Last Few Days...

So, I am home safe and sound...but you have had a huge gap in information about the last few days in Japan.

This is because we were very busy and didn't have internet. This is going to be a longer post...but I will try to write as concisely as possible.

The day after we gutted houses, Nao-san had to go before the government on behalf of J-help. We stayed late to pray and when we showed up to get our daily assignment, the woman would not give us one. Orion knew it was because she was not fond of us because we were Christians, so we spent a while on the phone contacting other people looking for work for the day. During this the woman finally decided that if we really wanted to help we should go clean up the graveyard behind the school/evacuation center where we were. After much prayer and discussion, we decided to help out for a few hours and then find something else to do.

We ate lunch in the cars in the mud.

We spent the afternoon mucking out another gutter. This one was hard because it didn't have a cement bottom and one part of it was walled in so deep that Orion had to crawl into the hole and muck sideways with a scoop. The sun was out and it was hot, but the whole team worked hard and for the Lord. Natalie even passed out a bunch of tracts to passersby. This day was long and discouraging, but God's grace was on us and we stayed united...tired, but united.

The next day, Orion took Amy M. and Natalie to the airport, Lee, Lacy and Melissa cleaned up the base, and Naoki-san picked up Amy F. and myself  to go Yoshioka and help Hiroka-san teach an English class. We sang songs in english and then it was craft time.

I had brought a bunch of beads and string to share the Gospel with me. Hiroka translated and it was awesome to teach them English words and colors and then share the whole Gospel with them. Naoki-san was upstairs teaching the moms at the same time.

Of all the kids that came, only 2 have Christian moms.

Friday meant that it was time to go back to the evacuation center and cook food for the 450ish people that live in the centers we cover. God broke me that day. Hidetoshi-san (the man we met the first time we were there) had gotten up and ready early and he came down to meet us. We weren't able to talk to him much that morning because of work, but he hovered all morning and was so delighted to be with us again.

We were able to talk to him after lunch, and he told us he was glad his house was lost so he could meet us. I knew that we were the first people to truly care about this man, at least since he lost his house, and was broken for the other 450 people we were serving.

(While this looks like a mess, it's actually a bunch of people's homes)

I was overwhelmed at the over 100,000 still displaced. I wept and began praying about a way to stay for at least July.

Saturday we traveled all day to the DCAT conference. A conference for church leaders in Japan. This was encouraging because we got to meet a lot more missionaries and see a bunch of native believers and we knew that these were just the leaders.

There are Japanese Christians out there, and they are trying to share the Truth. Each and every one of them said that hearts are more open because of the earthquake/tsunami, and that we have a unique opportunity.

Sunday was spent gathering gifts and encouraging an old church member who lives in Japan. He brought his girlfriend, a missionary from America, and we had a great time together discussing and sharing stories. We stayed in the hostel again and were able to make a few friends and share the Gospel a few more times with travelers.

Monday, oh Monday...Orion had to leave early to catch his flight, so Hiro took us to the airport. On the way there, 2 people threw themselves in front of trains to commit suicide. We met Orion at the airport and he told us he was staying. I spent 45 minutes, praying, seeking counsel and trying to decide whether or not to stay too. When no one else was able to stay, I had to decide to come home.

I wept as the plane took off, and admit that I am still not excited to be back home. I will be contacting Orion soon, and because of his connections, we may have found free tickets back out there. If that is the case, I will be leaving again next week with Amy F (and hopefully a few more people).

There is still so much to do in Japan, and they are so open to love and need to see a group of Christians to see Christ's love. I know that I cannot fix it all...it's going to take years! But please pray that I would get to go back for at least 2 more weeks.

If you actually read this whole thing...Thanks!

There is so much more to say, so please stay tuned as I process and blog and if you have any questions please PLEASE ask me.