Tohoku Trip

Since the March 11^th earthquake I've been thinking and praying about what God wants me to do and how He wants me to help with relief efforts. In my heart I knew I wanted to help, but didn’t know exactly when or what God wanted me to do. There were many times when I felt helpless and limited as to what I could do because of my lack of Japanese language proficiency, strength to do hard manual labor and zero counseling training.

But, over the past few months God has revealed ways I can help others in need through talking and spending time with people, including evacuees from Fukushima, donating to various relief organizations like the Fruit Tree Project started by another ALT, encouraging, praying for and hosting volunteer teams and most recently joining a relief team to serve in one of the hardest hit areas.

I had the opportunity to go with a group of volunteers from Mito Church of Christ to encourage another church in Hachinohe, Aomori and serve in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture this past week. Here are the details of our trip and my reflections from the time there. I hope after reading this your heart will be burdened as mine was to continue praying for the survivors who are working to rebuild their lives and communities. Many have basic needs that need to met, but also deep spiritual and emotional needs and healing that can only come from Jesus Christ.

Preparing

On Friday our group met at church and loaded up the two cars and van we would be driving north. The van was loaded with boxes of vegetables, fruit, toys, sanitary products, notebooks, books and other supplies for distribution.

The other cars carried the rest of the luggage. We gathered to talk about the trip details and pray for our group as well as another group of three that would be working in Ishinomaki over the weekend. Our group was going to Hachinohe, Aomori over the weekend and working in Ishinomaki Monday and Tuesday.

A group of 13 people representing Mito Church of Christ East Japan Disaster Relief served and worked in Ishinomaki over Golden Week at the beginning of May, so this was the second trip for volunteers at Mito Church. Our team included about 14 people from many different backgrounds, churches and countries including Shizuoka and Singapore.

Departure

We left Mito a little after 9pm Friday evening and arrived in Sendai shortly after 1am. We unloaded the vehicles and slept at Sendai Church.

Hachinohe, Aomori

On Saturday we left Sendai around 8AM to drive to Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture. It took about 4 hours to get to there from Sendai. Hachinohe Church has about 10 members and we went to encourage and spend time with them. Two other Japanese gals, one from Morioka Church in Iwate Prefecture and Sendai Church joined us as well. The church in Morioka currently has two members, so it was great she could join us. We arrived at Hachinohe church and worshiped and enjoyed lunch together.

Sightseeing

After lunch we drove to Oirase and Towada Lake, both beautiful places. We walked along a hiking path at Oirase next to a river surrounded by greenery and trees.

It was lightly raining and a little chilly, but not enough to ruin our sightseeing plans. The lake was beautiful, surrounded by mountains and there was a nice path through a forest with towering cedar trees. For dinner we ate at an all you can eat Japanese buffet restaurant. It was my first time to eat at that kind of restaurant and the food was great. We stayed in Japanese style rooms at a hotel in Hachinohe that night.

Sunday Worship

On Sunday we ate breakfast and did a devotion at the hotel before leaving for church. We went to Hachinohe Church to worship with about eight of their members. One of the members from our group led the singing, another young Japanese guy from our group gave his first message on the book of Job. He had been to this church before, but at the time was not a Christian yet. He was asked to play the guitar for one of the church's functions and wasn't interested in Christianity at the time. He recently became a believer and was baptized about a year and a half ago. His story and message were very encouraging.

The church members prepared a delicious lunch for us, senbei jiro, a well known soup in Aomori made of soft senbei cracker. During lunch we went around the room and introduced ourselves in English and Japanese.

When it was my turn I began my introduction in Japanese and forgot to translate into English, so someone else jumped in and did it for me. Afterwards, we both realized I could have done it myself, whoops! One thing I shared during my intro was that I was from the Chicago area and the missionary at Hachinohe church said he use to live in the Rogers Park area. I feel like the longer I stay in Japan, the more connections I find with people I meet. It was nice talking to him and I learned he married a Japanese woman and has lived in Japan for the last several years. After lunch we enjoyed listening to the four youth from Singapore sing some songs in beautiful harmony.

The Hachinohe members were really happy and thankful to have so many visitors from different churches and countries. There were five churches represented including Shizuoka, Morioka, Sendai, Mito and Singapore. They were also encouraged to see so many young believers. I'm glad we were able to encourage them and it was nice to worship and spend time with the members of Hachinohe Church.

On the way back to Sendai we stopped at a rest stop in front of Mt. Iwate to shop for omiyage and spend time for devotion. It was such a nice time of praising and praying in front of Mt. Iwate covered in snow. We ate dinner in Sendai, went to an onsen and ended the night praying with our prayer partners and preparing our hearts for serving in Ishinomaki.

