It's month 9 here on the World Race, which means people's thoughts, while still trying to be very much present here in Cambodia, have turned to that age-old and slightly terrifying question:
So what's next after the Race?
One of the reasons I came on the Race was to discover my place in the world. My faithful readers and supporters know that after spending a year and half in Japan, I love it with all my heart and talk about it all the time. But I didn't know if I felt like I should go back to Japan for ministry because that's where I am truly supposed to be, or because I had a million great memories there and it's where I've spent the most time abroad. So I figured the Race was a perfect way to see the rest of the world and at least 11 other ministries that God has placed in other countries. To see if I felt about another country the way I feel about Japan.
And in every country we've been to, I've found beauty and God's handprints on people and places. I've made wonderful memories with my teammates and local people. I've photographed the incredibly sights around me. But
I always find myself thinking about Japan. The people there, the culture, the ministry that needs to happen there. And there have been little signs of Japan throughout the world for me. On our flight from Moldova to Nepal, I met two Japanese flight attendants and was able to hold basic conversations with them in Japanese. In Kathmandu, we stumbled across a random Japanese street festival and I ate okonomiyaki and mochi, things I loved to eat in Japan. And in Africa, the absolute last place I thought Japan would find me, I read Japanese on the sides of the vans they used as buses and crammed people into to get from town to town. I was able to discern if, in their previous life, the vans were used as hotel shuttles or school buses in Tokyo or Osaka.
I love Japan. I love the people there and they are desperate, desperate to hear about Jesus. Only 1% of the population is Christian. They work and work and work and earn money and spend it on material things and live their lives without depth, without meaning, without Jesus.
So what's next for me after the Race?
In February, when AIM was booking our flights home from Kuala Lumpur, I decided not to come home with the squad. Instead, I'll be flying to Tokyo and spending some time with friends in the Shizuoka area. And while I'm there, I will be looking into long-term ministry opportunities. I'm also hoping to do some relief work up in the Sendai region, which is where the earthquake and tsunami hit about a year ago.
Because of visa requirements, I can't stay in Japan longer than three months this time around. But my hope in this visit is to discover where I belong and what I can do to bring the Kingdom to Japan.
This is another leap of faith for me, just like the Race and asking my supporters to help me buy a new camera. To make this trip to Japan happen, I'll need about $2000. That will cover my flight there from KL, my living and travel expenses while there and my flight back to America when I'm finished.
God has been so faithful in speaking to you, my supporters, and you have been so faithful in answering His call to support me. This is my personal next leg of the Race – my month 12, 13 and 14 – will you help support me to finish this thing out and discover my place in the country where I feel I truly belong?
To support me, you can contribute through Paypal ([email protected]) or Western Union (send it to Brianna Danese in my current country, then email me the MTCN number and secret question and answer).
Thank you, I love you, please keep praying for me.
