news http://www.send.org Copyright 2012 SEND. All rights reserved <![CDATA[Taking Time to Relax and Reach Out]]> In mid-November, SEND missionaries Dave and Eileen Barkman and their nieces Heidi and Lindi (high school juniors) took a trip to Tohoku (the disaster area) to follow up with children who went to camp, build relationships with a local church, and visit contacts. This is the account of their trip.

We arrived at 10:30 am at the Ota family house in Shichigahama where six of the eight children that came to last summer’s Junior English Camp at Okutama Bible Chalet were waiting for us. They welcomed us enthusiastically! They also had two sisters and two friends with them. A couple of the moms drove vans so we could haul the kids 20 minutes to the Shiogama Bible Baptist Church. From 11-12, Mr. Matsumoto, the youth worker at the church, gave the children a free English lesson similar to the English class held at the church each Saturday afternoon. After inviting the children to come to the Church School (CS) on Sunday mornings, he gave each child a copy of the Messiah manga, a comic book style description of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

After lunch we drove back to the cabin for a Christmas cookie baking party, a new experience for all the kids and moms. Eileen showed the kids how to roll out the butter cookie dough, use a cookie cutter and decorate it with candy decorations. Each child then got a lump of dough and creatively made several cookies, choosing from a variety of Christmas shapes.

After the cookies were baked, we gathered in the living room where we sang the camp theme song, I Am The Way (John 14:6), which the kids remembered well. Heidi and Lindi then told the Christmas story in both English and Japanese using kami shibai picture flash cards while the kids sipped hot chocolate. We gave each family a copy of the Jesus film for children and packed up the cookies in plastic packs for each child to take home.

The next day, the four of us attended the 10:00 am worship service at Shiogama Bible Baptist Church and sat in on the children’s CS afterward. None of the children we invited on Saturday were able to come because of previously scheduled events like the karate competition.

At lunch time we were able to talk briefly with the two pastors. They invited us to join them in the Miyagi Mission Network to reach into unreached communities. The goal is to plant house churches throughout the prefecture so that everyone is within walking distance of a church.

The church operates Hope Miyagi, a relief ministry to earthquake and tsunami victims. To support long-term relief and rebuilding work, the church is constructing a Volunteer Center on church property right next to the church building. The 1700 square foot building is scheduled to be completed in January and will house the administrative office, provide lodging for volunteers, and provide storage space for donated supplies that are right now stacked in the halls and rooms of the church building.

We arrived back at the cabin just before four kids and two moms showed up for a card making party, bringing gifts to show thanks for yesterday’s cookie baking party. Heidi and Lindi showed the children how to use the stamping and embossing supplies and all seemed to thoroughly enjoy making birthday and Christmas cards for family and friends. One mom who had lost her entire home in the tsunami and now lives in cramped temporary housing said that it had been so long since she had taken time to just relax and do a craft. Heidi and Lindi filled out and exchanged profile cards (a popular friendship activity for elementary girls) with the kids while we talked with the moms – a blessing we had not planned on.

The next morning, after baking chocolate chip cookies and cleaning up the cabin, we went to Ishinomaki to visit previous contacts. We met Mr. Onodera and talked with him briefly, giving him a pack of cookies, a Concise Bible, and The Story of Jesus for Children DVD for his grandchildren. The Otokozawa family and Nagai family were not home so we left cookies and a note at their doors.

We returned home with vivid images of the tsunami-devastated area: broad neighborhoods with nothing left but bare foundations, dump trucks and backhoes working like ants on massive mountains of rubble, tattered houses waiting to be razed, piles of flood-battered vehicles and rows of temporary housing units shoe-spooned into school yards and other available spaces. However, the biggest memories that we bring home are: sharing Jesus’ love with children excited to relive their summer camp experience, meeting fellow believers who have lost so much but continue to worship the Lord with thanks, watching them give practical help and hope to their neighbors, and hearing the pastor describe the urgency of taking the gospel to needy communities yet unreached.]]> Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Bringing Christmas in the middle of disaster]]>
Pray for SEND Japan as we explore how to mobilize our workers to engage these unreached people. We want to see churches established.]]> Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Seven Accept Christ During Short-term Trip]]> Over the past decade, the Japanese church has sent a short-term mission team to Taiwan in early September each year to share the gospel with those elderly people in Taiwan who speak Japanese. Due to the disaster and the need to assist with recovery in the disaster areas, the Japanese church really had no extra resources to send a team this year.

But reflecting upon the fact that this elderly segment of Taiwan who can speak Japanese is rapidly passing away, we felt we should press forward to make sure that more have the opportunity to hear the gospel. Our hearts were moved and we stepped out in faith; five Japanese brothers and sisters arrived in Taiwan with me on September 1.

