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 lost their businesses, a fish market and a souvenir store located near the beach, the family is doing well. Tommy (thanks to Urs and his great interpreting skills) helped Tommy sort out and complete his family tree. I don’t see Tommy giddy very much, but he was clearly pleased with the family meeting. The son, by the way, is a vascular surgeon while his brother is a liver transplant specialist. Obviously underachievers (sarcasm alert…repeat, sarcasm alert).
We were taken to a very nice sushi and tempura lunch. Ah, forget “nice” – it was umai (really delicious)!! Amaebi, ikura, anago, aji, just to name a few of the delights. It was amazing – Japanese sushi tastes different than what we have in the States. What a privilege it was to have been part of Tommy’s family reunion!
We then traveled to the Miyagino Ward to meet Rev. and Mrs. Tomihiro Naito. Their church was washed away by the tsunami, yet they continue to minister and bless the people of the Tohoku area. The story of the Seaside Bible Chapel has been documented on YouTube (one example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St8zBrJmgRw). What they first did was to resurrect the cross and create a makeshift pulpit so the church could start meeting at their location (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nBxKGOjcrw). When we visited the church’s former site, Mrs. Naito recalled how she called Rev. Naito telling him to prepare to evacuate. She picked him up quickly, driving their Suzuki to safety about three minutes before the tsunami hit.
Now they’re meeting at a former coffee bar holding services and hosting events. Yes they’re tired, yet Rev. and Mrs. Tomihiro have hardly given up. They’d like to have a real sanctuary (though the coffee bar has been popular after service), but until then they’re doing all they can to continue to build relationships and share the gospel. True servants who were a great encouragement to have met.
Gary calls himself just our “driver” (yes he is manning the steering wheel) but in reality, Dr. Fujino and his family are full-time missionaries with the International Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Churches. He brought up an important observation. Gary said that our mere presence in Japan is an encouragement to both the survivors of March 11 and those who are providing assistance.
He thinks the Japanese aren’t used to receiving help from people so far away, it means a lot when people make the effort to come and care. Of course we’re here – and our student teams this summer will be here – to help in any way possible. That said, Gary’s words helped confirm our purpose. Thank you Dr. Fujino.Time to pack it in. Next time I’ll write about our visit to Koriyama, the location of the biggest evacuation center for the Fukushima prefecture. I’m privileged to represent your good wishes, please keep praying as we continue our journey. Arigato and oyasumi (thanks and good night)!
