I never planned on being a missionary. I never had my sights set on Japan (especially since I’m rather apprehensive about language barriers). I certainly never sought to publish my own picture book. But God has a funny way of demonstrating His glory through unintended plans and broken vessels.

That’s the miracle of the mission field: As the most insufficient, unqualified, personally lacking individuals, God brings us into the Great Commission and invites us to help expand His righteous kingdom. As Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15b-16 ESV). It is to God’s glory and our faithfulness that missions is accomplished.

I first met MTW missionaries from Japan on my college campus. At our yearly missions conference, a plethora of different agencies were eager to recruit summer interns for fields all around the globe. My own innocent curiosity and the willingness to strike up a conversation started me down the path to being one such intern in Japan. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane heading to a “little” city called Tokyo, a metropolitan area of over 37 million people; 30 million more people than the entire population of my home state, Tennessee. How was I, a meager junior business student, supposed to impact the lives of people in such an incomprehensibly large city? By the power of God alone.

My “personal reflection” book could help others?

Working alongside the Community Arts Tokyo team, we used the arts to start gospel conversations. Individuals may not talk openly about religion, but they are more open to discussing world views through art and artist testimonies. That’s when I shared a draft of my picture book, “Penelope Panda’s Peculiar Family,” with the team. Intended only as a personal reflection on my childhood alongside my sister with severe disabilities, the missionaries emphatically encouraged me to use my story as platform. The Cleveland Clinic describes Glass Child Syndrome as “[the] experience of having a sibling with special needs” (Lonzer). Parents give so much attention to the at-risk child that other children can feel sidelined or develop high-performance based validation needs.

A few quick sketches later, and I was on my way to giving a presentation for a book that didn’t even exist. The overarching message was how we often find our identities rooted in our circumstances, but healing happens when we find our identity in Christ alone. In his book “Gentle and Lowly,” Dane Ortund writes, “The Jesus who reached out and touched lepers puts his arm around us today when we feel misunderstood and sidelined”. That reigns true in my life as I explored themes of Glass Child Syndrome and what having a family that looks different from others entails.

A gospel presentation that could encourage special needs families

Known as an “Art, Life, Faith” night, events like my book talk are gatherings where artists can talk about how their testimony and faith are demonstrated in their art and at their workplaces. With my talk, titled “Fully Known,” I was able to invite a particular family to hear the love of Christ displayed. M* has two daughters, one of whom has Down Syndrome. Feeling like her family caused too large of a disturbance during services, she was starting to isolate herself from church community. After hearing my story, seeing how God uses painful circumstances for His glory, and being encouraged by the fellow believers in attendance, the family returned to Sunday worship services with a renewed sense of belonging.

The inevitable question after the “Art, Life, Faith” event was “When will the book be published?” With continued encouragement from the missionaries, the church, and those at the event, the book was published by the following spring! By God’s grace, I was able to return to the Community Arts Tokyo team for a second summer. With copies of the finished English language version in tow, I once again had the privilege to host talks about my book. In addition to team projects and church events, my personal project this second summer was to translate my book into Japanese to further its reach and continue its use as a gospel conversation starter.

With the help of my friend S*, we worked to capture not only the meaning of my story, but the emotions elicited as well. Because of this shared project, I had an excuse to meet with S more often, getting to laugh together and talk about our common faith shown through our art. S is also an artist learning how to market her works, so while she helped me with the Japanese, I was able to suggest ways to get more exposure.

Art that invites questions

Once the Japanese translation draft was completed, I headed south to the city of Nagoya to give another book presentation at Gallery Nani. The mission of the gallery is to allow art to invite questions, sparking gospel conversations. And the gallery did just that! After a discussion about my book and the topic of Glass Child Syndrome with a friend there the year prior, I thought she would be the perfect translator and story reader for this talk. Come to find out, Z* has a son with disability as well and was greatly moved by our discussion. So much so, that the local missionaries commented on how her attitude toward her family had noticeably shifted. Praise God! Who am I that such miraculous things could be done through me?

If there’s one thing I’ve certainly learned over these two MTW internships it’s to never rule any possibility out. The second I say “Oh, I’d never…”, it’s almost certain that God has that exact plan in mind. If you had talked to me two years prior, I would have told you that I’d never publish a book, never live in an Asian country for fear of the language barrier, and never work as a missionary. Lo and behold, “the heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9 ESV). Oftentimes the best parts of life are events we would never choose ourselves. Only God in His divine wisdom could have ordained such events that led to so many valued relationships and to His glory.

The Japanese translation of “Penelope Panda’s Peculiar Family,” ペネロペパンダとヘンタコかぞく, is scheduled to be published on October 1! This is the culmination of two summers of relationship building and presentations throughout my time in Japan, and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to share the final project. The English version is available now on Amazon.

*Names have been abbreviated for security reasons.

Summer 2026 internships officially open October 1! Visit mtw.org/internships to browse opportunities, or fill out a Get Started form to get started now.