Lasts

Waaa!  Lots of stuff has been accomplished in this week!  Including: paying my taxes... which only took going to 3 locations to accomplish.

It was a really good week though.  It started off on Sunday-- I gave the message at my last Fuse for this year.  I shared about what God was teaching me shortly before meeting Vicente and the process that He brought me through.  It was Valentines Day (and my last Sunday, which I already mentioned), so it made sense to kinda talk about my next steps. 

Anyway, I got a lot of really good feedback from people and Mark said it was probably one of the best messages that I've ever done.  I was like, wow!  But, hey, the Word of God that He puts into our life is powerful.

At Fuse they gave me flowers and prayed for blessings over Vicente and I.  I didn't even cry.

What else... oh yeah, did taxes.  Finished up work for this week (including leaving work and semi-lesson plans for people).  My students gave me lots of notes, some of them rather hilarious.  But yeah, it was really nice.

This will be a very bittersweet weekend.  I'm looking forward to the conference and later to seeing my fiance, but it is sad to leave my friends and Japanese family. I've learned a lot-- grown a lot in these 2 years.  I think it's been the biggest period of growth in faith and leadership in my life. 

Looking forward to married life.  The best is yet to come... and we will be excited to be back home in Japan.  :)

PS: Enjoy this:

PS- Pictures (apart from this one right here) are courtesy of Abigail Lafleur-Shaffer.

Christmas and then some

SO.  It's Christmas time.  It doesn't really feel like it.  Does it to you?

Here, the bigger holiday is New Year.  It's the time that everyone spends with their families and eats sushi.  But nonetheless, Christmas is still celebrated (albeit with KFC and Christmas cakes)... So, we did an outreach event today.  It was our first ever Christmas Production. 

A girl on our team wrote a play; another helped with the translation; one girl did a dance; others helped with video and technology (which was a huge feat in an of itself); special music for the band, karaoke, snacks, sewing, you name it-- we probably did it!

But it was lovely and ran remarkably smooth.  My part in this day: organizing everything and making a timeline/Lighting timeline/organizing responsibilities on the whole day.  My job was basically to make sure set-up, production and clean up/pack-up ran smoothly and that everyone had everything that they needed where they needed it.  And I answered a million questions.

It should be mentioned, the file name for this so called timeline is: Christmas Production Timeline Masterpiece.

Because it was.

Other than that, I also played bass (including a jazz piece I just learned yesterday) and did lighting during my allotted time.

But enough about that-- we had about 30% of our crowd as newcomers and a number of "Hisashiburi" people (Hisashiburi means "long time, no see").  And many got to hear the Gospel for the first time.

So, all these questions and worksheets and rehearsed lines and technology preparation was so that Japanese people-- who are used to top-notch, high quality-- could hear the Gospel for the first time in a clear, powerful and even dramatic way.  There's no better Christmas gift you can give.

And though I guarantee you that nearly everyone is exhausted tonight, we are all satisfied that what we did was done to honor God and to show God's love and our love to those who have never heard.

Stories

There was so much to be heard this week.  So much to see, so much to do, so much to hear.

On Thursday this week, I was excited to go and work hard in my awesome, borrowed bright-blue jump suit.  We went to a Ramen and Hamburger Joint called the Clock Tower (Tokeidai).  The owner had been running the business for 40+ years.  However, the tsunami waves came in a destroyed much of what was inside and took out a few walls.  I heard earlier teams cleaned out a lot of sand while taking everything outside and dividing the trash. 

I never really thought about that part-- all the sand.  But other teams have spent days at another restaurant trying to clean up dishes and other supplies from sand and oil and otherwise caked stuff.

Anyhow, this owner of the business, who is in his 60s, has decided to have the house destroyed and start over.  When asked what will he do after that, his answer is that he doesn't know.  He will figure that out once all this is taken care of...

As we were going through the piles of things to be thrown away, there were books, photo albums, stuffed animals, clothes.  It was a little disconcerting to be going through someone's stuff like that-- knowing that it wasn't their plan to have all this stuff disposed of in this manner.  However, a few things were salvaged.  Among those things was the deed to the land.  The owner could not find it, and that was one of the things he seemed to be worried about.  However, someone was going through the piles as we were bagging things up to carry to the dumpsters, and found an old, flimsy deed.  Sure enough, it was the deed to his land, and the owner was very happy about that.

On Friday, I was going to finish some painting for the church cabinets housing tools and other manly things.  I had found out on Wednesday that they wanted one done, and on Friday, I planned to do the other cabinet.  Anyhow, while I was finishing the first one, Ijima-san came up to me.  Ijima-san is a man about in his 50s or 60s, I would guess.  He communicated with me that he wanted a sign made for a family that had a fishing business-- for bate.  Anyhow, their house was destroyed, but they are still in business.

