Like many missionary kids, Lauren Hou didn’t initially feel comfortable in the U.S. after she first arrived to attend university. Many of her formative years were spent overseas, and it felt like home.
At first, she wanted to move back overseas as soon as possible, but by the end of her freshman year at California Baptist University, after she plugged into campus ministry and attended a women’s retreat, God challenged and convicted her.
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“I felt convicted to give all my plans to the Lord. I had to surrender staying in America if that’s what God wanted me to do,” Hou said. “I was saying I want to go overseas because that’s what’s most comfortable for me, not because I am truly desiring to take the gospel.”
She surrendered her plans and told the Lord she’d stay if that is what He willed.
‘Season of staying’
God pressed upon her heart that His plan was for her to go to the nations. Though His command was to go, a season of staying in the U.S. came first.
After graduating, Hou wanted to gain work experience in the U.S. She also got her master’s degree and attended seminary. COVID-19 and her desire to receive more training delayed her plans.
Including college, Hou lived in the U.S. for nearly 12 years before moving overseas. This was the longest she’d lived in one place consecutively.
“I needed to learn how to stay in one place. I think if I had gone overseas right after college, it would have been too soon,” Hou said. “I wouldn’t have learned how to dig into community and really be known by people.”
Her sending church, Redeemer Baptist Church in Riverside, California, provided deep community and missions support.
“Having relationships in an American cultural context, outside of school, is a lot different than having friendships either from college or friendships from childhood,” Hou said.
She enjoyed having friends who are in different phases of life — young, married couples, moms of young children, families with teenagers, empty nesters, retired couples and friends in a similar stage of life.
Redeemer Baptist has training for members interested in local or international outreach, with a pipeline for missions. The track includes a two-year cohort, of which Hou participated.
Around one year ago, Hou moved to Tokyo to serve with the International Mission Board.
She sought to serve among an unreached people group and missed urban life, and Tokyo was the perfect fit.
Evangelicals represent only 0.55% of the population, meaning Japan is 99.45% spiritually lost. Growing up in a large East Asian city, in what her family joked as being a “small city of 2 million,” helped her not feel overwhelmed by size or crowds of the largest city in the world.
“Living in an urban context is something I really thrive off and enjoy,” Hou said.
Growing up with a missionary team, Hou saw how the team can be like family, and this is another aspect of serving with the IMB that she’s embraced in Japan.
Immersed in language study
Hou is currently immersed in language school.
IMB missionaries serving in Japan receive assistance in finding language helpers. Most of the language helpers are Christians, but the language helper Hou currently meets with is not a believer. Her language helper is a young university student, and Hou appreciates the chance to learn casual speech and slang.
Hou is looking forward to learning spiritual vocabulary with her, because it won’t be as formal as learning it from someone established in the faith and in the church. She hopes it will help her present the gospel to someone while using terms a non-believer would understand.
Making and forming deep relationships in Japan can be slow, Hou said.
“I’m beginning to experience, being only a year in, the perseverance I think it takes to really continue pursuing relationships with people, even when they’re not super responsive,” she said.
Ways to pray
Pray God would provide Hou with friendships that grow deep roots, and that He’d lead her to people of whom He’s been preparing their hearts to hear the gospel.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Tessa Sanchez and originally published by the International Mission Board.
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