About James
The Lineage
My name is James Miyashita, a second-generation missionary to Japan. Japan is a highly advanced country that is open to missionaries, yet still has a tremendous lack of Gospel presence.
Throughout time, however, the Lord has sent missionaries to Japan. Many of these missionaries have been forgotten, but there is one that I will never forget. Missionary Ivan Lee went to Japan shortly after WWII as a missionary and led my father to the Lord in 1982. He had been exposed to the Bible before, but now he had heard the Gospel and trusted Christ. Through Ivan Lee’s work, my father entered the ministry.
My mother originally went to Japan as a missionary to the deaf. To gain ministry experience, she went to work with Ivan Lee and his wife. There at that church she met my father, and they were married two years later.
The youngest of three, I was born and raised on the mission field. When people ask me what language I began speaking first, I honestly don’t know! I am grateful for the unique opportunity to grow up in Japan.
The New Life
While I grew up in a Christian home, I did not come to truly trust Christ until I was a teenager. At 5, I had “prayed the prayer,” but that was it. My hope and trust was in that prayer, not in the person of Jesus Christ.
I remember trying to tell my co-workers about what I believed because it was the right thing to do. As I tried to tell them what I thought I believed, I realized that I didn’t know what I believed. True, I had a knowledge of the Bible including stories and verses, but it had never become a reality in my life. I am grateful to be able to now say that I am saved by the grace of God through Faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone. Sola Fide! (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The Laboring
As a freshman in college, I had my own plans. My plan was to study computer science, make video games, and maybe help out in a church somewhere. God, however, had different plans.
That first semester, missionary John Allen spoke in the chapel service at Pensacola Christian College. It was through that, the Lord showed me that I needed to be a missionary.
Step by step, God has graciously brought me to where I am today. The Lord worked in great ways to allow me to graduate and get connected with Vision Baptist Church (and Missions). After graduating, I moved to be part of this wonderful church and ministry with a tremendous global missions emphasis to receive further training and preparation for the mission field.
In the Summer of 2016, I met Rosie. I had no idea that she and I would develop the friendship and relationship that we now have. She came to my home church to prepare for the mission field at the Our Generation Training Center. We got to know each other as we did ministry together such as Vacation Bible School and other church events. I truly believe God brought us together.
Now we are working in the mission field and are overjoyed by serving Christ together as church-planting missionaries in Japan.
About Rosalie
My Testimony
My name is Rosalie, but most people just call me Rosie. I had the privilege to be raised in a Christian home with godly parents who not only took me to church but also kept Christ the focus of their home. By the time I was six years old, I was impressed with my own personal need for a relationship with Jesus Christ. My dad took me through the scriptures and showed me the truth that I was a sinner deserving of an eternity in hell, but that through Jesus’ death on the cross I could be forgiven of my sins and enter into a personal relationship with God. I knelt by his bed that afternoon and asked Jesus to be my Savior.
Me and Missions
I am thankful for a church and parents who kept missionary stories in front of me throughout my childhood. From a young age I took interest in the missionary biographies but did not consider the fact that God might call me personally to missions. After graduating high school I chose to pursue a degree in nursing. Over the two years following graduation, God gradually worked in my heart to grow a desire to be involved in taking the Gospel around the world. I was very slow to respond, but thankfully God was patient with me and used a godly friend to challenge my pride and selfish career aspirations. In January of 2016, I finally surrendered to full time missions and submitted an application to the Our Generation Training Center in Alpharetta, GA.
Our Love
James and I met the first week that I visited the Training Center at Vision Baptist Church. Come to find out later, James thought I was a weird home-schooled girl (maybe he was right 🙂). I noticed that James sang nicely in church but thought nothing more of it. After I started the training program a few months later, we kept ending up on ministry teams together. We spent time canvassing neighborhoods for Vacation Bible Schools and planned several outreach events together. Over the next months we grew more intentional about spending time together and being involved in various ministries. We had heard so many times that true love happens when you run hard towards Christ and look left and right to see who is keeping up…little did we realize that reality would play out in our own lives! We are so very excited about the opportunity to join our lives in marriage and continue to serve Christ together as we prepare to take the Gospel to Japan.