Thanks be to God, He used us in ministering to this group and we shared the joy of leading seven to accept Jesus and three to be baptized, the oldest of whom is 90 years old.

-Tina Lin

]]> Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Alive Today Because of Prayer]]> San-san is a Taiwanese married to a Japanese man engaged in aquaculture. They originally lived in Ishinomaki with their two children and had a stable life. However, in this disaster, they lost everything. Her husband’s business was washed away in the tsunami; all their goods are gone and livelihood is lost.

A month after the disaster, her husband returned to the area to see if he could restart his business of culturing oysters. The disaster relief workers took him to the place and investigated the area of the ocean floor he had previously used to see if it would work. However, at the ocean floor, as they approached the shore, it was a mass of vehicles, many containing decaying bodies. Under those conditions, there is no way for him to restart his business as nothing can be cultured there. So her husband had to let go of his career of 20+ years. Following that, San-san developed serious PTSD, often crying uncontrollably and their 5th-grade son will vomit upon feeling the slightest earth tremor.

I met San-san for the first time in late May when the Chinese Christian Relief Association team came to Japan, as they greeted her and expressed care for her from Taiwan. Upon hearing her story, we asked her if we could pray for her. At first she had some reservations, but later agreed. After parting ways, we couldn’t make contact with her again.

Recently, when the Taiwan short-term mission team came to ishinomaki, I tried once again to contact her. She came to the Ishinomaki Church to meet us. As soon as she came it, she began telling us that she had suffered serious depression after our first contact, and felt many times that she couldn’t go on. However, since our prayer for her, she had felt a power in her heart supporting her, so she wanted to come and thank us and say if it wasn’t for that prayer, she would likely not be alive today.

Sister Lin from Taiwan and I told her that God loves her and in the midst of this huge disaster, had sent people to specially care for her. We shared God’s love and salvation with her and helped her to accept Jesus as her savior. She prayed to accept salvation through Jesus and asked God to lead her life. After we finished praying, we saw her face shining with hope and a smile.

-Tina Lin

]]> Fri, 4 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[Disaster Area Kids Go to Camp]]> In the wake of Japan’s triple disaster, SEND desired to not only care for the immediate physical needs of these victims but also to care for their souls. So this summer, because of generous donations toward disaster recovery efforts, SEND offered camp scholarships to children in the disaster area. Steve and Janet Kunnecke, SEND missionaries who have made several trips to Tohoku (the disaster area), wrote this about several of the kids who went to camp.

When we were up on one of our early Tohoku trips, just as we were about to come back home I remembered I had a flier about the camp, so dropped it off at the local volunteer center.  Mrs. H., the woman we'd gotten to know there wasn't in, but I explained about the scholarship and left the information about kids' English camp. To my amazement, she called me later to say that her son and a friend wanted to go! 

By the time camp rolled around, there were 6 kids from that one little community signed up to go.  When they arrived at camp, the little sister of one of the girls also wanted to stay, and she had a great time along with the bigger kids. 

Later this summer, we talked with Mrs. H. and she said her son is reading the Bible he received at camp every night and is sleeping with it under his pillow.  She also told another missionary friend of ours, "This is the best thing that's ever happened to my son.  I don't understand why he's reading the Bible, but my thinking about Christianity is really beginning to change."  I'm looking forward to hearing the next part of the story!

]]> Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[New Area Director Has Long Japan Roots]]> God has a wonderful sense of design and always sees the big picture. Japan is one of SEND’s two oldest areas with ministry roots that go back to the occupation forces after World War II. In a country where belonging is so important to the culture, it is fitting that the new area director and his wife have long Japan roots that tie them to the culture. Paul Suzuki grew up in Japan as a SEND missionary kid while his wife is the daughter of a Japanese Chicago pastor. They have worked with teens and young adults in Japan for the past 17 years and are now transitioning into area leadership.

Paul writes:
 
“My father was an immigrant who left postwar Japan to go to the United States by himself when he was 19 years old. It was really his older brother who was supposed to go as a domestic helper to a US military family, but at the last minute my father took his place.
 
“After making it through high school in Indiana, he got into the University of Southern California and studied aeronautical engineering. After graduating, he landed a job at Boeing and was well on his way to fulfilling the American Dream. Along the way, however, an Egyptian friend named Magdi Guirguis from college days had become a Christian, and shared his new faith with my father.
 
“Magdi’s witness was so compelling, and the change in his life so great, that my father accepted Christ and was baptized.
 