Ishinomaki, Miyagi Day 1

On Monday I woke up at 6:30am and helped prepare breakfast and the bento lunches for our team. We ate breakfast together and planned to have a devotional after breakfast.　The plan for the day was still up the air, but we knew we would be helping with a BBQ and cleaning. We didn't know when or where in Ishinomaki yet. We would be joining volunteers in the Be One Ministry, a group of house churches from the Osaka area. After breakfast our team leader received a phone call from one of the volunteers in the Be One group asking if our team could come right away to help prepare a BBQ at an elementary school in Ishinomaki for lunch. Some of the volunteers in the Be One group had their car engine die on the way to the school and couldn't bring the watermelons for the BBQ.

Our team sprang into action and quickly packed the cars and picked up watermelons on the way. It took about an hour and a half to reach Ishinomaki from Sendai. Over the Golden Week Holiday it had taken the team almost 4 hours to get there! As we were driving on the expressway I saw the tsunami damage in the southern part of Sendai. It was like there was an invisible line because on one side everything looked normal and then immediately after I saw rice fields littered with cars, debris and huge mounds of trash. After we got off the highway there was a river near the school and the tsunami had washed through the river leaving behind overturned fishing boats, uprooted trees and more debris scattered along the banks of the river.

It was a bumpy ride on the road next to the river and reminded me of a dirt road in Thailand. There was a lot of tsunami damage to the town near the school. Houses were destroyed and another rice field near the school was littered with more cars and debris.

BBQ

The elementary school was near the mountains and was actually three schools combined into one. There were about 230 students at this school. We greeted the other Be One volunteers including some from Hawaii, Kansai and Tokyo area. Another young Japanese gal from Ishinomaki joined us to help with the BBQ.

We got to work cutting up fruit and vegetables and preparing the grills. We were going to bbq chicken, hotdogs and veges. We set up the receiving line in time for lunch at 12:30pm. Each student got half a hot dog, bbq chicken, veges, fruit, chips, candy and a drink. About 300 people came through the line including students, teacher, parents and others from the neighborhood. I was in charge of handing out the candy at the end of the line. The students were told come back for the candy and chips after putting their plates in the gym because there was too much to carry. The students came back and lined up in front of me to receive their candy. We had them hold out their shirt so I could put in the candy, since their hands were too little to hold all of it and the chips. I felt like it was Halloween and they were little trick or treaters saying “ame kudasai” which means “candy please”. Their faces lit up with great big smiles and I could hear the excitement in their voice as they anxiously waited for their candy. Bringing joy to these kids, if only for a few moments was so rewarding.

We learned that these children only get bread and milk for lunch everyday, so the bbq was a nice treat for them. It was hard knowing that they aren’t getting the fruit and vegetables they need and want on a regular basis. One of my teammates talked with one of the mothers that had lived near the coast and learned that her son had witnessed the tsunami sweep away their home. The mother said she wanted to go back to see what remained of their home, but her son refuses to go back for fear that another tsunami will come.

These are just some of the stories from survivors and the reality that they are dealing with on a daily basis. Outside the school gates are constant reminders of the destruction of the tsunami that many of the students must see everyday on the walk to and from school, but inside the gates that day laugher, joy and words of gratitude filled the school grounds.

Cleaning

After cleaning up at the school and saying our goodbyes we headed to a karate dojo to do some cleaning. The Sensei of this dojo allows Be One volunteers to use part of it as a base camp for sleeping and storing supplies. Over Golden Week there had a been a lot of volunteers coming in and out and little time to clean and organize. So our group helped clean up and organize the supplies.

Some people cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms and others helped wash floor mats for another dojo. The two other volunteers that had engine trouble met us at the dojo. They are two animal protection workers from the states that came to Japan to help provide food for animals. Some of their workers went into the evacuation zones in Fukushima to rescue animals abandoned by their owners.　While we were cleaning one of the Be One volunteers told me that over the weekend they helped clean someone’s yard and it was a very messy job. She said that she went to pick up a pretty big fish that looked normal at first, but when she went to grab it the backside had been decayed and was full of maggots. She said that she couldn’t even scream she was so grossed out and called another volunteer to come help her. While I am grateful I didn't have to shovel decaying fish, I have a lot of respect for the many volunteers who are helping to do these dirty jobs.

We drove back to Sendai that evening and did a devotion back at church and shared reflections from the day. We went to the onsen again and back at church prayed with our prayer partners.

Ishinomaki, Miyagi Day 2

Tuesday was another early start and we were on the road by 8:30am. We drove to the dojo in Ishinomaki and met up with the other Be One volunteers. We loaded the cars and vans with work tools and supplies for a food distribution we would do later that day. We went to another dojo that belonged to the Sensei. We learned that the Sensei had recently put a lot of money into fixing up this dojo and then the earthquake destroyed a lot of it. He wanted to clean it up and make it safe for kids to come practice and play safely. He had a checklist of areas we needed to clean including picking up broken glass from shattered windows, nailing boards back on the walls inside, clearing fallen pieces of roof, fixing plumbing in the kitchen and bathroom and picking up garbage around the building.

We split into teams of 2-3 people and got to work. We worked for about two hours and Sensei's wife made lunch for our group. We ate together inside the dojo and left after lunch to distribute food and supplies to another neighborhood. One of the Be One volunteers commented on how well our group worked together, even though we were all from different backgrounds and churches and had different connections with each other, just another testament to how God can bring people together to accomplish His goals.

