On June 12, 1999, Ying Kheng Tan, a writer in the East Asia Campus Crusade office, joined an outreach called Love Tokyo, together with her husband, Roland, and 12-year-old daughter, Julienne. Here is the story of their trip.

On a warm Saturday afternoon last June, 20 of us from Singapore arrived at Narita, Japan, for a 10-day mission trip. My family and I were fortunate to be hosted by a Japanese couple only three train stops from our assigned ministry area.

The airport bus took us to Shinjuku, a notoriously crowded area in downtown Tokyo, where we caught a train to our destination. The railway station was massive. Office workers, school children and housewives rushed about in all directions.

Immediately we noticed how trendy the Japanese people were. Most young people donned Hawaiian-style shirts, tottered about in six-inch platform shoes, or dyed their hair in butterfly colors. One elderly lady clad in a kimono, the traditional Japanese costume, had neon-purple hair.

Mr. Kawakami and his wife, Keiko, were friends of a friend, but treated us as if they had known us all their lives. The family spoke little English, but with the help of a dictionary, hand gestures and some Chinese characters, managed to tell us everything important--like when to eat, and what exactly we were eating.

We stayed in the Kawakamis' guest house, which came with screens, tatami flooring and traditional Japanese furniture. Their residence next door was totally Western. Another guest--Josephine, a Swedish exchange student--spoke fluent Japanese and rescued us from many communication near-disasters.

That first night, we fell into deep sleep as soon as we touched our futons and pillows, which were stuffed with tiny, hard beans.

Sunday morning we went to the Tokyo Covenant Church, where we met Cher Ling--our guide--as well as the rest of the Singapore team.

The church had about 100 members--mostly couples with young children, and older people, but hardly any teenagers. Pastor Tsuchiya marveled that most Love Tokyo members were "so young." Youth pastor Randy Min, a Korean-Hawaiian, started an English class recently to attract students to the church.

The 50 or so kids in Sunday school were delighted when Julienne introduced herself. One little girl put up her hand and asked, "Does it snow in Singapore?" A teacher informed us that it was "Flower Day" Sunday, when children present flowers to officers at the police, fire and train stations. We went with one of the teams and met some very happy police officers.

In the afternoon, the church held a bazaar. Hundreds of visitors came to buy food, knick-knacks and clothing. At our "Singapore Corner," we sold souvenirs from home. A few of us put on ethnic costumes and cooked Singaporean satay (barbecued chicken in peanut sauce), which the Japanese seemed to like.

The days went by quickly. We helped the Tokyo Covenant Church distribute tracts around its neighborhood. We also conducted prayer walks and distributed close to 1,000 tracts and JESUS audiotapes at an area called Ebisu. To our surprise, "tracting" was not easy in a crowded city like Tokyo. Only three out of 10 persons accepted our packages; the rest either ignored us, or took our packets and threw them away. Julienne, however, gave out more tracts than most of us.

That day the Lord gave us a peek into the moral condition of this city. Two men kept approaching attractive women to interview them. We later learned they were "pimps" recruiting workers and are very common in Japan. They target teenagers who need quick money to indulge in expensive hobbies and name-brand goods.

On Wednesday, three of our team members taught English and shared their testimonies with 150 teenagers at the Seryo Junior and High School. An 18-year-old guy wrote in his comment card, "I am touched by your sharing. I want to enter Christianity!"

One thing I discovered through this trip was how much Japanese believers hunger for fellowship.

When we met with a dozen believers from the Machida Baptist Church, they asked many questions about church life in Singapore. "There are few Christians in Japan," one said. "Thank you for coming to fellowship with us." The ladies then prepared a wonderful lunch of Japanese, Chinese and Western dishes. Nothing beats home-cooked food on a mission trip!

By the end of the week we were physically tired--from all the carrying of materials, climbing stairs and squeezing into trains. During peak hours, train masters have the added responsibility of pushing people into fully packed carriages. I now have new respect for the term "packed like sardines."

Personally, though, I had a great time. And our family found many opportunities to witness to the Kawakamis, to Josephine, and to her boyfriend, Simon. I especially enjoyed Keiko. She taught me the meaning of hospitality and showed how to make onigi (triangular rice balls) and tamago (egg rolls cooked in a rectangular pan). Just hours before we left, she took us through a traditional Japanese tea ceremony--truly a unique experience. She and I shared similar interests in art and pottery.

We had a lack of language between us, but no lack of communication. One afternoon, I shared the Japanese Four Spiritual Laws booklet with Keiko and she expressed the desire to know more about Christ.

Before we left for Singapore, we heard that the Machida Baptist Church had arranged for another Love Tokyo team to conduct an evangelistic cooking class for 40 people. Over the weekend, 11 Australians arrived and would be joined later by 28 Americans. By July, 150 Koreans will be all over the city. By August, all of the 126 Singaporeans and 140 Hong Kongers and Taiwanese would have come in.

Look out, Tokyo, before you know it, Christians will be everywhere--praying, witnessing, and lifting high the name of Jesus!

EDITOR'S NOTE: A month after the Tans returned home, Keiko visited Singapore, where she placed her faith in Christ. On September 26, she was baptized at Ying Kheng's church.