← Impact Video Ministries
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There was a time years back when I gave up on YouTube and it came from a place of me having no idea what to do with my life. Back During COVID in 2020, I was working as a teacher for a private Christian school. And because we all had to work remotely, I had a lot more time on my hands. And I remember praying one day and I felt God calling me to Japan. I was 27 at the time, and I decided to talk to my dad so I can get some advice for moving out of the country. And I was expecting some deep spiritual advice, but my dad flat out, do you owe any money? Like, do you have any debt? Well, don't go to Japan if you owe any money. And being transparent with you guys. At the time, I owed about $40,000. And then I also had my truck loan and I had a little bit of credit card debt. So 2020 passed, and then 2021, and then finally 2022 came. And praise God, I was able to pay off all of the 40 grand. And yeah, I was debt free. And things started getting real when I quit my job as a teacher and I sold my truck and I stepped down from all the ministries. I. My final school year as a teacher ended June 2022. And I had a really big goodbye party where my family, my friends, and all my students came and, you know, said goodbye. And it was also during summer of 2022 when Joseph and I decided to take Impact video ministries, our YouTube channel, a lot more seriously. So instead of uploading like five or so videos a year, which is what we did from 2013 to 2022, instead we dec one whiteboard video every week. So instead of five a year, it turned into 52 a year. So with our team of two, Joseph and I, I wrote, drew and recorded the videos, and Joseph edited everything and he took care of all the back end YouTube stuff because he always wanted me to have space to kind of write and think creatively. And so while all of this was happening, I still had one major problem, and that was me actually getting to Japan. And for those of you who don't know, Japan because of COVID actually closed its borders to tourists, so they weren't accepting anyone visiting. So back in 2022, the only way you were able to go to Japan was if you had a working visa or a religious visa. So during the summer, the summer that I quit my job, a lot of that time was used on me trying to figure out what visa I should get. Actually, during this time, I was in the process of being An English teacher in Japan. So I was like this close to getting my working visa. But after I took some time to pray about it, I just felt like it wasn't the right move. And I felt like if I got this job, I wouldn't have as much time to serve in ministry and help out the church. And that's what I felt like God was calling me to do. And on top of all of that, I also had my YouTube responsibilities. And I knew that I couldn't balance a full time job in Japan and YouTube, like just being honest. So I declined the working visa, I declined that job and I started looking for another visa. So once I figured out a full time working visa wouldn't work, I set my horizons towards a religious visa and I asked for help from ywam OMF Send. I pretty much asked any mission agency that gave visas and all my calls with them, things would always go fine when I told them about my love for God and love for Japan. But as soon as I started talking to them about YouTube, that's when things got a little complicated. And after hearing all of the time that it would take for me to do YouTube in a very polite way, they pretty much said look, if you're going to get a visa from us, then you need to follow our vision and serve like completely our ministries. And honestly that made complete sense to me. So I had to go back to the drawing board. No full time working visa and no visa through a missions agency. But that's okay because I could get a visa from a church. And so I started emailing every church that I was connected to or I had friends who knew. And after I emailed everybody in about a week, like everybody flat out pretty much said no, I'm sorry, we're not giving visas right now. So at this point my drawing board was looking very bleak. It's September of 2022 now and I have no car, no job and I lived at my parents house. And to make things more embarrassing, I had my goodbye party months ago and the school that I quit now started their new semester of teaching. So now the Bible teaching job that I had like that's filled. So I couldn't back as a Bible teacher like anymore. Like that door closed. So I couldn't get a working visa, I couldn't get a visa through a missions agency and I couldn't get a visa through a church. And so it was very uncomfortable to say the least. And for all of you guys thinking well at least you have YouTube impact video ministries was very small back then. And in 2022, like our analytics for September, October, November, December, we averaged 12 subscribers a day, and I think we earned like, three to eight, doll. And if you do the math, that's not going to sustain anybody. So I was stuck, but a glimmer of hope because a great opportunity presented itself for me to go to the Philippines and to help out the church there while I waited for Japan to open. You see, my mom and dad to this day visit the Philippines like, once a year, and they go there to help out this church and an orphanage. And so I thought maybe since Japan is closed, maybe I can go to the Philippines and help out the church, stay busy and, you know, get missions experience. And as I was praying about going to the Philippines, God spoke to me in a very clear way, and he convicted me. And he told me, you're not going to the Philippines to help my church. You're going there to save your pride. And God was right, because behind the intent for me to go to the Philippines to help out the church was the real intent for me to save my name as Miles the missionary. And I was so frustrated because I was holding on to YouTube and I was holding on to Japan, and I felt like I couldn't go anywhere so long as I held these two things. So I thought maybe, just maybe, God wants me to let go of one of those two things. So I remember going to my room, kneeling down in my very specific space in my carpet, and