Lacie Kessler for Apostolic Youth Corps

Hello! It’s Lacie Kessler. I am so beyond excited for the opportunity to be able to go on the 2023 AYC trip to Japan! For the last few years, I’ve felt a love and a calling for the Asian community and culture. Going to Japan to not only visit, but also to spread the word of God would be an absolute dream of mine. During this trip, we’re going to take prayer drives throughout the city of Okinawa and go support the UPCI churches set up in Japan. Japan has a population of 126 million and only 1% are Christian, and most haven’t even heard the name of Jesus.

Looking back on my life from now, I’m able to see the things that God was doing to lead me to this trip and calling. Years ago, when I was in elementary school, my mom dressed me up as a Chinese missionary for a trunk or treat at our church. This happened before either of us had even realized how I was being drawn towards the Asian community. Next, in middle school, I took Chinese as a foreign language for 2 years. I really enjoyed the class and my Chinese teacher was very impressed with how quickly I was able to pick up the language. For the past year, I have loved watching Japanese shows and in the past few weeks I have been starting to learn some Japanese as well. The most recent thing that occurred to me at the 2022 General Conference is that, at the Global Booths, the only flag I picked up was the Japan flag and I was waving it around the venue, before I knew of this trip opportunity. Through these events, I can see that God has been leading and guiding me towards this trip and this opportunity. I believe that this trip is what God has for me and may be where he is leading me for missionary work in the future. I would appreciate it, more than you know, if you could support me and help me to raise the funds I need to go on this trip. Love you all and God bless! 🙂