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 of seven people. There’s Shannon, a Biola student who lives in Japan, she’s part of media. She’s joined by Casper, an Australian now living in Indonesia who’s helping redo the website and rephotograph the different base camps (earlier photos were lost on a bad hard drive). Rick is the JEMS director from L.A. And of course there’s Tommy and me. We’re led by Urs, who’s one of the CRASH Japan leaders, ethnically Swiss, born and raised in Japan in a missionary family (he’s one of those people who my Mom will look at and say “he don’t look Japanese but his Japanese so good. What happened to you?”) and by Gary – he says he’s just our driver, in reality he’s our storyteller, translator, liaison, and dedicated servant. Gary and his family plant churches here in Japan for the Southern Baptists. He’s a good friend of Tommy’s, Gary and I realize we met years ago. It’s a pretty solid team to be part of.
We’ve made it to Iwaki, an area receiving the evacuees, three hours away from CRASH headquarters in Tokyo. Normally Iwaki is a seaside resort area, famous for its beaches and “hula girls,” with a community that created a Hawaiian-themed resort. Many of the beaches were hit hard by the tsunami, there wasn’t a bustling number of people to be seen. There are signs all over declaring “Gambaro Iwaki!” (“Stay strong Iwaki!”).
The first stop was at Iwaki Assemblies Church. We met another CRASH Japan team and helped deliver food to a family, a family that needs to leave the shelter by tomorrow. I think she lives in the “hot zone” around the power plant, while her siblings had their houses swept away by the tsunami.
I was reminded that the Tohoku area did receive significant damage from the 9.0 earthquake, but it was the tsunami that caused the greatest amount of death and destruction. Tere’s stories that after the quake, some people were sitting atop the barrier walls designed to protect the communities from a tsunami – they wanted to see the incoming waves. The 10 meter (38 feet) high walls were considered safe. The waves traveled at the speed of an airplane, cresting at almost 40 feet. Pastor Okada of the Iwaki Church continues to serve by gathering and distributing relief supplies. Much of his time is spent addressing the fears people have about the radiation.
We got pressed into service to help serve the dinner prepared by the Global Mission Center. We went to the local community sports area, it housed 300 people at one time, 60 remain, mostly elderly residents or women and children. They’re staying on mats donated by a Muslim group, stored at a Buddhist temple, and distributed by Christians (how’s that?). Home is essentially everything that fits on the mats,and that’s about it.
We met Simmy, a Japanese resident who graduated from the University of Arizona. She’s a human dynamo, travelling to all of the evacuation centers (right now there’s 18 scattered through Iwaki) to offer her help. Another true servant we’ve met, but her energy stands out – very, very cool.
Pastor Akira Mori, a good friend of Gary, gave us the tale about his church and life after the tsunami. The church had to move after someone burned it down a year or two ago. His new building, a former Pachinko Parlor (!) had a big downstairs area that needed to be remodeled. After the quake, that area has been better used as a place to store donations – Pastor Mori said God made sure the room was available for the donations. While we were there, people came by to get needed supplies. Based on what happened in Kobe after the 1995 earthquake, it’ll take about five (5) years before the need for goods and donations ceases.
Pastor Mori is also an amazing storyteller. He’s Japanese born but spent 16 years in Norway. He shared his vision for bringing Japan into a daily relationship with Jesus. Pastor Mori thinks that the church errs when marketing the church becomes more important than building relationships – relationships with Jesus, relationships with the community. “We’re not called to market, we’re called to love – Japan doesn’t need another religion,” said Pastor Mori. When believers come together to serve, there’s unity, joy, happiness, and strength that emerge.
Ah, the word “joy.” I’d mentioned a couple of days ago that “joy” wasn’t one of the words that came to mind as we first arrived in Japan. I was hoping that God would help me learn and redefine what it means to have joy. Lesson #1 received.
Friday is an 8-hour journey to the Tono base in the Iwate prefecture. Road trip time. See you when I again have internet. Thanks for the prayers!
