Hi! We are the Pickards

Abby and Caleb were first called to Japan for a short-term mission trip after a series of God-engineered coincidences. A few months prior to going, we started learning Japanese for fun and were reviewing the short-term mission trips available at our current church, Grace Church of Overland Park. We noticed Japan was one of them, and our old CRU leader from college happened to be leading the trip. We had lost track of him during COVID, and at that moment, we learned he was working at our church and that God was directing our attention to Japan. So we prayed and decided to take a step of faith and follow God on a short-term trip to Japan!
    We left for Japan in March 2024 with the rest of our short-term team, watching to see how God was going to direct us next. Our team’s mission on this trip was to encourage a local team from the missionary agency Christar and to lead a VBS for their children to allow them time to fellowship and rest together. During the trip, Caleb was thinking over the fact that some of the missionaries that we had met were looking to retire and return to the States. It was then that God told Caleb to "Step Up". Soon after, the members of our short-term team came up to us individually to ask us if we could see ourselves becoming missionaries to Japan. They could tell that we felt at home and at peace in Japan and connected very well with the local missionary team and Japanese church members. We were told this was not normal in a new country on a 12-day trip! After the trip, we prayed asking God if he was calling us to the mission field in Japan, and determined that he was!
    After determining we were called to Japan as long-term missionaries, we prayed for God’s guidance on how to develop our church planting, evangelism, and discipleship skills in preparation for the mission field. Late in the summer of 2024, we were connected with a team that was planting a new church named Vine Hill in the KCK area, and through prayer, determined God was calling us to help them plant. All of the skills we had prayed for guidance in developing were improved by planting with Vine Hill. The Lord had answered our prayer! We are currently training with Grace Church, our sending church, and Christar, our mission agency. We will leave for Japan in July 2027!