March 2012
1 post
What can I add?
There’s lots of things being said by people far more articulate than me, as well as people who have done far more than I’ve done as part of what we called JapanRebuild. Still, I thought that I had to mark this anniversary.
I do distinctly remember getting the text alert about a 9.0 earthquake in Japan which had apparently resulted in surprisingly little damage or casualties. Then,...
August 2011
1 post
The end of the beginning, part two
We just welcomed back our third team from Japan, which completes this year’s edition of JapanRebuild’s Summer Project 2011. I had the privilege of working with the staff of Cru (that’s the new name for the U.S. arm of Campus Crusade for Christ) training, briefing, and debriefing each of our three teams this past summer. Some of the observations:
Though our teams were largely comprised of...
June 2011
23 posts
The end of the beginning, part one
The question I’ve been asked many times since I’ve been back from Japan has been “so how was the trip?” And my standard answer has been “overwhelming.” That pretty much sums it up, though of course I provide details. I also hear people ask: “What’s going on there? There’s nothing on the news.”
Well, here’s what I saw, just a...
Another quick note
Hi everyone — I’m still playing catch-up and have a couple of more entries ahead. A couple of you have given me ideas about whether to continue the blog and what I should include. One thing that I’m considering — I want to make sure that people know about the work of CRASH and if I can use this blog to highlight what they’re doing and let people know about their...
Human dynamos and the end of the beginning
(I’m still catching up with my notes from Japan. I’ll be posting some comments that are Stateside based within the next post or two. Thanks for your patience.)
The term “human dynamo” is a cliche, yet the term best describes Rie-San, our training leader for Operation SAFE (and also the wife of CRASH Japan President Jonathan Wilson). I watched her lead a group of...
The joy of young and old, together
(I’m actually back in the States and am posting some backlogged offerings. We’re back safely, two words now dominate my vocabulary — “jet lag.” Please be patient as I catch up.)
The CRASH Japan offices are housed at a former Family Mart in Higashi-Kurume, located in Western Tokyo. Our effort, JapanRebuild is sending our volunteers directly to CRASH Japan to...
More family, more friends, and very strange signs
This time, I hooked up with my Mom’s side of the family. I haven’t seen Aunt Emiko and my cousin Akihiro in over a decade. She’s a remarkable woman — my uncle passed away when my cousins were not even teens, she worked to support them as well as providing for their care. We met in Ikebukuro, then took the train to Shinjuku.
This is anago (sea eel). Normally...
Why I need a cell phone in Japan
I no longer write down phone numbers, I punch the number into my cell. Of course, the problem is that I don’t have a cell in Japan. Nancy and Grace (they’re both alums of Asian American Christian Fellowship) are now living in Japan. We’d arranged to meet at 10:45. We finally found each other around 12:30 (we were all at the train station in Ikebukuro, we just couldn’t...
Aunt Miyoko
Tommy’s not the only one meeting family here in Japan. I called my Aunt Miyoko just to say hello. I hadn’t seen her since Donna and I went to their house more than a decade ago. Within a few minutes, she convinced me to visit her and have dinner in Sengawa.
No, this is not going to turn into a food blog, but this was really good — I even got to have uni, something I...
Land of a Thousand Yen
Yes that’s a play on words, based on an old Wilson Pickett song entitled Land of a Thousand Dances. For many readers, this song was popular before you were…conceived. ¥1000 will generally get you a decent meal, purchase an item or two, or in my case, get a haircut. I think the place was called QB Haircut — no frills, just a 10-minute cut. I’ll leave it to others to...
Quick note
I’ve received many kind words about our blog here of our JapanRebuild trip. I’m sorry I haven’t acknowledged everyone’s encouragement. Internet access was inconsistent or simply unavailable, but now that we’re settled in the Tokyo area, I get to be online consistently. Note that the “comment” section is now available, please feel free to share your...
