When Zach and Lydia first prayed for their friends Kyler and Claire as they left for Japan, they didn’t realize God was preparing to send them too. “I remember praying for more team members to join the Malaraes,” Lydia reflects. “Then it hit me: Are we the ones God wants to send?”

What started as a small prompting from the Holy Spirit became undeniable through years of prayer, surrender, and wrestling with the Lord. It wasn’t easy. “At first, I thought Lydia was just restless,” Zach admits. “We were flourishing here in Grass Valley—why would we leave?” 

But over time, God gave Zach a heart for Japan. “It’s a culture of spiritual darkness,” Zach explains, describing the weight he felt while visiting Japan. “People are shoulder-to-shoulder in silence. It’s like they’re hollow and yet carrying immense sadness. They need the hope of the gospel.”

Lydia describes a similar burden she felt on their vision trip. “I saw a father and son at a roadside shrine, ringing a bell to get their gods’ attention, and I thought, ‘What if I felt like that toward God—unseen, unheard?’ I want them to know the God who listens.”

Now, the Malechs are stepping out in obedience, leaving behind a close-knit community, fruitful ministry work, and their families. The fact that they are leaving so much behind is a testament to how undeniably God is calling them to the mission field. “There’s grief in saying goodbye,” Lydia admits, “but there’s also joy in being part of what God is doing in Japan.” 

Once they arrive in Osaka, Zach and Lydia will join Kyler, Claire, and the growing Osaka team in planting churches and sharing God’s love with those who have never experienced it. The first step is intensive language study—a two-year process—followed by long-term ministry. “It’s a slow, relational work,” Zach explains. “But the gospel is worth the long haul.”

The Malechs’ journey is just beginning, and they need partners who will walk alongside them. “We’ve said yes to Japan,” Zach says, “but we can’t get there alone.” Your prayers and financial support will be what sends this faithful couple to a nation where so few know Jesus.

Investing in the Malechs is a chance to help write a different story for Japan—a story of hope, transformation, and God’s light breaking through the darkness. Would you consider partnering with Zach and Lydia on this journey? Your gift will help send them to the people of Japan who desperately need the gospel.