“After moving to Seattle he began attending Faith Bible Church where he met my mother. God spoke to them about giving their lives for the sake of the Gospel, and they left behind the weekend Cessna rides for a career in missions to Japan. Those life decisions had obvious significance on my own life and the person I have become because I grew up in Japan.
 
“My wife, Carol’s, father was a Japanese-American dentist, rising out of the west coast internment camps and overcoming wartime discrimination to work himself through the Army, and then dental school. Along the way Jesus seized his heart, and he was compelled to trade the dentistry in Seattle for further ministry opportunities. Moving his family to Chicago, he worked for years without pay at a Christian organization before taking on the pastorate at Lakeside Church of Chicago. His passion for personal evangelism defined his years of ministry.”
 
—Paul Suzuki, Japan Area Director
Paul and Carol have three children: Jessica (13), Stephen (11), Krista (9)]]> Wed, 7 Sep 2011 01:23:00 EST <![CDATA[Scraping Mud and Sharing the Gospel]]> Tuesday, July 12 five missionaries loaded into a van and headed north to Shichigahama, just outside of Sendai City in Miyagi-Ken, Japan. Four out of the five missionaries had never been on a relief trip since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. I was the only one who had any previous experience in going up North, but never as the navigator and leader. Our first dilemma was whether to trust the electronic navigating device, or the Google map that we had printed prior to departure. Unfortunately, we chose the Google map, when we should have trusted the Navi. This error led us directly downtown Sendai, which ended up being a pretty large city that looked much like downtown Tokyo. We were surprised to see some damage even in downtown Sendai, which sustained damage from the earthquake.

We eventually got to the place where we were going to stay at the cabins of Steven and Janet Kunnecke, fellow SEND missionaries. We made a quick assessment of food supplies and then loaded up to town to buy breakfast supplies, and water for the next work day. We ate at a restaurant called “Bikkuri Donkey” which is translated as the “surprised donkey”. That evening we also went to the local train station and picked up Dave & Eileen Barkman who arrived by Shinkansen (bullet train).

We were awakened early Wednesday morning at around 4:30 a.m. by the bright sunlight, and
unusual bugs and animals making noise outside. Needless to say, the 6:00 a.m. breakfast time was not too early. After breakfast we had devotions led by Dave Barkman and we were on the road to Ishinomaki soon after 7:00 a.m. Normally the route from Shichigahama would take less than an hour, but due to traffic it takes over two hours to get to Ishinomaki. We eventually found a small community inside Ishinomaki called Shintate, an area about 2 km from the ocean, yet received severe tsunami damage.

Once we arrived at Shintate – Ishinomaki we joined over 40 other volunteers on various projects in the area through the ministry of Samaritan’s Purse headed up by a Sendai missionary, Dean Bengston.
The SEND missionaries were quickly assigned to different jobs. Darwin, Ted, and Jon R. found themselves scraping dried sludge off of Mr. Abe’s field. This job proved to be more difficult than first
expected as the rules kept changing and there was much confusion as to how much of the dirt was
“contaminated”. Dave and a carpenter started working on a storage shed, which would also work as
a backdrop for future concerts in the area. Elaine and Joy started to work inside a house that needed mud scraped out of the bottom of the house, as the floor boards had previously removed. Karl was assigned to removing dead trees and bushes that had been killed by the salt water that had inundated the area.

Wednesday after working we went to a park that overlooked the entire port of Ishinomaki city. It wasn’t
hard to see what damage the tsunami had done, and how much more work needed to be done. We were also overwhelmed with the fact that this city had so many deaths and still missing people, yet less than 1% knew the Lord. Ishinomaki City (Population 160,000) has only seven churches that we know of and these congregations are very small.

Wednesday evening we were joined by Jon and Jacob Winter who arrived by bus. We then went to a restaurant called, “Big Boy”. We had a good time of debriefing our experiences from the day. We all worked hard, and could share from our sweat the joys of serving God in this community.

Thursday and Friday the schedule was pretty much the same, we woke up early, had breakfast at 6:00 a.m., got stuck in traffic for two hours and we quit work around 3:30 or 4:00. Some people continued to work on cleaning the field, others worked on the storage shed, others mudded out other houses, floors were bleached and power washed, and trees and bushes were removed. Samaritan’s Purse provided lunches, and T-shirts, as well as tools and equipment needed for our jobs. The heat was intense, the water was cold. However, we were happy cause we were helping people and serving our God and Savior.

Many shared their frustration that while working there weren’t many opportunities to talk to the people that we were helping. We came with great expectations of sharing the gospel, but if the owners are not there, we simply cannot talk to them.