So, I got to work on it.  I was really excited to make something for a family.  Ijima-san later told me that he would take me to the family to give it to them.  That was even cooler, because I wasn't expecting it.  Anyway, I finished in the afternoon, full of paint everywhere on me, but happy to have finished something (and with limited paint and brushes (amazingly expensive here, let me tell you... I shouldn't be surprised though) that would bless a family in need. 

Later, Benjamin and Ijima-san and I went to the family's house and delivered the sign.  They were happy to receive it, and we had the chance to chat for a bit about their experience.  They are now living in the addition that they had built on their house.  The original part was built some 100 years ago, in the traditional Japanese style.  Because it would cost so much to rebuild it, they tore it down and are now living in the addition, which has a tarp for a wall and a half.

Their next door neighbor received work from some of the team.  He owns a rice factory, and his machinery was also destroyed.  Only some 5% of it was insured.  He will receive some money from the government and some from the insurance company, but he will have to borrow much in order to restart.  It seems to be the case for many businesses and families.

But the Japanese people go on, and Global Mission Center and the volunteers that all work with them continue to offer hope not only for the current situation, but that hope you need on the inside-- the kind that comes from God.  It is truly amazing to see all the opportunities to serve through this church.  See earlier blogs for more..

Since the beginning, when the earthquake and tsunami first took place, I was impressed by the world's reaction to and support of Japan.  It really touched me.  But on my first night, I stood in a room with people from all over.  From around Japan, from the States, from Canada, from Korea.  From all different churches and backgrounds.

We stood in a circle, and Mori-sensei (the pastor) said, you know-- we come from all over and from different churches, but together we are the church of Jesus here. 

And it's true.  We are the church, the body of Jesus.  And we carry the hope with us-- and the knowledge that we do not face the world alone-- God, who created us, loves us and is with us.

It's easy as time goes by to forget the tragedies that have passed.  Or at least the ones that we don't see everyday.  I probably tend to think that because I don't see it on the news anymore, that everything must be fine. 

But, the people of Japan still hurt and still are affected by the events of March 2011.  There are still families without homes, without jobs, trying to rebuild.  There are still those grieving for lost loved ones and friends.  There are still some very, very difficult situations. 

If you are able to, you can volunteer to help.  Please contact me for more info.  You can pray, because prayer is powerful, even from across the world.  And you can do your part from where you are by offering the hope you have and can find in Christ to the people around you.  You don't have to wait for disaster to strike your area.  You, if you believe in Jesus as your Savior, are the church and you have the hope for all situations of life.

Thank you for your prayers for Japan and encouragement.  The Japanese people need it.

Tsunami Damage

I leave it to this video to tell the story.

More to come, I'm sure.

Global Mission Center

One of the things that I was really impressed with on this trip was the organization of the staff up in Iwaki.  There was so much stuff going on, so many people doing so many things.  And, like I was discussing with a guy from Hawaii that I met there, it was pretty organized but not in the strict, rigid way-- rules, rules, rules!

Instead, after 3 months of doing stuff everyday (except Sundays), the staff who works amazing hard is joyful and can definitely multitask.  The meeting room has signs everywhere, and sheets of things so that they can simply understand what's going on.  The schedule for the day is written on the white board (ha, but only in Japanese-- there's an English version on the board on a piece of paper).  The first thing I did when I got there was sign in, was asked about insurance, and quickly found a room among a few...  At night, the house becomes a maze of places where people are sleeping.  Tim said there are usually 25-60 people there at a time.

At the meeting in the morning, what things are going on that day are discussed and leaders let the volunteers know about how many they will need.  Volunteers decide where they want to participate that day.

Here are some of the opportunities to serve:

-"Gareki" (rubble- new Japanese word for the week)-- there are different projects going on that day. Each day that I went, there were 2 or 3 opportunities.  Sometimes only carpenters are needed.  Sometimes they say that at a particular place there will be hard labor.  But basically, you go and do whatever is needed there.  While I was there, one team was putting up temporary walls at a house/rice factory.  Another was washing dishes and supplies at a traditional Japanese Inn.  The water brought in sand and mixed oil with it. In order to reopen, all the supplies had to be cleaned-- which was pretty hard work.  And then there are teams that clean out houses and divide the trash into burnable, glass, wood, etc. and throw it all away.

-Cafe-- Downstairs at the church, there is a center where those in need can get supplies-- anything from clothes, shoes, diapers, milk, blankets, etc.  But they have to let the people know what they need.  So, while the workers arrange stuff so that the people can come get what they need, there are other workers in the cafe.  Those waiting for supplies for their families sit there and can have some free coffee/tea/cake.  The workers sit down and have conversation with those waiting and listen to them.  This is a great opportunity to share the Gospel and to minister to them.  This is also an important part of disaster relief.  I think another girl who is a hair stylist came in, and gave free hair cuts to people, which is another opportunity to talk.

