7/1: Monday - Sendai

Monday is Gilbert's weekly day off, so we 4 changed pace too with a trip into Sendai city.  But first, we just had to make a quick stop for a team meeting at the newly opened Starbucks in the Aeon mall in Ishinomaki.  Amazing - and a nice touch from our Seattle home!

Wow!  Starbucks in Ishinomaki makes for a touch of home...

Then we drove into downtown Sendai and met our good friend and former staff member, Mika Takana.  She has been a bright spot of service and outreach to her neighbors during the disaster, and also joined our Dickens Christmas Carolers team in December, 2011.  We went for lunch with her, and were joined by Yuko Muhling, a colleague of Mika's and sister to Wakako Clark.  

Sylvia, Mika, Gordon, Mike, and Yuko enjoying a traditional Japanese lunch.

Gordon and Mike ready for lunch - and Mike is happy because the fish isn't raw.

In the afternoon, we joined Yuko and her family for a short walk along the Hirose River to the Ohashi Bridge.  It was at this site in 1623 that 8 Christians were martyred during the national persecution of Christians in the Tokugawa era.  I was aware of sites like this in southern Japan, especially Nagasaki, but didn't know about this one. Rather thought provoking.

The Ohashi Bridge across Sendai's Hirose River

We 4 with Mika and Yuko and her kids in front of the 3 statues representing the 8 martyrs

The sad memorial at the site

We 4 continued across the river and up the hill to the site of the Sendai castle.  It was home to a famous shogun, Masamune Date (Dah-tae), whose fascinating history is partly tragic and partly heroic, and includes a significant openness to Christianity.  A side note for modern cinema fans: his famous black warrior armor was a model for Star Wars' Darth Vader costume.

The statue to Masamune Date is a tricky photo in the afternoon

Mika pointing to the building where she lives near Sendai station

Having a little fun... 

Mike and Gordon goofing off too

Great day to connect with current friends and historical figures.

6/30: Sunday - Ishinomaki and Onagawa

Today is Sunday, so our team had the chance to visit two different churches.  Mike and Gordon went to J-Cafe, a new Calvary Chapel church plant in the Watanoha neighborhood of Ishinomaki, an area that was completely devastated.  Meanwhile, Sylvia and I went with Gilberts to the well-established Ishinomaki Baptist Church in the Hebita section of Ishinomaki, an area that was untouched by the tsunami.  They said their service was informal with about a dozen people there, while ours was more traditional and had around 15 people there.  However, Pastor Kaneya of IBC is a wonderful guy with a terrific message, and exhibited lots of grace and joy.  Wish more pastors were like him.  

We grabbed some obento lunches, and headed out to a temporary housing site at an elementary school in Onagawa.  Again we set up the coffee van, and this time Kathrine came along to do kids face painting.  For a while, nobody showed up, then little by little, people came to enjoy the free coffee.  Andy asked us to sing, so we pulled out the hats and did some more sing-along songs.  Again, happy faces and lots of joy.  We included the Japanese version of song that curiously is quite well-known here, What A Friend We Have In Jesus. After we finished singing, I noticed a lady singing that song to herself - wow.  

Andy connecting with temporary housing neighbors

Kathrine entrancing kids with face/hand painting... and temporary tattoos!

Everyone is loving it!

Proud of the result

Chatting with Suzuki-san, a key leader in Onagawa

More sing-along songs

Kathrine joined us on Amazing Grace

The lady next to Sylvia told her about losing 3 neighbors in the disaster

 By this time, quite a crowd had gathered, and Andy had promised to do bingo with them, so we launched into that.  What fun for everyone, and again you could see the effectiveness of the strategy to boost morale and build relationships.  It's quite amazing.

We came home for a Japanese BBQ supper at Gilberts house.  It's similar to American BBQ, but instead of hamburgers, etc., it's small slices of beef, chunks of chicken, and loads of sliced vegetables.  All of us (Gilberts crew plus our 4) were there, and we finished the day sitting in a big circle talking about the week past and the the week to come.  Nice.

6/29: Saturday - Ishinomaki and Onagawa

This is Saturday, and that means the highlight of the week: Takidashi!  

Slept long, and it really helped to recuperate from jet lag.  After breakfast, we connected with the rest of the team, and headed over to the place where the community has been gathering every Saturday for over 2 years, and where our relief teams have helped the Gilberts do "takidashi" on each of our visits.  

Takidashi is the Japanese term for distribution of relief supplies.  In the first weeks after the disaster, food, water, and supplies were given out every day.  But as the supply of basics improved, the need evolved for clothing, heaters, gloves, bicycles, etc.  So the ministry teams did their best to gather those items and give them out once a week on Saturday.  Andy saw the desperation of the survivors on two levels: needing more supplies than were available and needing a boost to morale.  His solution was bingo games.  The game gave everyone an equal chance for supplies (winners take their choice of an item), plus it lifted spirits and allowed neighbors to forget their near-insurmountable problems for a while.  They added free coffee and lunch, plus live music from visiting musicians.  Our Dickens Christmas Carolers group sang at a takidashi time, and our other teams have participated in serving when we visit.  

Site of previous takidashi events

Site of current takidashi events - wow.

Andy leading the bingo game

Under the B... #8

Almost ready to win...

Happy crowd

The relationship building at these times is amazing, and it's a privilege to participate.  Gordon is an excellent guitarist, so he and Sylvia and I prepared some fun folk songs to sing for - and with - the people.  We came up with a crazy name - The Uncle Sam Spontaneous Sing Along Singers! - brought some sparkle hats to draw attention, and created the opportunity for enjoyment.  The songs intentionally are not super spiritual, and the performances are far from perfect.  But that's not the point; the strategy is designed as an opportunity to invite the people to release their fears, tension, and problems, and let their souls be free for a while.  And you should see their faces and sense their joy.  It's amazing.  

Lorna joined us for Twist & Shout

This Train was a big hit too

Mike getting video of the event for Gilberts

He's a pro, and doing a great job!

 As you can see, Mike has been doing a terrific job on a series of videos for the Gilberts and their team.  It'll be fun to see how it all turns out.

Afterwards, we cleaned up, stored all the bingo and coffee stuff, and headed out to a small neighborhood in Onagawa for an outreach to kids and an opportunity to connect with adults via a free coffee and conversation time. This turned out to be a little disappointing: only a few kids showed up, and only a few adults came for coffee.  Afterwards we were trying to figure out what the causes were and realized that particular neighborhood is more reluctant to welcome outsiders, plus they had lots of other activities going on that day too.  But we also realized it was good to be there to build trust and let the community know we here to help and serve.

Coffee time tent; kids event in the building just behind here

Sylvia is a wonderful connection point

During this same time, Gordon had gone with Jonathan to do an English class at a small coffee shop.  They had several kids show up, and Gordon said he had a great time connecting with the kids.

On the way home, we picked up obento suppers and went to a weekly joint Praise and Prayer event with lots of the community workers.  Among the many songs we sang, an amazing song called "Still" (by Reuben Morgan) makes a powerful connection here with it's lyrics, "..when the oceans rise, and thunders roar.."  Here's a link to a YouTube video with his song.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXywFuTf65I

Long day, but a good one. Oyasumi nasai.