On Friday, we heard several stories of how people started to become available and open up with us. Eileen shared how showing pictures of her grandbaby opened up conversations with others. Karl and Jacob shared how the neighbors came out and eventually helped them with their landscaping, others prayed and spoke with Mr. Abe the owner of the field we were cleaning. Eileen and Joy went around the community and shared a few tracts and other materials in the neighborhood.

We didn’t see anyone become a Christian due to our labors, but we truly believe that Shintate in Ishinomaki is an area where followers of Christ could emerge as they have seen the love of God. We were laying the seed for future opportunities to share Christ.

Prior to March 11, I had never heard of Ishinomaki, especially didn’t know there was a neighborhood called Shintate. The triple disaster of March 11has opened doors for ministry not possible before. It really seems that the hearts of the people in the stricken areas are more open.

Japan is a very closed society and it is very difficult to enter a house beyond the entryway, but now we were invited not just into their entryway, but all the way back into their bathrooms and closets. Pray that our volunteer work would open opportunities for the love of Christ to get into the depth of their hearts, and that they would experience the peace and love that only comes through a growing relationship with Jesus.

]]> Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:23:00 EST <![CDATA[Life Goes On and the Gospel Goes Forward]]>  
As of last month, about 98,000 evacuees are still living in shelters. Elsewhere, people try to live like in pre-Fukushima times. People in Greater Tokyo are doing their best to return to normal lives, or a new normal.

There are those who monitor radiation levels and food contamination. Some people try to be careful with the source of their food; others don’t seem to care. Some have their own Geiger counters. There is concern with the nuclear fallout that has accumulated in the ground. The area where I live is one of the hotspots.  I was going to say that there seem to be less of strong aftershocks now but we just had a 7.3 intensity quake.
 
Suicides went up in disaster areas, as well as in Tokyo as people find it difficult to deal with the stress, hopelessness, even guilt. Deep emotional healing is much needed.   Streets, stations, trains, stores are a little darker now to conserve power. Now Japan is not just spiritually darker but literally too.  How Japan needs the light of Jesus!
 
As for the spiritual situation, I don't sense any change or openness among my Japanese contacts in Greater Tokyo.  We have been spared here. And I thank God for that. But we're not out of the woods yet. There might still be a big earthquake in the Tokyo region. But I heard that those in the affected Tohoku region up north are more open.  Some have believed.  Many came to Easter services.  I pray for a revival but I realize it should start with me.

Please pray for our team of missionaries from SEND going up north from July 12-16. We will be helping clean mud from houses, building connections for the church and other things we might be asked to do. Pray that we can be a witness through our actions and words. Pray for opportunities to share God's Word and that it may bring lasting fruit.  May God give us strength, guidance and protection (that neither the nuclear reactors nor the tectonic plates will act up).]]> Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:27:00 EST <![CDATA[7 Make Baptism Decisions at Camp]]> Camp season is in full swing at Okutama Bible Chalet (OBC) with Japanese school holidays starting in mid-July. Bruce Harris writes, “The camps have already been blessed. There were seven baptism decisions in our first two Joy Bible Camps. We are in the third camp now, which is the junior high camp, so we look to the Lord for His grace to be poured out.”

OBC continues to raise funds to update and expand the camp facilities so that more Japanese can be engaged with the gospel. To find out more about the project, read the description and consider giving to this strategic project. 

]]> Tue, 5 Jul 2011 02:22:00 EST <![CDATA[Rebuilding Japan, One Pile of Debris at a Time]]> Read on the Blog:]]> Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST <![CDATA[2011 Life lessons learned at Christian Academy in Japan]]> As we watched the graduating class of 2011 process the life lessons of the last few months, we marveled at their grace and compassion. What will God do with these young people who have experienced so much? As one of them said, "If there is one thing I have learned, it is that life can change in the blink of an eye." Amen!

Consider this:
May 31 at 10:30 in the morning, the class of 2011 learned that one of their own had died tragically in a motorcycle accident on his way to school. His death was instantaneous, and the driver of the small-sized truck that hit him was arrested at the scene for negligent homicide. What a week for this class that had already experienced March 11 in Japan and March 24 in northern Thailand (another record-breaking quake in Myanmar---about 75 km from where they were in Thailand).
 
Picture if you will:
May 31 hearing of their classmate's death
June 1  chapel mourning the loss of their classmate and graduation practice
June 2 parent-sponsored graduation dinner
June 3 graduation ceremony and reception followed by an all-night party
June 5 a wake for their classmate
June 6 the funeral.
June 6-9 about 12 members of the class of 2011 went north into Tohoku to help clean out homes north of Sendai.
 
