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 for evacuees, still numbering in the thousands, in the affected areas of Northern Japan.  Ramona, one of the HR people, said “everyone in the office is volunteers, called by God.”  Amazing.

We met a number of people our first day here.  They described the work being done at their five (5) base camps. Terms like “survivor care” is used to describe one of CRASH Japan’s operations. I find the term sobering.  They also have two (2) warehouses housing the goods that have been donated or purchased, the job is to ensure these supplies get delivered in an efficient and timely manner.

Interestingly, I learned that many of the evacuees still in Sendai are older individuals — most of the younger people, especially families with young children, have abandoned the area as soon as they could after March 11.  

The idea is for those serving CRASH Japan to eventually work themselves out of a job.  That is, the organizational goal is to provide resources and training to the churches, with the goal of making the local churches taking over and running the needed ministry and services.  The staff at CRASH Japan have been very welcoming.  I’m looking forward to serving with these dedicated and obviously talented individuals.

Other thoughts and comments:

• For a supposedly genteel culture, the Japanese we rode with on the train were quite aggressive, jockeying and pushing their way into the already crowded cars.  Let’s just say I was more up close and personal to some strangers than I ever expected or desired.
• We’re in a neighborhood with the narrow streets, business and residents crowded together.  I love it.
• We were hosted by Gary and Lynn Fujino, church planters for the Southern Baptists, sharing a meal of homemade yakiniku, it was a lot of fun and good dining.  In general we’re eating quite economically, but after all it is Japanese food so I’m in paradise.  Please don’t hate me.

We leave for Sendai tomorrow, we’ll be out until Monday visiting the affected areas.  At least three of the bases serve areas hit very hard by the earthquake and tsunami.  We’ll also drive through Fukushima, where the nuclear reactors are located.  I’ll try to post as much as I can, internet access permitting.  We’ll get to see first hand what I’ve only seen on TV.  I don’t think I know what to expect until I actually see it for myself.  I’ll take photos and keep you posted.  The prayers and encouraging words are really, really appreciated — arigato.