Monthly Newsletter
February Recap & March Update
Happy Spring everyone! I hope this email finds you well, it’s been awhile since I last wrote an update but I’m so excited to share about what the Lord did in our last few weeks in South Korea and what he is currently doing here in Okinawa, Japan! As I’m writing this, my team and I are in our final week of outreach and only have four days of ministry left until our outreach is completed. This season has been both incredibly sweet and stretching and I am excited to reflect on what the Lord has done and also to share what he has in store for this coming season!
Last month, during our last few weeks in Seoul, my team and I spent most of our time jumping back into the ministries we had left when we went down south to serve at Joyful Youth Camp which I showed clips of in my last update video. We also had our pastoral visit from one of our school leaders for a week. It was nice to see some familiar faces from Kona and to have someone else in leadership to talk to in person and to have an outside perspective of the team. Outside of that we didn’t have anything particularly new going on in ministry. There were moments where we had reached a point of feeling pretty stagnant as a team; we didn’t have much ministry, we weren’t seeing the Lord move much when we’d go out and honestly we had grown pretty complacent in pushing ourselves to seek the Lord as a team out in ministry. For a time, discouragement seemed to be an underlying theme across the board especially because of a few circumstances that we found ourselves in that shouldn’t have happened. I share all of this to say, even in the midst of all of the unfortunate circumstances, all of the emotionally taxing moments and all of the shortcomings of both the team collectively and myself as the leader, the Lord wanted to use all of it to bring redemption for the sake of his glory.
If you were to ask me what I’ve learned the most through this season of leading I would say that I have encountered grace in a way that I have never before experienced. From the moment I said yes to leading this team to now I have never once felt a lifting of the Lord’s hand over this season. If anything, I have only felt a continual invitation from the Lord to understand the depths of the grace he extends when we say yes to something that we aren’t necessarily “qualified” for. I’ve learned that I am a leader but I’ve also, more importantly, learned that I don’t need to be a leader to be assigned value or to carry impact in the things that I do. I’ve learned that being a follower of Christ and the image of him in others is far more important than imposing a limited and singular perspective of leadership solely because I am the leader. In all of this, the Lord has been so kind and patient as I’ve learned the ebb and flow of his grace that covers every lack I could ever bring to the table. In the process there were incredibly hard moments but through it, the Lord helped me to allow myself to feel how I needed to feel in the midst of it until it was time to move forward. This applies also to the rest of the team as well; the things that were hard were painful but they weren’t forever. The Lord used everything that has happened to bring this team together in a really special way which ultimately has lead to a deeper unity and a fresh determination to continue pressing forward for the things that the Lord has called us to in these nations.
In the last two weeks of our time in Seoul the Lord began to stir our hearts back up, stoking the flame and giving us a push towards finishing this season strong in healthy unity and joy. As we began saying goodbye to the friends that we made the Lord also began to reveal the impact that this team had in the relationships that we formed. It was so encouraging to reach the end of our time and see the deep and genuine friendships that we had to part ways with and the lives that we had impacted by simply loving on and spending time with the people we came across.
Japan
On February 27th we hopped on a quick flight over to Okinawa, Japan! Currently we are being hosted by Yomitan International Church and are doing most of our ministry alongside the church and partnering with other associated ministries. Our schedule here has been much more full which has been really helping us in our team’s effort to end on a strong note. We’ve been working in children’s ministry, a food bank, English-teaching classes, middle/high school ministry, busking and evangelism and of course worship leading almost everywhere we go. As you may know, Japan is known for being the “Missionary Graveyard” with statistics showing that only about 1.5% of Japan is Christian. Coming in, I was expecting our time here to be more of a time of seed planting but ever since we arrived I have been surprised by the people’s openness and the deep moving of the Holy Spirit within the churches and people we’ve come across. These people are hungry for God and they are hungry to see people encountered. As my team and I have gone out I feel that we have been experiencing such a spiritual clarity that has allowed us to truly capture the Lord’s heart for the Japanese people we’ve come across and have had the opportunity to minister to.
All in all, our time in Japan so far has been incredibly sweet and with the end being so close it’s both hard to think that this season is coming to a close and encouraging to know that the Lord is inviting us all into something new.
Some pictures from our most recent busking and evangelism night
What's Next?
With outreach coming to a close everyone on the team is figuring out their next steps and praying into what the Lord is calling them to in this next season. Personally, I’ve been preparing for what’s next for the past month and a half or so and I’m so excited to finally announce it! On March 15th I will be flying from Japan to Amsterdam which is where I will be staying for about the next three months. I am meeting up with a couple of friends who I met in Kona and we are going to be volunteering part-time on the YWAM base while also writing and recording an album together! This project has been something that the Lord has given me vision for over the past year and in his timing he has lined everything up for it to finally happen. As of right now, the goal is to write and record an album in the three months we spend in Amsterdam. From there we will head back to Kona to release it under School of Worship and then start planning a tour. The long term goal is to come back, equip and send out others who want to do the same thing so that we can be releasing artists and bands who can be empowered to reach the the people, spheres and genres that they feel called to in their gifting. It’s hard to say exactly what’s going to happen this far in advance especially since it’s so new but I am excited to start and to continue to catch the Lord’s heart and see what he wants to do.
Finance Update
Lastly, I wanted to share some opportunities in which you can support me as I wrap up this season and head into the next! As of right now I am still in need of about $800 in order to be fully paid off and debt free from my outreach fees. The goal is to have it paid before the 14th which is our last day of outreach! If you would like to give to help me reach this goal you can find the ways in which you can do so down below!
Also for this coming season in Amsterdam I need about $1,500 to pay for food and housing for the entire three months that I will be there, which monthly comes out to roughly $500/month. I will also be in need of a plane ticket back to the states around early-mid June. As of right now, costs for that flight are around $1,300. If you would like to partner with what the Lord is doing through this next season you can give through the links below as well!
Ways To Support
Venmo: @kalanishannon
Paypal: Kalani Shannon
YWAM Kona Giving Link (goes directly towards paying off the $800 outreach fee): https://ywamkona.force.
My Missions Account (goes to my personal bank account): https://ywamkona.my.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my newsletter! I appreciate the support and am so thankful that you’re along for the ride with me! If you would like to connect with me please reach out and I would love to share more and also hear from you! Thank you in advance for your continual support in prayer and finances, I pray that the Lord would honor your generosity 🙂
Until next time!
Kalani 🙂