The graduation speeches were poignant.
 
On the morning of June 13, Martie had the privilege of praying for the 36 students and 10 alums and adults who headed north to Tohoku to work until June 19. The students spent a lot of time cleaning out the homes of people in the area where they were staying.
 
One of the students has posted on Facebook: "home sweet home" and we can just imagine the new appreciation for "home". We cannot wait to hear the stories. This past week surely will have been a defining moment for the students, and perhaps for the school.
 
"Is it over yet?" As you can imagine, the 2011 school year will go down in history as the school year that never seemed to end. We lost all of the holidays in the 4th quarter and had the year extended by one day due to the earthquake. Then, when the end was in sight, we lost one of our students. We have cried until there were no more tears. It is time to rest. To reflect. To seek the Lord's face and be comforted. And, time to figure out what to do next.
 
What definitely is NOT over is the nuclear crisis in Fukushima. Every day brings new revelations of "We never imagined..." "Who would have believed...." "It was not considered possible..." "We are not sure why this...". We still have more than 90,000 people living away from their homes! The children in Fukushima cannot play outdoors. There is no air conditioning in their schools, but the windows must remain shut due to concerns about radiation. While it is rainy season right now, it is certain that the heat and humidity of summer is coming. It is a mess. What we have encountered and have dealt with in Tokyo is absolutely nothing compared to the suffering north of us. There are no words for this chaos.
 
Do not forget to continue to pray for Japan. The crisis is far from over and this nation needs your focused prayer. Pray that God will give believers opportunities to show His glory.

]]> Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:30:00 EST <![CDATA[Doing Whatever It Takes]]> Recently, I had the privilege of joining a group of committed believers and staff from Okutama Bible Chalet (OBC) to go and help for four days up north near Sendai, Japan.

OBC organized the trip to help a small struggling church of 5-6 people in Ishinomaki a town that was devastated by the March 11th tsunami. Pastor Ito of Ishinomaki Christ Church asked OBC to help provide hot meals and give out relief goods.    The tsunami did not hit the church building directly, but rather submersed the church and the surrounding community with mud and salt water up to the roof. One of the church members drowned as she was sitting in her car and her husband is still missing.

We drove to Ishinomaki with three van loads of relief goods from Tokyo. The trip was a real eye opener for me as there was so much work to do. Our group cleaned out houses, gave out relief goods and prepared meals through this church. I would like to tell about two families we helped – Mrs. Kiyoko and Mr. Kimura.

Pastor Ito led our group of volunteers to Kiyoko’s house in a neighboring port city of Onagawa. We helped Kiyoko’s family by cleaning and removing debris. Pastor Ito shared his vision of wanting to start a Bible study in Kiyoko’s house because there was no church in Onagawa. Pray for the salvation of Kiyoko. What struck me personally was that the town of Onagawa had over 9,000 people, and no church, and then after March 11 over ten percent of the city is now missing or confirmed dead. I pray, “Oh Lord, we cannot be content with only one percent of Japan knowing you personally.”   

Pastor Ito then led us back to the church in Ishinomaki where he introduced us to an 81 year old, Mr. Kimura, who lives behind the church. Mr. Kimura survived the tsunami, but got over 5 feet of water in his house. Despite the fact that six weeks had passed since the tsunami, Mr. Kimura did not have the strength, or support system, to help clean his house. For the last six weeks his house was caked with mud and salt water. Mr. Kimura had to wear his boots inside his home as everything was wet and smelled of rotting food.

We got permission to clean his house and a group of volunteers wearing masks and rubber gloves threw most of his stuff in the trash. I cannot imagine what was going through Mr. Kimura’s mind as he watched most of his worldly possessions get thrown away. Mr. Kimura’s Japanese was very difficult as he spoke in a way that was even difficult for native Japanese speakers in our group to understand. 

We cleaned the inside of his house once it was emptied of debris. Steve Kotlarcyk, Makoto, and I then went shopping at various stores in town and bought Mr. Kimura new items including; clothes, shelves, a bed, a chair, electrical wiring, and other items. I can still remember being at the Uniqlo, a popular clothes store, buying clothes for Mr. Kimura and deciding what he would possibly wear and is Mr. Kimura a size “L” or a size “M”.   At Uniqlo I had two thoughts: First, we need a woman to help us make these decisions and secondly, less than a month ago I refused to even go into Uniqlo with Karen and the girls as I hate clothes shopping.

Pastor Ito and others joined SEND International missionary Steve Kotlarcyk in prayer for Mr. Kimura. Steve shared how he felt that God had given him the words to pray at that special time for Mr. Kimura. 

