There’s SO MUCH I want to say about my recent mission trip to Japan, but I must admit that sitting down to write a post on it has been quite the daunting task. There’s just so much that I wish I could share, yet I get overwhelmed at the thought of trying to write it all down.

I’ve been told that’s a normal feeling after a mission trip. I think the ‘debriefing period’ could last several weeks, and although I wish I could process everything at lightning speed, I’ll need to be patient with myself.

So for starters, I thought it would be a nice ice-breaker to go through all the images I instagrammed and (add in a few extras) to give you all an overarching day-by-day run down of the trip.

So here we go, starting with my airport picture :)

Travel Outfit: Jeans // Tank (40% OFF) // Birkenstocks // ‘I’m Outta Here!’ Luggage Tag // Luggage // Passport Holder // Watch

---

SATURDAY:

---

We spent the day Saturday touring around Tokyo and learning about the Japanese culture and hearing about the Lord’s work specifically in Tokyo from one of the local missionaries.

Saturday Morning, we gathered at one of the missionary’s homes for breakfast and to hear about the vision behind an up and coming church and community called Grace Harbour.

Hearing about Grace Harbour

Short excerpt from the Grace Harbour website about the church:

Grace Harbor Church IS a new Bilingual Church Started in the Tokyo Waterfront area, Located Around Koto-ku, Chuo-ku and. This IS a ministry of Mission to the World Japan (MTW Japan) , an Outreach of Presbyterian Church in America (PCA ) , and IS in a tight Relationsip with Grace City Church Tokyo , and Globary Sypported by Redeemer City to City , and ALSO Affiliated with Acts29 Network .

View from the balcony in Tokyo // Photo by Jenna Tenpenny

View from the balcony in Tokyo // photo from my instagram

While touring the city, we went on a boat tour to get a better look at the city // [Dress (old navy) // Necklace // Sunglasses]

 

Another photo of the Rainbow Bridge

And then we took the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya

View from Bullet Train // Photo by Elise McClure

---

SUNDAY

---

Went to church at All Nations Fellowship and then had a BBQ for the families and teachers at iCAN (international school)

[Skirt // Tank // Necklace // Bag // Birkenstocks]

Sunday Afternoon: Back to school BBQ at ICAN

chatting with some of the few people that could speak english (ha!)

Photos above from the BBQ we put on with the CBI team at ICAN School // Photos by Jenna Tenpenny

---

MONDAY:

---

Prayer walk around Nagoya + visit to the Midland Observatory

Photos above are from the Prayer Walk around Nagoya // Photos by Jenna Tenpenny

We went to several temples during our Prayer Walk and here Brett Rayl (long term missionary in Nagoya who runs CBI) is explaining a bit about Japanese Culture and the History of religion of in Japan.

Monday Afternoon we visited the Midland Observatory located at the top of the Toyota-Mainichi Building

View from elevator of the Toyota-Mainichi Building (on way up to the Midland Observatory)

View from the 47th floor of the Toyota-Mainichi Building (also called Midland Observatory)

Just a fun little jumping for joy photo with one of my teammates // Photo by Jenna Tenpenny

[Dress // Bag // Watch // Sunglasses]

TUESDAY:

Homeless ministry

Homelessness in Nagoya // Photo by Jenna TenPenny

We put together goody bags to hand out to the homeless. We placed a Jesus Loves You card in each along with soap, crackers and other essentials.

[Tank (45% OFF) // Vest // Jeans // Birkenstocks // Bag // watch]

[Rain jacket // Bag]

---

WEDNESDAY:

---

Wednesday morning at Starbucks

[Plaid Shirt // Shorts // Sunglasses // Bag // Watch // Necklace]

[Shirt // Necklace // Jeans // Shoes // Bag]

Acting out a Skit about God’s Love during baby english/VBS

Photos above are from baby english and VBS on Wednesday // Photos by Jenna Tenpenny

---

THURSDAY:

---

Toured Kyoto with the team

Iwatayama Monkey Park in Kyoto Japan

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion) in Kyoto

Sunset view from kiyomizudera (halfway up the Otawa Mountain) on the Eastern side of Kyoto.

---

FRIDAY:

---

We spent the morning cleaning up around CBI and getting ready for the night’s festivities which included a BBQ for the local community and Open Mic Night at Heart & Soul Cafe

Heart & Soul Cafe located on the bottom floor of the CBI building

From Friday’s BBQ

From Open Mic Night Event at Heart & Soul Cafe

Playing around in the CBI Library – I could spend the entire day in there (reading the english books though, of course! ha)

[iPhone Case // Shirt // Necklace // Chambray // shorts]

Mirror Selfie taken (in our hotel lobby) // [shirt // jeans // sandals (similar) // bag]

just a little team bonding :)

The three of us accidentally dressed alike one day :)

a few new friends I made at the BBQ on the last day :)