- Kitchen/Clean Up-- There are also those who stay at the church to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for staff and volunteers.  They also help clean up the bathrooms, living room, and other things.  This is a very daily job!!

-Foot washing-- A couple of times a week (?), people go up in the afternoon to the refugee centers and wash feet, give foot massages to those living there.  This is another opportunity to listen and minister.

-Takidashi-- ...which means giving out food.  So teams will go to some shelter at dinner time, give out food, clean up and sit down to converse with people.  Yup, more opportunities.

-There is more, I think but I can't seem to remember...

So, in case you're wondering-- here's what the day looks like

6am- Devotional (not required, but it's good!)

8am- Breakfast

9am- Morning Meeting (a bit of music, day's events and short prayer time)

10am- Teams head out

4:30pm- ish-- If there's foot washing, you go there...

6pm- Dinner

8pm- Evening Meeting

More blogs to come...

Tsunami damage

Impressions and Stories from Iwaki

Up to Iwaki

Well... I just arrived home less than 12 hours ago from a trip up to Iwaki City to help with relief efforts.  It was an amazing trip, in all aspects.  From watching how the staff works, to meetings that we have everyday, the focus and joy that everyone maintain, cleaning houses and meeting and serving the Japanese people whose houses we were cleaning up. 

My alarm was set for 3:50am on Wednesday, and I went by foot (ok, only 20 minutes), train, bus and car to get to Global Mission Center in Iwaki.  Unfortunately, by the time that we (I met up with another couple going up there) made it to the Center, the different teams going out were already leaving for the day.

Anyhow, I got my stuff situated in the building, finding a room to sleep in with about 5 girls, I believe.  (I was later moved to another room holding the same).  I kinda looked around and figured out that floor by myself.  It holds like a large living room with tables around, and a few bathrooms and places where people can sleep.  Downstairs is the church room, some storage place for food, another place for supplies for people in need to come and a little cafe area where ministry takes place all day long for those waiting for supplies.

Anyway, I spent a while trying to figure out what I could do to help since I wasn't able to go out with the teams.  I was a little disappointed.  However, at lunch I spotted the two Canadian boys who were with us at FUSE last week.  I sat around and chatted with them (since I didn't have that chance at FUSE).  They came for 2 weeks, and are doing carpentry work.  That day, they were building shoe storage units (since we take our shoes off before entering houses and I promise-- at that church, it can be hard to find yours in the sea of shoes at the entrance). 

After lunch, I was outside where they were working and asked if there was anything I could do.  I found out that someone wanted some mural thing on some cabinets that housed tools and other supplies of that sort.  So, I volunteered, got some paint and got busy.  It was cool to be able to use my skills in that way.

That night we all had dinner and the evening meeting at 8pm.  We began and finished the 45 minute meeting with music and prayer, and at the end a 2 minute encouraging note from the pastor.  New workers arriving that day were introduced, people talked about the day's work, what got done, impressions, stories about the family and testimonies.  At 9, I was getting ready for bed... I was tired!

More blogs to come!!

Back

Welp.  I'm back in Japan.  How crazy does life seem lately?

After a great trip back to St. Louis and time spent with lots of lovely people, I am back in Japan.  Also in America happened to be lots of crazy weather, which gave me a nasty cold my last couple of days.  However, that made it nice in that because of a delayed flight to Chicago, I missed my connection to Tokyo.  So, they put me up in a hotel and I was able to get over the cold a little more before boarding a 13 hour flight.

So I'm back in Japan.  Since coming back, I've gotten things straightened out with my work schedule for teaching English this year and went to a seminar.  I've had like 3 different meetings and set up a schedule for this year now that I'm not in school anymore.  After talking with Mark and Yuiko yesterday morning, I'll be doing more admin stuff at FUSE and also be getting connected in to this Girls College like a five minute walk from my house.  I have one connection in there and I'm going to try to form more.  I'm pretty excited about that.  I'll keep studying in the mornings, though not at school.  And of course, the other stuff that I normally do and participate in, I'll continue doing.  So, I think it'll be good.

I do miss America (ha, Miss America) and the good times that I had there and I wish I could have been able to spend more time with people individually-- first and foremost my family. 

But it was cool to be able to share about Japan in such an oportune time when the whole world's eyes were on Japan.  Keep praying for us guys!  Even since I've been home, my second night, I was woken up as I had just fallen asleep by the largest aftershock (I keep hearing 7.1 and 7.4) since the one a half hour after the big one on March 11.  This new one left us rocking and shaking for a good one-two minutes. 

But there is still lots to be done, so help me in spreading the message about how we need more missionaries here in Japan and more people to help!  Short-term people and definitely long-term people!  This is the opportune time to share about the message of the cross to a hurting Japanese people!