Ishinomaki Christ Church celebrated Easter with their first worship service since March 11 and they were excited to report over thirty new visitors. I don’t know if Kiyoko or Mr. Kimura showed up, but pray for people like Kiyoko and Mr. Kimura that they will respond to the message of salvation that only Jesus can provide.

SEND Japan is actively involved in the recovery of Japan through the ministry of the local church and I am excited to be a part of this ongoing ministry in Japan.

]]> Sun, 8 May 2011 09:43:00 EST <![CDATA[Children's Day]]> In Japan, May 5th is a national holiday called "Kodomo no hi" - Children's Day. Many families fly
Koinobori banners in the shape of carp for each child in their house.

In Japanese folklore, the carp is a symbol of vigor, overcoming all obstacles to swim upstream. At
Okinawa Christian School International (OCSI), we also have a day off on May 5th to celebrate children! We treasure the little (as well as the not-so-little) ones that God has put under our care.

In 3 John 4 it says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." This spring, we had a High School missions' team that ministered in Cambodia and a Middle School missions' team that ministered in the Philippines. Our Elementary kids gave many donations and prayed faithfully for these teams. We rejoiced to hear the amazing things God did both in and through our students!

]]> Wed, 4 May 2011 04:11:00 EST <![CDATA[Loving Our Neighbor Very "Mochi"]]>
Every year our Kashiwa Village neighborhood has an annual clean-up. This starts at 8 a.m. and lasts until noon. Three years ago I joined this clean-up event and enjoyed meeting new people as we worked alongside one another. Last year I happened to work beside the village chairman, Mr. T., and we hit it off. Unfortunately, he was transferred overseas within a few months, but the relationship continued with his family. Keri got to know his daughter better, and the wife made a New Year’s feast (osechi) for us. This year I happened to work alongside the new village chairman, Mr. K. This was not planned, but we had a good time getting our hands dirty together.

Kashiwa village also competes annually with other neighborhoods in kite making/flying. Mr. K. invited me to join several men from the village elder board in making a kite. It was a great opportunity to get to know them.

Our neighborhood also has a mochi tsuki taikai (sweet rice cakes making event) every January. Most of the village turns out to the park across the street from our home. According to Mr. K., there are 1400 homes in our village, representing 4500 people. Mr. K. contacted me, asking, “Can you help me set up for this mochi event? I have a bad back and I need a nice, strong,
young man like you.” Of course I accepted. Not only did we set up, but we pounded batch after batch of mochi for the neighbors. Little did I know that I was the only “volunteer” in the crew. All the others were the elected elders of the village, who were all required to work. Each one came to thank me. I felt I got to know them more deeply. In a normal working day I would
never have had a chance to meet them. The village is too big, and everyone’s schedule is so different.

During one of my breaks from pounding mochi, I bumped into a man who had headed up a cult which had moved into the village. To my surprise, he told me that he and his family recently left the cult. He seemed disillusioned with it, even though he is a second-generation cult member. He asked if we could get together and talk. Pray for wisdom and direction as we work through what he believes.

What is so unique about these contacts? Every one of these events took place on a Sunday morning. These events are not unique to our particular village. This happens all throughout Japan. As a church, we were challenged to think “out of the box.” Since our house church gathers in the afternoons, we find it easier to be more relevant to our neighbors. Our focus has been to bring the love of Jesus to the people, coming alongside our neighbors as salt and light in this dark country of Japan.

There is still “mochi” we can do.]]> Mon, 4 Apr 2011 10:01:00 EST <![CDATA[Delivering Relief]]>
Steve returned from Sendai and Wednesday 11pm.  He was tired, but ready for whatever needed to happen after a night of sleep.  His eyes seemed to be moist most of the time he was here.  It has impacted him;  how can it not seeing so much first hand like that.

My team spent several days shopping at a clothing store, Costco, home center, etc. trying to buy supplies for him to load up and head out again, because of your generosity.  We purchased blankets, socks, underwear, men`s, women`s  and children`s clothing, which included fleece jackets, sweatsuits, corduroy pants, turtleneck tops.  Also bought cases of paper towels, tissue paper, kleenex, wet wipes, diapers--children and adult, women`s essentials, 100 toothbrushes, batteries, hand gel, rice, curry paste, miso paste, soy sauce, canned soups, instant soup packages, chicken broth powder, carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, squash, daikon, shiitake, saran wrap, green tea, dried seaweed, sausages, canned tuna, instant coffee (not a necessity, but for a treat amidst the hardship), oranges, dish soap, laundry detergent.  Maybe more ???   195 items from Costco.  136 clothing items from Uniqlo .   30+ items from Cainz Home Center.  (Included in report for accounting for those of you who have given.)