I really tried to seek God's wisdom on what to do. And it was at that point that I gave up the YouTube channel. And I asked, I told God, if you want me to quit YouTube, I'll quit it. Because if I quit it right now, I could go to Japan right now through one of those missions agencies. And as I waited there in silence, just kind of waiting for God to respond to me, I just started getting memories of a bunch of people commenting during this time on how they love that we're posting again and how they hope that we continue. And so, yeah, we just had a lot of positive encouragement during this time. And then I started thinking of Joe Joseph. And Joseph has always supported me and helped me. And I just thought about his experience. He's had experience editing videos for ESPN and the History Channel and National Geographic, and he was willing to work for free. I had his support. And it meant, like, everything back then. And then another memory popped up on how my laptop, actually the one that I'm using right now, on how this laptop was paid for. So fun story within A story. Before I moved to Japan, I had to buy a lot of new things. And one of the things, things that I needed to get was a new laptop. So I didn't have to worry about getting new technology in Japan. So I needed a new laptop. And my mentor told me, miles, don't worry about the money, because God has special finances set aside for people who serve him. And I was like, okay, Pastor Danny, sure. And you know, it's crazy. Just a few days later, my parents gave me $2,500. And they didn't even know that I needed the money and needed a laptop. And the laptop that I was researching and looking at, it was exactly $2,499. And as soon as I got the money, I prayed to God and I just thanked him and I said, God, thank you so much for this money. I'll take care of the tax. And I kid you not, that day one of my friends came over and he was all like, miles, I've been meaning to give you this money for the longest time to support your mission to Japan. I keep forgetting. But anyways, I brought it here. Here you go. And I looked at how much money that, like, he gave me, and it was almost the exact amount that I needed to pay the tax for the laptop. And so when I went to go buy the laptop, I paid it in cash and I used the money that I got from my mom and dad and I used the money that was given to me from my friend. And when I gave all of the money that they gave me, they gave me less than $20 back in change. So God didn't even let me pay the tax for my laptop. So as I was kneeling there in prayer and as I was thinking about the positive comments on YouTube and Joseph's support and my God funded laptop that my mentor was right about, I just kind of felt God whisper in my heart and he was telling me, so do you think you should hold on to YouTube? And I thought, okay, God, yes, I should hold on to YouTube. And so I continued praying. And I remember asking God, well, can I let go of Japan then? Because I could work as a teacher and a YouTuber here in California. And almost immediately I felt God talk to me again. And he said, are you okay with never having a part in witnessing to your family? And the question made me feel sad. And I prayed back to God and I said, no, I love my family. I really do want to witness to them. And so then God said, so do you think you should hold on to Japan? And at this point I was frustrated because I'm like, God, I can't hold both. I can't go anywhere, I can't do anything. I can't hold YouTube and Japan. I'm stuck here. And then God, immediately I felt him say it and he said, that's my problem. And I suddenly had a lot of peace and comfort just from God during this time, because I came to the realization that moving my life forward wasn't my. Like, it was God's and he was gonna take care of me. And if he wanted me to hold on to YouTube and Japan and wait a long time, then I'd wait five years if I needed to. So for the next few days after I prayed that prayer, I started writing out a five year plan for me, just waiting in California. So it consisted of me working really hard in YouTube and studying Japanese and me just quietly waiting for an opportunity to surface in Japan. And you know what happen a week later, after I was content staying in California, Japan opened its borders to tourists, which meant that I could now go to Japan and look for a visa that would allow me to still do my YouTube channel. And I remember once I read those posts that Japan opened its borders. I just felt God speak to my heart. And he said, now you're ready to go to Japan. And Fast forward to 2026. I now have a job and visa that allows me to in Japan, and I have a YouTube channel that supports me and my wife here. And if I can tie all of this to a Bible verse, I would tie it to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10, where it says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. And the reason why I bring this one up is because God had a very specific path that he wanted me to walk down. Like, I'm only helping out impact right now because God wants me to. And the, the only reason why I'm here in Japan is because God wants me here. And even though everything started incredibly slow and was frustrating, everything happened exactly when it needed to. And it wasn't until after I was willing to give up YouTube, Japan, my pride, my plans. It was only then that God allowed me to move on to the next season of my life. Because it was there that I learned that God cared more about me and my personal development, the plans that I made for myself. And I know if that's true for me, that that's true for you too. Okay, so if you're in a similar place and you feel stuck, know that that's an okay place to be in, because that's where God can grow you. And I'd encourage you to pray and to truly surrender your life to God, because maybe the thing God really wants you to focus on during this time in your life is the fact that Jesus loves you. Hey everyone. Thank you again so much for watching. And if you haven't already, please don't forget to subscribe to our channel and then also click the notification bell so you guys don't miss an upload. I'll see you guys next time. God bless. God bless.