是否會帶領我到一個新的環境，讓我能接觸更多非基督徒。
然後在六月，我來到東京拜訪我的朋友Esther，她和她的丈夫Masa一起牧養了一間名為Awakening Tokyo的教會。（我們三人差不多十年前在BSSM學習過。）在這次旅行中，我愛上了他們的社區和異象：看到復興在日本這片過去被稱為“宣教士墓地”的土地上發生。
順服主的帶領，我在七月底搬到了東京。那已經是將近三個月前的事了。現在，我想和你分享一些我在日本這段時間的近況：
我剛到達的第一個月，神賜給我兩首新歌。第一首是英文歌，叫《My Trust Is In You》，我的朋友Momo幫我把它翻譯成日文，叫《Shinjiru》。第二首《Osorenai》完全用日文寫成，靈感來自大衛面對歌利亞時對掃羅王的演講，兩位朋友幫助我一起完成這首歌。
大約一個月前，我又寫了《So I Am Loved》，靈感來自Masa牧師的主日講道。
這首歌的風格與我通常的寫作風格非常不同，這頗具象徵意義，因為在寫完這首歌後，我的生活也隨即發生了重大轉變：
第二天，我向一位朋友尋求一些行銷建議，結果他沒有給我建議，而是建議我暫時從YouTube休息，專注於神在這個季節裡對我的帶領。你可以在這裡了解這個決策過程的更多細節（這裡），但總之，我最終遵從了他的建議。
因此，我將暫時不再製作新的YouTube影片——可能是六個月，也可能更長時間。
然而，好消息是，我有一些新的音樂即將發布。
今年夏天，我錄製了我的中文敬拜專輯，並於八月回到台北錄製了現場錄音的影片。我的導演阿宏老師和他的團隊目前正在編輯MV和歌詞影片，等他們完成後，我會把它們發布到我的頻道和串流平台上。
另一個好消息是，既然我暫時放下YouTube，我可以專注於傳福音，這也是我最初來這裡的主要原因之一。Awakening Tokyo主要聚焦於外展和傳福音。我們教會每個週日下午都會走上街頭，傳講福音。
兩週前的週日外展活動中，我在東京帶領了兩位年輕人接受基督。
這是我第二次在街頭帶人歸主。我的第一次並不久前發生：
在九月底參加《Awakening Australia》時（這是一場福音體育場活動），有一天早上我和我的朋友Akane交談，她是一位勇敢的福音傳道者。
我說：“Akane，我從未在街上帶人歸主過。我覺得這很難。你是怎麼做到的？”
她說：“不要感到難過，如果他們不接受。有很多次我分享福音，他們也不會接受，但你要不斷撒種。你永遠不知道，也許那一天他們就準備好了！”
我心想，這就像寫歌。你寫十首歌，可能有九首不好，只有一首是好的。所以你不能太在意每次都寫出完美的歌曲；你只需要不斷創作。
分享福音也是如此。你不能太在意他們如何接受你的信息；只要繼續分享。
我感謝她的鼓勵，並決定無論結果如何，都要分享福音。
當天下午，在布里斯本市區的外展活動中，我第一次在街上帶領了一個人歸主。她來自韓國，正在澳洲度假打工。我和我的朋友向她完整分享了福音，當我問她是否願意接受耶穌進入她的心時，她說願意。
有趣的是，我們甚至沒有和她分享個人的見證。她就是對福音敞開的。這讓我意識到，如果他們準備好了，他們就會接受。這與我們無關。我們只需要確保提出邀請，也就是帶領他們做出決定。如果他們說不，那也沒關係。
因為如果他們說是呢？這讓我想起了我的歌曲《What If I Fly？》
現在，回到我在週日外展中遇到的兩位年輕人。我們像往常一樣在上野公園。我看到一位年輕人正在拍攝我們敬拜團演奏的影片，於是問他對這些音樂有什麼看法。我們開始聊天。我發現他來自中國，正在拜訪住在東京的朋友。我最終向他完整分享了福音，並問他是否願意接受耶穌基督作為他的救主。
