Back in November...

Well, I thought I had already posted about this, but it appears that I have not!  The last week of November I went to Sendai in northeastern Japan as a volunteer.  I went with a group of 7 others from around the JBC to help in any way we could.

Northeastern Japan (Tohoku) is where the earthquake and tsunami hit in March of 2011.  That evening when I got home, I sat transfixed in front of the TV with my computer facing it so that my parents could also see what was happening through skype.  We watched as waves pushed and pulled cars, houses, buildings and people.  I listened to, and translated, stories of people who escaped or who were looking for their families.  (Click here to read some thoughts I wrote a few days after the disasters.  And click here to read about a song our gospel choir director wrote before 3.11 but which took on much more meaning after the disasters.)

Over 18 months later, I finally had the opportunity to go and help.  The physical labor of clean up is basically finished in the area where we volunteered.  However, the emotional labor of clean up continues.  That was our basic goal in going.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I am going to tell my volunteer story in pictures and just captions when words are needed.  Please continue to pray for Japan!

The first day we helped a farmer, stacking pallets.

We also planted seeds, by hand, one at a time.

The water line on the outside of his house

Inside the house-it was going to be torn down and rebuilt.
Notice the calendar... March 11, 2011

It wasn't as cold as we make it look by our clothing!

The first floor of all the buildings and houses in the area
near the farmer's house were destroyed.

Where the tsunami came from

The cross from Seaside Chapel
Literally the only thing left standing

Practicing hand massages for cafe time the next day

An elementary school that can no longer be used

Items collected in the area, cleaned, and categorized
This area is a collection of children's school bags

One of the temporary housing units

Our group after cafe time and hand massages

A cement building police station that was pushed over in the tsunami

A small temporary housing unit up in the mountains

This church was badly damaged in the tsunami.
Now, several churches are working together to minister
in the area, using this church as their base.

The CRASH Japan van with Coco, Mitsuha, and Becky

Making Okinawa soba

Rolling out the dough

Hearing the story of God's love in the midst of pain

Eating at a restaurant which serves vegetables grown by the farmer we helped.

Just a thought... (again)

Pastor Paul is preaching through 1 Timothy right now.  Last Sunday he talked about chapter 2.  The first two verses speak to a topic I have been thinking about for a long time, praying for those in authority.

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Timothy 2:1-2

A couple of years ago, about halfway through our current president's first term, I noticed Christians doing a lot of criticizing of him but no mention of prayer for him.  As the election approached, the comments got worse and worse, and still almost no mention of prayer.

During the last president's terms in office, I heard many people talk about praying for the president, even forming prayer groups for him.  Where are those requests now?  Why aren't we calling for prayer for the current president?

In this passage, Paul is writing to Timothy who is in Ephesus.  The ruler for whom he was telling them to pray?  Nero.  Do you remember what Nero did to Christians?  He used them as torches to light parties.  He tied them to posts, poured oil over them, and lit them on fire.  This is the man for whom Paul told the people to pray!

Why do we feel justified in calling for prayer for one man and not for another?  Not only does Paul call on us to pray for those in authority, but he also tells us to pray for everyone.  Everyone.  There are some people for whom I find it hard to think of praying, yet, Paul is not giving us a chance to choose those for whom we pray.  He tells us to pray for everyone, not to criticize, to pray.

What would happen if we took the time to pray for everyone, to pray for those in authority, to pray for our president?  How would our attitudes change?  How would our words change?  How would our world change?

Anyone up for a challenge in February?  February is when we celebrate Presidents' Day in the US, right?  For the next month, I am going to take time each day to pray for our leaders (since I live in Japan, I will pray for both countries' leaders).  Will you join me?

The Music Goes On...

On January 19th we hosted another Live Gospel Cafe.  This time our guest was Yoko Matsuoka.  She also invited her friend and protege, Rei Ogasawara.  Maki played keyboard for them and Seki san ran sound.
It was a night filled with Spirit-filled music, inspiring testimonies, and sweet fellowship-and, of course, food!  We also found out that we can get A LOT of people crammed into our church.  During the concert I had to go out into the hall and take a picture through the window to get a picture of the performers!  We are not complaining about the standing room only situation!

Rehearsal-oh, and Flat Stanley is visiting again!

The boys have fun with Stanley

Stanley is getting hungry looking at all the food!

Stanley meets Rei.

A picture through the window

Some of the guests enjoying the music.

Everyone getting into the music

Picture from sitting on the floor in front.

Oh, we forgot to take a group picture with everyone.

Thank you, Jesus, for music!  What a blessing!

Christmas Review Continued

A shopping mall near our church held a Christmas tree decorating contest.  We decided to try out for it and were chosen as one of the contestants.  We had a good time deciding how to decorate the tree, making the decorations, and then decorating the tree.

There were some great bonuses to being part of the contest.  We received a coupon to use at the mall, plus we got to keep the tree and lights.  Hopefully, we were also able to introduce our church to some new people!

Putting the tree together

Having fun!

Wrapping the tree with the ribbon Mrs. Sakamoto wrote on so nicely.

Mrs. Sakamoto arranging the ribbon and decorations.

Mr. Sakamoto adding decorations.

Our finished product!

All the trees

We didn't win anything, but this group of children won the grand prize!

Christmas Fun

In December, our church plant, Komyo Christian Church, hosted several events to share the true meaning of Christmas with our friends and students.  Here is a little glimpse into our December:

We started with a Ladies' Tea and Card-making afternoon.  It was fun to just spread out the tools, stamps, and paper and see the creativity of the ladies.  We had a fun afternoon chatting and creating.  Even Elijah got in on the fun!

My baking class even had fun with Christmas cookies!

Later in the month we hosted a party for our English classes.  We played games, sang songs, and acted out the Christmas story.  Of course, there was food, too!

We had a beautiful evening for the Christmas eve candle service!

We pray that God's love, the true meaning of Christmas, was proclaimed!