Thank you for visiting my page! Here you will find a brief summary of my passion and calling.<i>The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me </i><i style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">to bring good news to the poor...to bind up the brokenhearted, </i><i style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif;">to proclaim liberty to the captives, and...those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour...to comfort all who mourn...to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit...They shall build up the ancient ruins...raise up the former devastations...repair the ruined cities...(Isaiah 61:1-4)</i> My passion is to bring restoration into spaces of human suffering. Having experienced first hand God’ healing power in my own life and those around me, I long to see Isaiah 61 fully manifest in the lives of the broken.I have always had a burden for people who make unhealthy choices due to childhood trauma, especially women who “voluntarily” go into prostitution. When I was in ministry school, I took a class on social justice and learned that pornography fuels sex slavery. The more people watch porn, the more they act it out. Before the instructor wrapped up, he asked if anyone had a burden for this social issue. When he encouraged us to ask God for open doors, I was reminded of Japan’s porn industry. Japan has the highest rate of porn production in the world. Unlike Thailand or Cambodia, where most women and girls are sold into prostitution by force, many Japanese porn actresses “voluntarily” go into porn. When asked why they've chosen a job like that, many of them said they have never felt valued or affirmed by anyone other than their porn viewers. They struggle with so much self-hatred that they are willing to abuse their sexuality in exchange for attention and money. When you are not used to healthy attention, you will enjoy any kind of attention, including lustful attention from men. When you despise yourself, your life choices will revolve around hopelessness. I spent my final year of ministry school leading outreach teams in the red light districts of Redding, a small city in Northern California. One of the most life-changing things I witnessed was the power of persevering love. People won't open up to you if you see them as victims and approach them with a rescuer mentality. A lot of the women we talked to were cold and distant in the beginning because they had a hard time trusting people, but the more we showed them genuine interest, the more they warmed up to us. A few of them eventually accepted Jesus, experienced deliverance, and joined our discipleship group. I also believe it's important to speak identity over kids and teenagers. I've talked to many youngsters who either struggle with performance-based fear or self-destructive behaviour. One time I released a word of encouragement and prophecy over this guy who seemed to have PTSD. He wept and said he felt seen and understood by God. Another guy who had just finished high school felt lost and confused about his next step. I encouraged him with a word of prophecy and his eyes instantly lit up. He was surprised that God sees him and cares about his situation. We are all wired for love and connection. When we get the opposite of love (e.g. fear, rejection, etc.), it hurts our brain and causes mental illness because the human brain was originally made for love. Japan is a shame-based culture. Grace and forgiveness is foreign to their culture. When people struggle with chronic stress, chronic shame, chronic self-hatred, what do they end up doing? It’s common for such people to end up with self-destructive behaviour like drug addiction, sex addiction, suicidal urges, etc. This could explain why the suicide rate in Japan is so high. The porn actresses may have chosen public prostitution as a form of suicide. So many people in Japan crave words of affirmation and are ready for a tangible Love encounter with Jesus! I will be serving under Awakening Tokyo Church (<a href="https://www.awakeningasia.org" title="Awakening Tokyo Church" style="font-size: 18px;" target="_blank">here</a>). Join me in prayer as I embark on this journey! Prayerfully consider donating to my mission field in Japan. Thank you for investing!