Very interesting day of close focus compared to the wide scope of disaster sites yesterday. Sylvia and Mike went to see the Nozomi Project in operation (see below) while Gordon and I joined Andy and Jonathan for some "prayer walking" over in Onagawa.
The way the Gilbert's team does prayer walking is to simply walk around in a selected neighborhood or city block, and pray for the people see - as well as the issues you don't see - along the way. Often the prayers are interrupted by conversations with people who walk by, and frequently these lead to some very significant relationships.
This morning's prayer walk was close to a place where 2 years ago I had met a wonderful lady and her daughter and grandkids, and I had asked Andy if we might try to find her. Providentially, a couple months ago he had met with someone of the same name and age in the temporary housing site in this location, and with a few inquiries we found her!
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| Asakura-san at her home in the temporary housing units (July, 2013) |
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| With Asakura-san, her daughter and grandkids in Onagawa (April, 2011) |
Asakura-san is doing well, and we had a wonderful visit. She is a long-time Christian believer, one of only a handful in the town, and is eager to participate in some sort of church. We're praying for a house church to develop near her.
In the afternoon, Gordon and I had a chance to participate in another outreach with tsunami survivors at a temporary housing. Danielle and Matthius had asked us to join them, and once again we used the goofy hats, played kazoos, and helped to lift their spirits. The leader of this group is part of a struggling local church, so we're trusting for good growth to occur.
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| Gordon and me singing with Danielle at the temporary housing units |
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| Would you believe that "Twist & Shout" is a big hit? |
Meanwhile, over at the Nozomi project, Sylvia and Mike had a chance to see (and video) the amazing work that Sue Takamoto is doing. "Nozomi" means "hope" in Japanese, and that's what the project is all about. Here's comments from Sylvia: "Former co-workers of ours with Life Ministries were led to come to Ishinomaki, and Sue Plumb-Takamoto prayed about how to be a change agent in this desolate area. She wanted to do something that would give the survivors who have no jobs, no money, no hope, something to do while ministering God's love and grace and eternal redemption.
This led Sue to envision making jewelry using the shards of broken dish pottery (no Corelle or Melmac here!) that lay strewn over all of the lots where once houses had stood. That was the beginning of a literal home-cottage business that has become Nozomi (Hope) Project (
http://nozomiproject.com/pages/about-us). The jewelry is a great spiritual metaphor, isn't it! Sue employs at least 10-15 young mothers, all who have heart breaking stories of surviving the tsunami. Every day there is a short devotional time, and this Sunday one of the women working at the Nozomi Project will be baptized in the ocean. "
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| Sue describing the grinding process |
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| Pottery shards that have been ground into shape |
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| Women creating the jewelry |
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| More creation - incredible to think these survivors have such tragic stories of loss |
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| Selecting the necklace pendants |
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| A nearly finished necklace |
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| A happy customer |
After supper, the team had group Bible study and we got to join them for it. Once again, we're so impressed with Andy and Lorna's excellent leadership of a diverse and capable team.
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| Joining the Gilbert team's Bible study |
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| Lorna and Sylvia with Minami who is helping with Nozomi in Onagawa |
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