Many times I was challenged, but many more times I experienced joy. Some of the challenges I faced were the heat, mosquito bites, tiredness, and the biggest was the language barrier. It was difficult to communicate with the Japanese CARP members since I couldn't speak any Japanese, and they could barely speak English. Since communication was not the best, at times we did not know the schedule or what to expect with the activities. However we followed their direction and ended up having an amazing experience.
The first couple of days were quite daunting for me. I wanted to get to know the CARP members but not being able to speak any Japanese, I was not able to do so. I didn't think it was possible to create much of a relationship with them not being able to communicate, however I was wrong. It's true that I don't really know how they view life, how their faith is, or what their relationship is like with their family and stuff like that, but I managed to develop this connection of heart with them.