Dear Loved Ones – It’s Saturday, July 30th, 5:30AM. The time has flown by and now we’re down to the last two full days of serving in Sendai. There is great joy for all we’ve experienced and how God has been able to use us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ – but there is a sadness growing in me that our mission is almost done. Today we will have a “Taco Party” for the children who attended EEC and for their families. This will start at noon, so after breakfast we will be busy getting ready for that. In the evening there is a community festival and we will participate by singing two songs. Our time for sharing is brief, but pray that God can touch hearts even through the singing of these songs.
Yesterday we traveled to Onagawa, a community hit by the massive earthquake and devastating tsunami of 2011. We met with seven people at a community center there. Most of them were elderly women as the younger people were at work. A young women with her 10-month old son also attended. Koby and Lauren shared their testimonies of how they came to know Jesus Christ. We pray that they will help in the eventual salvation of these dear women. As we were driving into Onagawa, Nakada-sensei was describing and explaining the extent of damage and destruction to the area. It is still hard to believe and imagine this seaside community is a place like those I saw in news videos five years ago. Many new homes and businesses have been restored and replaced and there is a newness to many areas. It is always nice to have new buildings, but they lack the warmth and sense of history that makes a place unique. These women were neighbors before the tragedy and continue to be neighbors in their new homes. I would imagine that their camaraderie has been very important in the slow and painful healing process for them. It was a wonderful blessing to spend time in conversation with these women. One of them brought a couple of plates of Hoya clams for us to eat – very tasty. They have a different taste from clams I’m familiar with in chowder. They are salty since they are washed with seawater to cleanse them. The leader of the community center came by as we were leaving and he had a sack with some of these clams. They have a single shell, shaped like a lemon with no apparent opening. There soft shell is similar in color to a lobster. I may have hesitated eating the clams if I had seen them earlier. I later learned that the plates of clams would have probably cost over $50 – a very generous gift from these women. During the conversation time we were able to share treats of shaved ice and cotton candy with them – having brought the machines to make them from the Sendai church. After finishing with them, we went to nearby Matsushima to do a little sightseeing. The bay there has a hundred small islands and is considered on of the top three scenic areas of Japan. It is too bad we didn’t have time to take a boat excursion to view these islands. We walked through the grounds of a nearby temple where a lot of work was being done. I learned that the tsunami had left a lot of salt behind and steps were being taken to repair and restore the soil. When planning the activities for this mission, Friday was set aside for relaxing and possibly sightseeing. Visiting Onagawa was a great way to spend the day. I’m going to be wrapping up this entry. We have to clean up the room we stay in at the community center – putting away our futons and bedding and taking our luggage up to the church. The center is being used by a group to prepare for the festival today. Thank you again for your continued prayer support. All is going well as the people from the Sendai, South Bay and Crossway churches have grown closer with each passing day. May God watch over you and bless you. Love, Don
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