For Ashley Keeping, the Minority in Mission Youth Forum in Miyakojima, Japan, proved how powerful it is to bring youth together to share their culture, their faith, and their stories.
Hello. My name is Ashley Keeping. I am 18 years old. I was born in Nunavut and have been living all my life in Port-aux-Basques, NL, a small town on the southwest coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
During the summer of 2022, I participated in the Gibimishkaadimin reconciliation through canoeing program, which is a week-long youth canoe trip in Lake Temagami, Ontario. There we learned about Indigenous ways and history. This trip sparked my love and passion for learning about my culture. In 2023, I flew to Edmonton and attended the National Indigenous Spiritual Gathering. During the Spiritual Gathering, I was asked to be a youth rep of the National Indigenous Council along with two other youth. Of course I said “Yes,” and this led to becoming further involved in the Indigenous Church of The United Church of Canada.
Through this involvement, I learned of and was selected to be one of two United Church young adults to attend the Youth Forum, along with Sophie Fitzgerald, organized by the Center for Minority Issues and Mission in Miyakojima, Japan.
Just like Miyako residents, I live on an island and can relate to their everyday lives on their island, as it was small and humble just like here in Newfoundland. There was one prominent difference. The majority of the residents are seeking peace from their own government, something we don’t have to worry about here in Canada. God called upon me to see how the people of Miyako Island are living, and to share with everyone their struggle for peace.
During our stay, there is one woman we met who I will remember and her lovely smile forever, Mrs. Tokunaga Masako. She invited us to her home by the water after Sunday service. She told us that she is originally from Tokyo, but because of the air raids during World War II she had to move at an early age to a place that was much colder than Tokyo. She told us how she and the other children often used to cry themselves to sleep because of the cold. As an adult she moved with her late husband, who survived the atomic bombing in Nagasaki, to the island of Miyako hoping to live the rest of their lives in peace. However, peace on the island is threatened by the building of more and more military bases, even on what is now beautiful beaches and farmers’ land. With more bases, they become a bigger target. Tokunaga Masako is one of many people on the island standing up for their rights to live in peace on this beautiful island. She expressed her gratitude to us for visiting. We expressed our thanks for the sweet treats and to be able to hear her life story.
The Minority in Mission Youth Forum program brought together young adults from Canada, Japan, and Taiwan. The Youth Forum experience showed me how powerful it is to bring youth together to share our culture, to share our faith, and to share our stories. To be able to have discussions with youth from other cultures about how we can change the world gives me so much hope for our future.
This trip filled my heart with joy, hope, and love for the wonderful people that I can now forever call friends. It also taught me that you need to find, keep, and treasure peace, as well as pursue it for the rest of your time, and that I will do. Thank you, Miyako, for everything you taught me.
After participating in Gibimishkaadmin, I said to myself, “I want to be more involved with my own culture, to learn about other cultures, and to learn about Christ. And how they interact with each other in our society today.” I’ve been doing just that and I couldn’t be any prouder.
I would like to thank The United Church of Canada for giving me this truly life-changing opportunity and blessing. I will treasure it and hold it close to my heart forever. To all my friends from Indigenous ministries board who cheered me on and encouraged me to be me: Thank you.
—Ashley Keeping, 18, is a member of Wesley United Church in Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland and a member of the National Indigenous Council. Ashley and Sophie Fitzgerald, 21, of Gower Street United Church in St. John’s, Newfoundland, attended the Minority in Mission Youth Forum in Japan hosted by the Center for Minority Issues and Mission, an ecumenical initiative of churches in Japan, supported by The United Church of Canada.
Sophie and Ashley are eager to share their experiences. Please contact to connect with speakers. Does this blog pique your interest to participate in people-to-people opportunities with global partners? We invite you to find out more at the People in Partnership webpage or by e-mailing us.
The views contained within these blogs are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of The United Church of Canada.