The Big IF

When I got this opportunity to go to Japan on short notice, I found myself having to rush ahead before I was completely funded. While I still could use some funding for this first portion of the trip, there is a second part to this trip that I have not committed to just yet. That second part of this trip hinges on one big if, if I could raise the funds to continue while I am in Japan. While I am hopeful and optimistic that I will have the funding with time to make the necessary commitments, I also have to be prepared for what I will do if I am not completely funded.

First, based on rough round numbers (just to keep things simple, details can be found here), I will need $4,000 for May, then $3,000 for each of the following two months. Thus to stay for whole 3 months of the second part of this trip, I will need $10,000. I will be trying to work with the missionary here to see if it is possible to serve a portion of that trip as funds would provide, thus if I get $7,000 then I can stay through June. I am not sure exactly when this deadline will be but I would like to know by the beginning of April. I will be taking pledges into account, so if you can give a bit each month, please let me know or indicate when you send your donations in.

What if I cannot get that $4,000 for the first month? What if I only raise a portion of that? At this point, my intention is to use a portion of the funds to repay the airfare that was given to me by Pastor Taniguchi to help get me here. After that, I will set the remaining funds aside for a future trip and continue to raise funds for that, including my own contributions through what ever job I get following the trip. I am also considering using a portion of these funds to help pay off my student loan debt, which was one of the factors for being rejected when I applied to be a career missionary last year, along with my lack of international missions experience. I haven't decided on an amount but I will not use more than one third to pay off my debt, the rest will still go towards another trip.

On the other hand, If after being in Japan for several weeks I decide that I am not willing to stay or come back later, I will first pay back Pastor Taniguchi and what remains I will give to Charles, the missionary, to help fund other short term missionaries to Osaka. But if that were the case, I will let everyone know as soon as I make that decision. I also realize that adapting to a new culture can be difficult process, so I will not make a final decision until after 6-8 weeks. That way I can know that I have made the effort to adapt and that rough patch was something that would pass.

As I mentioned in the budget outline, the costs are estimates at this point. I maybe able to stretch a dollar in some cases and not need $3,000 a month. As I mentioned I might find a place that costs less than the budgeted $1,200/month to rent, on top of that I could have a roommate which would cut that cost even further. For example, if I will be sharing a $900/month apartment, that would cut the monthly budget to $2,250, which would cut the overall funding for the three months to $7,750 (which still assumes $1,000 for the South Korea side trip). I will be adapting my budget in deciding if I can stay based on these factors rather than a simple round number, but that simple round number helps give an idea of what kind of funding I am looking for at this time. I will be in Japan soon, so I will hopefully get a chance to meet with the missionary in person and continue working to see what other options we have. Once I am at a point where I can take these factors and the funds raised at that point into consideration, I will let you know how much longer I can stay.

And being optimistic, if funds raised surpass my goal and/or I stay under budget, I will likely use the surplus to do the same as if I would plan for a later missionary trip. I would still pay back Pastor Taniguchi, but I might use up to 50% of what remains to pay off my student loan debt and the rest would be saved for a future trip. This is aiming more for a long term goal, a position as a career missionary. So if I am blessed enough to have some money to spare after all of this, I will use it to pursue this ministry in Japan.

This will be my last post from Tucson for the next three months, or hopefully six months. My first flight leaves this afternoon and I will arrive in Japan on Friday afternoon. There is a bit of timezone shenanigans going on there, so the trip is not as bad as it may seem but it will still be a long trip, flights and layovers combined.  I am not sure what my schedule will look like, especially for the first few days, but I hope to have another post or two ready by next week.

Thank you all for the support, please continue to pray for this journey, and share this will anyone who supports foreign missions, especially to Japan.

God bless,

Carl

Support my mission trip:

by GoFundMe:

https://www.gofundme.com/carls-japanese-mission-trip

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by Mail:

Make checks out to:

East Tucson Baptist Church

9100 E Speedway Blvd

Tucson, AZ 85710

Phone: (520) 917-4233

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By PayPal:

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