Written by Miriam Bishop, IM missionary in Japan (April 2026)

In 2017, we were getting our shipping crate delivered for our first term as career missionaries, and I (Miriam) was eight months pregnant. Doug needed some extra hands to help us move furniture, and a group of Korean college students on a two-week mission trip to Hokkaido came to help us get settled. This began our relationship with CCC (CCC is the Korean branch of Cru, which is formerly Campus Crusade for Christ in the States), and we have had the privilege of working with these teams twice a year every year we’ve been on the field.

For us as missionaries, hosting CCC teams includes doing devotions for them each morning, driving them around, helping to prepare the church for their stay, and cleaning up after their departure. So much of what we do is essentially hospitality, and a lot of simply spending time together getting to know the students.

We’ve talked about CCC a lot, but while they’re here in Hokkaido, their main ministry is visiting college campuses and making friends with Japanese college students. They will invite them to eat Korean food with them at the church each night, and at the end of their trip, they will host a Korean Night.

Through our efforts to host CCC, we became connected with college students, Haruna and Taichi. They have been attending New Life Church faithfully for the last year or so. Doug felt lead start a college Bible study for them, which began in the early fall of last year. They meet to study each week they’re here at school, and they will sometimes ask to Zoom in if they’re out of town.

Having college students attend our church is something we really need to give God the glory for. As a team, we have two families with lots of kids, and we have had two interns who are a few years past college age, but they have really worked to build relationships with these students. We have lots of opportunities to meet people who are in the same stage of life as us, but it is only through having CCC, CMP students, and younger two-year interns come to the field that we have an opportunity to connect with this age group.

Similar to IM’s two-year internship program, CCC sends a handful of students to live in Japan for six months to a year with the sole purpose of learning Japanese. One of the ministries they are responsible for is hosting a weekly chapel service at colleges across Japan.

In February 2026, Haruna made a confession of faith at one of the CCC weekly chapel services! Since then, she has been telling everyone about her new faith. She is currently home for spring break and feels led to share about her new faith with her family. She said on social media that her talk went well, but we are praying that her family will also come to a saving knowledge of faith. We also continue to pray for Taichi and the handful of other seekers who are attending New Life Church each week. If you would like to pray for them, they are: Taichi, Aoyama, Matsumoto, and Yaguchi.

We are so grateful to see God moving in Haruna’s life, and her story shows just how powerful collaboration can be! We have seen her come to faith, not just because of our efforts, but through the efforts of many working together. Ultimately, it is the Lord who draws people to Himself, and we are simply thankful to be a part of it.

We are also thankful for YOU, as you make this possible through your faithful prayers and partnerships. By God’s grace, let’s continue the work of building His Kingdom together.