So yesterday we spend several hours sorting and labeling boxes to make distribution easier.  Then we packed his van and got him ready to leave.  Steve pulled out at 7am.  This time his destination is a little closer--Mito, Ibaraki Ken.  He may be gone longer this time.  

We are still experiencing gas lines and station closures.  Also limits applied for certain items in the stores.  God once again provided gas for the relief vehicle, plus 35 liters in separate containers to be able to fill someone`s car(s). 

The temperatures continue to stay cold.  People are cold.  But Steve was told that it is helpful because as temps go up, the smell will come out.  The area he was in smells strongly of fuel oil spillage.

Towns are having burials.  The crematories take too long to burn, so people are being buried in the earth in simple caskets.  Many bodies are laid out in places for people to come and identify, but no one is coming--probably whole families are gone and have no one to identify them. 

Please continue to pray!]]> Fri, 25 Mar 2011 03:30:00 EST <![CDATA[Missionaries Help With Relief]]> SEND missionaries and partners are helping with the relief efforts in a variety of ways.  Several missionaries and MKs are volunteering with CRASH (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope is a network supporting Christians to do relief work in Japan and around the world) helping with administration and cooking meals.  Okutama Bible Chalet (OBC) is housing evacuees and Christian Academy Japan (CAJ) is serving as a collection point for relief supplies.  The Japan Evangelical Church Association is connecting with and supporting churches in the affected area.

Belva Kotlarczyk, and her husband Steve, sent an update on their participation in the relief efforts--collecting supplies and delivering them in the north:

"Today I will go to Costco and buy as much as I can to send with Steve.  I also hope to approach some other places for donating their goods.  Please pray with me about this.
 
"He found a school filled with 1000 people who had not yet been reached with donations.  He also left a lot with a local church to distribute for their community who had nothing as well.  This multiplies over and over.
 
"Our daughter and son-in-law in the north, who were also hit, are out helping cleanup and needs there.  We want God to be honored and His love known to this nation!

]]> Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:02:00 EST <![CDATA[We got a bag of rice]]>
USA: How are you?
SEND Japan missionary: Doing okay...considering we have 4 quakes in a 30 minute period.  One of the big problems here is that companies are not delivering food in areas that are totally fine, but because radiation was "detected" (and it is not in harmful doses), they are not going into Iwaki City. That's where CRASH (the relief agency) comes in, but honestly, the needs are more than the mind can take in.
USA: Oh absolutely. It's is mind boggling to just look at photos, video, etc.
SEND Japan missionary: I am hopeful of finding some gasoline today.
USA: Long lines?
SEND Japan missionary: YES. LONG LINES! We got a bag of rice yesterday
USA: How?
SEND Japan missionary: Our local store got a shipment in, and it was one bag per family. That should last us five weeks or so
USA: Can you get vegetables?
SEND Japan missionary: Yes, we can...though that may change with the embargo on spinach from four northern prefectures. Cheese is readily available--go figure. And the reason milk is in short supply is that there are only six companies in all of Japan that make the paper cartons, and three of them were destroyed or damaged in the quake.
USA: Interesting to get the small details.  Is anything grown locally?
SEND Japan missionary: well, "local" means Ibaragi for us...and that is on the embargo list.
SEND Japan missionary: Yes, I had to laugh at the milk thing. We are doing fine in the Tokyo area...though I have to admit I am considering talking to our co-workers about our planned church lunch on Sunday---they are doing a rice based dish. I feel guilty about that.
USA: Noodles?
SEND Japan missionary: Oh--no noodles. Forget noodles. Pasta is pretty cleaned out as well. 
USA: How are you doing personally?
SEND Japan missionary: I had a bad cold since before the earthquake and I think I am ....I think I'm struggling with being focused, and that is stress related. And I think, deep down inside, that my husband  and I knew "something" was going to happen here...and now that it has, we feel a peace of at least "knowing to this point .”
USA: I believe God is in this, in all ways. But that doesn't make it less stressful.  See ya, praying.
SEND Japan missionary: "Just pray" and that is EVERYTHING!! Bye!
]]> Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST <![CDATA[More Japan Radio Interviews]]> here.  Special thanks to Mission Network News.

www.send.org/japan-earthquake-audio/]]> Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:15:00 EST <![CDATA[March 21 update on SEND and Japan]]>
  1. Pray as part of a growing prayer team for SEND and Japan
  2. Go to join in relief efforts through the local Christian relief coordinator, CRASH
  3. Give financial gifts to help partner churches of SEND in the disaster-affected region to rebuild and practically reach out to their communities at this time
God is blessing the initiative of SEND members to get the word out, and using people like YOU to make a difference in this time of desperate need in Japan!


