Matthew Absher
Youth With A Mission — 159-4 Tanokura, Nasukarasuyama, Tochigi 321-0526, Japan
My name is Matthew Absher. I am the oldest of 6 children in my family, born and raised in the state of Montana in the United States. A few years ago, struggling with alcoholism, I decided to attend a 1 year Christian recovery program called Hope Center in Hawaii. As of this writing, I am now a little over 2 1/2 years sober. After completing the program I felt a call to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Kona, Hawaii. Our outreach locations ended up being in Vietnam and Cambodia. I have recently returned from outreach and graduated the Crossroads DTS as of February 27th 2026.
As I was attending my DTS, and shortly thereafter, I felt the Lord calling me to continue working with YWAM and in missions. With His direction, I have applied for the School of Worship (SOW) in Kona beginning April 15th 2026. The outreach location for SOP this next quarter will be in Japan, a nation that God has put on my heart for many years. Though I do not currently have all the funding I need to attend, the Lord has led me to apply as a step of faith. I have some money coming in from a tax return and a few commitments from others, though I will need some further support to reach my goal.
At this point, I feel led to develop some skills and personal growth in order to prepare for long term missions. With this in consideration, I am looking to create a wider support network. As of this writing, I have not yet received a fundraising link from YWAM. Regardless, I would appreciate prayers and encouragement in this season.