Reaching Japan with the Sullins Family

We are just an average family of five with a burning desire to serve our Lord. We all felt the calling to be missionaries in Japan in 2025 and God has kept doors open for us to be on our way! To be honest, I have no idea why God is choosing us. I know I already said we are an average family, and I truly mean that. Sure, we all have our own unique talents and skill sets, but none of us have a college education or ministry experience, no fancy background whatsoever. We are active in church (only miss when we are sick and it ALWAYS becomes the saddest feeling day ever when that happens!) and are always quick to volunteer to help and serve our church and our community. We also focus on building relationships and discipleship. Evangelism is important, but sometimes Christians drop the ball when it comes to discipleship. The Japanese are built around trust, and it takes a long time to form a relationship that in turns grants that trust, so maybe that is why God has chosen us. We are in it for the long run, and have the patience to work on building those relationships and earn that friendship and trust to then tell them about Jesus.

All of us were able to go on a mission trip to El Salvador in spring of 2026. Prior to that, Terry had gone to El Salvador in 2025. Darlene has gone to Haiti on a medical mission trip with doctors and nurses as an assistant in 2004. Missionaries and their missions God has called them on has always been close to our hearts and in our prayers and we acknowledged the strong burning passion that we also had, but kept pushing it down. Well, one day came that we just couldn't push it down anymore and it erupted! We ALL felt it! Down to our youngest child. That's when we knew that we needed to follow the mission that God was placing before us. We don't want to go on a scenic detour like Jonah!

Both of us (Terry & Darlene) have been studying the Japanese culture since we were teenagers and have taught our daughters it as well, especially when it comes to the politeness and mannerisms. We have always been watching Japan, so to speak, and have been watching the population decline, the suicide rates going up, and the busy busy everyday life that the Japanese people have. And then we noticed what very few people are noticing. The elderly are being abandoned in the rural areas of Japan. There are lots of cheap houses called akiya houses, which are unoccupied or abandoned houses, whether it's because the inheritors don't want to move back to the rural areas, or it was home to the deceased who took their last breaths in the house. And these elderly, they aren't just being abandoned by natives, they are being abandoned by Christians too. Already Christians are less than 1% of the Japanese population, and most that go over as missionaries stay in the cities that have a dense population. It makes sense to go where there are more numbers, but who is to say that these elderly that are on their last days don't deserve to hear about Christ? That's what saddens us the most. The elderly are being abandoned, and left alone during their last days. We want to comfort them, show them love and hope and make every last minute they have a chance to get to know and accept Christ, because every minute matters. We are choosing quality over quantity.

Initially, we will be working with NotoHelp in the Noto Peninsula, and our duties will be building relationships, community outreach, assisting Church planters and serving short-term missionary groups that will be staying at the NotoHelp community Outreach Center. Some other additional duties may revolve around rebuilding and helping people get back on their feet after all the natural disasters that have struck the area. Our long-term calling is to eventually head over to the Shimane Prefecture (which is the second least populated prefecture in Japan) and start a Christian Camp for outreach and missionary retreats.