Visiting the Palette Center
The Palette Center in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture normally serves as a convention center — it’s huge, ultra-modern, and quite impressive. It’s called the Palette Center because…well, it’s shaped as a Palette. However, it’s current service is to house over 1,200 evacuees, both individuals who’ve lost their homes as well as those families relocated from...
Hope and joy in Sendai
A bit of a change in perspective today. We’re not practicing asceticism here, we’re allowing ourselves the occasional sideshow on our travels. After leaving Kamaishii, we travelled to Shinjuku for an extracurricular activity. Tommy’s Dad traces his roots to Sendai. We’d arranged to meet relatives he’d never met before, the sister of his Dad’s cousin and her son. Though the family...
6-11-2011, 2:46 p.m.
Being with this team has meant some true silliness and levity. Each person has been harassed and insulted – in a loving, edifying manner, of course – as we continue to travel. We’ve covered already about 1,000 miles. You can ask me later about Rev. Dr. Rick, Casper, the onsen and the ladies room. Or maybe not. I had a very nice dinner with Cam, Campus Crusade’s director in Japan and Steve, a...
Three months later
Shannon and Casper are the journalists on our team. Shannon wants to be a broadcast journalist. Given my interest in things broadcast (just an overgrown hobby of mine) and the friends I’m privileged to know in the business, I’ve enjoyed talking to her about her future. Something I learned from others and passed along to Shannon – trust in your calling first, trust in your talent second. ...
Meeting Joanie, Simmy, and Pastors Okada & Mori
We’ve limited internet access but we’ll try our best here. As I said earlier, we’ve been warmly received by CRASH Japan. Joanie, who’s from Chicago, has gone out of her way to make us feel welcome. She came early to work to send us off as we begin our journey up north. Yes, everybody visiting Japan is required to take one photo with the “peace” sign.
Our CRASH Japan team consists...
1st day at the CRASH Japan Office
I now have a nametag so I guess that makes my status official, at least somewhat. As usual my photo looks as if I’m being booked for some legal violation. We visited the headquarters of CRASH Japan, the relief organization that we’re serving. The office itself is rather small, yet there were dozens of people very busy to coordinate the logistics as well as plan the direct services...
ysellit asked: Alan, I believe this is your time and this is a call. Every thing I know about you says this is the time and place. Outside of the sushi shirt and shorts, I now you are prepared. I will be praying for you and your team and efforts in Japan. Remember that sometimes the medium is the message, and that WHO YOU ARE may be the only gospel that the people will see/hear. (It kinda takes the pressure off...
Quick question...
…if anyone knows how to enable the “posting” function on Tumblr, please let me know…I haven’t figured it out yet. Thanks.
Made it here!
Somehow, I managed to get the packing done, though Tommy and his wife Melissa (make that Dr. Melissa — she just finished her Ph.D. in Nursing) had to wait a few minutes. Poor Donna is stuck with dishes and some prayer letters that still have to be sent out, along with some other random stuff I didn’t get done. I got most of the laundry taken care of, hopefully that will allow me to...
Haven't even left yet part III
The bag is nearly packed, I’ve made most of the purchases I need, and of course, I still have that unsettling feeling that I’m forgetting something. Then there’s the thought of “did I pack too much? Do I really need that?” Fortunately, this is only a two-and-a-half week trip…if I were like my friends who’ve done one or two year stints somewhere,...
Haven't even left yet part II
I wish I could tell you that the reason I’m going to Japan is because I’d had a revelation that this is what the Lord wants me to do. Sadly, I’m not that profound nor spiritual. Two key people are responsible. First, there’s Tommy Dyo. He’s the director of Epic Movement, part of Campus Crusade for Christ. He’s a gifted leader whose leadership and ministry...
Haven't even left yet
Hi — I’ve never done a blog before, so there’s going to be some trial-and-error. A few friends thought a blog would be a good idea for me to keep people updated about my upcoming trip to Japan.
For those who’ve already talked to me, I’m going to be repeating myself, my apologies. Since the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, I wanted to do something to help....