他問：“我要怎麼做？”
“這很簡單。只要跟我一起禱告一個簡短的禱告。”
他說好，然後我們一起禱告。
接著，他的朋友來了，我開始和他的朋友聊天。他說他相信耶穌。
“那你是基督徒嗎？”我問。
“不是，”他說。
“我想耶穌在等你，”我回答道。然後我問他同樣的問題，是否願意接受耶穌進入他的心。
他問：“我要怎麼做？”
“這很簡單。只要跟我一起禱告一個簡短的禱告。”
他也說好。我帶領他做了救恩禱告，然後把他介紹給我們教會的一位成員，讓他參加Alpha課程（這是一個介紹基督教信仰基礎的福音課程）。
這些經歷都增強了我的信心，並給我帶來了對傳福音的新視角。首先，我以前認為結果取決於我自己，因此感到很大壓力，擔心說錯話或無法讓事情發生。其次，我曾經以為傳福音只對“福音傳道者”來說是容易的，而我不是“福音傳道者”，所以這對我來說很難。
然而，現在我知道傳福音其實可以很容易。因為，1）結果不取決於我。聖靈才是感動人心的那一位。我們只需要讓自己隨時可用。當然，走向一個完全陌生的人可能很難，但一旦我們跨出了這一步，讓神的愛透過我們流動，神如何創造連結就會令人驚嘆。
2）誰說我不是福音傳道者呢？過去我給自己貼上了很多標籤和限制，而我現在正在學著放下這些標籤。我想讓神來定義我——事實是：在神凡事都能。我靠著加給我力量的基督，凡事都能做（腓立比書4:13）。
因此，我對這個新的季節感到非常興奮。
除了放下YouTube，這個季節的開始也標誌著我搬進了一個新家，現在和另外6個女生一起住。我期待在這個過程中學習團契和溝通的成長。
當然，與主建立更親密的關係也是我在這個季節裡的一個重要支柱，因為根基就是一切。
神是建築師。祂希望確保我們擁有堅固的根基，這樣祂才能在其上建造任何有意義且持久的事物，無論是在這一生中，還是為了永恆。
我也感受到Awakening Tokyo的同樣情況。我在這裡所參與的教會和事工學校正在迅速增長。每個主日都擠滿了人，我們已經在考慮擴展到澀谷。（就在三個月前，我們的五個人——一位荷蘭宣教士和四位日本本地人——在仙台，一個位於東京東北部的城市，開設了一間新的教會。）Masa和Esther的異象是看到成千上萬的日本人在全日本的體育場裡將生命獻給耶穌。因此，根基是至關重要的。作為基督的身體，我們每天都在禱告，專注於加強外展和社區的支柱。
如果你願意和我一起成為這裡的宣教士和事工學校學生的夥伴，我邀請你成為我的經常性捐助者，通過Modern Day（點擊這裡）。
此外，儘管我將暫時不製作新的YouTube影片，我仍希望我過去的影片——美樂地家庭Podcast、《在家敬拜》系列，以及原創歌曲——能繼續祝福你和全世界的其他人。分享我的影片也會對我有所幫助。你可以在這裡找到所有內容（這裡）。
再次感謝你。
願這節經文像鼓勵我一樣，也鼓勵你：
「你們是世上的光。城造在山上是不能隱藏的。人點燈，不放在斗底下，是放在燈臺上，就照亮一家的人。你們的光也當這樣照在人前，叫他們看見你們的好行為，便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父。」（馬太福音5:14-16）
日本的莊稼已經成熟。神正在興起越來越多的日本基督徒和宣教士，作為鹽和光，大有膽量和能力地傳講福音。不再是一片“宣教士墓地”，日本將被稱為復興之地，真光升起之地。
感謝你閱讀這封信，並與我一起成為夥伴。
祝福滿滿，
Melody 黃友聞
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