Tohoku Trip 3 Post #3

This picture is a long time coming. As I mentioned in the last post Akifumi (Aki for short) did an English camp with TBC last year where he got to know Louie and Kosuke (Ko for short).  Actually it was during the camp in Taiwan that Aki believed in Jesus.

It was partly because of Aki’s trip to Taiwan that we went to Kamaishi on our first trip.  Between the first and second trip I was able to get the students from TBC to sign the cards you see Aki holding which I was able to give it to him.  I did take the cards – three in all – on the second trip but that was just after Aki and his family had finally found their uncle and grandmother  so it was not a good time to visit the family.  Finally here we are giving the cards to him and what makes it so special is that Louie and Ko who had spent so much time with Aki in Taiwan were able to be there when he received the cards.

We were actually able to meet all of Aki’s family and this led to a day of unexpected events that kind of went as follows.

The family arranged for us to be able to stay right in Kamaishi with a friend of the family.  The lady took in all ten of our team members for both of the nights that we would be in the city.  This was awesome as it saved us over an hour’s commute in the morning and the evening.

After the first night we were actually able to walk to the city volunteer  centre to see what work we would be able to do that day.  During our sharing time that morning Ko shared that before coming to Tohoku he had being trying to decide if he should being his Japanese or his English Bible on the trip.  Having spent quite a bit of time the previous evening hearing the story of the lady who owned the house he  knew why he had brought the Japanese Bible.  He felt he was to give the Bible to her.   I just love it when teenagers feel that God is directing their steps for a reason.

Well, the next change we encountered was that in arriving at the city volunteer centre we discovered that two factors were making it impossible for us to actually volunteer that day.

1. It was Golden Week in Japan which is a week full of holidays.  So many folks had decided to give their holiday week to volunteer that many centres – this one included – were having to turn people away.

2. The Weather !  There was a super strong wind blowing that day which made conditions unsuitable for working in areas where debris was being picked up and blown around.

We spent a little time reading the notes other volunteers had written and then split into two teams.  David & I with the vehicles carried the Kitchen Items from Samaritan’s Purse and the Kitchen Kits sent with so much love from YWAM Tokyo and the English class  back to Mr. Oikawa’s village.  The others walked into Kamaishi on a prayer journey.

The inclement weather however forced them to seek higher ground and from that vantage point they did pray over the city.  We all gathered back at the house in the late afternoon and decided to cook the evening meal for us and the lady and her other guest.  It turned in to a great time of fellowship, praying for healing for both ladies and sharing the gospel in a natural way.

Serving in this way would not have been possible had we been working all day as originally planned.  The Barbeque would not have been a success if we had tried to do it today in the wind instead of yesterday.

So we were able to be thankful for all these details way beyond our control that fit perfectly with the needs we saw and the skills we had to offer.

The following morning before our goodbyes Ko did give the lady the Bible.  We all felt we had been given the privilege of meeting a very special and brave Japanese lady and Ko had a new grandma in Kamaishi.

Tohoku Trip 3 Post #2

We were planning BBQ and the weather was not cooperating –  it rained all night. We had devotions,  set out early and arrived to pick up Akifumi who would be joining us for the day.  Aki is in the middle of this picture right next to Kosuke.  (Aki and Kosuke met each other for the first time last summer when they both attended TBC’s Camp 45) For the past two months Aki has been visiting this village with his mother to look for his missing relatives and only a couple of weeks ago finally located two of them.

The weather cleared up wonderfully for the rest of the day.

Our plan was to involve as many of the local people as possible.

In this picture the ladies all joined in to help with the rice and the salad.  Notice the outside toilets that the people are still using as they do not yet have any running water.

Let me now introduce you to one awesome high school boy.  This lad gets up 30 minutes early EVERY morning and volunteers to clean all of the toilets you see in the last picture.  This is one aspect of Japanese culture that I really like.

Well, with a bit of help and a lot of fun we got the fire going and began to cook the chicken.  It actually became quite hot by the fire but nothing deterred us and the goal was achieved.

Friendships were made –  the chicken tasted so good.

Making the fire was dirty work for some but over all it seemed that they enjoyed every minute of it.

The local young folks were excited to be able to share a meal with us that actually had meat in  it.

One of the apartment buildings had just been renovated about the time of the earthquake and would soon be occupied by folks who were staying in the evacuation centres.  These were the apartments that we had been making kitchen kits for.

Louie was also on the Camp 45  mission trip to Taiwan with Kosuke and Akifumi and had spent a lot of time with him there.  So today was a wonderful time for the three of them to spend together.

When all the food was eaten we talked for awhile and then took this group photo.  It is amazing how friendships can be formed or deepened by sharing a meal together.

As his custom was Mr. Oikawa sat us down and talked together with us as a team.  We took this opportunity to pray for him and the community.  DTS leader David felt he would like to come back and do this again another time.

Mr. Oikawa also cooked some fresh fish for us that they had recently.  It seemed the correct way to eat them is head first then work your way down to  the tail .

Here is Derick demonstrating the right technique.