A close up look at the tsunami destruction

As we drove into town and neared another river we were surrounded by the tsunami destruction. The bridge over the river was warped and one railing was badly bent because the tsunami had gone over the bridge. However, the bridge was still usable because cars were driving across it. We couldn’t see the ocean while we were driving, but the tsunami had come through the river, demolishing everything in its path.

Driving through town was a lot to take in. Buildings and houses were completely crushed or turned on their side. Foundations were laid bare and strewn cars and rubble were a common sight. A large ship was in someone's backyard. One of my teammates that had been in this neighborhood over Golden Week said it looked a lot better from the last time he drove through, but for me it was hard to imagine what I was seeing in a worse state. There was sand on a lot of the roads and visible water lines on buildings left by the tsunami.

We reached the area for the food distribution near the outskirts of town and unloaded the cars. T San, his wife and son were there to greet us. One of the team members had been in touch with T San to arrange the details for the drop that day. We spread out two tarps and placed boxes of fruit, vegetables, clothes, sanitary supplies, batteries, books, and toys around the perimeter of the tarps. Each person in our group was assigned an area and mine was near the toys. At first there weren’t many kids, but as word spread, more and more kids and people from the neighborhood came. Being stationed near the toys allowed me to play and talk with some of the kids, which was really fun. People began lining up as soon as we arrived, even though we weren't scheduled to start until 3pm. Everything ran very smoothly and a certain number of people were allowed to "shop" at a time for a limited amount of time before the next group was allowed to go through the line. People continued going through the line for about an hour before we ran out of food and supplies.

I could sense people’s desperation as they grabbed fruit and vegetables. Being able to get three oranges was a huge deal for many people. Many said thank you as they passed by and were really grateful. Having lost homes, cars, jobs and belongings most of these people had no money, places or means to get food and basic necessities. It was hard looking at the line of people still waiting with no more food to give them. After the supplies were gone we spent time talking with the T San and his wife and playing with their son. Two temporary housing units were going to built in the area where we did the distribution and hopefully T San and his family will be able to move into one of them.

Over Golden Week the first team had helped to clean and fix up an older woman's house in the neighborhood. We drove over to her home to visit her, but she wasn't there. The stench of rotting fish was so strong that we had to wear masks walking around the neighborhood.

On the post outside her home were two washed out pictures that had been recovered in the rubble at her home.

Looking at the side of her house you could see her car wedged in between her house and a small shed that had been knocked over.

As we walked around the neighborhood we saw a park where the first team had cleaned over Golden Week. It looked pretty good except for the overturned car at one end of the park. We also passed by a pretty big apartment complex and the waterline from the tsunami was above the entire first floor. The first floor apartments were completely empty, but from the second floor up people were still living there.

Some moments that stuck with me from that day:

The two volunteers from the Be One group had cleaned in the neighborhood over the weekend. It had started to rain the day they were working and one of them didn’t have a hat. An elderly Japanese lady from the neighborhood came out of her house and offered the volunteer a hat. The volunteer didn’t take it at first because she didn’t want to inconvenience the Japanese woman. After much persistence the volunteer finally took the hat. The day our group was in the neighborhood the volunteer went to give the Japanese woman a scarf in return for her kindness from the previous day. As we were preparing to leave the Japanese woman came out of her house to the volunteer and presented her with the same hat she had lent her a few days ago to keep. The volunteer was deeply touched and tears streamed down her face. It was a beautiful moment to witness. Here you have this elderly Japanese woman who lost so much, yet offered one of the few things she still had left to this volunteer she barely knew. The example of sacrifice shown by this woman really made me stop to think how much more I should be willing to sacrifice out my abundance of blessings.

After the food distribution one of our team members asked T San how he was doing. T San responded by saying, “I am very free every day.” With no job and not much to do he waits in anticipation for a phone call from a volunteer saying they are on the way with more food and supplies.

As we were saying our goodbyes to the Japanese gal from Ishinomaki she replied in her best English, “I am waiting for you.” Days later her words are still in my thoughts as I think about the people of Ishinomaki like our friends and so many others who are anxiously and desperately waiting for food and supplies.

Sendai, Miyagi

We spent our last day in Tohoku sightseeing in Sendai. Two of our missionary team members had lived in Sendai and wanted to show us around before going back home. We visited the Sendai castle grounds, museum and looked out over the city of Sendai.

We walked over to the Hirosegawa River and visited the International Center at Tohoku University. It was interesting learning about the history of the city and seeing the traditional crafts of Sendai. There were some streamers on display from the famous Tanabata Festival held each year.

We ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant in downtown Sendai that had very good food. Sendai is known as the City of Trees and there were trees everywhere, even downtown. Sendai is an interesting and nice mix of urban, international, and natural beauty. It was a great end to the trip and after a full day of sightseeing we headed back to Mito.