A large shipment – 90 tons – of critically needed supplies arrived over the weekend at the Yakota Airbase on a flight sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief agency. The shipment was ferried by smaller planes to the tsunami-ravaged Sendai Airport in the heart of the stricken Miyagi Prefecture of northeastern Japan. Sunday afternoon these essential goods were loaded into eight large trucks and distributed to key community centers established by CRASH, the Christian relief agency in Japan with whom SEND and many other groups are partnering in the effort to help those displaced by the multiple disasters that have struck over the past two weeks. One SEND missionary joined a CRASH team in distribution of aid in the affected region on Sunday, and another is scheduled to go with another team to the Sendai area in the middle of this week.

]]> Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:15:00 EST <![CDATA[A Mom and a Missionary]]> SEND Missionary, Elaine Winter, describes life in Japan one week after the earthquake:

Thank you for the love and support we have felt.  We know we are being carried along by your prayers.
 
Let me assure you that we are SAFE!  We have ALL WE NEED!  We are OKAY!  GOD is our EVER PRESENT HELP.  He has not changes and we trust in HIM!
 
When the quake happened, Jacob and Benjamin were at CAJ (Christian Academy in Japan).  The students had had an earthquake drill exactly 24 hours earlier so things ran smoothly.    Jon was also at CAJ.   The boys tell us that at first it was no big deal since we always have earthquakes, but when it didn't stop they went under their desks.  At the evacuation alarm the students went to the playing field.  Some children were crying, some singing Chris Tomlin songs and some praying.  Children were not disimissed until they could get hold of their parents.  With phones and e-mail not working,  but internet still up, Facebook became the communication tool! 
 
I was shopping when the floor started to "sway".  It felt like I had just got off of an amusement park ride.  Everyone started leaving the store so I did too.  When I got home there was a strong after shock and it was pretty scary for me as I was alone.  We have now had so many aftershocks it feels like things are always moving.
 
We were able to have a few children stay with us on Friday night due to the disruption in train service.  I had a nice meal planned already for company, and when they could not make it, we were thankful we had lots to share. 
 
Our lives have been affected as have yours I am sure.  Never since WWII has the world paid so close attention to Japan.  Oh that the Lord would be glorified.  That His hand of comfort would be felt by those so in need.  That one day after the earthquake, after the fire, there will be a still small voice that is heard. 
 
School has been cancelled until after spring break, however there are on-line classes so the boys do have work to do.   Jacob leaves tomorrow morning for his Senior Class trip to Thailand. He will be working at an orphange and helping to build a daycare center for a very poor village in Northern Thailand.
 
This past week Jacob and Jon have been volunteering at CRASH headquarters.  CRASH is the relief arm of the Japan Evangelical Church Association.  Jon's technical skills are needed to help set up a data base to organize the information being received from the areas where the earthquake and tsunami have hit.  There is also an overwhelming number of people from all over the world wanting to come to Japan to help.  All this information must be organized and that is one area Jon is able to assist with.  Right now the initial relief work is being done by the government but within about 2 weeks teams will be able to go out and help in practical ways. You can check out the CRASH website at http://www.crashjapan.com.  Jaocb has organized around the clock prayer and has been interfacing with missionaries that are in the affected areas and people around the world who want to help.  I have helped with meal preparation for volunteers.
 
Many of you are concerned for our health.  We are monitoring the situation and do not feel that we need to leave at this time.  Recently SEND Japan had a members' meeting to give reassurance.  SEND International, based in Detriot, is in regular communication with the chief nuclear engineer at a nuclear plant in Michigan.  The plant in Michigan is the same type as the one in Fukushima.  At this point we are not in danger and will stay here.  PLEASE BE CAREFUL not to believe everything you see and read with regard to the radiation threat.  I would say the constant confusion that the media is causing is our biggest source of stress.  DO PRAY for those in the area around the plant.  For them it is a deep concern.  PLEASE pray for the people who are working at the plant.  They are heros. 
 
This is getting long,  I'm sorry.  As far as everyday interruptions,  we are being careful with food and making sure we have supplies in the house.  Some things are harder to find than others but I got milk and juice today and I have food in the cupboard and freezer.  My mother always used to say "No one will starve" and this is true.  The area worst hit is where we have spent our summer vacations for the past four years.  It is overwhelming to see what is left of the town and the damage around the mission camp. 
 
Thank you for your prayers!  We need them.  Japan needs them.

]]> Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:06:00 EST