Meet the team

Last night we had a great meeting with the group heading for Japan next Sunday.  Clockwise from the top are Nate Nogaki, Shere Hawk, Jeff Hawk, Rich Rice, and Yours Truly.

Amazingly, each of us has been in over a dozen countries (Jeff has been to over 30!), so doing a cross-cultural trip is routine for this group.

But none of us has ever really experienced the kind of trip we're starting next week.  Sure, some of have been in Japan before, some have had varying degrees of work in poverty-stricken communities, and I've even helped in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake.  Even so, this trip will stretch all of us in some deep and heart-wrenching ways.