- Curiosity – Initial interest in Japan and its spiritual needs
- Interest – Growing burden and internal prompting
- Inquiry – Research phase: websites, blogs, YouTube, etc.
- Exploration – What could this realistically look like for you/your family?
- You don’t need every answer to move forward
- Be flexible about what your role may be
- Decision – Commit to moving forward, even if details aren’t final
- Preparation – Spiritual, emotional, and logistical groundwork
- See our “Preparing for an Internship” seminar
- Incubation – Your early time in Japan is about learning, not leading
Please note, steps 3-5 don’t necessarily happen in that exact order. However, you will want to be generally aware of what stage you are at as you contact missionaries (Check out this guide before you do) and ask questions. If you in the exploration phase, be sure to check out our list of survey trip questions too.